Memorial Day Weekend

Reflect - yes a day to pay respect to all those who have and currently are protecting our freedom as  we have always know it - Thank you!

On another note, Memorial Day weekend is time for family and the lake and a 3 day closet renovation?? Hmmm where Michael lacks in carpentry skills, he gains on the grill ;-) I've cooked all weekend despite the fact that our AC is out (I learned my lesson on that subject) and last night we made   garlic and herb rubbed flank steak with all the essentials, potatoes/asparagus/mushrooms etc. Served it with a nice tomato ranch salad and finished with Sonic Shakes - Yep sounds like a Holiday to me.

 Flank Steak with Garlic Butter Sauce  (Courtesy of Baked Bree off Pintrest)

Ingredients

• flank steak (or skirt, or really whatever cut you like)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 3 garlic cloves
• fresh thyme sprigs
• fresh rosemary sprigs
Garlic Butter Sauce:
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 cloves garlic salt
• I used all the herbs from my garden chopped

1. A few hours before you want to grill, marinate your steak. Season well with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and rub with garlic cloves. Lay fresh herbs underneath and on top of steak. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for a few hours.
2. Take the steak out of the fridge 30 minutes before you are ready to grill. It was pouring outside, so I grilled mine on my indoor grill. But I prefer to cook it outside on the grill. Heat to high heat, and cook 4 to 6 minutes on each side. Flank steak is best cooked medium-rare to medium. If it is cooked further than that, it is not as tender. Cover the cooked steak with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes. This is a really important step. If you try to slice your steak without letting it rest, the juices will release and it will dry out.
3. While the steak is resting, start the butter sauce. Add a stick of butter, 4 cloves of minced garlic, and a generous pinch of salt to a saucepan. Melt over medium-low heat. The garlic will slowly cook in the butter. Slice the flank steak against the grain as thinly as possible. Pour garlic butter over steak and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

And since my Pintrest list of LIKES is so large I choose another item to make. This turned out a little wet or gummy so I would do the 3 not 4 cups of Zuke and possible bake another 3ish min. I also liked it before the frosting like a "snacking cake".

Zucchini Cake with Lime Cream Cheese Frosting 

                                                         2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp lime zest
4-oz (approx. 1/3 cup) unsweetened applesauce
3-4 cups shredded zucchini (4-5 medium)

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-in baking pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, eggs, melted butter, vanilla, lime zest and applesauce until very smooth. Stir in flour mixture and mix only until just combined, with no streaks of flour remaining. Stir in shredded zucchini.
Pour batter into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
Bake for 28-31 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached.
Cool cake on wire rack (cake can be cooled in the pan).
Frost top of cake (not sides) once it is completely cooled.

(bakingbites.com)

Lower Fat Lime Cream Cheese Frosting
8-oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups marshmallow creme (7-oz)
1 tbsp lime zest
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

It's been awhile...

Hello Sisters!!!!!!!!

So it is time to give this blog a kick in the pants!  I have missed seeing what you guys are up to and I know that we have all been eating dinner.  I have made so many great recipes in the last several weeks and I can't wait to share them with you.

Although I don't watch the show The Chew on a regular basis I have to say that when I do I usually find a good recipe or two to try.  Last week they had Ina Garten on so I had to DVR the show.  She made a filet of beef that looked good, but seriously when am I going to cook an entire filet of beef? (The basil mayo that she made did look really good!)  Michael Symon made a Korean steak that looked really good.  I made a variation of it last night for dinner and everyone at the table cleaned their plate.  This was a moment in the Landry house as the girls rarely finish their meals.  I'm not really sure how they are still growing.  This is a meal that I will be putting in our recipe rotation.  I used thin cut ribeye but I think this would be good with chicken.  I wanted to take a picture, but we were all too hungry to wait.

Sorry it's been so long!!!!!!


Korean Steak

• 3 tablespoons Ginger (finely grated)
• 3 tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced Garlic
• 1 tablespoon Sesame Oil
• 3 teaspoons Sriracha (plus more for serving)
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• Mix all ingredients in a bowl and let meat marinate for about 30 min.
• Get your cast iron pan hot (my pan was most likely not hot enough, but our vent hood stinks and we would have had a smokey mess)
• Cook meat on both sides quickly 3-4 min each side.
• I saved my marinade boiled it in a pan and served it over some broccoli and steamed rice.  
• 
  
• SO YUMMY!!!

2013...Looking good so far

Even though we are about 15 hrs in... 2013 is looking good so far because last night at the grocery store I found Fresh Cherries IN OKLAHOMA! I'm taking this as an omen because this NEVER happens (I am still a little sore about the eggnog though). Anyway, I have had the Amaretto Soaked Cherries pinned for over a year so made them today and they are Delicious.

AMARETTO-SOAKED WHITE CHOCOLATE CHERRIES (Formal fringe via pintrest)

40 fresh unpitted cherries (cherries with pits works fine, too)
750 mL bottle of amaretto 

The recipe calls for white chocolate chips and veg oil, but I used a White Chocolate bar made for melting and when I ran out of that I used Almond Bark and ran out of that and used Dark Chocolate ;-)

With a knife, make small ¼-inch cuts into each cherry. Place the cherries into mason jars, filling each jar about ¾ of the way full. Fill each jar with amaretto to just cover the cherries. Close each jar securely, and shake gently for 10 seconds before placing into the refrigerator. Let cherries soak for at least overnight, up to 48 hours.

Strain the cherry mixture (you can reserve the slightly cherry-flavored amaretto for cocktails) into a colander. Pat down each cherry with a paper towel or cloth until each one is dry (this is so the chocolate will stick)

Melt the melting chocolate or almond bark in the microwave about 2 min stir as needed make sure not to burn

Dip each cherry into the white chocolate coating. Let excess chocolate drip off before placing the cherries on to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate to set for at least 15 minutes before serving. Keeps best in the fridge for up to 1 day.

HAPPY NEW YEAR FAMILY! LOVE YA