Category: MISC

London Broil with Spicy Chimichurri

First, I must say thank you to Chris for asking me to guest post for him.  I was so excited when I received his email!  I love to grill…actually, love doesn’t even describe it correctly, it’s more than that…grilling is in my blood.  For me, being asked to guest post on Fire Day Friday is like a home cook being asked to star in their own show on the Food Network!!
But enough with this embarrassing gushing, let me introduce myself.  I’m Jenn from Jenn’s Food Journey.  I have a love affair with cooking and, of course, grilling.  I had no desire to cook when I was younger.  Yes, I loved to help my mom or my grandma with certain little tasks in the kitchen, but that was it, I didn’t want to do the whole shebang.  It was much later in life when I found the passion and love I have for it now. Grilling is my true love, though.  When my boyfriend and I moved into our house together, my parents gave us the best house warming gift ever: A GRILL!!  As soon we got it set up, I immediately wanted to start cooking on it.  From that point on, I grilled 6 nights a week for 3 months straight. (Seriously!)  Despite all the hours standing at the grill, I still do not claim to be a master griller (is that an actually word? who cares, I like it)…but every now and then I truly shock myself with my creations……like this one I’ll be sharing with you today…yes, I’m finally getting to why I’m really here!!
I made my first Chimichurri -an Argentinean sauce similar to pesto- back in August.  I had recently come in possession of Steven Raichlen’s Planet Barbecue and knew his recipe for chimichurri would be one of the first ones I would try.  When Chris asked me to guest post my mind immediately started turning…what was I going to make?  I sorted through files with all kinds of grilling recipes and could not come up with a good idea.  Then it hit me.  I had a London Broil in my freezer that I had been wanting to use, why not do something with that?  (And by the way, I found out after purchasing this particular cut of meat, that London Broil is actually the way you prepare the cut of meat, not the cut itself.  London broil is broiling or grilling flank steak.  So even though the cut I bought said London Broil on the package, it’s really a cut of flank steak….I learned something new I guess!  So don’t worry if you can’t find “London Broil”, it’s really just flank steak!!)  Once I knew what kind of meat I was going to use, I started thinking about what to do with it.  Marinating?  Yes, that would be a good start.  A sauce maybe?  Well, yes, of course, I am a self proclaimed sauce lover.  But what kind???  hhhhmmmm… I have jalapenos…what about a fire roasted salsa of some kind??  DING! (that’s the light bulb going off in my head by the way)  The spicy chimichurri was born!  I am one that loves heat, you may not be, so to tone down this recipe, you can just use jalapenos, or better yet, use an Anaheim or poblano pepper instead.  Either way, this chimichurri will work fantastic on any cut of beef, chicken, or pork.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

London Broil with Spicy Chimichurri
Created by Jenn’s Food Journey
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
For Marinade:
1 cup lager beer
3 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cloves of garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
1 1/4 lbs. London broil
For Spicy Chimichurri-
2 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 jalapeno peppers
1 Serrano pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1/4 cup packed fresh parsley, minced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 Roma tomato, finely diced (about 1 Tbls) 

Directions:

In a resealable bag or baking dish, mix together all the marinade ingredients.  Place the London Broil in the bag, seal, and marinate for at least 4 hours, but 8-24 is recommended.
Fire roast your garlic and peppers.  For the garlic: place unpeeled cloves in a square of foil, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and seal foil around it.  Place on preheated grill for about 5 minutes, or until the garlic becomes soft.  Squeeze garlic from the skins, mash with side of knife and mince.  For the peppers: rub with a little olive oil and place directly over the fire on the grill grates.  Allow to cook until the skins are black and blistered, about 8-10 minutes.  Place peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 5 minutes.  When peppers have cooled a bit, peel skin, remove seeds, and then finely dice.
Heat grill to 350-400 degrees.  In a bowl, combine the garlic, peppers, and oregano.  Stir in the lime juice.  Add the parsley and the olive oil and mix to combine.  Fold in the tomatoes; set aside.
Remove the steak from the bag and discard the marinade.  Place the meat on the grill grate directly over the fire and close the lid.  Allow to cook for 4-10 minutes on each side, depending on your desired doneness. (Rare: 120-125 degrees; MedRare: 130-135 degrees; Medium: 140-145 degrees; MedWell: 150-155 degrees; WellDone: 160 degrees).  Remember to take the steak off about 5 degrees sooner then your desired doneness, they need to rest for at least 5 minutes and they will continue to cook.  Serve with chimichurri and enjoy!

