Steak Salad with Roasted Redskins & Sauteed Mushrooms

My husband's 4.0 tennis team competed this past weekend in the Midwest Championships down in Indianapolis. Sadly, they were edged out of moving on to National's by the team from Michigan -- but it was really close with many third set tie breakers over the course of three days of matches. This is the third year straight that his team has won the Wisconsin title and I know they really wanted to move on, but it just wasn't in the cards. Next year, boys!

We welcomed him home from Indy with another one of my favorite summer meals, the Blackened Steak Salad. Usually I make this more than once per summer, but for some reason last night was the first time this year....and it is gooo-oooooood! I was contemplating using chicken breasts to save on cost and calories, but tenderloin steaks were on special so I decided to go for it.

The original recipe (on Epicurious.com) calls for dunking the steaks in melted butter, then dusting them in the blackening seasonings, and searing them on a blisteringly hot skillet. Last night I skipped the butter step and just pressed the seasonings on the steaks, and tossed them on a hot grill. This worked well and we of course didn't even miss the butter step, although I wouldn't exactly call them "blackened" -- more like, just "spicy".

Alongside we had my favorite Roasted Potatoes with Garlic (yes, they're from Ina -- did you really have to ask?). I was kind of in a time crunch and didn't have the full hour to roast them, so I cut them into quarters, stuck them in a 9x11 Pyrex with a little water, covered them tightly and microwaved them on hi for about 6 minutes. Then I drained them off really well, and proceeded with the recipe. This worked like a charm and shaved off a good 20 minutes of roasting time.

Another favorite and natural accompaniment are these awesome Sauteed Button Mushrooms. These are incredible with any steak, but are especially good with this salad.

We're off to enjoy a hot, steamy day at the pool. I can't believe summer is dwindling down this quickly. My son starts school next Wednesday, eeeeek!!

Grilled Chicken Kebabs with Red Onion & Mint

We're getting back to normal here in the good old 'hood, and it felt great to make a real dinner last night! This is the only picture I got; sorry it's not the best representation of how good the meal actually tasted!

Summertime sometimes equals slacking in the dinner department at our house, and this family needed 'real' food -- not the pool food (popcorn chicken, mini pizzas, and cheeseburgers) we've been munching on since mid-June!

On last night's menu was a fantastic grilled chicken recipe that I love to do in the summer. It has some Greek flavors going on - mint, oregano, and garlic - and it's great paired with a big Greek salad. We also had one of my favorite redskin potato dishes, and although the picture is not that good, these are a standby for me in the summer and people always ask for the recipe! Toasted flatbread finished off the plate.

We shared this meal and a couple of bottles of wine with friends on the patio. We told stories about our friend Brad, and although there were a few tears, it does feel like things are starting to get back to normal in our wonderful neighborhood.

Grilled Chicken Kebabs with Red Onion & Mint

Serves: 4

Source: http://www.epicurious.com

1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1 inch pieces (I used thighs and they were excellent)

2 T. extra-virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 t. dried mint

1 t. dried oregano

1 t. salt

1 t. ground black pepper

1 bunch fresh mint

1 red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces

Mix chicken, olive oil, garlic, mint, oregano, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Let marinate 30 minutes (** I let mine go for about two hours).

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Pull off the large mint leaves from stems. Alternate chicken, onion, and mint leaves on skewers; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until chicken is just cooked through, turning occasionally, about 9 minutes. Serve alongside a big Greek Salad, Redskin Potatoes with Brown Butter, and Grilled Flatbreads.

Redskin Potatoes with Parsley & Browned Butter

Serves: 4-6

Source: I honestly have no idea but you MUST make these!

1 1/2 lbs. small redskin potatoes

1 very large pinch of chopped Italian parsley

1/2 stick butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Place the potatoes in a large skillet and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes can be pierced with a knife, about 20 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to the same pan. Sprinkle with parsley, and drop the butter onto the potatoes. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook the potatoes for an additional 25 minutes, tossing occasionally, and watching to be sure the butter browns and doesn't burn. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with additional parsley if desired.

