Skirt Steak with Red Pepper Chimichurri Sauce & Spicy Sweet Potato Mash

So we decided to have skirt steak tonight and I thought what better thing to marinate/top them with than chimichurri sauce.  I went to the aisle, looked for a jar, found it, scrunched my nose and said the heck with this jarred crap.  So simple to make, not to mention cost effective, why not make it from scratch?  Below is my recipe.  In most chimichurri sauce recipes, parsley is the main ingredient.  In my recipe, the red bell pepper shares an equal spotlight with parsley.  Aside from a marinade and/or topping for meat, this makes a great dipping sauce for bread....not to mention a great pizza topper.  Our little guy wanted cheese pizza tonight, so my husband and I made a little appetizer out of the rest of the pizza, topping each piece with the chimichurri.  De-li-cious. Recipes listed below.  Oh...and there are PICTURES! FINALLY :).

 

Skirt Steak with Red Pepper Chimichurri Sauce

 2 lbs. skirt steak

1 bunch flat leaf parsley (1/2 inch chopped off the bottom)

1 small red bell pepper

6 large cloves garlic, peeled

1/4 cup cider or red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1/4 tsp. coriander

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Begin by coring and seeding your red bell pepper.  Put it in the food processor and pulse until pepper is minced.   Squeeze and drain the excess liquid from the minced pepper and place in small mixing bowl.  Add parsley and garlic to your food processor and pulse until very finely minced.  Add this to the pepper in the mixing bowl.  Add your vinegar, spices and olive oil to the bowl and stir until all ingredients are mixed.  Spoon chimichurri over skirt steaks and let marinate at least 1 hour, preferably 2 (and overnight is best).  Grill until your desired temperature and serve the remainder of the fresh chimichurri on the side.

Spicy Sweet Potato Mash

2 very large sweet potatoes (cooked until soft, skin removed and mashed)

2 tbsp. salted butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tsp. honey

3 shakes cayenne pepper

2 tbsp. marshmallow fluff

Combine hot sweet potatoes, butter, maple syrup and honey in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Swirl in marshmallow fluff and serve!


This meal serves 4.


Here is what the finished product looked like....before and during :).  In case you are wondering what is in the shot glass, I served the steak with a "chimichurri shooter." Highly recommend a wine called "Apothic Red" to accompany and compliment this meal.  Enjoy!

Gameday Beef on Weck

I take great pleasure in Sundays.  Mostly because I get to relax and spend time with the two loves of my life, my husband Jason and son AJ.  But I also get to go wild in the kitchen and make meals I don't normally make during the week :).  Today I decided to take on "Beef on Weck."  My family is from Buffalo and there is a place called Andersons...they are famous for their frozen custard and roast beef on kimmelweck sandwiches. We ordered these from Buffalo for my stepfather's birthday in April and my husband fell in love with them.  Today's recreation of this sandwich was fantastic...different than Anderson's...but totally melt in your mouth delicious.  We certainly enjoyed them and I hope you will too.

Bread Machine Kaiser Rolls with Kimmelweck Topping
Prep Time : approximately 2 hours

(9 Rolls)----------------------------------(15 Rolls)
3/4 C--------------milk ------------------1 1/2 C
1------------------ egg --------------------1 1/2
1 T----------------butter -----------------1 1/2 T
1 T----------------sugar-------------------1 1/2T
1 t-----------------salt---------------------1 1/2 t
2 1/3 C-----------bread flour------------4 1/2 C
1 1/2 t------------yeast--------------------2 1/2 t
Equal parts caraway seeds, poppy seeds and kosher salt for sprinkling on top.
1 beaten egg for egg wash.

Set machine on dough cycle (1 lb setting for 9 rolls and 1.5 lb setting for 15 rolls). When dough is ready, remove from machine and put on a lightly oiled surface.  Divide into the required number of rolls. Flatten to 1/2" thick. Cover with towel and let rise about 45 min.( or until doubled) in a warm place. Preheat oven to 425°F. Brush tops with beaten egg and sprinkle a generous amount of seed/salt mixture. Bake for 20 to 25 min. When properly done, the rolls should be golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.

