Steakin' Care of Business

In the last four weeks, my hubs and I have been in the same house for approximately 48 hours.

Boo!

And we have a similar June schedule. We've got this week together, but then, I'm gone next week. The following week he's gone. 

Then, then is glorious vacation!

Can. Not. Wait.

But it means that I haven't done a lot of cooking. When it's just me, I tend to eat a lot of stuff that he doesn't like. Pretty much any egg-based meal, or salmon, or anything with the word "balsalmic" in it.

I was actually due to do my monthly cooking last Monday, but it occurred to me that since neither of us will be home, there is no point in making an entire months worth of meals, so I just made a choice few.

1. Our favorite Melba toast chicken

(after cooking, throw it in the toaster for a few minutes to crisp up)

2. Dairy-free beef stroganoff

(made even better by using ground beef and serving over mashed potatoes)

3. Steak with mushroom balsamic sauce

(forever re-dubbed as "Steakin' Care of Business")

I know I said that the hubs doesn't usually like stuff with balsalmic vinegar, but he surprised me by loving this. I knew I would like it, but then again I'm not picky.

Seriously, I know I make a lot of steak with mushroom sauce-type meals, but this was fantastic. I could have just had the sauce over mashed potatoes.

Recipe (adapted from Eat Well, Lose Weight)

four 6-ounce sirloin steaks

1 teaspoon herbes de Provence

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons olive oil

6 ounces mushrooms (about 2.5 cups)

1/3 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic

3/4 cup beef broth

1.5 teaspoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat boiler.
2. Trim fat from steaks and season each side with 1/2 teaspoon herbes de Provence, pepper, and salt.
3. Place steaks on broiler rack and put in oven approximately 3 to 4 inches from heat. Cook to desired doneness (11-13 minutes for medium-rare or 14-16 minutes for medium). Turn once.
4. While steaks cook, in large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onions, and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes or until tender. 
5. Remove from heat and add 1/4 cup beef broth and 1/2 teaspoon herbes de Provence. 
6. Return to heat and cook uncovered for about 2 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
7. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining beef broth and cornstarch. Add to skillet and cook until thick and bubbly. Cook for an additional 2 minutes then add balsamic vinegar.
8. Serve sauce over steaks.

Enjoy!

Candied Pecans

aka The Snack I've Been Known to Make Myself Sick from Eating so Many.

aka why do my photos look so unappetizing?

I had these at my Aunt's a few weeks ago and, even though I don't like nuts, I almost devoured the entire bowl.

I hid them from other people at the house.

I begged for the recipe.

I promptly forgot where she said she got the recipe.

So for the last few weeks, I've been trying to try my hand at these. There were plenty of recipes out there, so it was just a matter of remembering to buy supplies and actually putting pecan to pan and getting my act in gear. That second one took a few days on its own.

I finally settled on a top-rated recipe from AllRecipes.com, and, following the guidance of people who had reviewed the recipe, set out to make a batch of candied pecans that will convert nut-haters like myself.

This was ridiculously simple. Who knew? Just um, let's see...one, two...five ingredients! Sorry, had to count.

About 30 minutes in the oven and you're left with the sweetest bestest nut around, unless you have peanut butter in the pantry, then peanut butter is the best nut around. These would be second. Let's just assume that you're in that grocery limbo place where you're out of peanut better, but haven't gone to the store yet, then these would be the ultimate nut in your house.

P.s. nut

Recipe (adapted from All Recipes)

2 egg whites

1 cup brown sugar packed

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

5 cups whole, raw pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Best egg whites until stiff

Stir in sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla

Pour over pecans n large bowl and stir to coat

Spread on cookie sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick mat (my Silpat worked great)

Bake for 30 minutes, stirring @ 20 minutes

Allow to cool and store in a ziplock bag

Show restraint and don't eat too many in a single sitting like me.

Excuse me while I go lie down.

Eating Crow

So you probably remember my last post...

You know, the one where I berated my husband for refusing to eat some tomato soup I had in the freezer?

Well, today I finally defrosted and made it for lunch today.

Then, I had the following email conversation with said husband:

Me: "This tomato soup is terrible."

Husband: 

""

Husband: "I want public recognition for this."

Needless to say, I will not be posting the recipe for this dairy-free tomato soup. 

Trust me.