Garlic Steak & Chili-Lime Corn and Spinach Salad

I put tonight's dinner on to marinate around noon today and spent the rest of the afternoon longing for dinner time! All I could smell was garlic & steak sauce and it smelled SOOOO good! Dinner time was no disappointment when it finally arrived!

Garlic Steak
Better Your Home A.1. Steak House Favorites Recipe Book 1998
The Line Up
2 TBSP finely chopped garlic
1 (1 1/2 lb) bonelss beef top sirloin steak (3/4" thick)
1/2 c A.1. Original Steak Sauce

The Game Plan
Spread garlic onto both sides of steak, pressing into steak. Place in non-metal dish or plastic bag; add steak sauce, turning to coat both sides. Cover; refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Remove steak from marinade; discard marinade. Grill or broil steak for 5-7 minutes on each side or until desired doneness.

Coach's Post Game Conference
I let this marinate quite a bit longer than what the recipe calls for, figure it only gave it more time to let the flavor sink in. And WOW! did it ever! I think I would have used a bit more garlic but the flavor was great!

Chili-Lime Corn and Spinach Salad
http://www.pillsbury.com/
The Line Up
Dressing:
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp grated gingerroot
1 garlic clove minced
6 TBSP oil
2 TBSP fresh lime juice

In medium bowl, combine ingredients; mix well.

Salad:
1 (11 oz) can white shoepeg corn, drained
1 (4.5 jar) sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 c coarsley chopped fresh cilantro
1 green onion, chopped
2 c packed fresh baby spinach leaves
4 tsp finely chopped red bell pepper

Add corn, mushrooms, cilantro and onion to dressing. Turn to coat. To serve, arrange spinach leaves on serving plates, top with mixture.

Coach's Post Game Conference
I didn't follow the serving directions specifically. As you can tell from the picture above, I simply put everything in a bowl and tossed.
Tasted great, but it didn't have as much flavor from the dressing as I thought it would. I think next time I'll add more lime & chili.

Final Score
Coach - steak - home run
            - salad -  triple
Catcher - steak -  home run
              - salad - home run
The All-Star - steak - home run
                     - salad - HA! You're pretty funny if you think I was able to get The All-Star to eat a salad without Italian dressing and WITH fungus in it!!

***edited - Please see label disclaimer in "True Confessions" - 11/7/2013***

Tweet

Tres Leches Cake

Catcher is Dominican and one of their favorite desserts is a Tres Leches Cake (Three Milk). I've tried a few recipes and we have one that we REALLY like. This weekend I wanted to try a new recipe. We decided that this one is a close second.

Tres Leches Cake
http://www.landolakes.com/
The Line Up
1 (18/25 oz) package white cake mix with pudding
1 c whipping cream
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
2 TBSP white cacao flavored liqueur
1/2 c milk
1 (2.8 oz) package chocolate mousse mix
1 TBSP white cacao-flavored liqueur

The Game Plan
Heat oven to 350. Spray 13x9" baking pan with no stick cooking spray; set aside. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour into prepared pan. Bake as directed on package until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; Cool 10 minutes in pan.
Meanwhile, in large mixer bowl, combine cream, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and 2 TBSP liqueur. Beat at medium speed until well mixed.
Poke holes all over surface of cake. Slowly pour milk mixture over cake until completely soaked. Cover; refrigerate 3 hous or over night.
In medium bowl, combine 1/2 c milk, mousse mix and 1 TBSP liqueur. Mix well. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. stir mousse mixture. Pipe with pastry bag or dollop with spoon onto each serving of cake.

Coach's Post Game Conference
I used Pillsbury's Supreme Moist Classic White cake mix. It was the only one I could find that said it had pudding. I don't know why, but initially I was looking for a cake mix like the brownie mixes that come with Hershey's syrup... a separate package of pudding! I'll tell you, this cake mix isn't like that! The pudding powder mix is IN the cake mix!
Also - I didn't have any white cacao liqueur so I used Kaluha instead! :) Just a little something I happened to have on hand.
This version of Tres Leches was quick and easy to make. I definite keeper for those days that I decide I want to make Tres Leches, but don't want to spend all day doing so.
The version we like just that much better will be posted at a later date! For now, give this one a try and I bet it's a hit at your house!

Final Score
Coach -  Triple
Catcher - Triple
The All-Star - what does he care? He got cake and Catcher's home made hot chocolate before bed!

