#82-#83 On the Grill :: Steak & Salmon + Stuffed Mushrooms

We've still been cooking at home a lot lately, but we haven't really been following recipes. The weather's been quite nice, so we've been grilling a lot (recently, steaks and salmon). Roasting vegetables has become a favorite as well, so we usually choose a couple to go with our main course.

I drizzled the salmon (both sides) with some olive oil, seasoned with salt & pepper, and gave it a squirt of fresh lemon juice. Then I dropped them on the grill for a few minutes on each side. To go with it I roasted some broccoli, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt & pepper, at 400 for 20 minutes. Then I removed it, sprinkled some Parmesan cheese over the top, and returned them to the oven for another 10 minutes. Same process with the mushrooms -- drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with salt & pepper, and roasted at 400 for 20 minutes. Then I removed them, filled them with bacon crumbles, topped them with monterey jack cheese, and returned them to the oven for another 10 minutes.




These steaks were bacon wrapped and broiled for 6-10 minutes on each side (depending on if you want rare to well done). The squash spears and asparagus spears were drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with salt & pepper, and roasted at 400 for 30-40 minutes (the squash takes longer than the asparagus does, so keep an eye on them). I also made some blue cheese butter, which we've made before and we try to keep on hand all the time now. It goes with so many things so well! All you do is mix it up in the food processor -- a stick of softened butter, 1/2 c blue cheese crumbles, a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix everything well, then transfer it to a piece of saran wrap. Use the saran wrap to roll it into a log (think the shape of a regular stick of butter), twist the ends closed and refrigerate until firm. Store extra in the refrigerator.

#73 :: Slow Roast Beef

Jamie made the most delicious roast beef! It really was perfect....medium rare, melt in your mouth like butter....I was really impressed! Usually when Jamie cooks there's some sort of disaster, but this time everything came out great! We had our roast beef with sauteed mushrooms and Ricotta Mashed Potatoes.

This is more of a process, rather than a recipe. He wanted to know how to cook the perfect roast beef (inspired by a Good Eats episode on Food Network) so he searched online until he found these instructions from howtocookmeat.com.



Instructions from HowToCookMeat.com

Star Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

First Grill Out of the Year!

Wednesday we grilled out on the patio for the first time this year! We made kabobs with chicken, mushrooms and green peppers on the grill, and then we made Parmesan Roasted Asparagus inside in the oven. Thank goodness the weather is warming up and we can grill outside! We're keeping our eye out for a nice patio set for the deck so we can spend more time out there this summer.

#65 :: 4-Step Chicken Marengo

This is the first recipe we've made so far that I don't really want to eat again. Jamie and Josh both seemed to like it well enough. I can't really say what I didn't like bout it really....just a little bland, too tomato-y maybe....I really can't put my finger on it. It just wasn't one of my favorites.

Ingredients

• 3 large chicken cutlets, sliced into thin paillards (slice while partially frozen)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium sweet onion, sliced
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and julienned
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
  
• 1/2 tablespoon butter

Directions

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, to taste, and lightly dredge in flour. In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat and add the chicken. Brown on both sides, until nicely golden, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate. In the same pan, add more oil, if needed, along with the onion, mushrooms and peppers and saute until softened and fragrant, but not limp, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the tomato paste and cook a few minutes to cook out the raw flavor. Turn up the heat, and add the wine/wine to deglaze the pan and let it reduce for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the beef broth and tomatoes. Once the mixture begins to bubble, add the browned paillards and any juices from the chicken and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the chicken is warmed through, about 3 minutes. Turn the heat off and stir in the butter. Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings

Recipe from Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa D'arabian on Food Network

Star Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

#64 :: Pot Roast

Ahhh comfort food. This is a simple crock pot roast recipe. Over the past couple months I've discovered that I love cooking....but I also love how easy a crock pot night is! :) Today was a busy work day for me, so a crock pot dinner really helped! Unfortunately, I was so tired and worn out that I completely forgot to get a photo of all this before we ate it. Photo or not....try it, it was delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 (12-ounce) bag frozen onions

• 1 (8-ounce) bag frozen baby carrots

• 1 (8-ounce) package sliced mushrooms

• 1/2 pound small new potatoes, halved

• 4 pounds beef chuck roast, rinsed and patted dry

• Salt and pepper

• 2 tablespoons canola oil

• 1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup

• 1 packet onion soup mix

• 1 cup low-sodium beef broth

• 1/4 cup steak sauce

Directions

Into a slow cooker, put the onions, carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes.

Season the roast with salt and pepper. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the meat on all sides in oil. When it is browned, put it in the slow cooker on top of the vegetables.

In a small bowl, stir together the cream of celery soup, onion soup mix, beef broth, and steak sauce. Pour over top of roast. Cover and cook on high setting for 3 to 4 hours or low for 8 to 9 hours.

Makes 8 servings

Recipe from Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee on Food Network

Star Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

#47 :: Chicken & Shrimp Kabobs

There are so many different varieties of kabobs to make...we could go all summer and never make the same ones twice! Plus, something about grilling veggies makes them taste so much better! Grilled flavor really is the best! I can't wait until summertime when we can grill kabobs outdoors on the patio! Listen to me talking about summer in February....I think I have a case of cabin fever......