A healthy riff on taco salad....

Here's another recipe from the backlog....I'm making' my way through the pile of recipes that have piled up this summer! I'm getting to the bottom of the pile though, and pretty soon I'm gonna have to start cooking again to get more new material!


My family was totally snowed and had absolutely no idea that this was a healthy version of tacos -- well, tacos for them, salads for the Husband and me. I swear, you will never believe this is a Weight Watchers recipe!

This could not be easier to prepare, and while some foodies (you know who you are) will scoff at the use of pre-packaged taco seasoning, there are enough little changes in this recipe to make it taste more dressed up than your every day Ortega tacos (not that there's anything wrong with Ortega tacos!). I love how some of the meat in this dish is replaced with corn and black beans -- I can never get enough black beans!

Lovely on a summer night, family friendly, and perfect for a Mexican craving!

Turkey Taco Salad

Serves: 4-6

Source: adapted from Take-out Tonight! by Weight Watchers, page 107

1 t. cooking oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 lbs. ground skinless turkey breast (I confess, I used a mixture of light and dark ground turkey)

1 packet of taco seasoning mix

1 t. adobo chili powder

1/2 c. water

1 c. black beans, rinsed and drained

1 c. frozen corn, thawed

1/4 c. chopped cilantro

Mixed greens (I used green leaf and red leaf)

Julienned red onion, chopped tomato, sliced avocado and black olives

Shredded reduced fat Mexican Cheese blend

Baked tortilla chips (for the salads) and a box of taco shells (for the kiddos)

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Swirl in the oil, then add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 7-10 minutes. Add the turkey and seasoning mix. Cook, breaking up the turkey with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in the water and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the water has evaporated, about 3 minutes longer. Stir in the black beans, corn, and cilantro; heat through. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Place a generous bed of greens on your dinner plates. Top with the turkey mixture and desired vegetables. Garnish with baked tortilla strips.

If your kids are doin' the taco thing (as opposed to the salad thing), bake your shells in the oven, and assemble their tacos with whatever they like.

Grilled Cajun Chicken Salad....al fresco!

Can you believe this? Three posts so far this week. This must be a record for me! I told you on Sunday that I had a backlog of photos and recipes to share, so here's another great summer dinner for you.

My only regret is that I don't have a photo of the composed salad with all of the components, but as they say, the natives were restless, starving, and annoyed that I was shooting their dinner while all they wanted to do was dig in!

This was a hit with my family! The recipe makes a ton of dressing, and it was a little spicy for my kids. Hub and I loved it though. All it needed alongside was a loaf of toasted French bread. Delicious!

Not the greatest chicken picture, but as I said, the DamFam was hungry and impatient!

Here's a link to the recipe:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/GRILLED-CAJUN-CHICKEN-SALAD-WITH-SPICY-RANCH-DRESSING-105281

Favorite Flank Steak, Couscous Tabbouleh, and a BONUS!

My family just returned home yesterday after a long weekend in Ohio. My husband was nice enough to take himself and the kids on a road trip to visit his mom and siblings so that I could have the house to myself to entertain my high school friends.

The road weary DamFam needed a good dinner after eight hours in the car, so I marinated everyone's favorite flank steak, and tried a new salad to have alongside. Both were outstanding, and there was just enough left for the hub to take to work for lunch today.

This flank steak is one of the first 'real' entrees I learned how to make; I got the recipe from my Aunt Trish way back in 1991, and I've made it several times a summer ever since. The couscous tabbouleh recipe is from Epicurious. We also had a blueberry crumble, but there aren't any pictures because it disappeared way too fast!

