The only marinade you'll ever need

I was administering a writing proficiency test this past week, and there was one student left that we were waiting on for an hour.  His guardian was a heavily-tatooed man wearing a Punisher t-shirt. He was patiently waiting for that kid to finish.  Once he was finally done, they came over to sign out.  The guardian said something about watching The Big Bang Theory on his phone.  I said that I thought it was cool that the lead character on that show played the human version of Walter on the new Muppet movie.  Have you ever regretted making a comment?  Well, I did after this.  This big, burly man went into nothing short of a history of the muppets.  He was talking for a good ten minutes about the '68-'71 variety show, spin-offs, and other movies they have done.  I don't know if I was more surprised that there were so many spin-offs or the fact that this man in particular knew so much about the Muppets.  It was pretty crazy. 

Now, to the marinade... This is such an unbelievable, go-to, delicious marinade.  I still use some other marinades; however, this is one that we fall back on quite a bit.  The flavor of the meat is unreal.  You can use it on pork, chicken, or beef.  Heck, even fish would be delicious in this stuff.  We marinated sirloin steaks in this stuff for a couple hours, and they turned out so flavorful and tender.  Next time you're doing some meat and you want to do more than brush on some bottled BBQ sauce, give this a try.  And, one more important note: dried herbs cannot be substituted!  It will not come out the same.  Come get some parsley from me.  I've got it growing out my ears over here. 

The Only Marinade You'll Ever Need

source: Barbecue Bible Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades by Steven Raichlen (a great book if you like to grill delicious food)

1/4 c fresh lemon juice

1/2 t red pepper flakes

1/2 t cracked black peppercorns

1/2 t coarse salt

4 strips of lemon zest

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 c coarsely chopped fresh parsley

1/4 c coarsely chopped fresh basil, cilantro, dill, oregano, or a mixture (We used cilantro)

1/2 c olive oil

Combine the lemon juice, red pepper flakes, pepper, and salt in a bowl.  Whisk until the salt is dissolved.  Add the lemon zest, garlic, and fresh herbs.  Whisk in the olive oil.  Use the marinade within 1-2 hours of making it.  It doesn't keep well, but it will taste amazing.  Mark my words, my friends.

The larger the piece of meat, the longer you should marinade it.  We let our steaks sit in there for two hours. 



Strawberry Lemon-Limeade

As I'm sitting here blogging, my husband is switching between "I am Legend," "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," and "Braveheart."  Great.  Now I'm going to have dreams about sword-wielding Zombies with Scottish accents and loin cloths trying to find the Holy Grail that is being protected by a group of underage wizards drinking pumpkin juice.  That oughtta make for some good dreaming tonight.

I'm sure if those zombies got a taste of this, they'd calm right down.  This may be one of the best lemonades I've ever had!  It does require a lot of juicing, so it'd be best if you have a juicer or something besides just your hands to get the jucie out.  I can't wait until BBQs this summer!  I'll be making this every time.  Thanks Lana for posting this.  You're amazing!
 

 Strawberry Lemon-Limeade
source: http://www.lanascooking.com/2011/05/10/strawberry-lemon-limeade/

1 1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 c water
Ice
3 limes
5-6 large lemons
5 oz. frozen strawberries in a syrup, thawed

In a saucepan, combine the water and sugar.  Bring to a boil.

 Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

 Turn off the heat and add four cups of ice cubes and stir.

 Zest one lemon and one lime.

 Juice them all.  You should end up with 1 1/4- 1 1/2 c juice.

 Put the thawed strawberries in the bottom of a pitcher or large bowl.  Add the zest.

 Pour in the juice from the lemons and limes.

 Add the sugar-water mixture. Stir well.

Serve in a tall glass with ice, a straw, and garnish with a strawberry and lemon slice.  You'll be drooling after the first sip and will want more and more and more.

Lemon-Garlic Chicken with Angel Hair Pasta

There are a few things that I know, without a doubt, to be a fact:

1. I love food almost as much as I love my own children. 

2. I will never beat my in-laws (brothers-in-law and father-in-law) or my husband at Trivial Pursuit.  I can barely remember that I teach guitar lessons on Tuesday at 4:30, let alone what MLB team almost won the national championship in 1925 until their shortstop stepped on a rusted nail or the body of water in the South American continent that is known to locals as "la agua refresca."  Neither of those are real facts or Spanish terms, but if they were, those men would know the answer! 

3. Emeril Lagasse has a fear of vampires.  Now, let me explain myself here.  I enjoy the Emeril recipes that I have tried from foodnetwork.com.  However, is there a normal person anywhere that has a stash of 8 million heads of garlic on a regular basis?  I think that maybe as a child he watched Dracula and has not yet quite recovered.  I'm sure the release of Twilight has not helped.  Now, not only are there vampires that turn into bats and suck your blood, they also have incandescent, sparklling chests and play baseball in thunderstorms.  *enter blood-curdling scream here* Well, Emeril, I can't blame you for having garlic on hand.  If a sparkly chested vampire tried to give me a ride on his back like a spider monkey, I would have to take some of that garlic and smear it all over his pale face. 

I think my husband would have smeared this chicken all over his face.  He couldn't get enough of it.  It was full of flavor, and I only used about 1/10 the garlic because that's all I had on hand.  I think this may be one of our new favorites around here.  As an added perk- Keifer Sutherland won't pop up as a vampire, neither will Wesley Snipes, Edward, or that chick in Underworld.  They won't come within 500 miles of your house, but neighbors might come sniffing around.

 Lemon-Garlic Chicken with Angel Hair Pasta
source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/lemon-garlic-chicken-thighs-recipe/index.html

2 chicken breasts
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/4 c flour
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 c sliced onions
15 cloves garlic ( 2 1/2 T of minced garlic)
1/4 t crushed red pepper
1 bay leaf
1/4 c freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 c chicken broth
1/2 lb angel hair pasta
1 1/2 T chopped parsley
1 1/2 T butter

Preheat the oven to 350.

Trim the chicken breasts of nastiness.  Sprinkle them with salt and pepper.

 Dredge them in flour.

 Brown the chicken in a skillet over medium-high heat- about ten minutes. Remove the chicken breasts to a plate.

 Put the onion slices in the pan and cook them for about three minutes. 

 Add the garlic, crushed red pepper, bay leaf, and some salt. Cook about one minute.

 Add the chicken broth and lemon juice.  Stir.  Add the browned chicken.  Bring to a simmer.

 If the skillet is overproof, put that right in the oven (covered). If the skillet wasn't ovenproof, transfer everything from the skillet into an ovenproof dish.  Cover. Bake it for twenty minutes.  Remove the lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

 While that is baking for the last 15 minutes, prepare the angel hair pasta to al dente according to the package.  Drain it.  Add the butter and chopped parsely.  My parsley wasn't as chopped as it should have been.  Toss the noodles well.

 When you take the chicken out, a lot of the juices will have evaporated.

Place some of the angel hair pasta on a plate and place the chicken on about 1/3 of the pasta.  Garnish with parsley and a lemon slice and a vampire's head on a stick.  Just kidding.  :)  I know this doesn't look all that tasty, but it's a good one. 

Strawberry Pineapple Slush

Have you fellow non-alcoholic drinkers looked upon the millions of slushy alcoholic concoctions and just wished that you could have something cold, slushy, and delicious without being from a convenience store?  Well, good news my friends, there are more than virgin pina coladas and virgin strawberry dacquiris in our line of sight.  Take this, for example.  It only calls for three ingredients, and it is glorious.  As an added bonus, it was the perfect pink drink for my Valentine's Day dinner.  As an added bonus, you will still be able to make logical choices and walk in a straight line after you drink it.  Although, you may do a little crazy dance out of sheer delight for having a pink, slushy drink topped with a fanned strawberry.

Strawberry Pineapple Slush

Source: Worldwide Ward Cookbook: Secret Recipes

servings: 4 1 1/2 c servings

5 oz. frozen strawberries in syrup

1/4 gallon (4 cups) pineapple Sherbet

1/3 of a 2 L bottle of Sprite or Cherry 7-up

4 Strawberries (optional)

sugar (optional)

Combine the frozen strawberries, sherbet, and Sprite in a blender and turn it on.  30 seconds later, you're good to go.  Easy!

If you'd like, make thin slices through the strawberries and gently fan them apart to garnish the top.

Also, you could do suagr-rimmed glasses, which I didn't think of until I already poured the stuff in.  To get a nice rim of sugar, prepare a bowl of water and a bowl of sugar.  Dip the glass into the water then into the sugar. 

Pour the slush into the glasses and garnish with the strawberry.  Lovely!

Now all I need is this drink to accompany me on a cruise in the Mexican Riveria.  There, I will have shirtless, buff Latin heart-throbs fan me with palm leaves and convince me that I look great with a belly the size of a basketball. And one of them will be playing Latin guitar music like at the beginning of Desperado.  Perfect. 

Oreo Pudding Cake

This lovely Valentine's day morning started out hopeful.  I got to sleep in a little, and my kids were happy when they woke up.  We were out of milk, so I made them scrambled eggs, gave them grapes in a little silicone heart cupcake holder, and cut out hearts in their toast.  I was pretty proud of my creativity for the early morning.  Well, my son is in this crazy stage where he will take a bite of something and spit it out because he just wanted to get a quick taste.  Well, my daughter, who happens to have the most sensitive gag reflex in the entire world saw that and started heaving.  Only minutes prior to this, she had finished up the milk with a nice cup of strawberry milk which was now splattering all over the floor.  Too bad it wasn't it heart splatters- that would have been quite festive.  I start to clean up the mess, and being that I am six months pregnant, I don't have the most stable gag reflex in the world either.  Sure enough, out comes my breakfast.  Happy Valentine's Day to me! 

Luckily, the day got better.  I made a fun, heart-filled dinner and this dessert.  I found the link to this dessert on a friend's amazing craft blog (eighteen25.blogspot.com) and had to try it since I'm a nut for Oreos.  The recipe was ridiculously easy and very delicious.  My family, thank goodness, did not hurl this all over the floor. 

 Oreo Pudding Cake
source: eighteen25.blogspot.com

one chocolate cake mix (plus the water, oil, and eggs)
2 pkgs Oreo pudding (plus the milk)
10 Oreos
Sprinkles (optional)

Bake the chocolate cake according to package directions.

While it is still slightly warm, poke holes all over the top.  I used the end of a wooden spoon.

 Prepare the two pudding packages according to the directions on the box.  As soon as it is done mixing, pour it over the hole-y cake.

 Place the Oreos in a Ziplock bag and cruch them using a meat mallet or roll over the bag with a rolling pin to make coarse crumbs.

 If you'd like, add some festive sprinkles.  Refrigerate the cake until you're ready to serve it.  Store any leftovers in the fridge.

The possibilities for this cake are endless.  You could use any mix of cake and pudding and topping.  Ooh-la-la.

Triple Chocolate Cookies

"oh, my..."

"Those cookies!  I ate all four of them and it hasn't even been 24 hours!"

"I could not love any human child more than I love your cookies."  

"He was slobbering all over those cookies you gave him."

"Which Greek God reappeared to present you with this wonderful creation."

Okay, I made up the last one, but the top four were honest-to-goodness comments that I got when I delivered these cookies to people.  This recipe is so good.  While my children threw about 30 bouncy balls down the stairs, I was staring off into space wondering where this recipe has been my whole life.  Then I figured that I still have a long life to live so better to get my paws on this recipe now than in 50 years when my eyesight is too bad to read a recipe, and my hands are too shaky to hold a teaspoon.  These cookies will bring a smile to anyone's face.  They are chewy and have three different types of chocolate.  Now, we're talking!  Give them a shot.  You won't regret it.

 Triple Chocolate Cookies:
source: Cafe Nordstrom (Thanks, Rachael!)

1 c butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
2 c flour
2/3 c cocoa powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 lb bitter-sweet chocolate, cut into chunks (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips)
2 c firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/3 c white chocolate chips
1 c chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

 In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar.

