Easy Steak Au Poivre

Photo from Bake
it with Love

I've had steak au poivre a handful of times and each time I'm reminded at how luxurious it is. It seems so fancy, when in reality is super easy to make. It's basically steak with a pepper gravy. 

This is an easy version of this dish. I'm sure the actual French version is more complicated. I mean isn't all French cooking complicated? This recipe takes a NY steak and combines it with a creamy, peppery gravy using cognac and Worcestershire sauce. 

If you're looking for a date night recipe, this might be the one. 

Easy Steak Au Poivre

Recipe from Bake It with Love

Serves 2

2 New York strip steaks (8 ounces each)

2 T butter

½ T olive oil (extra virgin)

1 tsp salt (to taste)

¼ c cognac (or brandy)

½ c shallots (finely minced)

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

⅓ c heavy cream

1 T parsley (finely chopped, optional garnish)

¼ tsp ground black pepper (to taste)

Take the NY strips out of the fridge 20-30 minutes before you start cooking and allow them to come to room temperature.

Place the butter and olive oil into a large cast-iron skillet (or a heavy-bottomed skillet) and heat them over medium-high heat.

Use several paper towels to pat dry the strips, then season them with salt on each side. As the butter melts in your skillet, turn the burner up to high. Sear the strips for 1-4 minutes on each side(the cooking time will depend on how thickly sliced your NY strips are). As soon as the steaks are finished, move them to a dish or cutting board and cover them with a loose piece of foil.

After you take the steaks off, deglaze your skillet by pouring in the cognac (or brandy). Use a wooden spoon and scrape to remove the browned crispy bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cook for about 2 minutes or until it reduces by half.

Next, sauté the shallots over medium-high heat, then add in the Worcestershire sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes. Pour in the heavy cream and parsley. Stir mixture together.

Place your strips back into the skillet with the sauce mixture and allow the strips to warm up again. *Alternatively you can cook the sauce for an additional 1-2 minutes and pour it over the steak.

Serve right away after garnishing with more parsley and freshly ground black pepper.

Italian Beef Stew

Tonight I had my virtual dinner with friends Paul and Suzanna. We started this around the Covid timeframe and we've kept it up. It's a blast to cook dinner then facetime with them and chat about everything and anything. We were on the phone for 3 hours last night. 

Because I was on a timeline, we were meeting at 5:45, I wanted to make something that didn't need any timing really. So stew it is. 

This Italian Stew was delicious. I mostly followed the recipe. I was confused about two different times carrots were mentioned. Why? So I only sliced my carrots in medallions and called it a day.

I also don't like using raw tomatoes in something like this. Tomatoes don't taste like tomatoes and wanting a tomato flavor, I tossed in a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. Perfect!

This was a great recipe. But I love stews, so there's that.

Italian Beef Stew

Recipe from My Recipes

Serves 8

• 7 tsp olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 c chopped onion
• 1/2 c chopped carrot
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1/4 c all-purpose flour
• 2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into cubes
• 3/4 tsp salt, divided
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 c dry red wine
• 3 3/4 c chopped seeded peeled plum tomato (about 2 pounds)
• 1 1/2 c fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth
• 1/2 c water
• 2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
• 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (8-ounce) package cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 3/4 cup (1/4-inch-thick) slices carrot
• 2 T chopped fresh basil
• 1 T chopped parsley

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan. Add onion and chopped carrot; sauté 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté for 45 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from pan.

Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan. Place 1/4 cup flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper; dredge in flour. Add half of beef to pan; sauté 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure.

Add wine to pan, and bring to a boil, scraping pan. Cook until reduced to 1/3 cup (about 5 minutes). Return meat and the onion mixture to pan. Add tomato and next 6 ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover, and stir in sliced carrot. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour or until meat is very tender, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaf. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, basil, and parsley.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe has been in my "Weekly" folder for a couple of weeks. I finally decided to make it to get it

out of that folder and into my belly. It'll make a lot so most of them will go into the freezer.

These cookies are tasty. There is a lot of texture going on in these cookies and I'm a fan of that. 

I wouldn't put in a cup of cocktail peanuts whole next time. I'd chop them up and put in maybe 1/2 a cup. The whole peanut makes it difficult to eat sometimes. If you can have difficulty eating a cookie.

