Time Saving Tip: Seasonings & Marinades Part 2

If there's something I'm expert on, its emotions. You can tell by how well I'm connecting with the other two people in this photo...

that was a joke by the way. I just thought it was awkwardly funny picture

You know the phrase, or should I say the condition, that diet magazines refer to as, " the emotional eater"? Well, I'll gladly claim that one; not as some kind of disorder or shortcoming but as a personality trait. I mean, let's face, what do I do that IS NOT emotional?

Yeah, I couldn't come up with an answer either.

So you have to think on your feet when you are a mood driven eater. It may work for some personality types to plan meals days (or weeks... eek!) in advance, but that simply doesn't work for me. I've come up with several strategies to accommodate this... ehem.... emotional disposition to food:

Pre-marinading your meat speeds up your prep time considerably. Instead of having to thaw out meat and then marinade for hours, when it's thawed out- it's ready to go.

It is also a few less ingredients you have to measure and dishes you have to dirty at dinner time.

Pre-marinading eliminates that 'thawed out taste' meat can sometimes have.

For the sake of this example, I'll use flank steak. Flank Steak has had this reputation of being 'tough' like one of the Outsiders from S.E. Hinton's Novel.

Flank steak used to be the kid from the other side of the tracks,

but we're changing that right quick

The flank has captured my foodie heart. Its an inexpensive cut of beef, and when marinaded properly is pretty amazing. I pick up mine at Costco where they come in the twin pack, so I always freeze at least one, if not both at the point of purchase.

Step 1:

Mix the Marinade (for 1-1.5 lbs of flank):

• 1/2 cup full bodied red wine (i.e. Shiraz, Cabernet)
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• Freshly ground pepper or red pepper flakes if your feelin' frisky

Step 2: Bag it up

Then pour the marinade in a plastic freezer bag overtop the flank steak. TIP: do NOT use the cheap freezer bags. Buy the pricy kind, and if you need to, double bag it. Trust me, its not worth the savings in this application.

Mark the bag with a sharpie, indicating the date and contents.

Step 3: Thaw the Meat

When you are ready to thaw: thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Quick thaw: let sit in room temperature water for a few hours.

Step 4: Make it happen

To cook: throw it on the an oiled grill for a total of 8-10 minutes for medium; 10-12 minutes for medium -rare. Let it rest for a couple minutes before slicing.

Step 5: Serving

The steak is excellent solo with red potatoes and steamed asparagus (or green beans). However, we also like it on tacos, salad, or steak sandwich. It makes excellent leftovers and keeps well for up to a week.

Now get in that kitchen and make me a sandwich.

Ingredient in Focus: Basil Pesto

Dear Marinara,

I've become tired of you. You really don't do anything for me... in fact you never really did much for me. Its not that I 'disliked' you... I just didn't like you. And as Bob Dylan put it so eloquently, "If it ain't right; its wrong!"

And I found someone else. He's green; real green.... and now that I found him at Costco in a huge jar, at bargain price I might add, there really is no more competition.

Best,

Maeret

I know he's not much to look at, but he's really versatile.

Having a key ingredient is like having a backbone to your meal. When you have one (or two) key ingredients, you can get away with using other less expensive, possibly prepackaged, or leftover ingredients like canned/frozen vegetables, store-bought stocks, bottled salad dressings or marinades, and minute rice (even though I personally hate the stuff).

Q. What constitutes a 'key ingredient'?

A. I'm so glad you asked. A key ingredient is something that's fresh, preferably in season, and has a degree of emphasis in the meal's composition.

Example A:

Key Ingredient: Fresh Pineapple

Application: Using minute rice, frozen stir-fry vegetables, and a store-bought stir-fry sauce, toss the pineapple in with the veggies (and meat if you prefer) and serve over rice.

Example B:

Key Ingredient: Fresh Avocado & Chevre Goat's Milk Cheese

Application: throw together a tortilla soup with store-bought chicken stock, leftover chicken and seasonings; garnish with avocado, chevre, and tortilla chips.

Key Ingredients can also be found in unique or gourmet condiments, sauces, oils, vinegars, and fresh herbs. Enter Basil Pesto.

