This recipe is very quick, but full of flavor!!!
Balsamic Flank Steak
Ingredients:
1 lb. Flank Steak
Salt
2/3 c. balsamic vinegar
1 large onion
1 tsp. olive oil
1. Chop onion into think slices.
2. Add olive oil to medium size pan and heat over medium heat.
3. Add onions to pan stirring occasionally. Cook until medium brown (around 15 minutes).
4. While the onions cook, salt both sides of the flank steak. Place on broiler pan under broiler for about 8 minutes on each side (or to desired degree of doneness).
5. Heat balsamic vinegar in a small pot until boiling. Reduce heat to medium and cook for about 6 minutes.
6. Slice flank steak thinly and place on top of a bed of cooked onions. Pour a small amount (a couple tbsp.) of balsamic vinegar on top.
I served with scalloped potatoes (from the box) and a Caesar salad. Very delicious meal!!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Monday, April 9, 2007
Pizza or Nachos?
Once again, drawing from Cooking Light....we had a very successful appetizer/dinner this weekend. Grilled Shrimp Pizza. Yum. It could be either: appetizer, because of the crispy crust and light taste; or dinner, just serve with a salad!
Though the recipe calls for this to cook on the grill, we cooked the pizza in the oven and it still turned out delicious! The shrimp tasted great from the grill, though I am sure you could cook them on the stove as well.
Don't be turned off by the fact that this calls for you to make your own dough...it is really simple and pretty quick to do. You could also make it ahead of time and freeze it in a freezer Ziploc bag. Just dust the dough with flour before freezing and let it thaw in the fridge over night before rolling it out.
Dough:
2 teaspoons honey
1 package active dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 10 ounces)
6 tablespoons stone-ground yellow cornmeal,
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
2 teaspoons olive oil
Remaining ingredients:
36 large shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 1 pound)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) queso fresco, crumbled
6 tablespoons green salsa,
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, divided (optional)
1. To prepare dough, dissolve honey and yeast in 1 cup warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes.
2. Add 2 cups flour, 2 tablespoons cornmeal, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms.
3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 6 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel slightly sticky).
4. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover with a towel or damp paper towel and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.)
5. Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Working with one portion at a time (cover remaining dough), roll each into a 10-inch circle (mine turned out to be rectangles) on a floured surface.
6. Place dough on 2 rimless baking sheets, each sprinkled with 2 tablespoons cornmeal. Brush each portion with 1 teaspoon oil; coat lightly with cooking spray. Place in refrigerator until you are ready to top (at least 10 minutes).
7. Thread 6 shrimp onto each of 6 (12-inch) wooden skewers. Sprinkle shrimp with 1/8 teaspoon salt (we did garlic salt and it was great!!!).
8. Place skewers on grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill for 2 minutes on each side or until shrimp are done. Cool slightly, and coarsely chop.
9. Combine cheeses.
10. Slide dough onto grill rack coated with cooking spray, using a spatula as a guide (or do the same in on your oven rack, preheated to about 375).
11. Grill about 2 minutes or until lightly browned; flip and brown other side.
12. Spread 3 tablespoons salsa over crust, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Top with half of the shrimp and 2 cups cheese mixture. Grill an additional 3 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese melts. Remove and keep warm.
13. Repeat procedure with remaining dough, salsa, shrimp, and cheese mixture. Sprinkle each pizza with 1/4 cup cilantro. Cut each pizza into 6 wedges.
Though the recipe calls for this to cook on the grill, we cooked the pizza in the oven and it still turned out delicious! The shrimp tasted great from the grill, though I am sure you could cook them on the stove as well.
Don't be turned off by the fact that this calls for you to make your own dough...it is really simple and pretty quick to do. You could also make it ahead of time and freeze it in a freezer Ziploc bag. Just dust the dough with flour before freezing and let it thaw in the fridge over night before rolling it out.
Dough:
2 teaspoons honey
1 package active dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 10 ounces)
6 tablespoons stone-ground yellow cornmeal,
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
2 teaspoons olive oil
Remaining ingredients:
36 large shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 1 pound)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) queso fresco, crumbled
6 tablespoons green salsa,
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, divided (optional)
1. To prepare dough, dissolve honey and yeast in 1 cup warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes.
2. Add 2 cups flour, 2 tablespoons cornmeal, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms.
3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 6 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel slightly sticky).
4. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover with a towel or damp paper towel and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.)
5. Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Working with one portion at a time (cover remaining dough), roll each into a 10-inch circle (mine turned out to be rectangles) on a floured surface.
6. Place dough on 2 rimless baking sheets, each sprinkled with 2 tablespoons cornmeal. Brush each portion with 1 teaspoon oil; coat lightly with cooking spray. Place in refrigerator until you are ready to top (at least 10 minutes).
7. Thread 6 shrimp onto each of 6 (12-inch) wooden skewers. Sprinkle shrimp with 1/8 teaspoon salt (we did garlic salt and it was great!!!).
8. Place skewers on grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill for 2 minutes on each side or until shrimp are done. Cool slightly, and coarsely chop.
9. Combine cheeses.
10. Slide dough onto grill rack coated with cooking spray, using a spatula as a guide (or do the same in on your oven rack, preheated to about 375).
11. Grill about 2 minutes or until lightly browned; flip and brown other side.
12. Spread 3 tablespoons salsa over crust, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Top with half of the shrimp and 2 cups cheese mixture. Grill an additional 3 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese melts. Remove and keep warm.
