Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Steak Tacos

They taste even better than they look.

1 lb flank steak
3 tblsp soy sauce
3 tblsp worcestershire sauce
1 tblsp barbeque sauce
1/2 tblsp garlic sauce

First, combine above ingredients and marinade steak in mixture. I had planned on doing so for 30 minutes or so but ended up not cooking them that night so they marinaded for 24 hours.

2 tblsp garlic powder
2 tblsp cumin
2 tblsp paprika
1 tsp chipotle powder
3 tsp kosher salt

Cut the steak into slices. Combine above ingredients and coat steak slices in the mixture. Heat 1/8 cup of oil over medium heat and cook steak slices. While steak is cooking, warm flour tortillias in oven.

Toppings
Red cabbage
1/4 cup sour cream mixed with juice of 1 lime
vidalia onions and bell peppers (baked in 350 degree onion for 10-15 minutes)
guacamole (avocado, chopped cilantro, juice of 1 lime, chopped tomato)
shredded colby jack cheese

I served with a side of black beans - I took the beans from the can and added a tablespoon or two of the sauce that was left over after cooking the steak.

Roasted Beet Salad


fresh beets
goat cheese
baby spinach
walnuts
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper
butter
brown sugar

To roast the beets, place each one in aluminum foil as you would when baking a potato (do not pierce with a fork though). Place in 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then remove skin by roughly rubbing your finger tips along the skin. It is easier if you do this under cool water.
While the beets are roasting, candy the walnuts. Place 1/2 tblsp butter and 1/2 tblsp brown sugar in a pan over medium low heat. Add chopped walnuts (a small handful) and heat while turning for 3-5 minutes.
I made a dressing with 2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. I'm not 100% sure on the measurements, I just eyeballed it and tasted to make sure it was ok.
Toss the spinach in the dressing and divide onto plates.
Top with crumbled goat cheese, walnuts, and beets.

Summer Salad

This was a side dish I made for cookout with friends.

3 ripe avocados
2-3 limes
1 vidalia onion
fresh cilantro
fresh mint
1 tomato
1 cucumber
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper

Dice the avocado, onion, cucumber, and tomato. Keep the toss the avocado in the juice of the limes (this will keep them from turning brown) in a large bowl. Add the onion, cucumber, and tomato. Finely chop the cilantro (1-2 tblsp) and mint (1/2-1 tblsp). Mix all remaining ingredients together.

Turkey Burger

This is something I make fairly often because it is easy, healthy, and quite tasty. We think they are good enough on their own and don't use a bun or cheese.

1 lb ground turkey
1 package onion soup mix
1/2 vidalia onion
fresh basil
1 tblsp chopped garlic
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
3 tblsp soy sauce
3 tblsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 tblsp herbes de provence

I cooked mine on a George Foreman grill because it's fast and easy and we don't have a grill right now. If you use ground turkey breast, I would suggest adding an egg as the turkey breast has less fat and they will tend to dry out and not hold together as well in cooking.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Roasted Pear Salad

I made this about a month or so ago, but never got around to posting it. We ate this as our side with dinner. Use you need 1/2 pear per person.

1 pear, halved and peeled
1/2 lemon
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
fresh ground pepper
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
mixed greens

Preheat oven to 400. Toss pear halves in lemon juice and them place on a greased baking dish. Stir cheese and pepper together and fill pears with the mixture. Bake for 20 minutes. Whisk vinegar and oil. Toss greens with dressing and place pear in center. Serve.
*I also added some homemade candied walnuts to ours. While the pear was baking, I placed a few tablespoons of chopped walnuts in a pan with a small amount of butter and brown sugar. I heated and stirred for five minutes maybe and placed them on a paper towel until I was ready to top the salad with them.

Ceviche

This was my first attempt at ceviche, and it turned out pretty well. This recipe makes enough for an appetizer for about 4 people. Don and I actually just ate it as our dinner though.