Favorite Flank Steak

Serves: 4-6

Source: Aunt Trish's Recipe File

3/4 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. vegetable oil

2 T. molasses

2 t. dried mustard

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 T. minced fresh ginger

1 1/2 lbs. flank steak

Mix all marinade ingredients in a big Pyrex measuring cup. Place the flank steak in a large ziplock bag and pour the marinade in. Squeeze out all the air and seal the bag; marinate in the refrigerator for at least four hours, and up to eight hours.

Allow the steak to come to room temperature before grilling over medium high. I usually do 6 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove steak to a large cutting board (with a rim for catching juices, if possible). Cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain. Transfer to a nice platter and pour any juices over the meat. MMMMMMMM!!!

The Couscous Tabbouleh recipe can be found here:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/COUSCOUS-TABBOULEH-12124

And now for the BONUS RECIPE I promised! My daughters have been asking for a turn to be Guest Bloggers, and just look at the delicious dish they thought up while away in Ohio over the weekend! It's called Pond Scum Surprise!

They gathered this fantastic organic scum from the pond at my brother in law's place, plated it up, and staged the perfect photo shoot - complete with a drink and fritos from their real lunch. I thought this was just too hilarious, so I just had to post. Ah, good times!DIG IN!!!

Red Curry Chicken Kebabs and Jamaican Rice with "Peas"

Happy Memorial Day, all!

What a fun family weekend, filled with great friends, food, and lots of laughs. I have to say (and I never say this), I am tired of eating! Seriously! We had three nights in a row of cooking out (and cocktailing) with friends ... brats, burgers, hotdogs, tenderloin -- all delicious! Even though today is Memorial Day, I just couldn't stomach another food served in anything resembling a bun!

Yes, I am tired of stuffing my face, but we still had to have dinner tonight. So, I took a culinary departure from the usual all American cookout -- and since I was bemoaning the fact that my jeans were (uhm, ARE) feeling tight, I decided to make an exotic but lighter grilled menu for this evening.

The main course was delicious curry marinated chicken kebabs, and they turned out great! I used a new jar of red curry paste, and it wasn't spicy at all. My kids gobbled it up; my youngest especially liked the sweet yogurt sauce that was on the side.

For a side we had Jamaican Rice and Peas -- did you know that 'peas' in Jamaica actually means beans? (This is not knowledge that I just had in my head, I actually learned this from the June issue of Food & Wine!) This dish was supposed to have a seeded Scotch bonnet chile in it, but I left that out, thinking it would be entirely too spicy for my kids. It was good, but I would definitely use the chile next time; I thought it could use a little kick.

There are so many great looking recipes in June's Food & Wine -- I'm going to do my best to demo a bunch of them! Here are the recipes from today!

Red Curry Chicken Kebabs with Minty Yogurt Sauce

8-10 Servings

Source: Food & Wine Magazine, June '08

2 T. Thai red curry paste

1/2 c. vegetable oil

Kosher Salt

2 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut in 1" cubes

3/4 c. plain, low-fat yogurt

1/4 c. low-fat mayonnaise

1 T. honey

1 T. fresh lime juice

1 T. finely chopped mint

In a large bowl, mix the curry paste with the oil and 2 t. of salt. Add the chicken cubes and toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature for up to 2 hours, or cover and refrigerate overnight (this is what I did).

Light a grill. In a medium bowl, whisk the yogurt with the mayonnaise, honey, lime juice, and mint and season with salt. Thread the chicken onto skewers, leaving 1/4 inch between the cubes. Grill over moderately high heat, turning frequently, until lightly charred and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Serve the kebabs with the minty yogurt sauce on the side.

Jamaican Rice & Peas

Serves 6

2 T. canola oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 T. minced ginger

2 c. jasmine rice

1 15 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 Scotch bonnet or habanero chile, seeded

1 14 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk

1 1/2 c. water (I used chicken broth)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 scallions, thinly sliced

In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onion and ginger and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until coated with the oil. Stir in the kidney beans and Scotch bonnet, then stir in the coconut milk and water. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, 18 minutes.