Bottom Round or Rump Roast

1 3-4 lb. roast (marinated overnight -seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and brown mustard)
2 extra large Maggi beef bullion cubes
4 cups water

Place roast in a large crockpot with water and bullion cubes.  Cook on high for 5 hours until fork tender.  Cut roast in chunks and ladle au jus over meat.  Simple as that!

THE FINISHED PRODUCT!!!
Cut warm rolls and fill with beef.  Spoon Au Jus over beef and add topping of your choice.  Recommended toppings include horseradish, horseradish sauce, American cheese or Squeeze Cheese...yes, I said Squeeze Cheese.

Baked Mac n' Cheese I Had in My Fridge

In my last post I made a point of saying our family eats healthy during the week and then on the weekends it's no holds bar.  Wouldn't you know the first recipe I post is none other than cheesy, gooey, yummy, carbohydrate filled deliciousness?!?!  We had company last night and I decided to throw together a mac n' cheese with whatever cheese I had in my fridge....and it was the best mac n cheese I've made yet!  If you're a mouse like me, you should have a variety of half eaten blocks of cheese, sliced cheeses and bags of shredded cheese in your deli drawer.  So get creative and see what hodge podge of cheeses you can throw together for a delicious mac n' cheese.  Or just follow my recipe! LOL  Depending on how fancy you want to get, mac n' cheese can be a pretty pricey side dish.  This was made using fairly inexpensive cheese and hence the title, I already had everything in my house so I didn't have to go and buy anything.

Unfortunately there are no pictures to accompany this recipe.  I have no natural light coming into my kitchen and it doesn't make for pretty food photos :(.   Gotta figure something out!  But nonetheless, this is a great recipe.  Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients
1 lb. cooked elbow macaroni, al dente
1 stick butter
1/2 cup flour
4 cups milk
1 cup grated monterey jack
2 1/2 cups Kraft Mexican Four Cheese blend (1 cup reserved for topping)
3 slices Kraft American cheese
4 slices Boars Head Lacey Swiss
1/2 cup grated parmesan romano
Couple shakes of garlic powder
3 heaping teaspoons of salt/pepper mixture*

*I grind peppercorns with a mortar and pestle, add an equal amount of sea salt, and then grind them both together. I keep this mixture in a little tin by my stove and it is delish! So when you see salt/pepper in the recipe, this is what I'm reaching for.


Directions
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium high heat.  Whisk in flour to create a roux.  Lower heat to medium low and add milk, whisking constantly.  Mixture will start to thicken.  When it does, turn heat down to low.   Add in the cheese and whisk until all is melted and smooth.  Add seasoning and taste.  If you think it needs more salt/pepper or you like a little cayenne in your mac, go for it! (I was trying to make it PG last night so my 5 year old would eat it, but normally I might throw in a little cayenne)  In a large bowl (or the pot you cooked the mac in), fold cheese mixture into the macaroni.   Grease a 9x13 glass dish and pour in the mac.   Add reserved shredded cheese to the top and sprinkle on a little more salt/pepper (if desired). Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  While the oven is heating, let the mac sit on the countertop.   After 10 minutes the oven should be ready. Pop it in the oven and bake until top is golden.   Let the mac sit about 10 minutes before serving (or the roof of your mouth will not be happy).  Enjoy!

Hello world!

Hi! My name is Kelly and I'm a wife and mother residing in South Florida. This is my first blog and I'm very excited to become a member of the food blogging community! At a very young age I developed an interest in cooking. By 6th grade one of my "chores" was cooking for the family. However, the major challenge to this was cooking without onions and garlic. Oh and 86 beans while you're at it. Ahhh, one of the beauties of getting older, doing it my way! Onions and garlic are a staple in my cooking...just ask my husband :). Our family eats very healthy during the weekdays...for the most part. I try to make low fat, low carbohydrate meals that also taste good. Keeping those interesting is sometimes a challenge, but very doable! And weekends it's no holds bar!  I'm very excited to start posting photos and recipes. Stay tuned!