1/2 lb tilapia
1/2 peeled, deveined shrimp
3 limes
1/4 grapefruit
cilantro
1/2 red onion
4 garlic cloves
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
Avocado

Just in case you aren't familiar with ceviche, do not cook the fish or shrimp. Cut the fish and shrimp finely. Add the juice of the limes and grapefruit. The acid from the citrus fruit is what cooks the fish. Chop other ingredients and add all but the onion to the fish and citrus juice mixture. Stir ingredients together and place red onion on top. Refrigerate for an hour. Stir red onion into mixture and garnish with avocado slices.

We ate ours with tortilla chips, but crackers work as well. I did not add a jalapeno to this since I don't like spicy hot food. If you do, I would suggest adding one. Next time I think I will also use 1/2 of a grapefruit instead of 1/4.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Sauted Plums with Pistachio Ice Cream

Yum. I didn't get a good picture of this dessert, they were all pretty blurry. It looked much tastier in person and it was. I made it for 3 people, and used one plum per person. I got the idea for this recipe from a Bon Appetit magazine.

3 plums cut into slices
1 tblsp butter
1 tblsp brown sugar
pinch of allspice
pistachio ice cream

Over medium low heat, melt butter and add brown sugar along with allspice. Saute the plums until they become tender (~5 minutes). Spoon over ice cream. There will also be some sauce left in the pan from the plums. I recommend spooning some of that on top as well as it is oh so tasty.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Bruchetta

A tasty appetizer or snack.

2 tomatoes
1 red onion
lots of basil
1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tblsp minced garlic
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
2 tblsp margarine
1/2 loaf french bread

In a sauce pan, melt butter and 1 tblsp of garlic. Slice bread into 1/2 to 1 inch slices. Pour butter/garlic mixture on tops of sliced bread. Bake in oven (350 degrees for 5-10 minutes) until browned and crispy.

While bread is baking, chop tomato, onion, and basil. Combine all remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix. Place in refridgerator. Serve mixture over bread.

Baked Tilapia with Pineapple Salsa


A light dinner I cooked tonight. I added a side of sauted spinach as well.

Tilapia

2 filets of tilapia
1 tsp margarine
1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
4 slices of lemon

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place tilapia filets in a baking dish. Spread margarine over top of fish, sprinkle salt and pepper, drizzle balsamic over each filet, and place 2 lemon slices on each. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until fish flakes with a fork.

Pineapple Salsa

1 small can crushed pineapple
2 slices of red onion (~1/4 inch thick) finely chopped
1-2 tblsp chopped cilantro
juice from 1/4 lime

Combine all ingredients and refridgerate while fish bakes. Once fish is done cooking, serve with salsa on top.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Grilled Chicken Gnocchi in Lemon Cream Sauce




We had a similar dish a Cafe Intermezzo a few weeks ago, and it was pretty tasty so here's my attempt to recreate it.




Grilled Chicken

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1 tbls dried rosemary
1 tbls dried sage
1 tbls herbes de provence
1 tbls ground pepper
1/2 tbls kosher salt
1/2 tbls garlic powder

I combined the seasonings and then sprinkled each side of the chicken with the mixture. I then grilled the chicken on a George Foreman grill.

Gnocchi

I purchased the gnocchi premade from Trader Joe's. To cook it, I placed the gnocchi in boiling water for 3-5 minutes.

Cream Sauce
1 Shallot
1 tbls margarine
1 cup light cream
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup baby bella mushrooms
1/4 cup fresh parmesean cheese
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
4-6 fresh sage leaves
4-6 fresh basil leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
fresh ground pepper to taste

First, I melted margarine in a pan and sauted shallot and mushrooms. I then added the cream and lemon juice. After about 3 minutes, I added parmesean cheese, the herbs, and pepper. Once cheese is melted, the sauce is done. ( I also added artichoke hearts to ours as well since I got a 5lb can from work).

I cut up the grilled chicken, and then tossed it with the sauce and gnocchi.