A Post! Father's Day Feast --- plus sides perfect for summer!

 I know what you're thinking... SHE'S ALIVE!! Or maybe it's more like "Who are you?!" I honestly can't give you a definite reason why I've been MIA this time. I've been cooking, coming up with new recipes... just haven't really felt in the mood to post anything, and most times by the time the food is done, I just want to EAT it, not take pics of it! But Father's Day is here and my husband picked the meal: Filet Mignon, Corn on the Cob and Dutch Oven Potatoes (Mac salad is left overs from last's nights Ribs and Fries -- we don't always eat like this, I promise!! ) I'm on a carb-overload this weekend, for sure!!

Here's my little secret about the steaks: pay attention to your meat dept.'s sales on WHOLE beef tenderloins. When it's on sale, grab one (or two if budget allows). Ask the butcher to filet it into 1.5" steaks. If he's super nice, he'll not only filet it, he'll trim the steaks of fat, and grind the small bits into ground beef for you (it's only happened to me once... but it was AWESOME!). Bring the steaks home, individually wrap each one and place all of them into a freezer storage bag in the freezer. Easy to pull one or two out for thawing the day you need. A whole tenderloin can be pricey, but you end up with about 10 steaks, plus either the pound of ground beef or a pound of stew meat, so at about $4-5/per steak that's a great deal -- especially knowing what GREAT quality they are. I mean come on... these are so juicy and tender and mmmmmm.... Plus, they're perfectly portioned, each one being about 4oz! No need to marinade these beauties!

The other two recipes I'll include in this post are wonderful additions to any summer BBQ. I love Mac Salad with fries and a steak. And Dutch Oven Potatoes go with anything! Just FYI: if you're making this meal, start the potatoes first, preheat the oven, then once you add the potatoes to the pot, you can start the steaks. Macaroni Salad is best made the day before.

Filet Mignon

Ingredients:
4- tenderloin steaks, about 1.5" thick
coarse sea salt
fresh ground pepper
1TBS olive oil

Sauce:
1C drinking wine
2TBS Worcestershire Sauce

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425.

Heat oil in oven-safe skillet. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper on all sides, and to scorching hot pan. Allow to sear for 5 minutes -- DO NOT TOUCH! Allow to sit the entire 5 minutes, set your timer.
When the timer buzzes, transfer the entire pan into the oven.
For Rare: roast 5 minutes
For Medium (seen here): roast 6 minutes
For Well: roast 8 minutes

Take pan out of oven and allow to "rest" for 5 minutes. You may cover with foil for this, or just leave it as is.

After 5 minutes, remove steaks from pan to serving dish. Turn stove on to medium and add wine and Worcestershire sauce.  Be careful as the pan may still be hot -- I know from experience! Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes scrapping up any browned bits with wooden spoon or whisk. Serve over steaks. (Great as a gravy for mashed potatoes too!)

Literally, that simple. Just remember this: 425 for 5/6/5. Easy peasy!

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Macaroni Salad -- my mom's version, with a twist of me. 

Ingredients: 

1 pkg cherry/grape tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, peeled (unless using English), and diced
a bunch of Radish, sliced
a bunch of green onions, mainly greens sliced
about 2 C macaroni, cooked and cooled
1C mayo
1C milk
2TBS Worcestershire sauce
1TBS mustard
salt and pepper

Instructions:

Prepare macaroni and allow to cool in colander.

Prep all veggies into a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add macaroni.

In a small jar (great if your Mayo is almost gone, just use it's jar!), add mayo, pour in milk, Worcestershire, and Mustard, close tightly, and shake for a good minute or two. Pour into large bowl. Combine well. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to enjoy.

Great to add baby shrimp!

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Dutch Oven Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 Russet potatoes, peeled and sliced about 1/4"
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/2lb bacon
2 garlic cloves, minced
dash of celery salt, red pepper flakes, thyme
salt and pepper
season salt

Instructions:

Cook bacon until crispy in large skillet. Drain all but about 2TBS of bacon grease. Add onion and cook about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add minced garlic, cook another minute.

Add potatoes and all seasonings, gently stir. Add about 1C of water and once it boils, turn the head down to low, cover and allow to simmer about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Careful as to not break apart the potatoes -- trust me, you don't want mush!

Uncover and allow to cook another 2 minutes. Enjoy with ketchup! 

Artichoke Dip -- a healthy version!

Picture from Google. 

As I was thinking of a menu for the Super Bowl this Sunday, what sounds better than lots of fun finger foods?! So we'll be having potato skins, taquitos, chips and salsa, Bagel Bites, sausage and cheese tray, (all for my husband), shrimp cocktail, olives, meatballs, pomegranate sausage bits, and this Artichoke Dip with Stacy's Pita Chips. Artichoke Dip is the WORST option you could have as an appetizer because most recipes begin with Mayo and cream cheese and end with the veg. It should be backwards. Which, once again, is why I love the Eat This, Not That books! In the 2010 version they have included the following recipe, which I will be making this Sunday! 

