Monday, October 12, 2009

Tasty Talapia

Source: Delish

This is an extremely simple way to prepare fish, and it's probably a good spice mixture for chicken, too! I used halibut filets, which are a little thicker, so I needed additional cooking time on the stovetop. This is a great recipe for a weeknight dinner!

Tasty Tilapia

1 1/2 lbs tilapia fillets
2 tsp low-sodium cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 Tbsp butter or olive oil*

Combine cajun seasoning, lemon pepper, dried parsley, crushed red pepper, garlic and onion powder. Evenly season fish on both sides. Melt butter (or heat olive oil) in large skillet over medium heat. Add fish. Brown each side approximately 3-4 minutes per side (tilapia cooks quickly). Adjust cooking temperature if needed. Serve hot.

Roasted Garlic and New Potatoes


Source: The Pioneer Woman

After eating these, my husband said, "All other potatoes are dead to me." Enough said! These are delicious and easy to prepare. I didn't use quite as many garlic heads as the recipe called for. Roasted garlic is very mild, but the garlic heads are piping hot when they come out of the oven, so you have to wait awhile to squeeze out the garlic cloves if you want to mix them in with the potatoes. You could also serve dinner with a baguette and spread the roasted garlic on the bread. Yum!


Roasted Garlic & New Potatoes

20 small to medium new potatoes
5 to 7 whole heads of garlic
1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 to 1/2 cup dry white wine
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Quarter new potatoes and set on a large rimmed baking sheet. Lop off the very top of each garlic head and arrange throughout the potatoes. Drizzle olive oil over the tops of the garlic and all over potatoes; do the same with the wine. Generously salt and pepper potatoes and garlic. Toss potatoes to coat. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for 20 to 30 minutes until nice and golden.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Rolled Flank Steak




Source: All Recipes

For some reason, I can't just enjoy a steak. I need a sauce or other ingredients to make me like it. I was browsing All Recipes and this looked really good, and totally different from the way I've made steak before.

I really liked this, but...I think I may have rolled it the wrong way. I started rolling it at the shorter end, which meant the roll was pretty thick. This meant the meat on the outside was done, but in the middle, it was rare! Were I to make it again, I would try rolling it the other way, and I would also check the doneness halfway through, possibly slicing the roll in sections. Because of the way it's rolled, it's really difficult to use a meat thermometer.

I really loved the well-done pieces I ate, though! The combination of provolone, spinach, mushrooms and peppers was divine!

Rolled Flank Stak

INGREDIENTS:

1 (2 pound) beef flank steak
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons steak seasoning
8 ounces thinly sliced provolone cheese
4 slices thick cut bacon
1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup sliced crimini mushrooms
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the flank steak on a cutting board with the short end closest to you. Starting from one of the long sides, cut through the meat horizontally to within 1/2 inch of the opposite edge. (You can also ask your butcher to butterfly the flank steak for you instead of cutting it yourself.)

2. Mix the soy sauce, olive oil, and steak seasoning together in a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag. Marinate flank steak in the refrigerator 2 - 4 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a glass baking dish.

4. Lay out the flank steak flat in front of you with the grain of the meat running from left to right. Layer the provolone across the steak, leaving a 1-inch border. Arrange the bacon, spinach, red pepper, and mushrooms across the cheese covered steak in stripes running in the same direction as the grain of the meat. Roll the flank steak up and away from you, so that when the roll is cut into the pinwheel shape, each of the filling ingredients can be seen. Roll firmly, but be careful not to squeeze the fillings out the ends. Once rolled, tie every 2 inches with kitchen twine. (I didn't use any twine, just placed the roll in the dish seam-side down.)

5. Place in prepared baking dish, and bake in preheated oven for one hour, or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F (65 degrees C). Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into 1 inch slices. Be sure to remove the twine before serving!