Spanish Beef & Rice

Tonight's meal was a "throw together" type meal, but it sure turned out great and the family loved it!

Spanish Beef & Rice

• 2 lb. steak, cut into strips (I used sirloin)
• 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 10 oz. can Rotel tomatoes with chilies
• 8 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• vegetable or canola oil
• hot cooked rice

Place strips in a plastic bag or bowl; add enough salt and pepper to taste and mix very well. In heavy skillet (I used my electric skillet) brown the seasoned steak strips in hot vegetable oil; saute onions with the beef strips. Add tomatoes, Rotel tomatoes with chilies, and tomato sauce. Cover and cook on medium low heat (about 275°) until done. Serve over hot rice.

Friday night fish dinner!

My family's not crazy about fish, but in an effort to eat healthier I am trying to include fish in our meal rotation. Thus, Friday night fish. Tonight's meal was a HUGE success! Here's what we had:



Flounder in Lemon Dill Sauce (from www.cdkitchen.com)

• 2 lb. flounder fillets
• 6 Tbsp. margarine or butter
• 1 1/2 tsp. dill weed
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 good sized onion, thinly sliced

Over medium heat, heat all but the fish in skillet until butter is melted and onions are tender. Add the flounder; cover and cook 8 - 10 minutes until flounder flakes easily; baste occasionally.



Tropical Fruit Slaw

• 3 to 4 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 20 oz. can pineapple, crushed or tidbits, drained (save juice)
• 1 c. miniature marshmallows
• 1 large firm banana, sliced
• 1 mango, peeled, pitted, and chopped
• 1 c. diced apple (no need to peel)
• 1 seedless orange, peeled, sectioned, and chopped
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 c. - 2/3 c. vanilla yogurt
• 1/4 c. pineapple juice (from reserved juice)

Whisk together the yogurt and pineapple juice and pour over the cabbage, marshmallows, lemon juice, and fruits. Fold in the yogurt dressing until well mixed. Chill briefly before serving.



Peas & carrots (no recipe, just on the menu)



Lemon Tiramisu Dessert (sort of low carb, can sub Splenda for the sugar if you want)

• 6 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 c. sugar or Splenda
• 6 Tbsp. flour
• 1/2 to 2/3 c. ricotta cheese
• 4 to 6 Tbsp. lemon curd (I used homemade, recipe below)
• 1 c. whipped topping

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray.
In large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with cream of tartar and salt until soft peaks form. Add vanilla and sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in flour in lowest speed, a tablespoon at a time, until completely mixed in. Spread the batter in the baking pan and smooth the top. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.
Mix ricotta cheese with 1/2 the lemon curd. Add 1/2 c. whipped topping and mix until smooth. Spread over the cooled sponge base. Gently spread the rest of the lemon curd on top of the cheese mixture, then do the same with the remaining whipped topping.



Lemon Curd

• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• 6 Tbsp. sugar or Splenda
• 1 egg
• 1/4 c. butter or margarine

Whisk together zest, juice, sugar and egg in top of a double boiler or a metal mixing bowl. Cut butter into 4 pieces and add to mixture. Set pan/bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook mixture, whisking occasionally, until thickened and smooth, about 20 minutes. Chill.
Can store in refrigerator in covered container for up to 3 days.

Beef stroganoff

This is a yummy recipe that was shared with me by a friend several years ago. It's VERY easy to put together and takes about 30 minutes to cook.


BEEF STROGANOFF

• 1/4 c. butter or margarine
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 1 tsp. (2 cloves) minced garlic
• 8 oz. canned mushrooms, drained
• 1 lb. diced beef (I use chuck, flank, or sirloin steak)
• 1 1/2 c. beef bouillon (1 1/2 c. water plus 1 1/2 tsp. beef bouillon granules)
• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 3 Tbsp. all purpose flour
• 16 oz. sour cream (I've also used plain yogurt when I didn't have sour cream)
• egg noodles

Saute' onion and garlic in melted butter. Add mushrooms and diced beef and cook until beef is browned, stirring frequently. Whisk together the beef bouillon, lemon juice, and flour. Stir into the beef mixture and continue stirring over medium heat until thickened. Add sour cream and serve over cooked egg noodles.

Homemade Jerky

This is one of my uncle's recipes. We made it this week (dried it last night) using thin strips of round steak and chicken breast. I haven't tried fish yet, but I think it would be GOOD!


Jerky

3/4 c. barbecue sauce (we used my honey BBQ sauce recipe from July 2009 posts)
1/2 c. molasses
1/2 c. honey or brown sugar
1/2 c. Tender Quick salt (curing salt)
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. liquid smoke (we used hickory)
2 Tbsp. garlic salt
2 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 Tbsp. dry mustard
1 Tbsp. ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients. Pour over strips of beef, venison, chicken or poultry in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate 36 hours, stirring every 2 hours. Hang strips to dry in warm oven for 12 to 15 hours (until meat is dry) or in a dehydrator (ours took about 8 hours to dry.)

I prefer to store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.