Balsamic and Herb Flank Steak

Mix together the following in a large plastic zip-top bag:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
4 cloves garlic, minced

Add a 1 - 1 1/2 pound flank steak to the marinade. Refrigerate, massaging and turning occasionally, 8 hours.

Preheat a large non-stick pan over medium high heat. Remove steak from marinade, and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Cook for 6 - 7 minutes on each side for medium rare. Let steak rest for 5 minutes after cooking. Cut against the grain into thin slices.


Notes: This is a modified Bobby Flay recipe. Bobby wants you to grill the steak, which is all well and good, but it's been raining here for like a million days so that was a no go. I also added the mint, which was not in the original recipe. My mint plant has been growing like crazy, and I really needed to use some of it. J said the steak pieces were good in the green salad with tomatoes and honey mustard dressing, but I didn't try that myself. I served this with the salad and some oven-roasted potatoes.

Crawfish Monica

Ingredients

• One pound crawfish (pre-cooked tail meat)
• One bunch green onions, chopped
• Four cloves garlic, minced
  
• One pint half and half
• One stick butter
• Cajun seasoning
• One pound rotini pasta
  

Steps

• In a large pot, boil pasta for 8 - 9 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again.
  
• In a separate large saucepan, melt the stick of butter.
• Saute the onions and garlic in the melted butter for approximately 2 - 3 minutes or until softened and aromatic.
• Add crawfish tails to pan and cook an additional 3 - 4 minutes.
• Add half and half to pan. Stir in a few large pinches of Cajun seasoning. Taste, and add more if desired. Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add drained rotini to sauce, simmer an additional 10 minutes.

Notes: If your sauce seems a little thick, add 1/4 cup milk at a time to achieve desired consistency. I also like to add a little parmesan cheese right at the end. I know it's not traditional, but I think it's super yum. I got this recipe from a friend over at Jambase. Thanks, "Foghorn."

Honey Balsamic Glazed Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

• Chicken pieces (whatever kind you like)
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• 5 sprigs FRESH rosemary

Steps

• In a large Ziploc bag, combine all ingredients except chicken. Massage them together to dissolve the brown sugar.
• Add chicken to bag. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a pan with a double layer of aluminum foil. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.
• Place chicken in pan. Cover tightly with foil. Cook for 30 - 35 minutes.
• While chicken is roasting, remove rosemary sprigs from marinade. Pour marinade in small saucepan.
• Bring to a boil. This will kill the bacteria from the chicken. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes to reduce to a glaze.
• When chicken is done, baste with the glaze.
  

Notes: This is a recipe adapted from Giada diLaurentis (I think I spelled that wrong). It was on her Giada at Home show. She used drumettes, and sprinkled sesame seeds and parsley on at the end. I went with chicken breasts, because that's what I prefer. She also used several crushed cloves of garlic instead of garlic salt. I just didn't feel like dealing with that, so I switched it to salt. I also spooned some of the glaze on the steamed vegetables I served this with. It kind of reminds me of the honey-grilled salmon from Applebees, except REALLY good.

Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound macaroni
• 5 slices bacon, cut into small chunks
• 3 tbsp flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp Tony Cachere's
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 pound cheddar cheese

Steps

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  
• Bring water to a boil. Cook macaroni for 7 minutes. Drain. If it doesn't quite seem done all the way, that's fine. It will finish up in the oven.
• In a separate large saucepan, cook bacon over medium high heat until fat has rendered and bacon pieces are crispy. Remove them with a slotted spoon to a plate with paper towels on it to drain. Reserve drippings
• Turn heat on pan down to medium.
• Sprinkle flour into bacon drippings. Whisk constantly for 3 minutes.
• Add milk to roux along with salt, paprika, and Tony's. Bring to boil, simmer for 10 minutes.
• Temper in egg. Add 3/4 of cheese and melt
• Grease a large casserole with Pam.
• Pour cooked macaroni into casserole dish. Fold in cheese sauce and bacon. Top with the rest of the cheese.
• Bake, covered for 30 minutes.
  