These are reminiscent of Lone Ranger cookies which have all of this stuff minus the peanuts and add rice crispies, peanut butter and coconut. So it doesn't sound like they're similar, but I promise you they are.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe from The Mom 100

Makes 36 cookies

• ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter softened
• ½ c creamy peanut butter
• 1 c dark brown sugar
• 1 c granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract or pure vanilla powder see Note
• 3 c old-fashioned rolled oats
• ¾ c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 2 c bittersweet chocolate chips
• 2 c salted cocktail peanuts

Preheat the oven to 375°. Lightly spray two baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, and brown and white sugars until creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scarping down the sides of the bowl between each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat on low speed to just combine. Stir in the chips and the peanuts until they are evenly incorporated.

Place the batter in ¼ cup scoops on the prepared baking sheets. Press down into cookie shaped disks. I like to bake them one at a time, but if you want to bake both sheets at once, you might want to rotate them and switch the racks midway throughout the process. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until browned on the edges, then let them sit for one minute on the tray before transferring them to wire racks to cool. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Country Ribs

Photo from Spicy Southern
Kitchen

Sherrie was over last night for us to finish Charlotte (of the Bridgerton series). On Saturdays I usually pull out the slow cooker and find something yummy to make. Last night was no different. 

I have had this recipe for a while and knowing Sherrie loves pork ribs thought it was perfect for us. 

I cooked this on high for 4 hours, which is not my norm. I usually do the slow, but I was out and about in the morning and couldn't get it going in time. 

Overall this was a yummy meal. I had in my mind something a kin to sweet and sour like you'd get from a Chinese restaurant. This was like a BBQ sauce. A mild, not spicy BBQ sauce. 

Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Country Ribs

Recipe from Spicy Southern Kitchen

Serves 5

• 1/2 c ketchup
• 1/2 c packed brown sugar
• 1/2 c apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 pounds country-style pork ribs, boneless or bone-in
• 1 T cornstarch

Whisk together first 8 ingredients in a 6-quart slow cooker.

Place the ribs in the slow cooker and spoon the sauce over them.

Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.

Remove ribs to a serving platter.

Mix cornstarch with a tablespoon of cold water. Whisk into the sauce in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 20 minutes to thicken.

Or you can transfer the sauce to a saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer to thicken.

Pour sauce over ribs and serve.

Guinness Glaze Chicken Sandwich

Photo from Will
Cook for Smiles

I have a few recipes that seem a bit too "fancy" to make for just myself. It's not that I don't think I'm worth it, but rather I think it'll be so amazing I want to share the experience with someone else. 

This was one of those recipes. I knew it was going to be unbelievably amazing and I wanted someone else to think so too. Enter Janet. She was over for planning for our next vacation (and some scrapbooking) and I made this sandwich.

First, the Guinness glaze! Oh lord. It's bold, sweet, sticky, and oh so delicious. Cooking it down takes patience. I actually took it too far so it wasn't so drippy, but still tasted amazing. Watch it though. You look away and it'll burn. It goes from soupy to glaze-y in a blink of an eye. 

The recipe itself doesn't discuss how to do the sautéed mushrooms, but I'm sure you can find a recipe on the Interweb if you want to add them. The sandwich was fine with bacon, cheese, chicken and I added crunchy onions to the top of it. Yum!

Guinness Glaze Chicken Sandwich

Recipe from Will Cook for Smiles

Serves 4

Guinness Glaze:

• 1 1/2 c Guinness stout
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 4 T brown sugar
• 3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 T honey
• salt to taste

Chicken Sandwich:

Grilled Chicken breast

• 3 slices crispy bacon
• Red Onion
• Sauteed Mushrooms
• 2 slices Provolone cheese
• 2 T Guinness Glaze

Guinness glaze: Combine all the ingredients for glaze in a sauce pot and set the heat to medium. Whisk the mixture with a silicone whisk until combined. Keep slowly whisking until sugar is dissolved.

Let it simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 25-30 minutes. It will reduce in half. Raise the temperature to medium-high and boil for about 30 seconds. Stir and take it off heat. (Don't worry, it will thicken more as it cools.)

Sandwich: Grill the chicken and add a little glaze when it's almost done. Sauté the chicken in glaze until fully cooked.

Build the sandwich and pour a little extra glaze between the chicken and cheese.

Smothered Baked Pork Chops

Photo from Lauren's Latest

Pork! The other white meat. I don't eat enough pork (or fish) and so I am trying to include them each
week. It won't last long, but I'm trying. 

This wasn't my favorite recipe. It was just ok. I didn't add the rosemary because I'm not a fan of rosemary. That may make a difference, but I really don't think it will. 

