Mexican – Style Beef Sandwiches all recipes

Mexican – Style Beef Sandwiches

Why this recipe works: these sandwiches are a bit like a burrito. Except that the “wrappers” are hollowed – out rolls instead of a tortilla. We grill a flank steak, slice it thin, then cut the slices into smaller bite – size pieces. Then we assemble the sandwiches – throwing on refried beans, sliced avocado, cheese, lettuce, and a spicey mayonnaise with chipotle chiles and lime juice – before returning them to the grill to give them a quick warm through. We place the sandwiches on a baking sheet for two reasons: first, it makes the sandwiches easy to transport to and from the grill, and second, it allows them to warm through without burning the bread. Be sure to keep the lid down on your grill during this time – the sandwiches need an “oven” effect to warm through in a timely fashion.

Ingredients:

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon chopped canned chipotle chiles

1 tablespoon lime juice salt and pepper

1 pound flank steak

4 bulkie rolls, halved

½ Cup canned refried beans

1 avocado, pitted and sliced thin

½ cup shredded pepper jack cheese

2 cup shredded iceberg lettuce

Procedures

1. whisk mayonnaise, chiles, and lime juice in small bowl until smooth. Season with salt and pepper
2. season steak with salt and pepper. Grill steak over hot fire until chard on both sides, and meat registers 130 to 135 degrees, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer steak to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Scoop out most of soft bread from top and bottom of buns. Grill bread, cut side down, until lightly charred, about 2 minutes.
3. Slice beef thin against grain and cut slices into small bite – size pieces. Divide beef into 4 equal size portions. Spread 2 tablespoons refried beans on bottom half of each bun and 2 tablespoons mayonnaise mixture on top halves. Place beef slices on top of refried beans, followed by sliced avocado, cheese, and shredded lettuce. Replace tops of buns and gently press. Transfer sandwiches to baking sheet and place baking sheet directly on grill. Cover grill and heat sandwiches through, about 2 minutes. Serve

Easy Maxican Sandwiches

Spread refried beans on the bottom half of each bun and the mayonnaise mixture on the top half. Place the beef slices evenly on top of the beans, followed by the sliced avocado, cheese, and lettuce. Replace the tops of the buns and gently press. Transfer the sandwiches to a baking sheet and place baking sheet directly on the grill.

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Lasagna Soup

This recipe was such a HIT at my house. Even my picky eater had two servings.  It was simple to put together and VERY DELICIOUS!! I received a message from hubby who hates soup and it said; "If you change the name from soup that dish is AWESOME!" Wow that says a lot coming from the man of few words. Guess it passed the test!! 

Lasagna Soup
1 lb. mild Italian sausage
1/2 cup onion diced
1 (28 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 cup beef broth
1 Tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes (undrained)
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 cup small shell pasta (I used small penne)
grated parmesan
shredded mozzarella (optional)
In a skillet, brown sausage with the onion. Drain if needed.  Place sausage in the crock pot. Add all the ingredients but the pasta. Stir and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Add pasta to the crock pot about 10-20 minutes before serving.
Garnish each serving with some parmesan cheese and shredded mozzarella.

Delicious!!

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Balsamic Steak Tips and Tomato Salad with Bacon and Blue Cheese all recipes

Balsamic Steak Tips and Tomato Salad with Bacon and Blue Cheese

Why this recipe works: this recipe only works if the steak tips brown well and form flavorful crusts, so when we cook the pieces, we turn them only occasionally with tongs instead of stirring or moving them frequently. Balsamic vinegar draws all the elements together and adds a sweet – tart accent to the meaty, salty flavors of the steak, tomatoes, bacon, and cheese. Heirloom tomatoes come in many sizes and colors; we use a mixture for an eye catching salad. Because the salad doesn’t have much staying power, we assemble it at the very last moment, just before serving. Once dressed, the tomatoes begin to release their juices, and the watercress quickly wilts.

Ingredients: serve 4

4 ounces bacon, chopped

5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 ½ pounds steak tips, cut into 2 inch chunks salt and pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 ½ pounds heirloom tomatoes, cut into 1 inch wedges or chunks

½ small red onion, sliced very thin

2 cups watercress

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

¾ cup crumbled blue cheese

Procedures:

1. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium – high heat until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towel – lined plate. Pour out fat and wipe skillet. Add 4 tablespoons vinegar and simmer over medium – high heat until syrupy and reduced to about 2 tablespoons, about 4 minutes. Transfer to small bowl. Rinse skillet and wipe dry.
2. Pat steak tips dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat vegetable oil in now – empty skillet over medium – high heat until smoking. Add steak tips and cook until well browned all over, 6 to 8 minut4es. Transfer to serving platter and tent with foil.
3. Combine tomatoes, onion, and watercress in large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar and toss. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowl. And sprinkle with blue cheese and bacon.
4. Drizzle balsamic glaze over steak tips. Serve with salad

Quick prep tip : Storing tomatoes

We’ve heard that storing a tomato with its stem end facing down can prolong shelf life. To test this theory, we placed one batch of tomatoes stem end up and another stem end down and stored them at room temperature. A week later, nearly all the stem – down tomatoes remained in perfect condition, while the stem – up tomatoes had shriveled and started to mold. Why the difference? We surmised that the scar left on the tomato skin where the stem once grew provides both an escape for moisture and an entry point for mold and bacteria. Placing a tomato stem end down blocks air from entering and moisture from exiting the scar. To confirm this theory, we ran another test, this time comparing tomatoes stored stem end down with another batch stored stem end up, but with a piece of tape sealing off their scars. The taped, stem – end up tomatoes survived just as well as the stem – end – down batch.

