What's For Dinner - Day 5

Mystery Ingredients
Pepper Steak
Israeli Couscous
Whole Wheat "Slim Buns"

 Final Product
Marinated Beef Skewers with Herbed Couscous and Cheesy Garlic Buns

For the marinade & beef:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Skewer the pepper steak with wooden or metal skewers. Place beef in large baking dish and pour marinade over the beef. Make sure all the beef is coated with the marinade. Set in the fridge and let marinade for 30 minutes minimum.
Grill the steak on a stovetop grill, or outside. Cook about 3-4 minutes on each side, or until desired doneness.

For the Couscous:
1 1/4 cups water
1 packet chicken bouillon (or one cube)
2 whole garlic cloves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh mint
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup Israeli couscous

Put all ingredients except the couscous in a pot. Bring to a boil, remove the herbs and garlic and add the couscous. Cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Fluff with a fork.

For the Buns:
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
Pinch salt & pepper
1 tsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp butter at room temp.
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together until combined. Spread about 1 tbsp over each half of the buns. Toast in the oven for about 7-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and buns are crispy.

Serve everything together and enjoy!

RATING:
Beef: ***** (5 stars!)
Couscous: *** (3 stars)
Buns: *** (3 stars)

What's For Dinner - Day 4

Mystery Ingredients
Minute Steaks
Oranges
Blackberries
Corn Meal

Final Product
Pan Seared Steak with Orange Blackberry Compote & Orange Blackberry Corn Muffins

For the Muffins:
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
Zest & Juice of 1 orange
10-15 blackberries, quartered

Mix everything together in a bowl except the orange juice and blackberries. Once the mixture has come together, mix in the orange juice and blackberries until combined.
Heat oven to 425. Pour batter into greased (or paper-lined) muffin tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the muffins comes out cleanly.

For the compote:
1/2 cup blackberries
Zest & juice of 1 orange
2 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup blackberry flavored wine (or other red wine)
Pinch of salt & pepper

Put all ingredients in a small non-stick pot and bring to a boil. Reduce until blackberries begin to break down and sauce becomes thick. Remove from heat.

Place a large flat pan over very high heat. Season the steaks with salt and pepper. Drizzle about 2 tbsp oil in the pan and cook the steaks for 30 seconds on each side. (This goes fast! Do not overcook them!)

Drizzle the compote over the steaks, or use it as a jam for the muffins.

RATING:
Steak with compote: **** (4 out of 5 stars)
Muffins: ***** (5 stars!)

What's For Dinner - Day 3

Mystery Ingredients:

Turkey Chops

Grape Juice

Fresh Coconut

Dried Fava Beans

Final Product:

Coconut Crusted Turkey Chops with a Grape Juice reduction and Fava Beans with Bacon

For the Turkey:

4 Turkey chops

1/2 cup flour

1 egg

1/2 cup fresh grated coconut, squeezed dry

1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs

2 tbsp coconut juice

Salt and pepper

Oil for frying

In a large skillet, heat the oil. In a large bowl, beat the egg with the coconut juice, salt and pepper. In another large bowl, mix together the grated coconut, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Place the flour in another large bowl. Dredge the turkey chops in the flour, then the egg mixture, then the breadcrumb mixture. Fry in the oil for about 7-8 minutes on each side, or until it is golden brown and crispy. Drain chops on a wire rack over a paper towel.

For the grape juice reduction:

3/4 cup grape juice

1/4 cup coconut juice

Pinch red pepper flakes

1 tbsp sugar

Pinch salt and pepper

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan, and boil everything together until sauce has thickened slightly, and resembles a thin syrup. Pour over the turkey chops, or serve on the side for dipping.

For the fava beans with bacon:

Fava beans, cooked and peeled

4 bacon strips, diced

Salt and pepper

If you are using dried fava beans like I did, it's best to soak them in water overnight. You can also soak them in boiling water for 1-2 hours until they are soft in the middle. 

In a skillet, fry the bacon bits until they are just crisp. Toss in the fava beans and cook until the beans have warmed through. Serve immediately.

RATING: 

Turkey & sauce - **** (4 out of 5 stars)

Fave Beans - ** (2 out of 5 stars)

New Feature!!

A few of my loyal readers have asked me a very good question after looking over my newest creations:
"Yeah, but how does it TASTE?"

It's difficult to convey taste electronically, so I have decided to add a feature to the end of the recipes called "RATING." This will provide a 1 to 5 star rating for each of the recipes to give you at least some idea of the quality of the final product.
Now, of course, everyone's taste buds are different, so I will try to be as fair as possible in providing the rating for you (in other words, I will let you know if the dish stunk).

Enjoy, and as always, thank you for your love and support!!
Always,
Aubrey Lynn <><

What's For Dinner - Day 2

Mystery Ingredients
Stewart's Root Beer
Fresh Mozzarella
Premio Sweet Italian Sausage
Quick Grits

Final Product

Root Beer Braised Sausage over Cheesy Grits
1 pkg Italian Sausage
1 bottle root beer
1/2 cup chicken broth
Pinch chili flakes

3/4 cup quick grits
3 cups water
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
More salt, pepper and butter, to taste

1 tsp fresh parsley, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme, minced

In a large skillet, brown the sausage on all sides over high heat. Lower the heat and add half the bottle of root beer and the chicken broth and chili flakes. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until sausage has cooked through. Remove the sausage from the pan to a plate and cover with foil. Turn the heat up to medium high and reduce the liquid by half, boiling for about another 5 minutes. Return the sausage to the pan and toss in the glaze. Cover and set all this aside while you make the grits.

Add the 3 cups of water, 1 tbsp salt and 2 tbsp butter to a medium pot. Bring the water to a boil and add the grits. Cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until grits has absorbed all the water and has thickened. Add the shredded mozzarella cheese and stir to combine. Season with more salt, pepper and a little more butter, if desired.

Pour the grits into a serving bowl, or directly onto your plate. Slice the sausage diagonally and place on top of the grits. Top with the reduced sauce and sprinkle with the fresh herbs and more cheese.

RATING: ***
(Three out of five stars)