I can't really put my finger on what I didn't like about this. Maybe I got the wrong kind of pork chop and a thinner one would have been better? Who knows?

Give it a try and let me know if you liked it. 

Smothered Baked Pork Chops

Recipe from Lauren's Latest

Serves 4

• 2 pounds pork chops* bone in
• 1/4 c Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary
• 1 T garlic minced
• 5 T honey
• 2 T salted butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 9×13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place pork chops into baking pan.

In a small bowl stir dijon mustard, rosemary, garlic, honey and butter together. Microwave 30 seconds to 1 minute or until butter has melted completely.

Pour half the sauce overtop pork chops, and spread using the back of a spoon.

Turn and spread the remaining sauce overtop. Bake 25-30 minutes or until baked to 150-160 degreed Fahrenheit.

Remove from oven, cover with foil and rest 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Portuguese Chicken with Mushrooms & Port Wine

Photo from Portugueserecipes.ca

After returning from Portugal I spent some time looking up Portuguese recipes for our Portuguese
Sunday dinner. This was one of the recipes I found and I finally got a chance to make it. 

The Pantry Goat came over tonight to talk PM stuff and I thought she'd enjoy this meal. I served this with mashed potatoes and it was the perfect side to this. 

If you've had Chicken Madeira or Chicken Marsala, the flavors are similar. NOT the same, but similar. The sweet, tartness of the Port really adds an amazing flavor to this dish. 

I thought I followed the recipe but realized only after dinner that I didn't dredge my chicken in flour. Frankly, I don't think you need to. I just let the liquid boil longer so it reduced down. 

I also added a splash of cream to it because, why not?

I'd make this again, and again, and again. It's being added to my favorites too.

Portuguese Chicken with Mushrooms & Port Wine

Recipe from Portugueserecipes.ca

Serves 4

• 1 c flour
• Salt (to taste)
• Ground black pepper (to taste)
• Oregano (to taste)
• 1 lb of chicken breast, cut into steaks
• 1 T olive oil
• 2 T butter
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 c fresh cut mushrooms
• Salt and black pepper (to taste)
• 1/2 c Port wine
• 1/2 c chicken broth

In a large bowl, combine the flour with some salt, black pepper and oregano (to taste).

Add the chicken steaks to the flour mixture and move them around so they are covered with the mixture and remove any excess flour.

Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the chicken and cook until the chicken is well cooked inside and golden on the outside, 5 to 8 minutes on each side.

Drain the chicken in a dish lined with absorbent paper.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the same skillet over medium heat, add the garlic let it brown slightly, than add the mushrooms, and cook for about 10 minutes.

Season with salt and black pepper, then add the Port wine and chicken broth.

Transfer the chicken steaks to a pan and pour the sauce with the mushrooms over it.

Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.

Serve the steaks over boiled rice sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Recipe & Photo Credit: milrecetascocina.com

Best Balsamic Marinade for Chicken

Its freaking freezing outside. And I think I'm the only person who choose to grill tonight. To be fair I could have broiled the chicken, but no thanks. I'm a grilling girl. 

This was a delicious marinade. I sliced the chicken breast in half horizontally to make two smaller cutlets. Then marinaded that. I marinated them for 5 hours. 

I did not add the Rosemary. Blech. Not a fan. But I did add the basil, which I often don't have in my spice cabinet for some reason. Only recently bought it. I should also state that I just realized the recipe called for fresh basil and I used dried. Boy am I glad I didn't put in the 2T it called for. I put in 1 tablespoon. 

Make this recipe. You won't regret it. It's flavorful and low carb. I swapped the honey out for low carb honey, but even if you use the regular honey the carb count would be pretty low.

Best Balsamic Marinade for Chicken

Recipe from Lemon Blossoms

Serves 4

• 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts or thighs.
• 1/4 c balsamic vinegar
• 1 large lemon juiced, about 1/4 cup
• 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1 T fresh rosemary finely chopped
• 2 T fresh basil finely chopped
• 2 T honey optional
• 2 tsp sea salt or to taste
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper or to taste

Place 1 chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap or in a resealable plastic bag. Using a meat pounder or rolling pin, pound the chicken lightly into an even thickness. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.

In a large resealable bag, mix together the balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, rosemary, basil, honey, salt and pepper. If using a bowl, whisk the ingredients to combine.

Add the chicken and toss until coated with the marinade. If using a resealable bag, gently squeeze the air out. Marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature or up to 4 hours in the refrigerator.