 It'll be light and fluffy.

 Add the eggs, one at a time, into the dough.  mix well after each addition.

 Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30 second intervals until it is smooth.  Add it to the dough.

 Stir that up.

 Add the flour mixture in two batches, mixing well after each addition.  Add the white chocolate chips.

 Using a cookie scoop or an ice cream scoop, plop the dough onto a cookie sheet.

 Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-11 minutes.  Do not cook them any longer!  They seem a bit underdone, but if you cook them longer, they will dry out.  Once they cool a little, they set up quite nicely.

Serve with a nice, cold glass of milk and wait for the moans and groans.  If you bake them, they will come.

Pineapple Boat

When most people write a bucket list, they have things like this:

1. Ride a kangaroo along the Australian shore while wearing nothing but a silk robe.

2. Travel from California to Hawaii to Australia in a hot air balloon while sharing chocolate-covered strawberries with Fabio while a string quartet plays some soothing music.

3. Searching the world over for Snozzberries because once it was mentioned in the old school "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" you have been dying to know what they taste like.

Well, me?  On my bucket list- I want to make a pineapple boat for crying out loud.  Well, I just so happened to get a couple pineapples from my bountiful basket this week, so I decided to cross this off my bucket list since riding in a hot air balloon with Fabio and a string quartet just isn't in the cards for me on a Tuesday evening.  Although, Fabio wouldn't be my choice of company.  I'd probably end up throwing him overboard just to see his hair flowing in the wind as he falls.  While he falls I would scream, "Next time, wear a shirt and not those tight jeans.  I'm not impressed!"  I do think he would be impressed with the pineapple boat though.  

 Pineapple Boat Tutorial:

You'll need a pineapple and fruit to fill in with.

First, cut a third off the pineapple like the picture below. Set the smaller portion aside.

 Place the larger portion on the counter and cut all the way around it leaving about 1/2 inch.

 Slice about an inch away from the cut from the top to bottom using a paring knife.  I had to kind of slant the knife at the bottom to ensure that the chunk comes out.  Use the paring knife to pry the chunk of pineapple up.

 Do that on both sides.  Reserve the slices from the sides.

 Use the paring knife to cut the core out of the pineapple.

 Once the core is out, use a spoon to scrape out any extra chunks here and there.

 Fill the pineapple boat with your extra fruit and the pineapple from the slices you made earlier.  Serve it with some delicious fruit dip (I have a couple tasty ones in my fruit section) and brag to your friends that you had fruit served in fruit and ruined all nutritional value by drenching it in cream cheese and marshmallow fluff.  Mmm!

Now I can cross that off my bucket list.

Ultimate Spaghetti and Meatballs

I've been on a kick lately for telling a story completely unrelated to the food.  Well, hold on to your hats because here is another story.  And since I am boycotting Facebook, this is my social interaction and my place to tell stories that might make you laugh.  When I was growing up, my oldest brother was a typical oldest child.  He would make all the rules.  He would flip a double-sided coin with my other brother and I and say that whoever got heads got to be the ruler and the others were his slaves.  Luckily, despite all the slavery I endured, they were both awesome older brothers that I still love and adore.  Well, the oldest one asked me to play Monopoly with him and his friend once.  I reluctantly agreed.  Well, as per usual, I am losing terribly and about to go bankrupt.  However, instead of letting me quit, he gets out a pen and paper to keep track of my debts.  I'm sure this was all great fun for him and his friend.  Not only did they tally my debt, but for every 1000 I was in the hole, I would have to make them "sammiches" or in his world, Grilled Cheese sandwiches.  I don't remember how many 1000s I was in debt, but I do recall making them quit a few grilled cheese sandwiches.  Now, my gameboard-hating husband busts out of nowhere last week, "I want to play Monopoly.  Can I go buy it?"  I reluctantly agreed.  We played that night, and sure enough, I was going down, down, down.  I landed on one of his huge monopolies with a hotel, and I declared, "I'm done."  He tried to get me to keep playing, but I said, "No sammiches for you!"  There is no way that I'm enslaving myself to making grilled cheese sandwiches for another monopoly-loving sammich-loving male in my life. 