Manhattan Steaks

Ingredients

• Thick cut steaks, one per person
• Olive oil
• Montreal Steak Seasoning (I like McCormick Low Salt)
• 4.5 ounces bourbon (VERY good quality. If you think Kentucky Deluxe is good quality, stop reading immediately. We're not friends anymore)
• 1 ounce sweet vermouth
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. butter, divided
• 2 shallots, minced

Steps

• Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat.
• Sprinkle each steak with olive oil and coat with seasoning on both sides.
• When pan is hot, place steaks in it. Cook for 5-6 minutes on each side for medium rare.
• Remove steaks to pan and cover with foil keep warm.
• Return pan (with drippings) to heat. Add olive oil and 1 tbsp butter to pan. Melt together.
• Add shallots and cook 2 minutes
• Add alcohol. At this point you have two options. You can ignite it and wait until the alcohol burns down, or you can boil it out. This is up to you. When the alcohol is gone, add the final tablespoon of butter and remove pan from heat.
  
• Serve immediately over steaks.
  

Notes: This recipe is from Rachel Ray's 365 No Repeats cookbook. I didn't have shallots the other day, so made the sauce with garlic and it worked fine. I used Woodford Reserve bourbon, and it turned out really nicely.

Beef and Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients

• 1 quart beef broth
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1/2 small onion, diced (can be replaced with 3 shallots, diced)
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 pint mushrooms, sliced
  
• 1/3 cup red wine
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• Parmesan cheese
  

Steps

• Heat beef broth in a small pot. DO NOT BOIL.
• Place a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add olive oil.
• Saute onion, garlic, and mushrooms for 2 - 3 minutes or until onion is translucent and mushrooms are small.
• Add rice. Saute additional 2 minutes, stirring well to combine veg, rice, and oil.
• Add red wine. Cook for 2 minutes.
  
• Begin adding broth to rice. I use a really big ladle, and add 2 ladles the first time.
• Cook until first broth has been absorbed, stirring very frequently.
• Continue to add broth and cook until absorbed, one ladle at a time. The whole process should take 20 - 25 minutes.
• When all broth has been added and cooked in, remove risotto from heat. Add parmesan cheese and stir in.

Notes: For the parmesan, use as much or little as you like. I like kind of a lot. This dish is really versatile, and can be a meal in itself. I also sometimes serve it with pot roast style beef tips, which is good and stretches it out for more people or meals.

Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds chicken breast (or 1 small whole chicken, if you like dark meat too)
• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 pint mushrooms
• 1 can Ro-tel tomatoes (DO NOT DRAIN)
  
• 1 large can very small peas, drained (I like LeSeur)
• 1 pound Velveeta, cubed

Steps

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  
• Boil chicken for approximately 20 minutes. Remove, and shred with forks.
• For spaghetti: You have 2 options. Number 1, cook the pasta in chicken broth. Number 2, cool the broth made by cooking your chicken in step one, STRAIN IT, and cook the pasta in it. Cook until almost done. It will finish up in the oven.
• While chicken and spaghetti are cooking, saute onions, peppers, and mushrooms in olive oil.
• When the above are finished cooking, combine in a LARGE pan (9X13 doesn't quite cut it, unless it's super deep) that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Add Ro-tel, peas, and velveeta. Stir really well. Make sure no cheese is just sitting on top, or it screws up the sauce.
• Cover pan in foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Let rest 3-5 minutes before serving.

Notes: Awesome.

Chicken for Tacos

Ingredients

• 1 pound chicken, poached and shredded
• 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 pack "chicken taco" seasoning
• 1 pack ranch dressing mix
• 1/2 red onion, diced

Steps

• Combine all ingredients in pan over medium heat. Bring to boil.
• Reduce heat to low. Simmer 20 minutes

Notes: I know, this doesn't even really seem like cooking. But it's delicious, so hush.

Homemade Pasta Sauce

Ingredients

• One pound ground beef (or turkey)
• One onion, diced
  
• Three cloves of garlic, minced
  
• One half cup of mushrooms, sliced
• One large can crushed tomatoes in puree
  
• Handful fresh basil, chopped

Steps

• Brown ground beef over medium heat. When browned, remove meat from pot with slotted spoon and place in bowl.
• In drippings, cook diced onions over medium-low heat for at least 10 minutes until soft and slightly caramelized.
• Add garlic and mushrooms to onions. Cook additional 5 minutes.
• Return beef to pot. Add crushed tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes
• Add basil to sauce. Simmer additional 10 - 15 minutes.

Notes: Serve over your favorite shape pasta. I like farfalle or penne, J prefers spaghetti. Make sure to salt and pepper at each step. I use garlic salt on the beef, and regular salt for the remainder. Reheats very well, and doesn't become greasy as some tomato sauces do.