When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes before cooking.

TO GRILL :

Preheat grill over medium-high heat to 400 to 450ºF (204 to 232ºC).

Carefully grease the cooking grates with the oil.

Keep one burner off for indirect heat cooking.

Place the chicken on the direct heat side of the grill and close the lid.

Cook each side for about 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the chicken and move it over the indirect heat side of the grill.

Cook covered until the recommended internal temperature is reached (see notes), time will depend on the thickness and type of chicken.

Remove from the grill and allow it to rest for 5 – 10 minutes before serving or slicing.

Crazy Old Bag Lady’s Bean & Ham Soup

Did I mention it's cold here in Seattle? It was 13F when I got up yesterday and it never got higher than 19F. BRRR. A cold day means soup to me. Thankfully when I planned for this week's meals I planned a soup meal seeing that the cold weather was coming. 

My dad loved white bean and ham hock soup. We had it at least once a year and I loved it. It's an easy soup to make for me. This recipe is a variant of that soup and is way easy to make too. 

It does require you plan ahead and buy beans to soak. I'm telling you, soaking your own beans makes a world of difference in a soup. They're also less expensive than canned beans. If you're in a pinch, you can swap in canned beans for the soaked beans, just cut down on the water. 

I did not have leftover ham so I bought a thick ham steak and diced it. I love those ham steaks and I use them all the time. 

I managed to forget potatoes again. I think I have a blind spot for potatoes and when I see them in a soup or stew recipe I think I'll remember and don't put it on my grocery list. It's completely stupid to assume I'd remember. Honestly though, I didn't miss the potato in this soup. 

I also cut this recipe in half because I don't need enough soup for 10 people. 

Crazy Old Bag Lady’s Bean & Ham Soup

Recipe from Just A Pinch

Serves 10

• 1 lb navy beans
• 12 c water
• 2-3 c leftover ham; cut into chunks (you can use a ham hock as well, I just like a lot of meat in my soups)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 c chopped onion
• 1 c chopped celery
• 1 c chopped carrots
• 1 potato, peeled and chopped
• 2 clove garlic, chopped
• 3-4 dash Louisiana hot sauce
• salt and pepper (fresh ground) to taste.
• 1/4 c chopped fresh parsley

To soak beans: In a large bowl, cover beans with water by 2 inches and let soak for 8-10 hours (overnight) and drain.

In a large heavy pot, combine beans with ham hock or the chunk ham, bay leaf and 12 cups of water. Bring to boil and reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until beans are just tender. Stir in onion, celery, carrot, potato, and garlic. Simmer for another hour or until soup is very thick.

Remove ham hock and strip off meat from the bone. Discard the rind and fat.

Stir meat into soup and season with salt and pepper.

Stir in parsley and serve hot.

One Pot Creamy Chicken Marsala Pasta

I'm a bit behind in posting my new recipes for some reason. It's freakin cold in the Seattle area and I'm
going to blame the cold. 

Photo from Sound Bites Delivered

This was a really good meal. I love the flavor of marsala in a pasta dish so I wasn't surprised when I loved this recipe. 

I did not do the one pot thing. Some day this year I'm gonna have to just try the one pot thing. I adjusted the liquid in the recipe since the liquid amount in the recipe assumes you're putting pasta in to cook. 

I am bored with penne pasta so when I have a pasta dish I usually buy bow tie pasta or something
similar. This time I bought campanalle and I gotta say, this is becoming one of my favorite pastas. They're like little horns of goodness. I'm sure some real chef, or Google, could tell me when best to use this pasta, but before I figure that out I'm gonna finish the box I have with whatever I want. 

Creamy Chicken Marsala Pasta

Recipe from Tasty.co

Serves 6

• 3 T olive oil
• 1 ½ lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into chunks
• 2 c white mushroom, or button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 white onion, sliced
• 3 c chicken stock
• 1 ½ c heavy cream
• 1 c marsala wine
• 3 c penne pasta, uncooked
• 1 c shredded parmesan cheese
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• fresh parsley, optional garnish

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat.

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and chicken breast. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook until chicken is no longer pink. Remove and set aside.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, and the mushrooms and onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until onions are browned, stirring occasionally.

Return the chicken to the pot. Add the stock, cream, wine, and pasta, bring up to a simmer, and cover.

*Marsala wine can be purchased at most grocery stores near the dessert or sweet wines and gives the dish a distinct flavor. However, if you can’t get your hands on Marsala, you can substitute 1 cup of white wine (240 ml) plus 1 ½ tablespoons of brandy.