Tweet

Chicken with Lemon-Mushroom Sauce

This was a quick meal that we had earlier this week. AND... I got to use my new meat mallet!! So therapeutic! I believe I will begin using it weekly!

Chicken with Lemon-Mushroom Sauce
Better Homes & Gardens Dinner on the Double - 1996
The Line Up
4 medium skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 c chicken broth
2 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP dry white wine
2 c sliced fresh mushrooms
1 TBSP cold water
2 tsp cornstarch
1 TBSP snipped fresh parsley

The Game Plan
Rinse chicken, pat dry with paper towels. Place each breast half, boned side up, between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Working from the center to edges, pound lightly with the flat side of a meat mallet until 1/8 inch thick. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
Spray an unheated 12-inch skillet with nonstick spray. Preheat the skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken in hot skillet for 3 to 4 minutes or until no longer pink, turning once. Transfer chicken to a serving platter, cover and keep warm.
Add broth, lemon juice and, if desired, wine to skillet. Stir in mushrooms. Bring to boiling over medium heat; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Stir together cold water and cornstarch; add to mixture in skillet. Bring to boiling, cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Stir in parsley.
Spoon over chicken.

Coach's Post Game Conference
If there's one thing I've noticed it's that recipes never make as much "sauce" as our team likes. I always end up doubling (or more) the sauce recipe, as I did here. Served over egg noodles

Commercial break
Did I mention that I love my meat mallet??

Final Score
Coach- Triple - I don't think it was as lemon-y as I was expecting it to be. I can fix that next time.
Catcher -  Home Run
The All-Star - Home Run

***edited - please see label disclaimer in "True Confessions" - 11/7/2013***

Tweet

Magical Breakfast Burritos

Apparently not only am I Coach, but I'm also a magician. I'm not sure how I did it, but I took a handful of ingredients that The All-Star doesn't like and made them into a dish and got a TRIPLE!!!

Breakfast Burritos

source - My Mom

The Line Up

1 package of bacon

3 baking potatoes

8 eggs

shredded cheddar cheese (omit or use diary free substitute for dairy free)

salsa

tortillas

The Game Plan

Brown the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, leave drippings

Cut potatoes into cubes. Brown in bacon drippings. Once tender and brown, remove from pan. Leaving any remaining drippings.

Scramble eggs and cook in the pan with the last bits of the bacon drippings.

Take a tortilla - add some of the eggs, potatoes & bacon - top with shredded cheddar cheese and salsa, wrap like a burrito (fold one end up, then roll from the sides).

Coach's Post Game Conference

Wow! I'm not sure how we pulled off a win with this one! I was sure we were going to lose this game. The All-Star doesn't like potatoes, eggs OR cheese, so with all three of those in the line up I figured we were destined to lose. He ate one whole burrito and said it was good!

I cooked this in the electric skillet tonight, mainly because my large skillet was in the dishwasher. But it worked out perfectly. Just before I began cooking, I was talking to my mom and she suggested that I nuke the potatoes until "almost done" (as in baked potato consistency) and then cube them and throw them in to brown them. They cooked up nicely and quicker too as I was able to microwave the potatoes while I was cooking up the bacon. I added a little onion just for kicks and giggles tonight.

Wasn't sure how much everyone would eat... we have plenty of leftovers!

Final Score

Coach - Home run

Catcher - Home run

The All-Star - Triple



***Edited - please see label disclaimer in "True Confessions" - 11/7/2013

Tweet

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches

If there is one thing that I absolutely love ... it's French dip sandwiches. If I am at a restaurant and I see French dips on the menu, I might as well not even look at the rest of the menu. So often I will go into a restaurant, where I always order French dip, and I'll think "I'm going to order something different today." When the waiter/waitress gets to the table and it's my turn to order I feel like a deer in headlights and I say "French dip sandwich please". It is how I "judge" a restuarant I have never been to... how good is their French dip?
Needless to say, I was SUPER excited when I came across this recipe to make my OWN French dip sandwiches. It's easy, just a few ingredients and delicious!!

French Dip Sandwiches
The Line Up
1 large onion, sliced thin
3 lb bottom round roast
1/2 c dry white wine (I use Paul Masson or Carlo Rossi Chablis) or 1/2 c water
1 packet au jus mix
2 c beef broth (I use 2 14 oz cans because we like a LOT of broth)
hoagie (steak, submarine etc) rolls
Butter
sliced provalone cheese

The Game Plan
Place onion in bottom of slow cooker.
Add roast.
Pour on au jus mix, wine & broth. Cover.
Cook on high 5-6 hours or low 10-12 hours. Remove meat, place on plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice thinly across the grain.
Butter the hoagie rolls and place under the broiler just long enough to toast them.
Top with meat and cheese (broil again if desired to melt the cheese)
Serve with a cup/bowl of au jus for dipping.