Makes 8 shrimp skewers and 6 chicken skewers

Star Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Ingredients

• 1 bag frozen shrimp (around 12 oz.- we used pre-cooked)
  
• 2 chicken breasts
  
• 1 green bell pepper
  
• 1 pint of mushrooms
  
• Sprinkle of garlic salt
  
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Wooden skewers
  

Directions

Since our shrimp were pre-cooked, and our chicken wasn't, we put them on different skewers. If your shrimp is raw, you can use it on the same skewer as the chicken.

Cut the chicken breast into small to medium sized cubes. Do the same with the green bell
pepper, and remove the stems from the mushrooms. Slide them onto the skewers, alternating meats and veggies. Sprinkle with garlic salt, and then salt & pepper to season.

Cook on a med-high heat grill for 10-12 minutes, rotating occasionally to get grill marks on all sides.


This wedding gift has probably been used more than anything else we got -- The George Foreman Indoor/Outdoor Electric Grill! You can use it outdoors on its stand, or indoors on the counter. Having an indoor grill in Ohio during the winters is GREAT! Thanks Mike & Michelle!


Makes 8 shrimp kabobs and 6 chicken kabobs

Star Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

#33 :: Chicken w/ White Wine Mushroom Sauce

This entire meal was FABULOUS! AMAZING! One of my favorites so far! Do I say that a lot? Even though this meal took us quite a while to prepare, it was worth it. Definitely worth it!

Directions

For Brine:

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 4 cups water
• 1 lemon, quartered and juiced
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 4 (6-ounce) boneless chicken breasts with skin
• 4 drops liquid smoke
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 8 sage leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For White Wine Mushroom Sauce:

nocoupons

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup semidry white wine
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Special equipment: grill pan

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a large bowl mix together water, lemon juice, sugar and salt until dissolved. Add lemon quarters and chicken. Marinate for 30 minutes. Remove from marinade and pat dry. Preheat a grill pan over medium heat. Massage 1 drop of liquid smoke into each chicken breast. Salt and pepper generously then rub 1 tablespoon butter over and under skin of each chicken breast, placing 2 sage leaves underneath the skin. Place on hot grill, skin side down, until skin is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a baking sheet and bake until cooked through, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile for the white wine mushroom sauce: In a large saute pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter with olive oil. Add onions, mushrooms and cayenne pepper. Saute until onions are translucent and mushrooms are tender, about 8 minutes. Add wine and reduce until it's almost evaporated. Add chicken stock and simmer until reduced by one third. In a small bowl press together remaining butter and flour with fingertips until well blended, then slowly add to the sauce while stirring with a wooden spoon. Simmer until sauce resembles loose gravy, about 5 minutes. Serve warm with the chicken.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipe from Cooking for Real on Food Network.

Star Rating: 5+ out of 5 stars

#29 :: Chorizo Mushroom Queso Dip

This dip (or Queso Fundido as they call it at the Mexican restaurants here) is one of my favorites!! We've tried twice before to make it at home so we didn't have to go out for it. I made it once without a recipe, and just hoped for the best...and it came out pretty good. Jamie tried it a few days after me and completely burned it. But, since this is one of my favorites, we had to just keep trying until we got it right. I saw Rachael Ray make it one day on her show, so I decided to try her method and see how it turned out. It was definitely good! We'll keep looking for the perfect Queso Fundido recipe, but this one will do for today!

Ingredients

• 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, a drizzle
• 1/2 pound Spanish or Mexican chorizo
• 1/2 pound mushroom caps, quartered
• 1 cup diced Mexican melting cheese or Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 bag corn tortillas or blue corn tortillas, any variety

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in small skillet over medium-high heat. Dice the Spanish chorizo and add to the pan to render the fat. If using fresh Mexican chorizo, remove the casing and crumble while it's browning. Add the mushrooms to the skillet and cook with the sausage until just tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Transfer the sausage mixture to a small casserole or baking dish and top with the cheese. Bake until bubbly. Remove from the oven and top with the scallions. Serve with chips for dipping, or warm corn tortillas.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Recipe from 30 Minute Meals on Food Network.

Star Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

#27 :: Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms

I happened to glance on the backside of the mushrooms wrapper and found this recipe printed there. I'm going to check all my carton's now for interesting recipes. :)

Ingredients

• 3 slices bacon, chopped
• 8 Crimini mushrooms or White mushrooms
  
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 Tbsp. chopped onions
  
• 3/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese
  

Directions

Preheat oven to 400.

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, dice and set aside.Remove mushroom stems. Set aside caps. Chop the stems.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Slowly cook and stir the chopped stems and onion until the onion is soft. Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, stir together the mushroom stem mixture, bacon and 1/2 cup Cheddar. Mix well and scoop the mixture into the mushroom caps. Bake in the preheated oven 15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Remove the mushrooms from the oven, and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.



Makes 8 mushrooms.