It is the ideal companion whether trying to figure out a last minute side dish or looking for that one ingredient to pull your meal together. So many times you find yourself with everything but the ____ to make _____. Coming up with alternatives and substitutes on the spot helps mealtime become less stressful and your meals become more creative in the process. Check out some ideas for using this incredibly versatile ingredient:

• Toss it with your favorite pasta and voila, instant side dish! Make it a meal by adding chicken, tomatoes, nuts (walnuts, or pine nuts) and cheese (parmesan, feta, ect.)
• Use it as the sauce on your next homemade pizza (if you aren't into making the crust from scratch, you can get several pre-packaged options at the supermarket)
• Put it on your favorite sandwich and cook it like a panini in a skillet
• Drop a huge dallop into your next batch of soup (I recommend vegetable soup) and it gives it that extra 'somethin somethin'.
• Rub it on some chicken breasts, let it sit in the fridge for 30 min, and then throw them on the grill or bake them in the oven.

We Love it on pizza with sundried tomatoes, feta cheese, pine nuts, and caramelized onions.

Time Saving Tip: Seasonings & Marinades Part 1

I prefer to buy all my meat for the month at once. I do this for a couple reasons. First of all, it allows me to take advantage of sales on certain cuts of meat. Second, it minimizes trips to the store throughout the course of the month. I absolutely refuse to spend my child's naptime (when that actually happens) and bedtime hours running errands or doing household chores. Those precious hours when I'm not watching a child are spent doing the things I absolutely can not do when he is awake.

When you buy meat ahead of time, this means you are most likely going to be freezing most of it. In order to expedite this process of thawing and preparation when mealtime arrives. I've devised a system (I use that word 'system' very loosely). I pre-season or marinade my meat when I freeze it so that all I have to do is put it in the oven or on the grill when its thawed out... instead of thawing it out and then having to let it marinade for 30-60 min. That is one less step I have to think about and less ingredients I have to think about having on hand the day I decide to make that particular entree.

It may not seem like a large savings of time at first glance, but think of all the time you take measuring ingredients, removing meat from packaging, and not to mention the additional cleanup involved. In other words, 15 extra minutes really adds up when you have 25 minutes to get dinner on the table before the whole house goes into flames. (Okay, that was really dramatic, but seriously, it feels like that some days)

Here are some examples to give you the idea...

Whole Chicken:

These are usually priced very well at Costco. They come in packages of (2) 4 lb. birds. We usually will make one right away and then I freeze the second one for later. Before freezing, you will want to remove the bird from the packaging and rinse it under cold running water. Then pat it dry with a paper towel.

**Note: You really want to follow this procedure whenever dealing with any meat or poultry, regardless of when you plan on cooking it. Patting it dry with a paper towel ensures that the bird will brown nicely, especially when on the stove top (e.g. stirfry, pan seared chicken, ect.)

Next you will go ahead and season it as if you were going to cook it that night. I rubbed Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, and fresh rosemary all over this one. (You could use whatever fresh herbs you have on hand for a variation.)

Citrus Variation: Stuff with lime, lemon, and/or orange segments. Rub salt & pepper over the body. Brush with honey and juice from the fruits you put inside

Lastly, place it *gentley* into a very high quality plastic freezer bag. (don't get the store brand for something like this. Trust me, its not worth the savings..)

Defrost in the refrigerator for 2 days for best results.

To cook:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place the bird breast side up onto a rack in a large roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 400 degrees and roast for an additional 40 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (away from the bone) reads 170 degrees. If you have glazed the chicken with honey or something of that nature, it will begin to brown before it is done inside. Simply cover it with aluminum foil once it starts to do this and return it to the oven until its done cooking. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Serving Suggestions:

• green salad and wild rice
• carrots with almonds and roasted new potatoes
• grilled vegetables and sweet potatoes.

You can also just remove all the meat from the bird and use it for a number of other recipes. I typically have something like this in the refrigerator at all times. The tender meat from this chicken is great in salads, quesadillas, panini sandwiches, and soups (e.g. chicken noodle). Pictured right is the meat I removed from the

chicken and hand shredded (which is the best meat for a panini, by the way)

I tried to think of something witty or insightful to add to this post instead of a bunch of instructions... and the best I could do is: remember to put your oven mitt on before you pull the pan out. oh yeah, and keep it real.

