Fatty Fatty Boombalatty!

Who doesn't like a thick, fat, juicy steak?  I actually crave it sometimes, crazy.  I do like it grilled plain with just some salt and pepper, but I am always on the hunt for a new taste in marinades, sauces, anything to pump up the flavor.  I found this marinade, somewhere, I don't remember, the old age is creeping up on me.  So I tried it on a very thick cut of a boneless ribeye steak.  It only takes 15 minutes to marinate and then throw it on the grill and cook to your likeness. Some like theirs still mooing (not me) I like it just a little pink inside, medium well.

Mix the marinade according to the package directions.  You need water, oil and white vinegar. I pierced the meat with a meat tenderizer.....

then put the meat in a plastic storage container, poured the marinade over it and put the cover on.  Turn once or twice during the 15 minutes to coat all sides.  Then on to the grill it goes.  Look at that baby cooking!

I made fingerling potatoes with onions, rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil as a side dish with my steak.

 Wrap them up in foil

 Make a packet like this

Then on to the grill along with the steak

 Steak cooked to my liking, just a little pink inside - no mooing!

 Served up with my potato packets, a salad and warm bread.

Citrusy Flank Steak

I never usually buy things like this, but couldn't resist something different.  I was doing some shopping in Costco the other day and they had a few of these marinated meats in their fresh meat case.  There were ribs, chicken and this flank steak, so I thought I  would give them all a try.  Tonight we are having the lime - cilantro marinated flank steak on the grill.  It smelled so good, I couldn't wait to eat it.  Lots of herbs, spices, garlic, lime and cilantro, and they give you an extra container of the marinade in the tray.  All I had to do was toss this baby on a fired up grill, and what an awesome steak!  

Off the grill and resting.

 Sliced up and ready to serve the hungry mouths I have to feed.  It was so flavorful, tender and juicy.

 Here is another good recipe for garlic bread - Ciabatta rolls, garlic and herb spread (Wegman's) and pesto (Costco's is the bomb!). Spread bread with garlic and herb spread, spread pesto over that and broil under the broiler until bubbly, crispy and golden brown, yuuuuumy!  It could be a meal all in itself.

 My meal plated up.  I served my steak with orzo tossed with butter, lemon and parsley.

Steak And Shrimp On The Barbie!

The majority of my food shopping is done at Wegman's and BJ's Wholesale.  I fill in through the week when I run out of food items at my local grocery store and farmer's market.  My farmers market has all kinds of exotic fruits and vegetables, which I love, because I get to try new things that I have never had before.  I live in a small town, and to have our own farmers market is wonderful.

I picked up these nicely portioned petite sirloin steaks at Wegman's.  They are so tender and juicy, just like Filet Mignon.  The rub I found at BJ's.  I combined them together for an awesome tasting steak.  The shrimp was also from BJ's, and I used my trusty seafood rub, fresh lemon juice and rosemary to marinate them in a bag for 30 minutes.

 Playing nice side by side on the barbie.  

 Wow, look how pretty they are!

And oh what a dinner we had, cooked to perfection!  Served up with a nice field greens with fruit salad and warm rolls.

A Flash In The Pan

I took a trip to Trader Joe's (I love that store!) and to my local Wegman's the other day for fruit, got side tracked, and came back with some interesting things to eat.  I found these Ahi Tuna Steaks at Trader Joe's and thought I would give them a try.  They are fairly easy to cook, although I DO NOT like mine raw in the center, no raw fish for me thank you.  I cooked them for about 4 minutes on each side, in a frying pan with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh thyme, that was it, and they were fabulous!

 I served Polenta with my Ahi Tuna Steaks, also from Traders Joe's.  This is the first time I have tried this.  I bought it in a roll, you can also make it from scratch.  I sprayed my grill pan with a little cooking spray, sliced down the Polenta, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and grilled it until it had nice marks on both sides.

I topped my Polenta with a store bought Pesto that I got at Costco.  They have the best Pesto!  It's in their refrigerated section, check it out.  You can also use the Pesto on pasta, drizzled over a caprese salad, or spread on a panini.  It has many uses, go crazy with it!

I picked up this ready to use mix of  Baby Bok Choy, Shitake Mushrooms, Garlic and Ginger at Wegman's.  It's pre-washed and ready to use.

 I sprayed my frying pan with cooking spray and sauteed the garlic and ginger, then added the mushrooms.  Add the Bok Choy last. 

 Cooked the Bok Choy until it was wilted, then I added a little more flavor with 1 tablespoon of Savory Finishing Sauce from you guessed it, Wegman's.  

 Remember now I am on portion control, but this was my dinner and it tasted AWESOME! A flash in a pan and about 20 minutes, is all it took to prepare this great tasting food.

Around the Kitchen Table - Sunday Dinner

Sunday dinner was always a big meal in our house, even growing up I can remember going to my grandparents house and my grand mom making homemade pasta and bread.  Her food and my mothers food were always good, they were both great cooks.  If you went home hungry it was your own fault because they both cooked like an army was coming for dinner.  But now, if my kids aren't working or away at school, it usually is just me and the husband for dinner.  On a rare occasion, like last night, at least 4 of us will be home for dinner and I try to make something nice to eat.  We love sitting around the kitchen table, poking harmless fun at each other, telling stories, catching up with our week, we have a lot of laughs and get to enjoy a great meal at the same time.  Our Rib Eye Steak dinner last night for 4 people was $41.20!  If all 4 of us went to a restaurant and had this meal it would have been well over $100 and that would not include the tip.   

Went to Wegman's, what a great store, and purchased 2 very thick rib eye steaks from the fresh meat counter.  A little salt and pepper and into the oven they went on 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, then my hubby put them on the grill for about another 10 minutes.  They came off the grill juicy, tender and a little pink.  I do not like my red meat mooing at me!

Picked up white 4 ears of sweet white corn for $1.00. I put butter, salt and pepper, wrapped them in foil and put them on the grill, very sweet and tender corn this way.  Washed, poked and baked  4 Idaho potatoes and served with sour cream, cheddar cheese and bacon.

Grilled up Baby Portabella mushrooms in olive oil, butter and garlic.

 And we ALWAYS have bread with dinner, it's an Italian thing.  An artisan loaf of Wegman's bread.  If you don't shop there for anything else just go to their bread/bakery department it is FABULOUS! Warmed in the oven because my family likes their dinner bread warm.