Sloppy Joe Sliders on Green Onion Cilantro “Knot” Rolls

Good Morning my friends!

What a glorious last couple of weeks!  The air has a crispness, Fall is here and along with that is all the excitement of the coming seasons… 6 weeks to Thanksgiving and 10 weeks to Christmas!  I am already plotting Thanksgiving dinner, and these rolls, flavored with a Bobby Flay sauce were a successful experiment.


I posted the secret to that success over on my “real” site today (click HERE).


But the guts to these sliders are my regular sloppy Joe mix.  Don’t bother with the over salted, over processed, over chemical laced cans of goo.  This recipe is much tastier and better for you. 


1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
3/4 cup ketchup
3 teaspoons brown sugar
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

  • In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, onion, and green pepper; drain off liquids.
  • Stir in the garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar; mix thoroughly. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

And that’s it…. Quick, simple and tasty… what more could you want?


Dave here from MY YEAR ON THE GRILL. It really is just this easy!  

 … I CAN COOK THAT! 

And so can you!
…

Green Chili Chicken and Lime Soup

I love chicken soup. Actually, I love homemade chicken soup.   
I’ve made this soup a number of times and each time it seems to get better and better.
I often cook a bunch of chicken and have bags of portioned cooked, shredded chicken in the freezer.  I cooked the rice early in the day so when it came time for dinner, this was able to be thrown together very quickly.  

We ate this with a pepper jack peach quesadilla with honey lime sour cream.  It was a wonderful meal!!  Very healthy and incredibly tasty!! 

Green Chili Chicken and Lime Soup Recipe
Adapted from Picky Palate
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cartons of chicken broth or 64 oz.
1 can Rotel with green chilies
2 – 4 oz. cans of green chilies
2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
2 cups basmati rice, cooked
1/4 cup lime juice
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
Salt & pepper to taste
Handful of cilantro, chopped
Place onion in pan with cooking spray and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, cook for one minute.  Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, green chilies, cooked chicken, cooked rice, lime juice and seasonings.  Cook for 5 minutes, taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.  Right before serving, add chopped cilantro. 
Total calories = 1162
6 servings = 194 calories per serving
Pepperjack Peach Quesadilla & Green Chili Chicken and Lime Soup = 485 calorie dinner
Check out Debbi Does Dinner Healthy for more recipes!

Save Room for Dessert…Pumpkin Pie Crumble Cake

In the past 2 weeks, I’ve received 3 emails from 3 different readers requesting recipes that regular/normal/average people would make.  I replied to all three, asking for a little more clarification, as I didn’t want to assume anything.  I thought I knew what they wanted, but assuming things has gotten me into more awkward situations than I care to admit.  As it turns out, I was correct, what they would like to see are recipes that use items like cake mix, canned soup, etc.  I’m all about making my readers happy; seriously, one of the reasons I do this because I love the interaction with all of you, so I’m happy to oblige.  That said, today’s post is from the Cake Mix Doctor cookbook, published in 1999.  I know that a newer version has recently been published, but I don’t know if this recipe was included.

I love all things pumpkin, be it cake, pie, or cheesecake.  This is a cross between a cake and a pie; I particularly like the crunchy topping.  The author suggests serving it with a sweetened cream, but I think it’s perfect as is; however, I’ve included the recipe for the cream.

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway to win a copy of Steff Deschenes award-winning book, The Ice Cream Theory!  Just make a comment about your favorite ice cream and you’re entered to win!  If you tweet or post about the giveaway, you get two extra entries, just leave me the links!  Good luck!

Pumpkin Pie Crumble Cake
1 yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines all-butter recipe)
1 stick butter, softened
4 large eggs
2 15-oz cans pumpkin
5 oz evaporated milk (I used half & half)
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cardamom*
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg*
4 tablespoons butter, chilled
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour a 13×9 baking dish.
Crust
Empty cake mix into a large mixing bowl and remove 1 cup of the cake mix and place in a medium-sized bowl; set aside (you will use this for the topping).
To the remaining cake mix, add 1 stick of butter and 1 egg.  Blend with an electric mixer until well-mixed.
Press mixture into prepared baking dish and set aside.
Filling
Combine the 2 cans of  pumpkin, half & half, 1 cup sugar, 3 eggs, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
Beat together for 3 minutes.
Pour filling onto prepared crust.
Topping
Add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar to the reserved 1 cup cake mix and stir. 
Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, knead in the butter and pecans to create the topping.
Evenly distribute the topping for the filling.
Bake for 70-75 minutes at 350 degrees until the center no longer jiggle.
Allow to cool for 20 minutes.
Slice into squares and serve.
If desired, top with sweetened cream.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Sweetened Cream
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Beat cream and powdered sugar together until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.
Use immediately.

