Thrifty Thursday: Make Your Own Marinade

Sometimes, I get a food idea in my head, and I can't get it out until I make it. This week, it was flank steak with a honey-lime marinade. When I went on my weekly grocery shopping excursion, I picked up a 1 1/2 lb flank steak and three limes. I didn't really know how to put together the marinade, but I didn't care. I have the Internet, so I can find anything! As I was looking around on the Internet, I saw a recipe for honey-lime chicken enchiladas that sounds delicious, so that's firmly lodged in my brain for next week. But what to do with this flank steak now? I needed a new idea for marinade, because I don't want honey-lime anything two weeks in a row.
As I wandered the Internet, I stumbled onto Simply Recipes, where I found this delicious marinade. It does include honey, but no limes. I had everything on hand to make the marinade, and the recipe promised a tender flank steak. Count me in!

I want you to look at all that juicy goodness! Flank steak can be pretty tough if you cook it to the well-done stage. David is the grillmaster of the house, but I warned him that this marinated beauty would only cook three minutes per side. He was skeptical. I think he was afraid that I was trying to kill him. His life insurance policy has been approved, you know. But like a good little husband, he obliged and brought the steak in at the appointed time (6 minutes total grill time). I let it rest for about 10 minutes (key for juicy meat), then cut the steak across the grain (another key to tender flank steak).

Doesn't it look absolutely delicious? It was. For sure. Last night, we had the flank steak with veggies and a salad. Tonight, we had the flank steak on top of salad. Delicious again. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Buy you a big ol' flank steak this weekend and treat yourself. It's really a quick, easy, and healthy dinner.

Why is this thrifty, you ask? For a couple of reasons...flank steak is a pretty reasonable cut of beef in and of itself. But it's the marinade that was the thriftiest, I thought. The ingredients are all things that I'd think most people have on hand, and I'd say that it cost pennies to prepare. Store-bought marinades aren't nearly as flavorful, I don't think, and they cost quite a bit. I've seen off-brand marinades on sale for a couple of bucks, but I'd rather have this any day of the week!

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak

Simply Recipes

1/3 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoon. red wine vinegar

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground back pepper

2 lbs. flank steak

kosher salt

Score the surface of the steak with 1/4-inch deep knife cuts, about an inch apart, across the grain of the meat. Combine the marinade ingredients. Place steak and marinade ingredients in a large freezer bag. Coat the steak well with the marinade. Seal the bag and place in a bowl. Chill and marinade for at least two hours and up to overnight.

Using olive oil soaked onto a paper towel, coat the grill rack of your grill with olive oil. Preheat the grill with high, direct heat. The grill is hot enough when you hold your hand about an inch over it and you can only hold it there for about a second.

Take the steak out of the marinade bag and sprinkle generously on all sides with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (I forgot this step). The salt and pepper will help form a savory crust on the steak. Place the steak on the hot grill. If you're using a gas grill, cover the grill. Grill for 4-6 minutes on each side (we grilled for 3, because our flank steak wasn't quite 2 lbs.). Halfway through grilling on each side, turn the steak 90 degrees, so you get more grill marks.

Flank steak is best eaten medium rare; well done will make it too tough. When the steak has cooked to your preferred level of doneness, remove from the grill and place on a cutting board. Cover with aluminum foil to hold in the heat and to keep the steak from drying out, and let rest for 10 minutes.

Make very thin slices, against the grain, and at a slight diagonal so that the slices are wide. This would be great with horseradish sauce.

Weird.

Today at work and on the drive home, I was listening to KLOVE, and all day long, the radio personalities were talking about their favorite sandwiches. They invited callers from all over the country to call in with their favorite sandwiches. It was really interesting, especially because I love food more than anything. By the time I was on the drive home, it seemed like everyone who called in was professing their love for peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. I mean, for about 30 minutes, it was caller after caller talking about how wonderful peanut butter and pickle sandwiches are! Good grief! I was right there, nodding in agreement with the callers who said they liked peanut butter, banana, and chocolate syrup sandwiches. Or the peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwiches. But peanut butter and pickle? Please! For the better part of 14 years, Chet has been trying to get me to eat a toasted peanut butter, pickle, and mayonnaise sandwich, which he loves. I haven't taken him up on it. I love peanut butter. I love pickles. I love mayonnaise. But together? I'm not so sure. But on my drive home, I decided that today would be the day I would have my first peanut butter and pickle sandwich. I'm not quite ready to add the mayo. Baby steps, you know.