Coach's Post Game Conference
I don't even know what to say about this recipe... I LOVE LOVE LOVE it... I eat it for dinner the night I make it, and have some more for lunch. Often I'll shred up the left over roast (I never get it to "slice" it always just falls apart , but it's ok, I love it!) and put it in the au jus... add some flour or corn starch to thicken it up and serve it over egg noodles to get a different meal out of the left overs. For my family of 3 there is generally enough for 2 meals of sandwiches and 2 meals of beef & noodles!! If you freeze it before thickening it.. it saves perfectly!

Final Score
Coach -  do I really need to tell you that this is a home run for me?
Catcher - Home Run
The All-Star - Home Run - he has always liked the sandwich, but has never been enthused about the dip. Tonight he tried the dip for the first time in a few years and was sooo happy with it, I thought he was going to ask for a mug of au jus alone!!

Tweet

Wine-Sauced Hamburger Steak

Another easy, football practice night kind of recipe. I was looking for something else to do with some ground beef and this sounded quick, easy and yummy.

(I feel the need to point out that this is CATCHER'S plate... NOT mine!)

Wine Sauced Hamburger Steak
From my mommy's recipe box
The Line Up
3/4 lb ground beef
1/2 t salt
dash pepper
1 TBSP butter (use dairy free butter alternative for dairy free)
2 TBSP dry red wine
2 tsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp lemon juice
1 t instant minced onions
1/4 t Worcestershire Sauce

The Game Plan
Shape beef, salt and pepper into 2 patties 1/2 inch thick. Melt butter in skillet. cook patties until desired doneness (2 minutes each side for medium rare). Remove to warm plates.
In same skillet, combine wine, parsley, lemon juice, onion & Worcestershire sauce. heat to boiling. Pour over patties.

Coach's Post Game Conference
I have a problem that I need to fix... I have a horrible habit of not reading recipes completely BEFORE I start cooking. I read the ingredients and thought it sounded good so I made it. It wasn't until I flipped my recipe card over that I realized that this only makes two servings!! I went ahead and used the 1 lb of ground beef that I had thawed and made 3 patties. Then I had to play with the sauce (ended up just doubling the ingredients) to make enough for everyone to get some. As you can see we had it with bread and a salad. (I went back and sopped up a bunch of the left over sauce with a roll.... yummy!!!)

Final Score
Coach -  Triple
Catcher - Home Run (but needed more!)
The All-Star - Home Run

***edited - Please see label disclaimer in "True Confessions" - 11/7/2013

Tweet

Fruity Chicken Salad

Every day I struggle with what to eat for lunch. Usually I end up just eating whatever junk is in the fridge for The All-Star to eat. But not this week... I finally decided to give this recipe a try (I've had it in my recipe box for a few months and keep looking at it and flipping right on past).

Fruity Chicken Salad
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/
The Line Up
1 envelope honey french or Italian salad dressing
1/4 c red wine vinegar
3 c cooked orzo pasta
2 c chopped cooked chicken
1 c red and green seedless grapes
1/2 c thin carrot strips

The Game Plan
Prepare dressing in cruet or small bowl as directed on packet using red wine vinegar for vinegar.
Mix orzo, chicken, grapes and carrot in large bowl. Add 1/2 c of the dressing; toss to mix well. Cover.
Refrigerate salad and remaining dressing at least 2 hours. just before serving, mix in remaining dressing.

Coach's Post Game Conference
I made this with the zesty Italian dressing, only because I couldn't find packets of dry honey French dressing. I would much rather have had it with that, next time, I'll just get a bottle of honey French. I think it would taste a lot better with the honey French. That said... it's REALLY good with the Italian! I think it could use some more grapes and maybe something along the lines of strawberries as well!! I've had a bowl for lunch yesterday and today... and will most likely have some again tomorrow!!
Also - when I looked up the recipe today before sharing - the kraft website has changed it since it was posted in the book I found it in. They just use  3/4 c of bottled Italian dressing (nix the red wine vinegar & dressing mix)

Final Score
Coach -  triple (only because I am so determined that it needed the French dressing)
Catcher  - he hasn't tasted it
The All-Star - also hasn't tasted it

It's ALL MINE!!