Recipe from AllRecipes.com

Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

#19 :: Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

I was a little nervous about this one. I was counting on Jamie's help, and then he called to say he was working 2 hours late. I had to do it on my own! My first problem was that I thought we had a beef tenderloin. Turns out it was pork. Not sure if that made it any better or worse, but the recipe definitely called for beef. Also, about halfway through the recipe I realized that we didn't have any twine to tie the tenderloin with. I had a quick panic attack. Then I saw the toothpicks. They seemed to do the trick, so I was able to finish the meal all by myself after all.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup chopped shallots or yellow onion
• 1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
• 1 (1 1/2-pound) beef tenderloin
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Soy sauce, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a medium skillet, melt the butter and cook the shallots or onion over low heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook over low heat about 5 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half. Let cool.

Butterfly the beef tenderloin by cutting the beef lengthwise down the center to within 1/2-inch of the other side. Set the beef aside.

To stuff the tenderloin, open the beef and sprinkle in the inside with salt and pepper and rub with soy sauce. Spoon the mushroom mixture down the center of the tenderloin. Bring the 2 sides of the tenderloin up and around the filling to meet. Using butcher string, tie the tenderloin together at 2-inch intervals. Place the tenderloin in a roasting pan.

Roast for 40 minutes for medium rare. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Slice about 1 1/2 inches thick.

Makes 2-3 servings.

Recipe from Paula's Best Dishes on Food Network.

Star Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

#14 :: Mushroom Gruyere Burgers

I got brave tonight and tried something with our left over ingredients from other meals! No recipe required! :) The mushroom sauce was incredible!

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil
1 pint baby Portobello mushrooms
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp. oregano
A sprinkle of Parmesan cheese
2-4 strips bacon
2 sirloin burgers
2 thick slices of Gruyere cheese
Lettuce, tomato, Dijon mustard for garnish

Directions

First, saute the mushrooms in HALF of the olive oil (1/4 cup). Add the heavy cream and oregano and stir until mixed. Add a few sprinkles of Parmesan cheese to thicken the sauce. Once it starts to thicken, remove it from the heat. It will thicken more as it sits.

In another pan, fry the bacon in the other half of the olive oil (1/4 cup). Once the bacon is cooked, put it on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Then cook the burgers in the same bacon grease/olive oil pan. After cooking both sides of the burger, add the slices of Gruyere cheese to the top at the last few minutes of cooking so it will start to melt. Adding a lid to the pan helps it melt, too. Top it with warm mushroom sauce. Garnish with the rest of "the goods".


Makes 2 burgers.

Recipe from Me!

Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5

#12 :: Mushroom Risotto

Since Jamie has his archery league on Tuesday nights, I decided to do a crock pot meal. That way, I can eat my dinner when I want and he can easily heat it back up when he gets home.

The photos don't do it justice. It was very good! But by the time Jamie got home to eat it, it had gotten a bit mushy, so I think this is something probably best when eaten immediately {and not as leftovers}.

Ingredients

2 cups arborio rice

1 cup white wine

4 cups vegetable broth

1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed golden mushroom soup

1 teaspoon minced garlic

6 ounces mushrooms, sliced

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Stir together all ingredients, except Parmesan, in slow cooker.

Cook on high, stirring every 30 minutes for 2 hours.

Check consistency. Continue to cook, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Be careful not to overcook risotto. (Rice should be al dente, not mushy.)

Stir in Parmesan before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Receipe from Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee from Food Network.

Star Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

#1 :: Mini Beef Wellingtons

So to start the blog, I'm going to cover our New Year's Eve appetizer spread. I was a little nervous cooking 4 new dishes that I had never cooked before, but they all came out amazing! I saw these 4 recipes on different Food Network cooking shows, and decided I could handle doing them all. It was a "big bite to chew" for my first project!

Here's the first dish... Mini Beef Wellingtons!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds beef tenderloin, cut into 24 (1-inch) cubes
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 10 ounces cremini mushrooms, stemmed and finely chopped
• 1 large *shallot, finely chopped
  
• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

* I substituted 1 small bunch of green onions instead of shallots

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the beef dry with a paper towel and season all sides with salt and pepper. Quickly sear the beef on 2 sides only until deep golden brown, about 4 minutes total; do not overcook. Transfer to a plate to cool.

Add the mushrooms and cook until beginning to brown and release liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the shallots and continue cooking until mushroom mixture dries out, is golden brown and shallots are soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

Preheat to the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

On a work surface, roll 1 sheet of puff pastry to a 10 by 14-inch rectangle. Put teaspoon-sized mounds of mushroom mixture on the pastry, evenly spacing them in 4 rows of 3. Top the mushroom mound with a piece of beef, seared side up. With a sharp knife, cut the pastry into even squares around the meat and mushrooms. Working 1 at a time, pull 2 opposite sides of pastry up over each beef piece, then fold the ends over the top to make a packet. Invert and arrange the packets seam side down on the baking sheet and press them lightly to seal the pastry. Repeat with the remaining beef, mushrooms, and pastry.

Bake the Wellingtons until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven to a serving platter and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 24 servings.

Recipe from 5 Ingredient Fix on Food Network.

Star Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Reviews (the first thing people said when they tried it):

Chris - "Those are going to be gone."

Jeremy - "Wow!"

Jamie - "These are amazing!"