**These were my additions – I love cardamom and nutmeg with pumpkin.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL????????????

We’re HUGE football fans!  Well, it’s that time of year again! Football season is already several weeks old (where does the time go?) and that means it’s time for tailgating again at the games, serious football food and game day buffets.  Bring over your best appetizers and your biggest appetite and oh don’t forget the Brewskis to go with it all.  I like mine really cold please with a side of lime!
Tailgating Time will be posted every Sunday at noon and open all week for you to add your football favorites. We’ll play each and every week until Superbowl Sunday. I can’t wait to see what you’ll be bringing!
It’s Tailgating Time!
HOSTED BY:
Martha at Seaside Simplicity 
Tamy at 3 sides of Crazy 
Lyndsey at Tiny Skillet
Would you like to be a host of Tailgating Time too? 

Leave me a comment here with your email or with Martha over at Seaside Simplicity so we can send you the code and add you to the host list – more exposure, more links, more football food!

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GLAZED SESAME CHICKEN STIR FRY

Food around here has been a little bland and colorless recently.  So, I wanted to spice things up a bit and this recipe did the trick.  Everyone dug in and had seconds too.

GLAZED SESAME CHICKEN STIR FRY
1 pound chicken breasts, poached and shredded
1 red pepper, diced
3 green onions, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups broccoli florets, blanched 2-3 minutes
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 pound spaghetti noodles, prepared al dente’

  • Heat wok or skillet to medium high. 
  • Add oil and coat pan well.
  • Add bell pepper and garlic and cook until pepper is tender.
  • Whisk together the pineapple juice, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and cornstarch.
  • Add to the wok. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring well.
  • Add chicken.
  • Add broccoli tossing well.
  • Cook until sauce is slightly thickened.
  • Add noodles and toss well.

PORK FRIED RICE

This dish is best prepared in advance, there are lots of parts to prepare.

PORK FRIED RICE & ORANGE HONEY CHICKEN
4 cups cooked rice, cold
1 1/2 cups cooked pork, diced
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 red pepper, diced
3 green onions, sliced thin
2 tablespooons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
4 tablespoons butter
  • Bring a 12 inch skillet to a medium high heat.
  • Melt butter.
  • Add peppers, carrots and onions.
  • Add the pork pieces and heat through.
  • Add the rice and stir fry until well coated.
  • Arrange the rice mixture around the outer edges of the pan.
  • Add eggs into the center quickly frying up the pieces and mixing with the rice mixture.
  • Add the soy sauce and sesame oil, blending well.
I served it with ORANGE HONEY CHICKEN and it was an awesome combo – everyone had seconds!

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WEEKLY MENU

Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie

 DATE BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER
MONDAY 10/11 CEREAL SANDWICHES Recipe Experiment Night
TUESDAY 10/12 TOAST LEFTOVERS Potato Pancakes
and Pork Tenderloin
WEDNESDAY 10/13 YOGURT SOUP Twisted Pepper Steak
THURSDAY 10/14 FRUIT CHEESE & FRUIT Hungarian Goulash
FRIDAY 10/15 OATMEAL C.O.R.N. 12 Hour Salad
SATURDAY 10/16 Depression Eggs leftovers Seafood Salad
SUNDAY 10/17 Hash Brown Casserole Monte’ Cristos Chicken Fried Chicken &
Parmesan Potatoes with
Peppered Gravy

