Breakfast And Dinner Had A Baby Named Awesome

Mmmm breakfast is so good.  But it's dinner time.  So make a breakfast-dinner!  There's lots of delicious protein in this meal, and the bacon grease turns the veggies into sheer tasty awesomeness.  

The Meat

- 2 petite sirloin steaks

- 2 chicken apple sausages, cut into bite size pieces

- 2 eggs

- salt, pepper to taste

The Veggies

- 1/2 green bell pepper, diced

- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced

- 1/2 onion, diced

- 2 small yellow potatoes, sliced thinly

- 1 cup spinach, raw

- 3 tablespoons bacon grease

- salt, pepper to taste

The Cheese

- Garlic Jack Cheese

In a large skillet, put the peppers, onion, thinly sliced potato, and sausage with the bacon grease.  Bring the heat up to medium high and fry everything up, stirring every 30 seconds or so.  If you want your potatoes to be extra crispy, don't stir so often.  Cook everything for 10-12 minutes until the meat is cooked through and the potatoes are ready.  Once the veggies are ready, lower the heat and add the spinach, cooking and stirring for an additional 2 minutes until the spinach is sauteed down and ready to serve. Turn off the heat and add the crumbled garlic jack cheese so it gets all melty and delicious.

Using a griddle pan, I cooked up the steaks, around 4-5 minutes per side to get them medium rare.  This time may vary depending on the size and thickness of the steaks.  After cooking the steaks, I made two eggs over easy (our seriously favorite way of making eggs) and served everything together in a big heap of awesome.  Breakfast-dinner, you win.

Garlic Jack Cheese, Pesto, and Bacon Steaks

Yay for steaks!  This meal is classic, and the loaded steaks make you want to lick the plate.

The Meat

- 3-4 petite sirloin steaks

- salt, pepper to taste

The Veggies

- 1 cup broccoli

- 2 yellow potatoes, cubed

- 1 white potato, cubed

- 6-8 cloves garlic, diced

- 1/2 onion, diced

- 2 tablespoons bacon grease

- basil, salt, pepper, oregano to taste

The Sauce

- Garlic Jack Cheese, crumbled

- 3 strips of bacon

 - 1 (packed) cup of basil

- 3 cloves garlic

- 1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts

- 1/4 cup olive oil

- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

- lemon juice to taste

To start I cubed my potatoes, diced the onion and garlic, and tossed all three together into a medium sized saute pan with the bacon grease.  I seasoned liberally and let them cook on high heat for around 10 minutes, stirring every minute or so.  

While the potatoes were frying, I made the bacon on my griddle pan and also pulsed together my pesto sauce.  To make the pesto sauce, I used my Cuisinart Blender and Food Processor.  I blended together my basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese, pulsing and scraping down large chunks to make sure everything was smooth and consistent.  I crumbled the bacon and let it cool a little before mixing it into the pesto sauce.  Last ingredient into the sauce was the crumbled Garlic Jack Cheese.  That cheese is so good, we've been eating a lot of it lately!

After the veggies cooked for 10 minutes, I added the broccoli and lowered the heat.  I let the veggies cook for another 8 minutes or so while I made the steaks.  

To prepare the steaks I used the same griddle pan I made my bacon on, and used the leftover grease to get some extra flavor into the meat.  I cooked my steaks on high heat for around 4 minutes per side, or until the centers were pink when I cut into the steaks.  

When everything was done cooking, I plated the meals, making sure to smother a lot of the sauce onto the steaks - you'll want to ensure you get sauce with each bite, because it is soooooo good.

Beef Patties with Garlic, Bacon, and Fresh Mozzarella

Another patty meal - these are my "easy" meals, where I use different kinds of stuffed ground meat to make a quick and cheap entree that still tastes awesome.  I asked my hubbie if he ever gets bored of eating ground meat and I got a pretty serious NO as a response.  Enjoy!

The Meat

- 1 pound ground beef

- 8 cloves garlic, sliced

- 2 mushrooms, sliced

- salt, pepper, dill, basil to taste

- 3 slices bacon

The Garnish

- green onion, sliced

- mozzarella cut into large chunks

The Veggies

- 1 zucchini, sliced

1 summer squash, sliced

- 2 turnips, sliced

- 2 cups spinach, raw

- 1 cup water, divided

- 1 tablespoon of olive oil

- salt, pepper, dill to taste

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the sliced garlic, mushrooms, and ground beef with the seasonings. Form the patties by picking up a fistful of the mixture and rolling it into a ball, then patting the ball flat on both sides.