Ingredient in Focus: Cultured Buttermilk

Whenever I run across an ingredient that seems to make

my life easier I feel compelled to share it. I know what you are thinking, 'It's a can of cultured buttermilk... that makes your life easier?!' yeah it does.

Its always good to have a nice repertoire of recipes. By 'repertoire', I mean recipes you can almost make without looking at the actual recipe.... a recipe you can make at the last minute because you have the ingredients on hand nearly all the time...., and its a recipe you KNOW that everybody loves!

Among my repertoire of desserts and baked goods to bring to parties or prepare for guests are a few recipes that include Buttermilk. It really does effect the taste considerably in things like buttermilk pancakes, banana bread, and cakes. This is an ingredient that goes bad quickly and I never use the whole carton, so I end up throwing the rest out. So...enter can of cultured buttermilk!!!

This bad boy has a shelf life of something like 2 years?! You keep it in the refrigerator and all you have to do is add water. You don't even have to premix the powder with water. Simply add the water and the powder with the rest of your ingredients and it all mixes together and somehow it tastes just like buttermilk when its all done.

So, In honor of this ingredient, I share with you one from my repertoire....

Ms. Lemons' Lemons Bars

(from William Sonoma's Weeknight Cookbook)

Crust:

6 Tablespoons of unsalted butter (at room temperature)

1/4 Cup Sugar

2/3 Cup Flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

To make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of an 8" square baking pan. In a standing electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the flour and salt, mixing on low, until blended. The dough will look crumbly.

Transfer the dough to the pan and press it down evenly into the bottom of the pan. bake until the crust is golden brown, about 15-18 minutes.

The Filling:

2 Eggs

2/3 Cup Sugar

2 Tablespoons Flour

1 Tablespoon finely grated Lemon Zest

1/3 Cup Lemon Juice

1/2 Cup Buttermilk

In the same standing mixer (no need to clean), using the whisk attachment, bead the eggs and sugar on medium speed until well blended. Add the flour, lemon zest,lemon juice, and buttermilk and beat until smooth. Pour filling over crust.

Bake bars until the filling is set and barely browned on edges, 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting and serving. Dust with powdered confectioner's sugar and serve.

And I would have a picture of the finished product..... but I brought them to Kingdom Living last night, and they were all gone by the time I thought to grab my camera..... so I guess I'll keep this one in my "Repertoire"....

plan to eat

this week: a new revelation! tom suggested that we start a tradition with food during the week. once he started talking i knew what he was referencing. you see, when he was a boy, maybe elementary/middle school aged, he had a close friend who would invite him over for dinner occassionally and friday night was taco night. i know tom loved this for several reasons and he talks about it frequently enough that i feel like i was there for "friday night taco night".

thus we have implemented "mexican mondays". that means i am not limited to just tacos, but any variety of mexican (let's be honest, it's americanized mexican) food. beef tacos, fish tacos, chicken fajitas, veggie chipotle burritos, enchilladas, and don't forget 7 layer bean deep (a household favorite). the possibilities go on and i might even pull out my kitchen bible to find some new, dare i say authentic, recipes.

maasen has already given it two thumbs up and expressed sadness that at the end of may she will miss a mexican monday. i am thrilled to know what i am making (more or less) every monday. this is such a relief that we've decided to implement another staple meal, pizza. i think i am going to try this out on wednesdays, since that's a busy day and one less decision is a blessing.

there is some peace of mind that goes along with a meal schedule. don't get me wrong, even though i have 31 "approved" recipes and i could make a different meal every day of the month, i don't plan things out that well. i like to have the freedom to make what my stomach wants. and if i don't make it to the store then i need to be able to make something out of refried beans, rice milk and apples. knowing that mondays are mexican nights helps me out immensely because when it comes to dinner i'm the one in charge. typically tom doesn't care what i make so i can't turn to him for suggestions, maas and cass will eat anything i put in front of them and if wyatt had his way we'd eat chili for every meal.

so there you have it, my tip of the day (or week, or month). pick a meal you can eat every week and designate a day for it.

i would have a picture for you but we were pretty excited to eat. like micah and those waffles. instead here's what the van-bs think about mexican mondays: