Cowboy Steak

So I am blogging about this two days late. I made something called cowboy steak. I marinated the steak with pepper (whole, uncracked), thyme, oregano, paprika and coarse salt. This marinated for 5 hours. Then grilled it on a grill pan on the stove.

Grilled on high for 4 min a side then low and covered for 8 min a side.

I also made mashed potatoes out of finger potatoes that were boiled in "scented water". This is just the recipes fancy word for water that has seasonings in it. But sounds better to say scented water. Just like one would not say my kids bath water is dirty, it is scented. Linguistics is the only difference. Same thing, but one sounds nicer. So my finger potatoes has a boil in scented water.  

Once the steaks were cooked I removed them and covered them. I then cooked onions and mini mushrooms. I used the drippings from the steaks as a saute sauce for the steaks. The whole thing was good. Not great but good and my family is HUGE meat eaters so it would have to be pretty bad for the kids not to finish this dish. They did not let me down and ate all that I gave them.

Pulled Pork, Hollandaise sauce and blanched green beans

Rougeh's mom and niece were having dinner with us today so there was an extra level of worry that the food would turn out well. As those who have been following this blog, there have been just about as many misses as hits.

Today's dinner was a two day process. Step one slow cooked pork. This was not typical slow cooked pork as there was not bar-b-q sauce in this dish. It is all fresh products. Cilantro, basil, onions, garlic and seasonings, plus LOTS of water. Cook it on low for 18 hours. It falls apart in 18 hours and is perfection.

Next on to the Hollandaise sauce. Typically this is made of whipped egg, butter and cream. Only issue with that is Jasmine and her allergy. So my version was a ton harder to find, but find it I did. The work of searching and whipping and cooking was worth it. It is my new favorite sauce. I do not think there are many dishes that this would not taste WONDERFUL on.

Blanched green beans, easy and great.

I put all of these parts together with long grain white rice. The Hollandaise started by being plated on the green beans with rice and the pulled pork on the side. Seconds consisted of rice with Hollandaise on top of it. Rougeh loved all of it. He especially loved the sauce. Though he did take seconds of everything. The kids both ate all of their food and Rougeh's niece ate all of hers also. I loved this meal. I have liked many of my dishes, but I have not taken seconds of many, so wanting seconds of this means either I was really hungry or it was just really good. Happy days for me.

Mushroom garlic Pasta

Ok so I know that my goal was not to do pasta anymore, but in all fairness this was not my typical pasta. I followed a recipe. It was mini mushrooms cubed, garlic whole and crushed. The tomatoes needed to be boiled then peeled, boiled some more. Add to that my favorite ingredient, cracked pepper.

Boil and cook that for 45 more minutes. Once that was done I added some garlic infused olive oil ( I made that too) and season with basil. The whole thing was great. I actually made two versions of this. One spicy for Rougeh and I, the other was blander for the kids. The family liked their respective versions.

Jasmine is one who normally wants her pasta with nothing on it, she liked the sauce so that is good. I just need to figure out how to make it thicker. The recipe said that the sauce would thinken up, it did, but not much.

Ideas?

Potatoes Au Gratin

Today's dish was potatoes Au Gratin. This is a basic potato casserole. You have to start with fresh ingredients for this dish. The thinner they are sliced the better they taste. I also used heavy cream instead of low fat milk. I think it was a great choice for this dish. I used four different cheeses and fresh cilantro.

The whole thing was fantastic. As with most of my dishes these days I also used fresh cracked pepper. The whole thing is baked for a while. It bubbles really nicely then soaks into the potatoes. Over all Loved this dish. I think next time I will need to make more of it.

Not only did the kids like it, Benjamin needed seconds. Jasmine who has been a very finicky eater lately ate all that I gave her. She did not take seconds, but her finishing her dish was great. I was happy. Rougeh liked it and gave it a 9. Another dish that will be repeated.

Any Ideas for tomorrow?

mac and cheese

Today was a bit different. My meal was not for dinner, but for lunch. The kids wanted mac and cheese. I decieded that I could make it on my own with out a box.

It was not hard to do at all and the outcome was very good. The kids in general LOVE mac and cheese. This mac and cheese was not different in their eyes. For me it was another story. I made it as healthy as I could while still being mac and cheese. I added broccoli, cilantro, mushrooms, asparagus spears and used low fat cheese. The kids could tell that it was different from the normal mac and cheese from a box.

They loved it though. Jasmine ate more then normal and Benjamin ate seconds. I really liked my creation. I did well on this one and it was my own creation not a recipe! Yahhh me.

Shrimp alfredo with Pici noodles

With our sea food feasting is quickly coming to an end, officially ends on January 6th 12am, some will call that January 7th not the 6th, but what ever. I am working through my last few sea food dishes. I did have to go to the store and re stock up on sea foods. I am happy to announce that I have not eaten beans even once during this fast. Which is saying quite a bit, because it is a staple during these times. This fast has gone by so quickly and I do not think that my family has missed not eating land animals at all.

With that being said, today I made Shrimp Alfredo. The recipe that I had made for a very plain dish. I decided to veer off my original quest and add to a dish that I had never made before. I added fresh garlic, sliced mini portobello mushrooms and of course shrimp. I also added fresh ground pepper. I think most dishes are better with a bit of fresh pepper. It always adds to the dish.

The noodles I chose were Pici noodles. They are similar to spaghetti noodles, but a bit thicker and should be cooked al dente. The whole dish came together really well. I loved this dish. The kids both really liked it too. A change in thought for Rougeh also, he asked me to put the leftovers in a dish so he can eat it again for lunch tomorrow. For those of you who do not know my husband, He NEVER eats leftovers. He does not like them. He enjoys his food fresh not a day old.

This dish we both think will be even better the next day. Time will tell. Another success though as far as my sea food goes.

Fish Tacos #2

Today was fish tacos again. This time I used Tilapia. I breaded it, added garlic, salt and onions. I used corn tortillas, green onions, cilantro, tomatoes, lettuce, and green bean sprouts. It was good, not great but good. The kids were not so thrilled with them. Jasmine just wanted the breaded fish. Benjamin just wanted the tortilla. Rougeh ate it all with Hot salsa and lime. He said it was good but only ate one. I myself ate two and enjoyed every bite.

This is one of those meals that I could give or take. Was it bad? No. Was it good? No But was it a solid meal? Yes. Not one I think will be repeated, but not a failure all the same, because we were at least able to eat it.