Yummy Cilantro Lime Steak Marinade

Time to get back at this! 

I was fortunate enough to get a full time teaching job this past school year, so the blog took a major backseat. As in, the way, way, WAY backseat. Most weeks, I was lucky to get food on the table at all. I will admit, this was the first "school year" that we had take out during the week. Thank goodness for Wawa and Sheetz! 

Our garden is in full swing! Which means it is time to scour Pinterest and the internet to find recipes to take care of all of these veggies that seem to be producing at an overnight rapid rate. Right now, we are in the thick of lettuce season. Long story short, we started some lettuce from seed...took care of them indoors...transplanted them...and then we thought they all died. So, I bought some lettuce that had already started (bought TOO much), planted that and now we have SO MUCH LETTUCE. The lettuce we thought had died, didn't. And, the plants we bought are thriving. 

Along with the lettuce, I have a cilantro plant that is also growing by the second. I love fresh cilantro. It has the best taste and smells so good!

I had a craving for steak, so I logged onto Pinterest and found this gem of a recipe from Simply Scratch. It is delicious and very easy to put together. After we grilled the meat, the smell of cilantro combined with the grilled meat smell was heavenly!

Cilantro Lime Steak Marinade

Ingredients

1-2 lbs. strip steak

Generous handful of cilantro
Juice from 1 lime

1/3 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 1/2 t. honey

1 garlic clove

1/2 t. cumin

1/2 t. red pepper chili flakes

1 t. red chili pepper

Step by Step Directions

1. In a food processor, pulse the cilantro, extra virgin olive oil and garlic clove together. 

2. Add the rest of the ingredients. Pulse to combine. 

3. Pour mixture over steak in a resealable bag. ("Smush it" around to cover the meat) Refrigerate until you are ready to grill. 

Ready to grill?

*Heat to High heat (between 500-550 degrees)

*Grill 4 minutes on each side. (for medium well)

After you remove the meat, LET IT REST! I have heard this over and over, but it's true! The meat will retain the juices and the flavor will be overwhelming. So, let it sit. Eat a salad, set the table, grab another drink, but do not cut the meat for 10 minutes after taking it off of the grill. 

We made our steak into Steak Tacos that Simply Scratch used with this recipe. Paired it with the fresh lettuce from the garden, homemade salsa, Monterrey jack cheese, all on a warm tortilla shell. 

Easy Sunday Afternoon Steak Marinade

It has been awhile since we made this marinade, but it will be on our menu again soon! I will note the pictures for this blog post are not exactly "pretty." Let's face it...I was taking pictures of a slab of meat. And, that is exactly what it looks like.

I threw this together and forgot about it when I made it, so our meat actually marinaded for a few days. It still tasted delicious. So, I would figure marinade the meat for at least a few hours would do.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink Steak Marinade
Ingredients
1/3 c. low sodium soy sauce
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 T. parsley
1 t. minced garlic
1/3 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. Worcestershire
1 1/2 T. garlic salt
3 T. basil
1 t. cayenne pepper
pepper
(beef cut of your choice)

Step by Step Directions
1. Mix all of your ingredients together. (easy clean up, mix them all in the resealable bag)
2. Pierce the meat a few times and put into bag.
3. Marinade for at least 3-4 hours.
*We grilled the meat to our liking of medium rare. Grill to your desired temperature.

Jack Daniel's Steak Marinade

I have to be honest, I found this recipe and thought...well, TGI Friday's had a really good whiskey marinade, and the reviews were nothing less than great, so I figured to just go for...and then, I whisked it all together and it DID NOT smell very good...in fact, it made my stomach turn..needless to say...I didn't have high expectations...

Boy, was I wrong! It did smell awful, but we broiled the meat for a total of 7 minutes on high (flipping halfway through). The taste was fantastic!!! I will make this again, but I will probably hold my breath while mixing the ingredients :)

If you are interested in the original recipe, you can find it here. The comments provide other ideas as well!
And here is a picture of our dinner...it looked pretty so I had to feature it!

Jack Daniel's Steak Marinade
Ingredients
1/4 c. Jack Daniel's whiskey
1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
1/4 c. Dijon mustard
1/4 c. light brown sugar
1/2 diced onion
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 t. oregano
a few shakes of black pepper
*meat of some sort....you could use beef, chicken, ribs, anything really....

Step by Step Directions
Whisk the ingredients together and marinade the meat for at least 10-12 hours.
Broil on high for 3 minutes...flip...continue for an additional 4 minutes. (or longer, we like medium rare meat)

Ugly pictures, but great taste!!!

Enjoy!

