Carne Asada

We just had this for Sammy's birthday dinner. You may remember eating it at Jenny's first birthday party and many other family events. Anyway, at Mimi's request, I am sharing it with you.

1 flank steak (1-2 lbs, NOT tenderized)
1 lime, juiced
2-4 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 c oil (vegetable or olive)


2-4 Tablespoons oil
1 small red onion, chopped
fresh cilantro, chopped. about 1/4 cup, use more or less to your taste
1/4 pound each monterey jack and cheddar cheese, shredded


place lime juice, pressed garlic and oil in a one gallon zipper bag. close and mix well. add flank steak. let marinate at room temperature while you preheat the grill for 15 minutes.

cook flank steak over high heat until medium/medium rare, about 5-7 minutes per side (if you like you meat more well done, don't worry. you will cook this more later).

place meat on a plate and cover well with foil. let rest until cool enough to handle (I like to place it in the fridge overnight). cut flank steak into small bite size square-ish pieces, about 1/4 - 1/2 inch.

heat a large skillet over medium high, add oil (it's more traditional and more flavorful to use bacon grease or lard). cook cut meat and onions, stirring occasionally, until onions are melt-y and the meat is heated through. stir in cilantro. add cheeses and stir until melted.


a few notes: if you let the carne asada sit a while on low to medium low heat, the meat's natural juices and the cheese will mix together and make a kind of sauce. Sometimes, I like a cleaner flavor and I omit the cheese.




I love this served with homemade guacamole:

Reserve about 2 teaspoons of the lime juice and 2 tablespoons each of the red onion and cilantro from the carne asada recipe. chop the reserved onions fine (very small). use just the cilantro leaves and chop small.

additional ingredients:
2 ripe avocados
1/2 fresh jalapeno, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
salt

mash one avocado with the onion, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic and pepper until smooth. cut the remaining avocado the large chunks and place in bowl. sprinkle with lime juice and salt to taste. mix lighlty to preserve texture of avocados.

EASY CROCK POT STEW

1 1/2 to 2 lbs. of lean stew meat
**place in bottom of crock pot and salt and pepper the meat real good and also add about 1/2 package of dry onion soup mix, or if you don' t have that handy add lots of dehydrated onion.

Then cut up 5 potatoes ( I leave skins on and it's usually good size chunks)
one lb. bag of baby carrots
one can of drained corn

mix separately 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup and one can of tomato soup and one can of water. ( it will be a gross color but don't worry)

pour over the meat and vegetables.. cook on high about 6-7 hours and you have great stew!

SHEPARD's PIE

I got this recipe off Rachel Ray. I really does take only 30 minutes. I added some stuff because I though it was too bland.

2 lb Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 Tbsp sour cream or softened cream cheese
1 large egg yolk
1/2 C cream
1 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 3/4 lb ground beef
1-2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 onion chopped
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 C beef stock
3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 C frozen green beans

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potatoes and pour them into a bowl. Combine sour cream, egg yolk, and cream. Add cream mixture, salt, and cheese to potatoes. Mix until potatoes are smooth.

While potatoes are boiling, heat large skillet over medium high heat. Put meat in pan and season with salt and pepper. Brown and crumble meat for 3-4 minutes. Add carrot and onion to meat. Cook veggies with meat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

In a small skillet over medium heat cook butter and flour together for 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and Worcestershire Sauce. Thicken gravy, about one minute. Add gravy to meat and vegetables. Stir in green beans.

Preheat broiler to high. Fill small rectangular casserole with meat and vegetables mixture. Spread mashed potatoes over meat evenly. Broil 6-8 inches from the heat until potatoes are browned.

Beef Fajitas

Because I love yummy food. And this is easy, too! When you are cutting the steak, after it has rested, be sure to reserve the juices for serving.