Here it is. The PB and Pickle sandwich. I used regular ol' creamy PB and these pickles. I wonder if I used enough PB? I like a thick coat of peanut butter on my sandwiches, and I kind of held back. Look at that bold pickle slice! Wow.

There you go. I did it. I took a bite. I actually at the whole thing. It was okay. It wasn't as good as I anticipated it, based on the rave reviews I heard on the radio. Maybe I didn't put enough peanut butter on it. Maybe it was because I used the cheap stuff instead of JIF. I don't know...it was edible. Maybe even pretty good. It just tasted like peanut butter and pickles. I actually found myself thinking..."maybe the mayo would be really good..."

Now I'm going to issue you a challenge, a fun one for you, and for me. Tell me your favorite sandwich, and I'll make it, blog it, and eat it. It doesn't have to be weird, like the PB and pickle sandwich, but it can be. It could be the most delicious sandwich you've ever had, and you'd like to see me try to recreate it. Please don't be mean to me and ask me to make fried worm and dirt sandwiches or something like that, because I don't want to eat that stuff. Either leave me a comment on this post, or shoot me an email at thesweetlife@insightbb.com. I can't wait to hear what you have for me!

Shrimp Couscous

If you've been wandering around The Sweet Life for very long, you probably know that I started this blog in order to participate with Tuesdays With Dorie, which is an Internet baking group. And if you've stuck around lately, you've noticed that I haven't participated in Tuesdays With Dorie for about a month. And that's because I was beginning to see my weight inch up the scale little by little. So here at The Sweet Life, David and I have been cutting back a little bit.

Generally speaking, when you think about cutting back, you probably think about eating lots of chicken, and maybe some fish. That's what we do around here...we eat a lot of chicken, but sometimes I get tired of it. Like right now. So tonight, I tried out a new shrimp recipe, which turned out to be delicious. It's not that exciting to look at, but here are a couple of pictures, anyway...

This picture turned out really bright. It looks nice...clean and healthy.

This one was taken about 12 inches away from the other photo, and look at how different the light is! This one seems a little more "moody."

Anyway...enough with the pictures. Here's the recipe!

Shrimp Couscous

Core and More

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 zucchini, chopped

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp. thyme

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup couscous

salt & pepper, to taste

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add zucchini and saute about 1 minute or so. Add chicken broth, thympe, red pepper flakes, and shrimp. Bring to a boil. Add couscous; remove from heat, cover, and fluff after 5 minutes, or when broth is absorbed.

Chicken and Onions Italiano

When it comes to my food, I get bored easily. I love to cook, and I'm a huge collector of cookbooks and recipes. I won't live long enough to make all the recipes I have earmarked in a manila folder in my kitchen, but I'm working on it! I found this recipe online last week, and I had (almost) everything on hand to make it. It was interesting...I'm not sure that I loved the large amount of cumin involved, but it was tasty, nonetheless.
It didn't take long at all to put together. Originally, the recipe called for pork tenderloin, which I had, but it was still frozen solid. I subbed chicken for the pork, and thought it was delicious.

David and I have made the switch to whole-wheat pasta. At first, it was a little chewier, but now we don't notice any difference at all. Really, I only buy whole-wheat pasta now, unless I'm making a dish for a potluck...then I go with the regular stuff.

Chicken and Onions Italiano

Adapted from Heather's Recipe Site

1 to 1.25 lb. chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 tsp. cumin

2 tsp. oregano

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 medium onion, cut into slices

14.5 oz Italian-style diced tomatoes

Whole wheat spaghetti or linguini

Grated parmesan

Toss chicken with cumin and oregano. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add onions and chicken and cook 7-8 minutes, or until onions are softened and chicken is just pink on the center. Add tomatoes; cook until heated through. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Top pasta with chicken-onion sauce, and top with cheese.