Ingredients:

1 12oz jar artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped (they recommend Cento brand)

1 16oz box chopped frozen spinach, thawed (Cascadian Farm Organic)

2TBS olive oil based mayo 

1/2TBS butter

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 small can roasted green chiles, drained and chopped

2TBS whipped light cream cheese

juice of 1 lemon

salt and pepper, to taste

Whole wheat pitas -- optional

Instructions:

Optional -- Cut pitas into 6-8 wedges and separate the layers. Spread on 2 baking sheets and bake at 400 for 5 minutes. 

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add artichokes, spinach, chiles, mayo, cream cheese and lemon juice. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 

Serves 4.

Fish Fry Friday

 --- Fish Tacos two ways, plus sauces... in recipe card form.

Let me know what you think of the new recipe card look... Would you rather me post them this way, or the old way of typing everything out? These can be printed as regular 4x6 photos, then placed into a photo book turned into recipe book.
We had this for dinner last night (grilled version). It was delicious. I didn't have yogurt for the white sauce, so I used sour cream. It wasn't as runny as it should've been... but it had a nice kick to it. The salsa makes a ton, so be ready with a couple of bags of chips (which we are lacking... so not cool). I think this is going on the menu again for next week, it was just that good.

Day #4 of Thanksgiving Posts: Cranberry Sauce

I actually didn't know you could make fresh cranberry sauce until 2 years ago when my cousin brought it to dinner. I always thought it came from a can that you open at both ends and slop down into a serving dish. And I never liked it.
But when I saw K's I was AMAZED. I thought she spent ALL afternoon in the kitchen making it. That was until today when I asked for her secret recipe and she directed me to the OceanSpray site! Lol. Silly girl! :) Love her.
I will probably end up making this for our little Turkey dinner we're having after Thanksgiving. I'm really excited. If you're in the area, feel free to stop by Friday afternoon or anytime Saturday for some grub! I'm sure we'll have lots!
I'm really excited for another posting that will be happening here in a few days once we get to the Thanksgiving Dessert portion! I'm going to make it to take to my mom's. Mmmm... it's gonna be good!!
Thanks for stoppin by... and keep checking back. I have 6 more DELICIOUS Thanksgiving recipes comin atcha! :)

Homemade Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 12-ounce package Fresh or Frozen Cranberries, rinsed and drained

DIRECTIONS:

Combine water and sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil; add cranberries, return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time.

Makes 2 1/4 cups.

UPDATE as of 11/24: I just made this last night and I was NOT anticipating it being that simple!! Is buying a nasty (who knows how old) can of the jellied stuff really worth it? And if you do what I did and find bags of cranberries for less than $1/bag, it really is worth it to make your own!! Go on... try it!!

Friday Fish Fry

I wasn't very well prepared for tonight's dinner like I thought I was. First, I thought I had a few boxes of Tempura mix. Wrong. Then, I thought I had potatoes to make homemade fries. Wrong again. Luckily, I did have a few boxes of Panko crumbs and a little bag of frozen fries. So we improvised. And actually... the fish was yummier this time!! And because I used Panko crumbs, it was a lot less greasy!!
So here's my recipe, including dipping sauce (my secret!):

Ingredients:

Halibut steaks, skinned and boned and cut into bite-size pieces
Asparagus spears
1 Lemon, quartered
about 1/2C flour
3 eggs
about a half bag of Panko bread crumbs
3 bowls or plates
about 1TBS Lemon Pepper seasoning
a little salt and pepper
Oil for frying

For the sauce:
2TBS Ketchup
1TBS. Worcestershire sauce
1TBS. soy sauce
1TBS. Cocktail sauce
juice from 1/4 lemon (same lemon as above)
1 tsp. Oyster sauce

Instructions:

1. Combine flour and lemon pepper seasoning in a bowl or onto a plate. Scramble the eggs in a different bowl or plate and pour the crumbs into yet another dish. Heat large pot filled about 1" with oil on med-hi.
For the fish:
Coat with flour mixture, then dip in egg then into bread crumbs covering completely. Drop one piece into the oil to see if it's hot yet. Fish should sizzle right away. Once it does, add fish allowing room for turning. Don't over-crowd. Once firm and golden brown, using tongs, pull them out into a paper towel-lined plate or colander inside a bowl. Repeat and continue until all fish are cooked. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and drizzle with lemon juice.
For the asparagus:
Coat the same as the fish. Drop into hot oil. Cook just until batter is golden and pull out, placing on paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.


For the sauce:
Combine all ingredients in small bowl and either whisk well, or use a fork to mix. Great on french fries and asparagus. I prefer Tartar sauce for my fish. But it works for that also! Enjoy!!
*would work GREAT for onion rings also!