Simmer until pasta is tender, about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When pasta is tender, stir in parmesan cheese until smooth. Remove from heat.

Garnish with fresh parsley.

Enjoy!

Salsa Verde Chicken with Rice

If you've been a cook for as long as I have, it's easy to imagine a meal and work with what's in your pantry. It wasn't always this easy for me, but I've cooked enough over the last 4 years (630 new recipes total) that I've got the skills needed to "throw" things together. If you know the basics of what makes up a recipe; then you're good to go. 

Tonight I had a chicken breast I had defrosted and didn't really have a recipe I felt like making. So I scanned my pantry. What came out of it is what I'm calling Salsa Verde Chicken. 

I had this jar of Salsa Verde by Herdez. I really have no idea why this is in my pantry to be honest. It's been in there for a couple of months and I've been thinking about what to do with it. I had thought about just getting chips and eating it, but that seemed lame. So instead I thought about adding it to a few other things. 

I thought about a salsa verde cream sauce would be delightful. And thus Salsa Verde Chicken was born. 

Salsa Verde Chicken with Rice

Serves 2 -3 ish

1 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced

1 T olive oil

1 c chicken broth

1 c salsa verde

1/2 c c half and half (or heavy whipping cream)

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add in the chicken and season with salt/pepper or seasoning of choice. Cook until chicken is no longer pink in center.

Pour in the chicken broth and salsa verde in to the pan. Stir and bring to a rapid boil.

Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes; until it thickens. Remove from heat and add in the half and half. Stir to combine. Side note; I heat my half and half so it doesn't get shocked and curdle. I don't know that it would, but I didn't want to eat curdled cream sauce. 

Pour over rice and Enjoy. 

Air Fryer Lemon Butter Salmon

I'm getting a new fridge this Tuesday so wanted to eat out of my freezer. I've spent the last couple of days doing just that. It's still not going to be nearly as empty as I'd like, but it's a start.

I found a salmon filet in the drawer and thought I'd better use it up. I love these single serve salmon filets you can get these days. Makes eating fish easier. 

This is a easy recipe and can be done in the oven as well. I salted my salmon and added some lemon pepper too. I'd make this again in a heart beat. 

Air Fryer Lemon Butter Salmon

Recipe from Butter Your Biscuits

Serves 3

• 3- (6 ounce) salmon filets, skin on
• Salt and pepper
• Non stick cooking spray
• 3 T butter, melted
• 2 T fresh lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp fresh chopped dill
• ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
• Lemon slices for garnish
• More dill for garnish

Place the salmon fillets on a baking sheet or plate and pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl add the melted butter, lemon juice, garlic, dill, and Worcestershire sauce and mix until combined. Place 3 tablespoons in a separate bowl.

Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes. Spray inside the basket with non-stick cooking spray.

Brush 1 tablespoon on top of each salmon filet. Place salmon filets inside the basket.

Cook at 400 degrees for 10-13 minutes

Remove from air fryer and serve with extra lemon butter sauce over the top.

Grilled or Baked Brazilian Steak Kabobs with Potatoes

I was have grill problems lately and now I fixed it so I could grill again. What was the problem you ask? I ran out of gas!  Hahah

Ahem. Anyhow, this was an amazing recipe. I had seen these packets of marinade in the store before but never ventured to get one. And boy was I missing out.

The flavor from this package was so delicious I licked the spoon after mixing it. Scandalous. 

I didn't do full kebabs. When it's just me it seems weird to do something so pretty so I just had steak on a stick and a salad. I gotta say though, try this marinade, you won't regret it. 

Grilled Brazilian Steak Kabobs with Potatoes

Recipe from Carlsbad Cravings

Serves 8

KABOBS

• 1 1/2 lbs. top sirloin steak cut into 1 1/2” cubes
• 1 lb. red potatoes cut into 1/2”-1” cubes
• 1 red bell pepper sliced into 1 1/2” chunks
• 1 green bell pepper sliced into 1 1/2” chunks
• 1 large onion sliced into 1 1/2” chunks
• salt and pepper

MARINADE

• 1 pkg. McCormick Grill Mates® Brazilian Steakhouse Marinade
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 2 T low sodium soy sauce
• 2 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 T lime juice

MARINATE

Whisk all of the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl or large freezer bag (whatever dish you are going to use to marinate your beef). Remove ¼ cup (to use later for vegetables and basting).