Remove the rice from the theat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Stir in the scallions and season with salt and pepper. Discard the Scotch bonnet and serve.

Wow, an award...for ME?!?! And, Corona Chicken...

The Arte Y Pico Award

Thank you Prudy for the first award of recognition my meager little blog has had the pleasure of receiving! I'm over the moon, and I appreciate you thinking of me! Let's hope my butt (I mean, my head) doesn't get too big thanks to this fun foodie award! I will be passing it on in the next day or so. Thanks again, Prudy - you are a sweetheart. ;-)


Now, for this evening's dinner.....a bit of a bummer with regard to the post. The dinner itself was delicious, and a real hit with the family. However.....the photo......ugh, the photo. My husband drove off with our good camera today, so I had to shoot dinner with my daughter's little camera and the pictures didn't come out all that great. I feel sad that I wasn't able to do justice to the dinner that Evil Chef Mom inspired, so, Sorry Krysta! We all loved it and it will definitely be repeated at our house again in the future.


"Corona Chicken" is the dish ECM blogged about last week (no beer involved, unless you count the one I sipped while prepping!) and I've been trying to make this meal ever since I read about it. Too bad life kept getting in the way and I wasn't able to get to it until this evening. Worth the wait, I must say! So kid friendly, my oldest didn't even realize he was injesting minced white onion.....I love it!

Two minor changes: I poured the teriyaki sauce over the bundles and let them marinade for a couple of hours, then baked them (the original recipe calls for grilling); it was raining tonight and I just didn't feel like standing outside. Roasting then broiling worked out great as an alternative to grilling.

Corona Chicken (aka, Hannah's Chicken)
Serves: 5-6
Source: http://evilchefmom.blogspot.com/

1 small white onion, minced
1 large handful cilantro, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
5-6 slices bacon
1 c. prepared teriyaki marinade/baste (I used the thin Kikkoman type)
10 or so small wooden skewers, soaked in water for a couple of hours prior to assembly

Combine the onion, cilantro, and jalapeno in a small mixing bowl. Place flattened chicken breasts on a work surface. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the onion mixture in the middle of each chicken breast. Top with a tablespoon or so of the shredded cheddar. Roll up the chicken breast to enclose the filling. Wrap each bundle with a piece of bacon; fasten with a wooden skewer. Place bundles in a 9x13 pyrex pan. Pour teriyaki marinade over the bundles, cover in plastic wrap, and marinade for a couple of hours, turning and spooning marinade over now and then.

Preheat oven to 425. Place a rack on top of a cookie sheet. Place chicken bundles on the rack and bake for 25 minutes. Turn; continue to bake for an additional 5 minutes. Turn broiler to high and broil bundles until bacon begins to crisp, watch carefully (mine took 2-3 minutes per side).

Remove to serving platter, garnish with cilantro sprigs if desired.

Thai Style Beef with Noodles....or, Slurping Your Supper!

This morning, after I shoo'd the kiddos off to the bus stop, hit 50 tennis balls to my dog, and cleaned up the breakfast aftermath, I grabbed a cup of coffee, fired up the laptop, and cruised all my favorite blogs, searching for dinner inspiration.

Everything looked so delicious on these amazing blogs, and after perusing a large handful of them, I was completely confounded over what to make for dinner tonight. A grilled something with an asparagus salad on the side? Ginger lime skirt steak over portobellos and mashed potatoes? Salmon cakes? Stuffed eggplant? Butterscotch popcorn? The variety of choices and inspiration ran the gamut. Then Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy made my decision for me: she had some gorgeous dumplings and a beautiful fried rice, so Asian Night it was.

I didn't replicate her menu, but went instead for a recipe I had been eyeing for a long time: Thai Style Beef Noodles from February's Gourmet. The noodle bowls were a meal in themselves; protein, vegetables, and starch all in one dish.