However, maybe if I could convince him to let me go into debt to make this spaghetti and meatball recipe, I'd be willing to give the game another try.  I love spaghetti and meatballs- especially when it is sauce and meatballs from scratch.  Good grief.  This was a great recipe.  It's actually two different recipes from the food network.  Thanks Emeril for the sauce and Tyler Florence for the meatballs.  You're both grand!  These meatballs are behemoth.  They are about the size of your fist and baked while covered with sauce and mozzarella cheese.  Angels I have not heard on high, but I'm pretty sure that if these meatballs could sing, I'd be hearing them loud and clear while singing heavenly praises.  I'd say this recipe is worth every minute it takes to make it.

 Ultimate Spaghetti and Meatballs
source: meatballs- Tyler Florence and sauce- Emeril Lagasse

ingredients:
meatballs:
olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 t parsley
1/2 c milk
2 slices firm white bread, crust removed (I used regular bread and toasted it a bit to dry it out)
3/4 lb ground beef
3/4 lb ground pork
1 egg
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
mozzarella cheese

Sauce:

1 T olive oil
3/4 c chopped onion
1 t minced garlic
1/4 t kosher salt
1/4 t crushed pepper (don't omit this!)
1 t dried oregano
1 t Italian seasoning
1/2 t basil
1/4 t ground black pepper
28 oz whole peeled tomatoes
15 oz tomato sauce
3 T tomato paste
1 c water
1/2 t sugar
1/4 c parmesan cheese, freshly shredded (you can use the store-bought sprinkling stuff, if you'd like)

For the sauce:
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onions, garlic, salt, crushed red pepper, oregano, Italian seasoning, basil, and black pepper.  Cook for about five minutes. 

Pour out the whole tomatoes in a bowl and squeeze to break them into smaller pieces.  Add these, the tomato sauce, and tomato paste into the pan with the onion mixture.  Stir.  Add the water, sugar, and parmesan to the pot.  Bring to a simmer then lower the heat to medium-low.  Let it simmer for 45 minutes while you make the meatballs.  Stir it occasionally. 

For the meatballs:
Heat the olive oil in a skillet.  Add the onion, garlic, and parsley.  Saute for about five minutes.  Remove from the heat and cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

 While the onions are cooking, place the firm white bread in a bowl and cover it with milk.  Let this sit for about 5-10 minutes. 

 After it has sat for awhile, squeeze the excess milk out of the bread.  Place the bread aside and dump the remaining milk.

By the way- this was so hard for me to do.  Soggy bread has got to be one of the grossest feeling things in the world. 

 Place the two kinds of meat  in a large bowl.

 Add the onion mixture, the squeezed-out bread, the egg, the Parmesan cheese, and the salt and pepper.  Mix well

 Here is what it will look like once it is all combined. 

 While you form the meatballs, heat some oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  You can see here how gigantic the meatballs are.  They are about 3-4 inches in diameter.  Brown them on all sides in the oil-taking about 10 minutes of cooking time.  Be very careful with them!  They are tender little guys and can fall apart easily.  I flipped mine gently using two forks. 

 Once they are browned, place them in a baking dish. 

 Top them with some sauce and mozzarella cheese.  I wish I would have used more cheese.  You all know how much I love cheese.

 Bake them (covered) in the oven for about 15-20 or until they are cooked through. 

 While they are baking, cook the spaghetti noodles (to al dente).  Drain.  Dish up the spaghetti noodles, top with some sauce.

 Place a couple huge meatballs on top of that. Sprinkle with parsley and fresh Parmesan.  I was all out.  :(

Serve with a Cesear salad and French bread.  Who needs to eat out at an italian restaraunt when there are recipes like this around?  One last thing... The best way to finish off a delicious Italian meal is to end it with Spumoni ice cream.  If you've never had Spumoni, may the Lord have mercy on your soul.  It is amazing!  They serve it at "The Old Spaghetti Factory" and it is delightful.  I served it after this meal, and we all devoured every last drop. May you be able to do the same.