In a large pan, bring the zucchini and turnips to a boil with the oil and 1/2 cup of water.  Season liberally and let cook for 15 minutes or until the turnips are soft.

Fry up 3 slices of bacon on high heat on a griddle pan.  Once cooked crispy, cut up the bacon and mix it with the zucchini and turnip mixture.  On the still greasy griddle pan, cook your patties, around 6 minutes a side - check with a knife to see how the centers of the patties look - you want them to still be a little pink in the middle so the meat is juicy and full of flavor, not dried out or burnt.

Wilt the spinach with the remaining half cup water.  Drain the spinach and toss it with the bacon, zucchini, and turnip mixture.  Layer the veggies on the plate, then the patties, and cover everything with green onion and mozzarella.  Yum-o.

Thai Basil Curry Crockpot Goodness

I. Love. My. Crockpot.  We received it as a gift for our wedding in the spring, and ever since then I use it regularly to make delicious curries and slow-cooked meats.  I love it because I will make the meal right before I go to bed, and when we wake up in the morning, we open the bedroom door and our entire home is drenched with delicious aromas.  Then I send my husband off with his Thermos.  This is a great Thai curry with lots of savory spice and hints of coconut.  

The Meat

- 1 pound of beef stew meat

The Veggies

- 1/2 head cauliflower

- 8-10 carrots

- 3 yellow potatoes, skinned and chopped into large pieces

- 1/3 eggplant, chopped into large pieces

- 2 summer squashes, chopped into large pieces

The Sauce

- 1 cup coconut milk

- 1/2 cup water

- 1 teaspoon onion powder

- 2 tablespoons Thai chili paste

- 1 tablespoon coconut oil

- 1-2 teaspoons tamarind puree

- 1 teaspoon tapioca starch

- 2 teaspoons lime juice

- salt, garlic powder, lemongrass powder, basil, coriander to taste

Chop all your veggies the night before, and toss the raw meat and veggies in the crock pot.  I make my veggie pieces extra large, because they get so soft in the Crockpot that if they are small they will literally cook away to nothing.  Mix together the sauce (or, you could be lazy and buy World Foods' Thai Basil Curry Stir-Fry Sauce.  It has sugar in it, but is gluten free, and has no artificial preservatives or genetically modified ingredients.  Use the whole jar).  Pour the sauce over the veggies and meat, turn the Crockpot on "low" heat, and let it cook overnight (around 6-8 hours).  Go to sleep.





When I wake up, the first thing I do is open my eyes and wish I could sleep later...then I get up and go turn the Crockpot setting to "warm." I send my husband to work with a Thermos of curry and some crunchy apple slices and nuts.  The veggies and meat are SO soft, they melt in your mouth.  I use a slotted spoon to get the curry from the Crockpot to the bowl/thermos, because there is usually greasy liquid at the bottom of the Crockpot.  It is tasty too though if you feel like splashing some into your meal.

A Dinner Party Done Easy!

We had a friend for dinner tonight, so I made us something extra tasty!  This meal is not difficult to prepare and full of flavor.  It's really colorful, too, which is a fun and awesome way to bring a little extra excitement to your dinner.

The Meat

 - 1 1/2 pound flank steak

- 1/2 cup port wine

- 1 teaspoon butter, divided into dots

- salt, pepper, marjoram, dill to taste

The Veggies

- 2 small red potatoes, peeled and cubed

- 2 small purple potatoes, peeled and cubed

- 1 small yellow potato, peeled and cubed

- 1 turnip, cubed

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- 1/2 cup water

- salt, pepper, dill, chipotle pepper to taste

- 1 pound spinach

- 1/2 cup water

- 1 teaspoon lemon juice

- 4-5 cloves garlic, chopped

- 3 tablespoons butter

- salt, dill to taste

The Garnishes

- 3 slices bacon

- gorgonzola cheese

- 1 green onion, sliced

- 3 mushrooms, sliced

- 7-8 small cherry tomatoes, chopped

- 1/3 cup pecan pieces

Preheat your oven to 380 degrees.