A "NEW" Twist on Zucchini!

I might be weird, but I LOVE zucchini! Usually, I slice it and cook on top of the stove with some Extra Virgin Olive Oil and salt and pepper...but sometimes, you just need a change!

So, when I was looking through my kitchen at things I hadn't used in awhile, I noticed the can of Panko bread crumbs...well why not?

Panko Breaded Zucchini Strips

Ingredients
*zucchini (thinly sliced length wise...about 1/4")
*about 1 c. Panko breadcrumbs
*1/2 c. Italian breadcrumbs
*2 T. garlic salt
*1 egg or 2 egg whites
*salt and pepper
(optional: parmesan cheese)

Step by Step Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 450.
    Spray baking sheet with PAM spray.

2. In a shallow dish, combine the Panko breadcrumbs, Italian bread crumbs, garlic salt, and salt and pepper.
3. Dip zucchini strip into the egg or egg whites.
4. Then, dip the zucchini into the breadcrumb mixture. (this step is incredibly MESSY!)
5. Place on baking sheet.

*You may need to add more bread crumbs...depends on the size of the zucchini being used*
6. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip and bake an addition 5 minutes.

*I wish I would have baked for a shorter amount of time....I baked for 15 minutes and didn't flip...therefore they are a little bit burnt*

I served them with the Sweet and Spicy steak! DELICIOUS!

Sweet and Spicy Steak Recipe...click here!

Sweet and Spicy Steak

First, I MUST apologize for my laziness...I have no excuses other than, I just needed a break from trying new recipes in the kitchen! So, I had to tap into my creative juices tonight because I just had to get back into the kitchen....

This was a "thrown together" meal (I know, yet again), but I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome!

Sweet and Spicy Steak
(a super QUICK marinade)

Ingredients
*flank steak
(the following ingredient measurements are up to you)
*red pepper flakes
*light brown sugar
*honey
*low sodium soy sauce
*garlic salt

Step by Step
1. Rub light brown sugar into flank steak.

2. Slice steak into strips.
3. Sprinkle red pepper flakes (use more than you might want, the sweetness will balance the pepper flakes out) and garlic salt over the steak.

4. Pour soy sauce over the steak and then drizzle some honey over the meat, as well.
5. Marinate for AS LITTLE as 30 MINUTES! (that was all the time I had to let it sit! And, it worked!)

6. Grill or cook on a grill pan on a stove top to your desired liking.
ENJOY!

(FYI...that would be bread crumb coated zucchini...that recipe is still to come!)

 

Easy Mario Batali Steak Marinade!

First, it has been awhile since I posted...my apologies...sickness has descended into this house...my nose can stop running any time now...

While I wait for that, I have a few recipes to post...this one was inspired by a recipe I watched on "The Chew" (by the way, I LOVE that show! I pick up so many great tips!)

Last week, Mario Batali was cooking with Katie Couric and they were very excited about the peach cucumber salad, but I zeroed in on the very easy marinade. Especially since I had a steak in the refrigerator that needed some sort of "dressing"....it ended up being super easy and VERY tasty! I love the sugar base, but with a red pepper zip! Delicious!

His recipe used dry porcini mushrooms...I don't eat fungus, so feel free to add them if you enjoy the fungus! And, of course I adapted it a bit as well...so it is my own take on his recipe



"My Take" on the Dry-Rubbed Skirt Steak Recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Sugar

5 Garlic cloves (minced) (feel free to add more!)

1 1/2 tablespoons Red Pepper Flakes

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

1 1/2-pound Round Steak

Montreal Steak Seasoning (just a bit)...I love this seasoning on steaks!

Sea salt

**The steaks MUST marinade at least 12 hours or overnight!**

Steps

1. Mince the garlic. If you love garlic, feel free to use more. I wish I had!
2. Stir together the sugar, red pepper flakes, salt, and Montreal Steak seasoning.
3. Rub the dry ingredients into the steak. Followed by the garlic. Make sure you REALLY rub this seasoning into all of the parts of the steak. (I missed a few places and I swear I could tell when I tasted it)
4. Put the steak into a Ziploc bag and pour the EVOO over the steak. Toss the bag around a bit to ensure the whole steak is covered.
5. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours. My steak marinaded for a few days.

To cook, you can either cook it on the stove top or on the grill. We cooked ours on the grill and we enjoy medium rare. So, cook the meat to your taste.

We paired the steak with a baked potato and some fresh spinach. (We also enjoyed a Sam Adams Seasonal...Oktoberfest to wash it down)

**If you want to reference his recipe complete with the peach cucumber salad recipe, go here:
Mario Batali Recipe