13. Repeat procedure with remaining dough, salsa, shrimp, and cheese mixture. Sprinkle each pizza with 1/4 cup cilantro. Cut each pizza into 6 wedges.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Southwest Veggie Soup with Cornmeal Dumplings
YUMMMMMM!!! This is not the exact recipe that I made last night, but very similar, and I am pretty sure I like this one better. For one, it's a crockpot recipe that needs about 10 hours to cook (AWESOME for setting and heading to work). Second, it has a lot more vegetables than the version I made last night. I would highly recommend trying this out!
3 cups water
1 15-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-ounce can black beans, pinto beans, or Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 14-1/2-ounce can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 10-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn
1 cup sliced carrot
1 cup chopped onion
1 4-ounce can diced green chili peppers
2 tablespoons instant beef or chicken bouillon granules
1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
Dash salt
Dash pepper
1 beaten egg white
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon cooking oil
Directions
1. In your crockpot, combine water, beans, undrained tomatoes, corn, carrot, onion, undrained chili peppers, bouillon granules, chili powder, and garlic. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 10 to 12 hours.
2. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and pepper. In a small mixing bowl combine egg white, milk, and oil. Add to flour mixture; stir with a fork just until combined. Drop dumpling mixture into 6 mounds atop the bubbling soup (or you could drop several smaller dumplings). Cover and cook for 30 minutes more. (Do not lift lid while dumplings are cooking.) Makes 6 servings.
My recipe called for chickpeas, which you could probably use in place of some of the beans if preferred. Super filling, and vegetarian!
3 cups water
1 15-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-ounce can black beans, pinto beans, or Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 14-1/2-ounce can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 10-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn
1 cup sliced carrot
1 cup chopped onion
1 4-ounce can diced green chili peppers
2 tablespoons instant beef or chicken bouillon granules
1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
Dash salt
Dash pepper
1 beaten egg white
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon cooking oil
Directions
1. In your crockpot, combine water, beans, undrained tomatoes, corn, carrot, onion, undrained chili peppers, bouillon granules, chili powder, and garlic. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 10 to 12 hours.
2. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and pepper. In a small mixing bowl combine egg white, milk, and oil. Add to flour mixture; stir with a fork just until combined. Drop dumpling mixture into 6 mounds atop the bubbling soup (or you could drop several smaller dumplings). Cover and cook for 30 minutes more. (Do not lift lid while dumplings are cooking.) Makes 6 servings.
My recipe called for chickpeas, which you could probably use in place of some of the beans if preferred. Super filling, and vegetarian!
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Inspiration
So, inspired by a fellow blogger, I have been searching my brain as to what I may be interested in blogging about. Falling short, and un-inspired I kind of gave up on the idea. Until tonight...I made a very easy, yet very successful dinner from Cooking Light. Not only was my husband thrilled with it, but I was quite impressed with myself. Best thing was, it was super easy, relatively quick, and possible to keep the kitchen clean as I cooked! Thus came the idea to share my successes.
I am thinking this blog will encompass recipes that I like (with reasons why), party ideas, cool new products, and a place to bounce questions and ideas off each other.
So here is what dinner consisted of tonight...courtesy of Cooking Light.
Flank Steak with Creamy Mushroom Sauce and Egg Noodles
Egg Noodles
1 lb. flank steak
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
cooking spray
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 - 4 oz. package mushrooms (I purchased the already sliced kind)
1/3 cup water
2 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. thyme (fresh or ground)
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
1. Preheat broiler, and set a pot of water on the stove to boil noodles (add egg noodles once water is boiling).
2. Sprinkle steak evenly with salt & pepper. Place steak on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil for 6-10 minutes on each side, to your desired degree on doneness.
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat with cooking spray. Add green onions to pan, and cook 3 minutes. Add cleaned mushrooms to pan, cover, and cook for at least 4 minutes (until you can almost break them with a wooden spoon).
4. Stir in water, mustard, worcestershire, and thyme. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.
6. Slice flank steak diagonally into thin slices. Place atop bed of noodles and cover with sauce.
The only thing I would change from the recipe is to double the amount of fluid that goes into the sauce. Keep the green onions and mushroom amount the same, but double the water, worcestershire, mustard, thyme, and sour cream. This would allow the noodles to be completely saturated.
Recipe from the March 2007 Cooking Light.
I am thinking this blog will encompass recipes that I like (with reasons why), party ideas, cool new products, and a place to bounce questions and ideas off each other.
So here is what dinner consisted of tonight...courtesy of Cooking Light.
Flank Steak with Creamy Mushroom Sauce and Egg Noodles
Egg Noodles
1 lb. flank steak
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
cooking spray
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 - 4 oz. package mushrooms (I purchased the already sliced kind)
1/3 cup water
2 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. thyme (fresh or ground)
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
1. Preheat broiler, and set a pot of water on the stove to boil noodles (add egg noodles once water is boiling).
2. Sprinkle steak evenly with salt & pepper. Place steak on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil for 6-10 minutes on each side, to your desired degree on doneness.
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat with cooking spray. Add green onions to pan, and cook 3 minutes. Add cleaned mushrooms to pan, cover, and cook for at least 4 minutes (until you can almost break them with a wooden spoon).
4. Stir in water, mustard, worcestershire, and thyme. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.
6. Slice flank steak diagonally into thin slices. Place atop bed of noodles and cover with sauce.
The only thing I would change from the recipe is to double the amount of fluid that goes into the sauce. Keep the green onions and mushroom amount the same, but double the water, worcestershire, mustard, thyme, and sour cream. This would allow the noodles to be completely saturated.
Recipe from the March 2007 Cooking Light.
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