Marinade your flank steak at least 1 hour before cooking.  Simply place the meat in a 2" baking dish and pour the port over the meat.  Spice and let it sit.  I love using port as a marinade because it makes the meat a little sweet without making the meat taste too much like it's been soaking in wine.   I used Prager port, which is not a very sweet port, but full of body and flavor. 

I chopped up my garlic and threw it into an aluminum foil cup I crafted.  I added the 3 tablespoons of butter and the salt and dill, crumpled it up into a very snazzy looking ball, and stuck it in the oven for around an hour.  I love making this infused garlic butter, and this is the third time this week we've had it.  It instantly makes all of my veggies taste SO much better, and is really easy to make.  Also, have I mentioned we are known garlic fiends?

I put my medley of potatoes and turnip into a baking dish with 1/2 a cup of water and the olive oil (I used Spanish olive oil this time, it tastes a little more olive-y than Italian extra virgin olive oil) and the spices.   I baked that uncovered, next to the garlic, for an hour.  

I sauteed up the spinach with the water and lemon juice on low heat for around 8 minutes, then drained it.  Later, when the garlic butter was finished, I tossed it in and made sure to toss it all well so the spinach was evenly coated with wonderful butter. 

With my oven doing its thing, I turned my attention to my garnishes.  I chopped all my ingredients and fried up the bacon.  After the bacon was done, I let it cool and crumbled it.  With the leftover bacon grease, I cooked up the mushrooms on medium heat for a few minutes and then added the tomatoes and pecans. 

I cooked the flank steak on the griddler, similar to last week's big hunk of meat.  This time my flank steak wasn't quite as thick, and only took around 10 minutes to cook until it was medium-done.  

When the steak was finished I sliced it, placed in on the serving tray, and smothered it to heck with my bacon-mushroom-tomato garnish.  I dotted gorgonzola on top and added the green onion.  I served up the spinach and potato/turnip medley in similar dishes and uncorked a bottle of cabernet sauvignon and BOOM.  Dinner party time!

This meal was delicious and everyone was excited to chow down!  I hope you enjoy making this meal for your friends and family - they will certainly love eating it!

A Big Hunk Of Meat

Having a huge slab of meat on your plate can be one of life's greatest pleasures.  This tangy, juicy flank steak makes me feel like a cavewoman, but the roasted vegetables keeps the dish from losing any sophistication.   

The Meat

- 1 - 1 1/2 pounds of flank steak

- 2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard

- 1 teaspoon malt vinegar

- 1 teaspoon horseradish

- 1/2 teaspoon habanero sauce (or to taste)

- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

- salt, chipotle pepper, rosemary to taste

The Veggies

- 1/2 cup cauliflower, chopped

- 1/2 cup broccoli, chopped

- 2 summer squashes, sliced

- 1/3 cup baby carrots

- 1/2 cup red wine (I used Cabernet Sauvignon)

- 1/2 cup water

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- salt, pepper, dill, marjoram to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Mix all the ingredients for your meat marinade and slather it onto both sides of your raw flank steak at least 30 minutes before grilling.  You can play with the amounts of ingredients to match the marinade to your taste - some people like it spicier or less mustardy, it is up to you!  We liked this marinade because it was tangy and had a kick, plus we love the way the mustard, vinegar, and horseradish blend with the rich flavor of the steak. 

I roasted my vegetables in some wine and water tonight.  I coated the veggies with the seasoning and olive oil, then popped all the veggies into the oven together in a ceramic baking dish with the liquid at the bottom.  I baked them uncovered for around 40 minutes.  By that time most of the liquid had cooked off and the carrots were firm to the touch but soft to the bite - I prefer this over mushy carrots soo much.  The squashes we soft but alos a little crispy, and the broccoli and cauliflower still had a hint of crunch to them.  We love our vegetables like this.

I grilled the steak on my griddler for around 13 minutes.  I used the double-sided grill to sear the meat.  The cut I had found was 1 1/2 pounds and mostly around 1 1/4 inches thick, the perimeter was a little thinner.  We like our meat pink in the middle, so grilling it for this long left us with a rare-medium rare center.   If you prefer it more medium-well done, leave the steak on a few more minutes.