Beef Teriyaki

Sometimes you are just in the mood for some beef! To me, this is a very lady-like approach to eating beef.  The pieces are small and the flavor is powerful.  Serve it with some veggies and rice and it's a complete meal! 

Beef Teriyaki 

Ingredients:

1 15 oz can pinapple chunks with juice

1 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp ginger, minced

1 lb skirt steak, sliced thin (or carne asada)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients together (except beef).  Set aside about 1/2 cup of the sauce; cover and refrigerate.  

Place beef in a plastic bag and pour remaining marinade over beef.  Press out the air and seal the bag.  Marinate for 6 hours or overnight. 

On a grill, preheat to a medium-high heat.  Grill the steak on each side until cooked to desired doneness.  

In a large bowl, pour reserved marinade over the cooked beef and stir until it is well coated.  Serve with rice or fresh grilled pineapple. 

Great to use as shish kababobs too!

Thank you Family Favorite Recipies cookbook!

BBQ Ribs

I never order ribs when I go out to eat.  I don't know why.  I LOVE RIBS.  Maybe it's because they are so messy and I don't need to be all "self-consious" about ribby sauce all over my face when I'm out in public.  

The first time I ate ribs was when my uncle made the most amazing dutch-oven ribs once at Girls Camp when I was a youth.  I clearly remember eating ribs for the first time and being surprised at how delicious they were.  I was actually amazed at the taste.  YUM.

These ribs are pretty tasty, but next time I'll get more.  The meat shrank during the cooking process so there wasn't much there to enjoy. 

BBQ Crockpot Ribs

Ingredients:

1 rack baby back pork ribs

2 cups water

bbq seasonings (you can purchase a bottle or just season with your favorites from your spice rack)

1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce

2/3 packed brown sugar

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Rub ribs with seasonings and place in your slow-cooker.  Cut to fit, if necessary.  Pour in water, cover and cook for 6-8 hours, until the ribs are cooked through and are starting to fall of the bone.  

In a medium bowl, combine BBQ sauce, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce.  

Heat grill to a medium-high heat and cook 2-3 sections of ribs at a time on the grill.  Coat with the sauce.  Cook 2-3 minutes on each side.  Allow the sauce to get cooked onto the meat. 

If you are using an outdoor grill, place the finished ribs on the upper rack to stay warm and get a smokey flavor.  If you are grilling indoors, cover with foil until ready to serve. 

Thank you Family Favorite Recipes Cookbook!

Grilled Chicken

Gone are the days where I would sprinkle my chicken with some seasoning salt.  When I discovered this combo of seasonings, I never looked back.  Now it's my go-to seasoning recipe and I use it practically EVERY time a dish calls for chicken.

It's divine!

Grilled Chicken

Ingredients

Equal Parts (I usually use about a Tablespoon of each)

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder 

Sugar

Directions

Mix and rub on raw chicken.  Grill to perfection and enjoy!

French Onion Soup Sandwich

One of the first things I learned about my husband after we got married is that he loves French Onion Soup.  He'll often order it when we go out to eat, and he even loves the frozen kind that Costco sells.  So when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to give it a try!  It's a keeper!  Next time I'll double the recipe.  No leftovers makes me sad. 

Thanks, Tasty Kitchen

French Onion Soup Sandwich

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons butter, and some more to butter bread

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

2 whole medium yellow onions, sliced 1/4" thick

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon fresh Thyme leaves

3 Tablespoons of Beef Broth

1/2 cups grated cheese (Gruyere or Provolone)

Sourdogh bread, sliced

Directions:

In a large skillet over medium heat,  melt the butter and olive oil together.  Add onions and stir so they are all coated.  Cook undisturbed for about 5 minutes. 

Stir and add in the salt, pepper, sugar and Thyme.  Stir, cover the pan and let cook.  Stir occasionally until the onions are soft and deep golden color.  Reduce the heat if onions are browning too soon. 