For a Thai dish, I was thrilled (and slightly surprised) that my family gobbled up this meal. I embellished the vegetables by adding a pound of asparagus, just to make it a little more substantial. I also added cilantro and basil because I had them on hand and of course, I adore them! I spiced my bowl up quite a bit with Siracha sauce (LOVE IT!). Based on the hit it was tonight, I would definitely make the meal again!

Thai Style Beef with Noodles

Serves: 4

Source: Gourmet Magazine, February '08, and also available on Epicurious

1 T. soy sauce

1 T. honey

2 T. Asian fish sauce, divided

1 lb. flank steak

3 T. vegetable oil, divided

2 large shallots, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)

1 T. finely chopped peeled ginger

1 1/2 t. green curry paste

1 3/4 c. reduced sodium beef broth

1 T. fresh lime juice

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4" strips

1 bunch scallions, trimmed and cut into 3" pieces

3/4 lb. dried Asian egg noodles (I used Udon because egg noodles were unavailable)

Cilantro and basil to taste, chopped

Siracha to taste

Mix together soy, honey, 1 T. fish sauce, and 1/4 t. salt in a shallow baking dish, then add steak and turn to coat. Marinate at room temperature 20 minutes. (I let mine go two hours or so.)

While steak marinates, heat 2 T. oil in a small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then cook shallots, stirring occasionally, until browned well, about 8 minutes.

Add ginger and curry paste and cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute, then add broth and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in lime juice, remaining tablespoon of fish sauce, and salt to taste and keep warm, covered.

Heat grill pan over medium high heat until hot, then lightly oil.

Grill steak, turning once, about 8 minutes total (for rare). (I broiled mine on high for three minutes a side.) Transfer to cutting board and let stand 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss bell pepper, scallions, and asparagus (if using) with remaining tablespoon oil, then grill, turning frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes (again, I broiled them until they started to char a little). Transfer to large bowl.

While steak stands, cook noodles in a pasta pot of boiling unsalted water until al dente, 4-7 minutes. Drain well, then add to vegetables and toss well along with the cilantro and basil (if using). Divide the noodles among 4 deep bowls and top with broth. Cut steak in half lengthwise, then thinly slice across the grain and serve on top of the noodles.

Mmmmm....Sesame Beef & the World's Most Delicious COOKIES!

I've found it. The perfect kid dinner -- straightforward and simple, yet nutritious, easy to prepare, and pretty on the plate (all priorities for me, of course!).

We started with a dish I've made before, the Sesame Beef and Scallion Kebabs. Something interesting: the original recipe calls for 'boneless shell steak'. Hhhhm....never heard of it before. Took that idea to my favorite butcher and he'd never heard of it either. He asked around the meat counter and one other butcher (a transplant from New York) said, "Oh yeah! A boneless shell steak is the same thing as a boneless New York Strip!"

Well, while my butcher friend was asking around, I had my eye on the boneless sirloin steaks in front of me that were 7.99/lb. I thought that sounded pretty darned reasonable! When butcher guy came back with the New York Strip idea, those suckers were 12.99/lb., and I had to draw the line. I knew I was going to marinade the meat for at least three hours, so I figured, 'how bad can it be?!'

Glad I went with my instinct and sided with my pocketbook. The boneless sirloin was outstanding; I even over cooked it a little bit past my favorite medium-rare stage, and the skewers still came out great. Three hours in the marinade bought me a little forgiveness I guess. Here's the link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/12725

Next I made a favorite of mine - Orzo and Rice Pilaf with Vegetables. I know you guys are thinking, 'another rice dish?! Does this girl make other sides?!' I promise, this will be the last rice dish I blog on for another little while. Just want to share this one because I've made this many, many times and it never fails. It goes well with nearly anything on the grill, it's simple and yummy, but upscale enough to serve to guests (and believe me, I have!).

