Skirt Steak and Grilled Corn Salad

Blake and I made this together the other night and it was delicious. Blake loved it and told me to definitely remember this one, especially the marinade for the steak. He did the grilling, so this was a really easy and simple meal with not a lot of clean up. I saw the recipe for the salad in Better Homes and Gardens magazine while I was waiting to see my dentist. I went to Whole Foods right after to get the ingredients and decided to get some steak to go with it.

Steak:
1 skirt steak, cut to size for two
juice of half a large juicy lime
salt, pepper, olive oil
3 tablespoons cilantro dressing and dipping sauce (I bought at Central Market)
small handful of cilantro, torn up

Place steak in bag and add marinade ingredients. Toss to coat steak. Marinate for at least 45 minutes at room temperature. Grill to medium rare. Rest, slice and serve.

Salad:
1 english cucumber, sliced
1 pint blueberries
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1/3 red onion, sliced thinly
1 large handful cilantro, chopped
5 ears of corn, grilled, and cut
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp honey
Mix lime juice, olive oil, honey, cumin and salt together. Chop all ingredients and mix together. Dress with lime mixture. Serve at room temperature.

Mushroom Barley Soup

Blake wasn't feeling well so he asked me to make mushroom barley soup for him. We ate it for dinner last night and lunch today. It would have served about 6 people. I basically used the recipe from this blog. I served it with some french bread and the Amish butter Blake bought at Spec's a while back. Today we melted some provolone on the leftover baguette and dropped it in the soup.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped fine
1 package of shitaki mushrooms, chopped, with stems removed
1 bag of baby portobellos, sliced, stems removed
1 bag of white button mushrooms, sliced, stems removed
Salt
2 carrots, peeled and chopped medium
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 48 oz box of reduced sodium chicken broth
1 32 oz box of beef broth
1/2 cup pearl barley
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

Directions:
Melt the butter in a dutch oven. Sautee the onions over medium low heat about 5 minutes, or until soft. Add in the mushrooms and salt and cook until browned and liquid has almost absorbed. Add carrots and garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add broth, barley, and thyme. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer for about 50 minutes.

Goat Cheese Pasta

I wanted to use up the leftover cheese from the Poblano pepper recipe so I decided to try this pasta I found on the TLC website. It was pretty good, although it got a little dry halfway through eating it. I did add some water right when I mixed the pasta with the cheese mixture, but it could have used some more. I used thyme, wine, and pine nuts, instead of sage, broth, and walnuts, because that's what I had. This is a similar recipe I have saved also.

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup (3 ounces) goat cheese
1/4 cup fat-free (skim) milk
linguine
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1-1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped toasted pine nuts

Directions:
Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onions; cook slowly until golden and caramelized, about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, combine goat cheese and milk in small bowl; stir until well blended. Set aside and cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt. Drain and set aside. Add garlic to onions in skillet; cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add wine, thyme, salt and pepper; cook until moisture is evaporated. Remove from heat; add pasta and goat cheese mixture, stirring to melt cheese. Sprinkle with nuts.

Asian beef salad

I made this recipe from Donna Hay pretty much just as it appears, except I used ground beef. I took a picture with my iphone, but next time I checked it had mysteriously disappeared. I really liked this meal because I like the herbs and vietnamese flavors, but Blake wasn't crazy about it. It grew on him and he ended up eating it all, but he thought it was kind of a weird meal. I'll probably just make this for myself next time I have a craving for a light herby salad.

Stuffed Poblano Pepper

When we got back from Switzerland I wanted to make some healthy meals. I tried this stuffed pepper recipe because it looked really good on Real Simple but it didn't look as nice when I made it. The poblanos were very difficult to peel and then did not have any shape to hold the filling. I also made a sauce because I thought it would look nicer served on a sauce. I had a ton of extra filling, so the sauce was good with that. I also made guacamole and baked tortilla chips as a side dish. I learned that 1 large avocado makes plenty guacamole for 2 people.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup long-grain white rice
2 poblano chili peppers
3/4 cups corn kernels, fresh (from 3 ears) or thawed frozen
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Directions:
Cut and clean out peppers, broil in oven on foiled baking sheet until blackened. Meanwhile, cook rice and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, combine the corn, beans, cooked rice, oil, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Using your fingers or a paring knife, peel the poblanos and discard the skins. Divide the poblano halves among individual plates. Spoon the rice mixture over the tops and sprinkle with the cheese. Serve at room temperature.

Sauce:
I used one small can of tomato sauce and seasoned it with cheyenne, taco sauce, and cinnamon and heated until slightly thickened. I spooned it on the plate before placing the peppers and filling on top.

Guacamole: chop and mix all ingredients together. Add lime juice and salt to taste. Bake tortilla chips at 400 for about 15 minutes.
2 large avocados
1 roma tomato
1/4 red onion
cilantro
lime juice
salt

French Dip and Heirloom Tomato Salad

A couple of nights ago I made this dinner at Blake's house. It was mostly store bought ingredients so it was pretty easy to put together. Blake's dad had given me some home grown red tomatoes so I made a salad out of that with a yellow heirloom tomato to add some color. I also served this meal with frozen sweet potato fries, which were really good too.

Sandwich Ingredients:
1/2 pound of rare roast beef
2 slices provolone cheese
large hoagies or half a large baguette
mayonnaise mixed with a little horseradish
1 can beef broth
1/2 onion sliced
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:
Toast the bread very carefully in the broiler. Spread the mayo and horseradish on the bottom half. Layer on 3 or 4 pieces of roast beef, and add the cheese. Broil in the oven until cheese is browned and then add the top of the bread. Meanwhile, boil the beef broth with the onion and garlic until reduced about by half. Serve with the sandwich in a small, wide bowl.

Salad Ingredients:
2 tomatoes, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
blue cheese dressing
extra blue cheese
salt, pepper
drizzle of balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Toss the tomatoes with the dressing then layer the tomatoes and onions on top of each other, seasoning with salt and pepper. Drop blue cheese crumbles all over the top and drizzle a spoonful of balsamic vinegar over the top before serving.