Add in the beef stock and scrape any bits of the bottom of the pan.  Remove from heat. 

On a griddle or skillet, preheat and then place buttered bread (buttered side down) and top it with cheese.  Add some onion mixture and more cheese. Top with another slice of bread.

Cook and flip.  

Serve!  

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken with Pineapple

I used to grill my chicken by simply sprinkling it with some good 'ol Johnny's Seasoning Salt.  It's good and everything, but recently, I've really tried to add some variety of flavors to my chicken.  This marinade was pretty simple to make and it tasted great!  

*Recipe came from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken with Pineapple

Ingredients:

6 boneless chicken breasts

6 oz pineapple juice

1/2 c soy sauce

1 Tablespoon molasses

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 canola or olive oil

3 Tablespoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Pineapple rings for grilling

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the pineapple juice, soy sauce, molasses, brown sugar, oil, vinegar and garlic powder.  Whisk to combine.  Place the chicken in a large ziplock bag and pour the marinade over the chicken.  Seal and let marinate for 6-8 hours.  

Grill chicken over medium-hight heat for 6-7 minutes on each side, until it is cooked through.  Before chicken is finished, add the pineapple rings to the grill for about 2 minutes each side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and tent foil over the top.  Let sit for 5 minutes.  Slice chicken and serve with pineapple over rice.  

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Following food blogs is a favorite past time/time waster for me.  Recently, my favorite one is Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  She's got some great meal ideas and 9 times out of 10, they are easy to make and taste as good as her pictures.  

When I saw this recipe for grilled pork tenderloin, I wanted to try it because her picture makes it looks so appetizing.  Also, I'd never cooked (or eaten) a pork tenderloin. 

At the store when I went to get the pork there is a selection of pre-marinated tenderloins you can buy.  They looked tempting, but I was eager to try out Mel's marinade.  It was worth the effort. And I think grilling gave it the nudge it needed to be a "repeatable" meal. 

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

2-3 pounds pork tenderloin

3/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 Tablespoons Worchestersire sauce

1 Tablespoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients except the pork and whisk together, until well combined.  Pour the marinade into a ziploc bag and add the pork tenderloin.  Make sure the marinade covers the pork completely and squeeze all the air out of the bag.  Marinade for 8-10 hours. 

Preheat an outdoor grill.  Grill the pork about 3-4 minutes on each side or until the internal temperature is about 155º.  

Remove from grill and place on a plate, tenting with foil.  Allow to sit about 10 minutes before serving. 

*Tastes great over rice.  I used Basmati rice.  

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

If you ask me, sweet potatoes are gross.  I just can't bring myself to eat them.  They LOOK good, and I wish I liked them.  So the only reason I decided to make these was for my husband.  He loves sweet potatoes.  

See how much I love him?

So as we are eating dinner, I am looking at these orange potato chunks and encouraging my 5 year old to eat them.  I realize that I can't talk to him about trying out the food that was prepared for dinner if I'm not willing to do it myself.  

I take a few pieces and put them on my plate.  I pick one up.  I take a moment to prepare myself for the yuck I'm about to eat.  I pop it in and chew.  And chew.  And chew.  Swallow.  

Surprise!  These babies aren't bad!  In fact, I enjoyed how they tasted so much I ate 2 more skewers full of sweet potatoes!  I felt like such a big girl, trying out new food!  

Glad I did!

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

2-4 medium sweet potatoes

olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions:

Peel each potato and cut into chunks.  Place all the chunks in a microwaveable bowl and cover with plastic or a ziplock bag if the bowl will fit inside.  Microwave for 3 minutes, stir, recover and microwave again for another few minutes.  You want the chucks to be tender enough to put on a skewer, but not cooked all the way through.

Place 5-6 pieces on a skewer.  Lay all the loaded skewers on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Use a brush to coat all sides of the potatoes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

Preheat the outdoor grill and grill the potato skewers for about 5 minutes on each side.  Cooking time may vary, so just grill until the potatoes are cooked through.