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CARING for the CARETAKER

Many of you know that Martha (MM) and myself have both been embroiled in care taking situations for loved ones for quite some time now.  We do it out of love and a bit of obligation, but we do it well with compassion, patience and tolerance.  To say that it is stressful is the WORLD’S GREATEST UNDERSTATEMENT. 
Most evenings we spend a few minutes emailing back and forth commiserating over the days troubles and surprises.  Often it makes us chuckle and laugh which by my standards is soooooooooooooo necessary to help US with the stress.  For me, just knowing that my friend knows what I’m going through relieves a lot of stress and reminds me that there is always tomorrow.  We’re both Virgos and about the same age so there are enough similarities that I honestly believe we think alike.  I know I sometimes receive an email just after I have hit send on one to her which is a relief as I know we were in the same “place” at the same time.  Many times we could have even written each other’s emails because our days were so similar.
These days the difference comes because I am now helping to care for an aunt who has been placed in a care home while I’m also caring for her husband in their home who had triple bypass surgery and Martha is caring for her mother in her mother’s home while taking care of her family in her own home.  We are both basically caring for 2 homes, but I can walk away from my aunt at the end of the day and know that there are at least 2 caregivers on staff for the night in the event my aunt needs help.  This should bring relief. Instead it brings grief.  Many times MUCH grief.  
We have all heard about the horror stories in the news of abuse by caregivers to the elderly and infirm.  For every story we have heard I guarantee you there are a hundred times more stories we haven’t heard.  My aunt has been complaining for some time about the manager of the house she lives in as well as one of the nighttime aides.  Many times we were inclined to believe much of it to be exaggeration. There are so many examples to choose from, but right now many of those cannot be spoken of while resolutions are pending. 

Most of the residents of the home are there through guardianship and don’t have many visitors and while I have no actual proof, I believe that the “manager” (and boy do I use that term loosely) does not like family around because she can’t do things her way and in her time.  She’s loud, rude and downright mean.  She treats family members like they work for her and demands “respect” in “her facility”.  Yep, you heard me right!  This though is yet another story.

The man that owns the house is going through financial difficulties and has cut back on many things, one of which is the cook.  The manager of the house is now doing all the cooking (well supposedly, but that’s another story). She cooks by her terms “Louisiana style”.  From what I can tell, “Louisiana” style is a euphemism for lazy. The food is now being served with all the bones and gristle.  My aunt is sight impaired and has severe dyskinesia, involuntary muscle movements, that makes her dexterity difficult.  She cannot cut meat from a bone or detect it in a bowl of soup or stew. There is a serious choking hazard here. Personally I see not removing the bones before serving it to patients as pure laziness and neglect.
Martha and I  of all people do understand how difficult this type of work can be physically and emotionally.  But, I personally believe that anyone entering a paid position caring for patients should have a patience and tolerance that is reflected by their words and actions as well as the necessary knowledge of the disease(s) to understand the nature of the symptoms and side affects.  If they cannot offer any one of those criteria then perhaps they should be looking for different work.  If they cannot or will not follow the prescribed protocol for caring for patients as I suspect is the case in certain instances with my aunt (i.e. removing her night time meds without consulting the Dr.) then they should not be in this position either.   

I know my horror stories have left Martha feeling a little queasy about getting her mother into an assisted living situation.  But the moral, yes there is a moral! is that the family needs to stay involved, ask questions and not be afraid to follow through with governing agencies as we are doing now concerning my aunt and her care.

The biggest moral is that the caretaker MUST take care of themselves or they are of no good to anyone! The caretaker being stressed only creates stress in the patient that becomes a vicious cycle.
Now for something fun.  The holidays are coming much faster than many of us would like so I offer you this easy and fun recipe that will thrill the kids for Christmas.

Now for something fun.  The holidays are coming much faster than many of us would like so I offer you this easy and fun recipe that will thrill the kids for Christmas.

My great aunt who I only got to see a couple times a year used to make these every year special for me and I would wait out on the front steps for her to arrive just to see them and know they were there. Oh and her too! She always made them soooooooooo pretty and perfect!

HOLIDAY WREATHS

(these are better when they are made a few days ahead)
30 large marshmallows (or 1 jar marshmallow cream)
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoon green food color
3 1/2 cups cornflakes
Red Hots
  • Combine marshmallows, butter, vanilla and food color in top of double boiler. Heat and stir frequently until well blended.
  • Gradually stir in cornflakes until well blended.
  • Drop onto wax paper and arrange into wreath shapes. I plop them onto the wax paper and then push out from the center to form the wreaths.
  • Decorate with red hots.
  • Let cool.
  • If your house is warm – chill in refrigerator until set.

Beans and Rice

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1 Bag of Pinto Beans
Pork Stew Meat
Seasoned Salt
Garlic Salt
  • Cook in crock pot or stove top until beans are soft – About 12-16 hours in crock pot and 2-4 hours on stove top.
  • Serve over rice.
  • I like Ketchup and Garlic Salt on mine…
    Happy Eating…
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