Serves 4

Allison's Birthday Cake

Friday was my little sister Allison's birthday. She's the beautiful bride in the picture up there. I'm the Matron of Honor. That sounds old, doesn't it? Anyway, since it was her birthday, she got to pick her birthday treat from Dorie Greenspan's cookbook Baking: From My Home to Yours. She picked the Double Apple Bundt Cake. When I read the recipe, I thought two things: "Man, that sounds delicious," and "This sounds like a fall cake." And her birthday is in July. I mean, it's got apples, apple butter, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. It doesn't get more fall-like than that. But it was Allison's birthday, and by golly, if she wanted a fall cake she was gonna get it!
But listen to this. First, let me preface this by telling you that Kentucky in the summer is three words: HAZY, HOT, and HUMID. But this past weekend, we had the most delightful, cool weather you could imagine. It was about 70 degrees on Saturday and about 72 on Sunday! Woo Hoo! It felt like fall all weekend. The perfect time for a double-apple bundt cake! And didn't it turn out nicely? Allison made two requests: no nuts and no icing. She just wanted a dusting of powdered sugar. She's a nice, simple girl...like me! I think we're all pretty much simple folk, the Bickerses, Orrs, and Lawrences. She did get some good natured ribbing from Larry, Chet, and David about the absence of icing. As Mom and I were cutting and plating the cake, we heard her say, "WHEN IT'S YA'LL'S BIRTHDAYS, YOU CAN HAVE ICING!" She cracks me up. I love that girl.
The cake was absolutely fantastic. It was super-moist, and the apple flavor was perfect. It also came together incredibly easy, so it will definitely go into the rotation this fall. I usually have all the ingredients on hand to make it, too...that's always a huge bonus. Here's the recipe for you to file away for the first crisp, cool day of fall. Hopefully Dorie won't whip me for posting her recipe:

Double Apple Bundt Cake

Dorie Greenspan

For the Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 sticks (10 Tbs.) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 large eggs

1 cup store-bought apple butter, spiced or plain (I used homemade that I've been hoarding for a while)

2 medium Braeburn apples, peeled, cored, and grated

1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup plump, moist raising (dark or golden...I used golden)

Confectioner's sugar, for dusting (optional)

For the Icing (Optional)

1/3 cup confectioner's sugar

About 2 Tbs. fresh orange or lemon juice

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9- to 10-inch (12 cup) Bundt pan. If your pan is not nonstick, dust the interior of the pan with flour, then tap out the excess. Don't place the pan on a baking sheet--you want the oven's heat to circulate through the Bundt's inner tube.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed, scraping the bowl as needed, for 3 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth, thick, and pale. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition; you'll have a light, fluffy batter. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the apple butter--don't worry if it curdles the batter. Still on low, add the grated apples and mix completely to blend. Add the dry ingredients, mixing only unil they disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the nuts and raisins. Turn the batter into the Bundt pan and smooth the top of the batter with the rubber spatula.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes before unmolding and uncooling the cake to room temperature. If possible, once the cake is completely cool, wrap well in plastic and let it stand overnight at room temperature to ripen the flavors.

If you're not going to ice the cake, you can dust it with confectioner's sugar just before serving.

To make the optional icing: Put the sugar in a small bowl an dstir in a squirt or two of either orange or lemon juice. Keep adding the juice a little at a time until you have an icing that falls easily from the tip of a spoon. Drizzle the icing over the top of the cake, letting it slide down the curves of the cake in whatever pattern it makes. Let the cake stand until the icing dries, a matter of minutes, before slicing.

Making Plans...

Last year, Shirley's garden was overrun with zucchini, and she had a bumper crop of blackberries. I took a bunch of the HUGE zucchini and shredded them up to freeze for future use. I did the same with blackberries. My family proceeded to make fun of me, because I had something like 36 cups of zucchini and 24 cups of blackberries. Well...it's gone! I've used it all up on things like blackberry cobbler, zucchini bread, and blackberry pie bars, so it's time to stock up. Here's what I did yesterday:

This year, I got smart. After I rinsed the blackberries, I laid them out on towels for an hour or so, then I spread them onto a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet and stuck them in the freezer overnight. This morning, I had individually frozen blackberries. Much more efficient than one big hunk 'o frozen blackberries. Right now, I'm at about 16 cups of blackberries. I heard this morning that there are more ripe and ready for the pickin'!
After shredding about 5 super-huge zucchini, this was what I had...

And then after squeezing most of the water out of it and packing it into four-cup portions, this is what I had...
Now, I've got a head start on my Christmas baking (little loaves of zucchini bread are always well-received), and I'll be able to make some more of those divine blackberry pie bars.

Please Excuse the Construction...

Sorry, guys. The Sweet Life is going through some construction right now, and with being at VBS every night, I just haven't gotten it finished. Hopefully it won't continue to be a wreck after this weekend...