Ingredients
1 flank steak (about 2 1/2 pounds)
1 large onion, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch thick rounds (do not separate into rings)
1 green bell pepper, prepared as below
1 red bell pepper, prepared as below
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, prepared as below
1 lime, halved (one have juiced and one half cut into wedges and reserved for serving)
salt and pepper

Accompaniments:
Tortillas
Crema Agria (or traditional sour cream)
Salsa
Guacamole (or chopped avocado)

1. Preheat gas grill on high for 15 minutes.

2. Generously sprinkle both sides of steak with lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Grill steak, covered, until well seared and dark brown on one side, 5 to 7 minutes. Using tongs, flip steak; continue grilling until interior of meat is slightly less done than you want it to be when you eat it, 2 to 5 minutes more for rare or medium-rare (depending on thickness of steak).

3. Transfer meat to cutting board; cover loosely with foil and let rest for 10 minutes.

4. While meat rests, turn burners to medium. Grill onions and peppers, covered, turning occasionally, until onions are lightly charred, about 6 minutes, and peppers are streaked with dark grill marks, about 10 minutes. Remove vegetables from grill and cut into long, thin strips; set aside.

5. Slice steak very thin on bias against grain; adjust seasonings with additional salt and pepper. Arrange sliced meat and vegetables on large platter; serve immediately with tortillas, passing salsa, guacamole and sour cream separately.


STEP BY STEP: Cutting Peppers For the Grill


Remove and discard a thin slice from the top and bottom of each pepper. Pull out the seeds. Slice down one side of the pepper, then lay it flat, skin side down. Slide a sharp knife along the inside of the pepper to remove the ribs.

STUFFED MEATBALLS

1 1/2 c. uncooked instant rice
1 onion, chopped fine
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 lbs. ground beef
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt, pepper
10 oz. pkg. frozen brussel sprouts
2 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 c. water
1 tsp. dried thyme

Combine first 6 ingredients. Shape scant 1/4 cupful around each frozen brussel sprout to form a meatball. Place meatballs in 9 x 13. Combine tomato sauce, water, & thyme. Pour over meatballs. Bake covered at 350* for 1 hr. 15 min. Serve on cooked rice. If you like prepared horseradish, mix some into your rice! This secret ingredient makes it super-fantastic, except to a four year old.This is one of my freezer meals. When I buy my huge chubs of beef, I double the recipe and freeze in ziplocs, 12-15 meatballs per dinner. One recipe will make two dinners for us (2 adults, 2 eating children).

BEEF & BROCCOLI

1 lb. beef steak, sliced thin

1/4 c. water

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. brown sugar

3 T. vinegar

2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

2 t. grated fresh ginger

1 T. cornstarch

2 T. oil

1 large onion, sliced thin

2 heads broccoli, cut up into florets

Combine beef, water, soy, sugar, vinegar, garlic, ginger and cornstarch in a bag or bowl and marinate 10 minutes or more. Drain well, reserving marinade. Place broccoli and a bit of water in a microwave bowl covered in plastic wrap and microwave it 4 minutes until tender-crisp (or, hey, you could steam it "the real way"). Heat oil in a wok or skillet and brown beef and onion together about 3 minutes. Add marinade and bring to a boil at least 5 minutes and until beef is done and sauce is bubbly. Stir in drained, hot broccoli and serve on rice. It's good. REALLY good.

THE BEST MEATLOAF!

2 lbs lean ground round or chuck (hamburger)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/4 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
1 cup cracker crumbs or fine dry bread crumbs
1 egg
1 envelope brown gravy mix
1 cup milk
6 to 8 small potatoes, halved or quartered

Preparation:In large bowl, mix all ingredients except potatoes. Shape into a loaf. Place in a Crock Pot. Place potatoes at the sides of loaf. (If potatoes are peeled, wrap in foil to keep from darkening.) Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. Serves 6.

* I didn't peel mine, so i don't know how that tin foil works.* i made extra brown gravy to use for the potatoes and meat. so so yummy!!!