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Korean – Style Lettuce Wraps all recipes

Korean – Style Lettuce Wraps

Why this recipe works: this recipe is inspired by kalbi, a Korean – style grilled short rib dish featuring an irresistible combination of meaty, salty, sweet, and garlicky flavor. The marinade does double duty in this recipe: Before the meat is added, a small portion of it is set aside for drizzling over the steak after it’s been cooked and sliced. This adds a punch of flavor that makes up for the abbreviated marinating time. Fresh pear that’s been grated on a microplane grater not only serves as a tenderizing agent but also adds a subtle fruitiness to the marinade. We toast the sesame seeds in a small skillet over medium heat until they’re golden and fragrant before adding them to the marinade. The thinness of skirt steak makes it a candidate for grilling over high heat, but there’s a fair amount of sugar in the marinade that will scorch, so medium – high heat is preferable. We cut the steaks into sections before grilling so we can remove the thinner end pieces ahead of the thicker sections to ensure even doneness. Flank steak, which has slightly less flavor, can be used in place of skirt steak if desired. Diners wrap the meat in lettuce leaves at the table, which makes for an interesting, interacting eating experience.

Ingredients: serve 4

½ cup soy sauce

1 ripe pear, peeled, cored, and grated

3 ½ tablespoon sugar

3 scallions, chopped fine

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon tasted sesame seeds

½ teaspoon pepper

1 ½ pounds skirt steak, trimmed

1 head red leaf, green leaf, or Bibb lettuce, leaves separated

Procedures:

1. Combine soy sauce, pear, sugar, scallions, garlic, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and pepper in large bowl. Measure out and reserve ¼ cup marinade. Cut skirt steaks crosswise into 3 or 4 sections and add to marinade. Marinate while heating grill.
2. Grill steaks over medium – hot fire until well browned and steaks register 125 degrees(medium – rare), 6 to 8 minutes per side. Transfer steaks to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Slice steak thin against grain, transfer to platter, and drizzle with reserved marinade. Serve with lettuce leaver for wrapping.

Easy Wrapping the Beef:

Start by slicing steak thin against the grain. Next, lay apportion of the steak strips on top of a lettuce leaf. Drizzle the steak strips with a little of the reserved marinade, then fold both the top and bottom of the lettuce leaf inward over the steak strips. To finish, beginning on either side, roll the lettuce around steak strips. 

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Tried & True: Crescent Chicken Bundles

This is one of my family's all time favorites that I posted early in the life of this blog!! My husband and I argue about where this recipe originated from, but that really doesn't matter, because it is easy and  DELICIOUS!! It so deserves a second  post! 

Crescent Chicken Bundles

original post here

2 cups cooked chicken, diced
2-3 stalks of celery, diced in small pieces
1/2 cup diced olives
2 cans refrigerator crescent rolls
1 small onion, minced
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese
Mix all ingredients together. Roll out crescent rolls. Place a small amount of mixture on the large end of the crescent.

Roll up the top and sides around the filling. Continue to roll the dough up. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. 

 Bake  at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Until  lightly browned.

Make a gravy out of the following:

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Cream of Chicken Soup
1 tsp. chicken bouillon
1 soup can of water
Bring to boil and simmer until gravy like consistency.
Serve gravy over top of the rolls.

*As you can tell I renamed this recipe because I could not figure out how to get the filling to stay in the roll if made into a crescent shape. That is why it is a bundle. I try to wrap the dough around the filling right from the start.

 There are better directions for rolling the dough in the original post!!

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Snickers Popcorn

If you are in need of a quick sweet for your "sweet" today, this is a good one!! So delicious and very addicting.  I found it over at Walking on Sunshine which is an amazing blog.  Lots of delicious food and inspirational posts!!

Snickers Popcorn
from Walking on Sunshine
1 cups of unpopped popcorn
1 cup butter
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
30 "Fun Size" Snickers bars, coarsely chopped
3 oz. milk chocolate, melted (optional)

Pop your popcorn. Sift through and remove all the unpopped kernels.
Over medium heat, boil butter, brown sugar, salt, vanilla  and corn syrup for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda.
I used my LARGE roasting pan.
Pour this mixture over your popcorn and stir to coat evenly.
Bake your popcorn in a 200 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes stirring every 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and stir in your coarsely chopped Snickers. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes so the Snickers can melt into the popcorn. The candy does not have to completely melt.
Remove from oven and drizzle with the melted chocolate
Let cool before packaging or transferring to an air-tight container.

She packaged hers up all cute. We ate it straight from the bowl and loved it!!

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Menu Plan Monday

A little more from my quick trip to San Francisco.  Me and the Golden Gate Bridge.  What you don't see is what happened just before this picture.  I saw people standing up on a ledge for a better photo opt. So I decided I would do it also.  Not a good plan...I was the one who fell!! Hubby got a good laugh out of it.  So a little excitement before we walked across the bridge and almost got ran over by bikers.  It was all good though. Loved the experience!!

After another power outage last week, I am crossing my fingers that will be the last for the season. It puts a big damper in my cooking and blogging habit! Now on to this week..

This Week's Menu
Monday: Burritos
Tuesday: Chicken Puff Pastry Pockets
Wednesday:Lasagna Soup
Thursday: Picnic Night
Friday: Malibu Chicken
Saturday: Chip Chicken
Sunday: Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes

Anyone got any good ideas for Valentine's Day? 





Linked to Menu Plan Monday

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