Add beef to remaining marinade and turn to coat. Marinate 4-6 hours in the refrigerator.

Add potatoes to a large microwave safe bowl. Add 2 tablespoons water. Microwave, covered, 4-5 minutes or just until fork tender; drain. Add peppers, onions, 2 tablespoons of Reserved Marinade, 2 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ pepper. Toss until evenly coated. Refrigerate.

ASSEMBLE

NOTE: Soak wooden skewers for at least 30 minutes in water before grilling or broiling.

When ready to cook, thread beef and veggies onto skewers.

GRILLING INSTRUCTIONS

Grease and preheat grill to medium high heat. Grill skewers until lightly charred all over, approximately 2-3 minutes per side, basting with remaining marinade halfway through cooking. You can check a beef cube for doneness if desired.

Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Delicious served with Caramelized Grilled Pineapple and Cilantro Lime Rice (links below).

Cube Steak Mushroom Casserole

Photo from I Am
Homesteader

Tonight was book club. And when I have the ladies over it's always a good time for me to whip out a casserole recipe. Casserole recipes are hard for me as a single person. It makes too much food and I'm not a leftover person. 

This was a good recipe. It had too much liquid in it, but that could have been me. I didn't read the recipe well enough and didn't have 2 cans of French onion soup or Beef consommé. To make the difference I added 20 oz of veg broth. I feel like that's too much liquid. We had a lot of liquid in the pan. 

I'd also recommend stirring the casserole after the first 30 minutes. There was some rice that was still a little crunchy. 

I added sliced onions too. I sautéed the onions and mushrooms before I put them in the casserole. I'd do that again for sure. 

Bottom line, I'd make this again. As we ate it there was some discussion about how good this would be with potatoes instead of rice. So maybe I'll try that some day. 

Cube Steak Mushroom Casserole

Recipe from I Am Homesteader

Serves 8

• 1 pound cube steak, diced
• 2 c long-grain white rice, uncooked
• 2 cans (10.5 ounces each) French onion soup
• 2 cans (10.5 ounces each) beef consommé
• 8 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms, or canned
• ½ c unsalted butter, sliced into pats
• green onions or chives, chopped for garnish

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

To the prepared baking dish, add the cube steak, uncooked rice, French onion soup, beef consommé, and mushrooms. Stir to combine.

Top the rice mixture with pats of butter.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove the foil and continue baking, uncovered, for an additional 30 minutes, or until the rice is cooked and tender.

Fluff the rice and serve garnished with chives or green onion.

Peanut Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Here we go! New year, new goal. 170 new recipes is the magic number for this year. It'll be a stretch, but that's what some goals are all about. 

Damn Delicious got this recipe right! Even not including some of the ingredients (they didn't make it on my grocer list for some reason) this recipe was spot on. The combo of flavors mix together to give you that beautiful sweet and umami flavor. Then you add the peanut sauce to it and WOOWZA! That's a home run. 

What did I mess up? Well, I didn't get carrots or mushrooms for some inexplicable reason. I checked my grocery and they were not on them. So I added some cabbage that I had on had. Not a bad addition I'd say. 

I added about a Tablespoon of soy to the chicken mixture. It needed a little more salty to balance the hoisin. 

To the peanut sauce, I added about 4 tablespoons of warm water. The recipe says 3 ish, but I wanted my sauce to be thinner. Didn't impact the flavor I don't think. 

Peanut Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Recipe from Damn Delicious

Serves 4

• 1 T vegetable oil
• 1 T toasted sesame oil
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1 (3.5-ounce) package shiitake mushrooms, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T freshly grated ginger
• 1/4 c hoisin sauce
• 2 tsp chili garlic sauce
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 2 T chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 head butter lettuce

FOR THE PEANUT SAUCE:

• 3 T creamy peanut butter
• 1 T reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 T freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp chili garlic sauce, or more, to taste
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger

To make the peanut sauce, whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, chili garlic sauce and ginger in a small bowl. Whisk in 2-3 tablespoons water until desired consistency is reached; set aside.

Heat vegetable oil and sesame oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground chicken, mushrooms, carrot and shallot. Cook until browned, about 5-7 minutes, making sure to crumble the chicken as it cooks; drain excess fat.

Stir in garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Stir in hoisin sauce, chili garlic sauce and fish sauce until heated through, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro.

To serve, spoon several tablespoons of the chicken mixture into the center of a lettuce leaf, taco-style, drizzled with peanut sauce.