Another side: simple roasted asparagus. Not complicated, not groundbreaking, you've all done it before so I'm not going to attempt to wax poetic on my basic roasted asparagus. But, my kids ate it up and it looked gorgeous on the plate!

Lastly, the cookies. Oh lordy, the cookies! You all know by now that I am no baker. These cookies are probably the least daring thing a baker could possibly attempt! I'm not even that big of sweets fan, but I just loved these; so did my kids, and seven or eight neighbor kids as well! I'm only going to give you the link, because I followed the recipe to the letter, with the exception of adding 1 1/2 cups of M&Ms instead of 12 oz of chocolate chips.

All of the recipes can be found on Epicurious. They are titled as follows: Sesame Been and Scallion Skewers, Orzo and Rice Pilaf with Vegetables, and Chocolate Chip Cookies. Have a look!

Indian Night....

Friday afternoon I had worked on this post for a long time, only to find that somehow or another, it didn't get saved and landed somewhere in computer heaven. So, I've cooled off and gotten over my blogger rage, and I'm ready to make another attempt at telling you about the delicious dinner we had this past Thursday.

I'm a big fan of curries and all things Indian, and this meal did not disappoint. For a main course we had Tandoori-Spiced Chicken Thighs. The marinade is TO DIE FOR! And really, it's pretty healthy too - the only fat in the whole dish is from the plain yogurt and the chicken itself. The recipe calls for marinating the chicken for a good eight hours, but I only had three. Honestly, the recipe did not suffer from missing those five extra hours -- the flavor was amazing! I think it would be fun to play around with this next time; maybe skewer chunks of chicken along with peppers, onions, etc. for a great summertime grill menu.

Alongside the chicken we had a delicious Indian-inspired Curried Rice Pilaf with Peanuts & Cilantro. I've never made a pilaf-style dish in my rice cooker before, but that worked like a charm! Of course I did the saute steps on my cooktop, but then slid the whole she-bang in the cooker and 25 minutes later, I had a perfect pilaf. I'll be using this method again, it's foolproof! I only tinkered with the recipe slightly, by using roasted peanuts instead of the cashews that were called for. Here's the link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/238405

Our veggie course was a gorgeous yet simple saute of carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, broccoli, and asparagus - no recipe, just a few simple steps. First I parcook the harder veggies in the microwave for three minutes or so. Then I heat up my biggest saute pan and add equal parts butter and olive oil. When the foaming subsides, I throw in the squash, zucchini, and red onion and let those work for a few, then add the parcooked veggies and give them a good toss. Season up with some sea salt, ground pepper, and a pinch of garlic powder and voila...a perfect and pretty saute!

Dessert cooled things off with Key Lime Parfaits, which were embarrassingly simple, but so pretty that I would serve them to company! Since I didn't futz with the recipe at all, I'll just give you the link to it. Here it is: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/102201

This dinner went over well with the whole Dam'Fam (well, with the exception of my oldest, and we all know by now that he doesn't like anything!). I kept everything pretty mild for the kiddos, but of course the marinade and the pilaf's seasonings could be easily adjusted depending on your tolerance for heat and spice. I'll definitely kick those up next time!

TANDOORI-STYLE CHICKEN THIGHS

Serves: 6

Source: The Gourmet Cookbook, p.

1 small onion, quartered

2 cloved garlic, smashed

1 (2") piece of ginger, peeled and grated

1/2 c. plain yogurt

1 T. fresh lemon juice

2 t. salt

1/2 t. tumeric

1/2 t. cumin

1/2 t. freshly ground pepper

1/4 t. cayenne

1/4 t. nutmeg

1/4 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. ground coriander

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (3 1/2 lbs. total), rinsed and patted dry

Garnishes: lime wedges and cilantro leaves

Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a blender. Pour over the chicken; cover and refrigerate for eight hours. Preheat broiler. Broil chicken 5-6 inches from heat source for 4 minutes per side. Place on serving platter; garnish with lime wedges and cilantro sprigs.