Tweet

Slow Cooker Lasagna

We had lasagna the other night. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of it before it had been in for too long and got a bit "dark". It's still edible and still tastes good, so I'll share my secret, just no picture of it (yet)... I just have to remember my own cooking times!

Slow Cooker Lasagna
8 lasagna noodles
1 lb ground beef
1 tsp Italian seasoning
24-36 oz of your favorite marinara sauce (add sauce to make the lasagana how you like it... I like mine more saucy than "thick")
1/3 c water
1 (8 oz) can mushrooms (if desired)
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
garlic powder (to taste)
1/4-1/2 c shredded Parmesan cheese
2 c shredded mozarella (buy a 3 cup package and use it all)

The Game Plan
Place 1/2 of the lasagna noodles in bottom of GREASED slow cooker
Brown ground beef in saucepan. Drain. Stir in Italian seasoning. Spread 1/2 over noodles in slow cooker. In separate bowl, mix egg, ricotta cheese, garlic powder & shredded Parmesan cheese. Layer 1/2 of sauce and water, 1/2 of mushrooms, 1/2 of ricotta cheese and 1/2 of mozzarella cheese over beef.
Repeat layers. Cover. Cook on low 5 hours.

Coach's Post Game Conference
I play with the recipe a bit each time I make it. The original recipe didn't have the egg, garlic powder & Parmesan cheese... just a layer of ricotta. I like this addition! I also mix and match the meat. Sometimes I use all ground beef, some times I use ground Italian sausage, sometimes it's ground turkey... sometimes it's a combination of any of the above. It's all up to you.
The most important thing I would like to point out is this: You do NOT need to boil the noodles before making this and you do NOT need to pay extra for the no-boil noodles! Just get regular lasagna noodles, it turns out perfect! (well... unless you cook it on HIGH for 6 hours like I did this week!)

Final Score
Coach -  Home Run (when I make it right!)
Catcher - Home Run
The All-Star - Home Run - he claims to be Garfield... he LOVES lasagna!

Tweet

Garlic Pork Chops and Garlic Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan

This week was a busy one for Team Matos. The All-Star's football season is coming to a close. I can't say I'm sad to see it ending, we can definitely use some down time. But now that we've survived the week and made it through to the weekend, it's time to catch up and share with you what I've been cooking!

Of course, with practice 4 days a week this week I was going for some easy, QUICK recipes!

Garlic Pork Chops
http://www.recipesecrets.com/
The Line Up
6 Bone in pork chops 3/4" thick
1 envelope savory herb and garlic soup mix
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1/2 c hot water

The Game Plan
Preheat oven to 425. In broiler pan, without the rack, arrange chops. Brush both sides of chops with soup mix combined with oil. Bake chops 25 minutes or until done. Remove chops to serving platter. Add hot water to pan and stir, scraping brown bits from bottom of pan, serve sauce over chops.

Coach's Post Game Conference
As you can see from the picture, I did not use bone in chops. I also read a recipe recently that mentions soaking pork chops in milk & salt for a couple hours to tenderize them. I've tried it a couple times, and make pork chops a time or two without soaking them, and can definitely say that soaking them does help! (2 c milk + 2 tsp salt in a shallow bowl or baking dish to cover the chops - soak for 1-4 hours).
Also - when deglazing the baking pan, I splashed just a bit of white wine in to add just that little bit more flavor.

Final Score
Coach - Home Run
Catcher - Home Run
The All-Star - Home Run

Garlic Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan
http://www.food.com/ Recipe # 88945
The Line Up
1 lb fresh asparagus
10 garlic cloves, minced
3 TBSP olive oil
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
1/4 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese (omit or use dairy free alternative for dairy free)

The Game Plan
Heat oil and garlic in a small saucepan over low heat until garlic becomes golden- several minutes (do not burn garlic); allow oil to cool.
Bend asparagus gently at a natural point and when it snaps, discard end pieces.
Place asparagus on a lipped roasting pan and toss with infused olive oil and garlic, coating all pieces.
Line up asparagus and push together, season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with grated Parmesan.
Roast in a preheated oven at 400°F for 12 minutes or until cooked to your liking.
Serve at once.

Coach's Post Game Conference
I don't infuse the oil with the garlic. I dump the oil in a large resealable plastic bag, add the garlic and asparagus and "toss" it in the bag (just moving everything around in the bag until everything's covered). Then Place it in the baking dish and sprinkling with the Parmesan.
Catcher had never had asparagus until I made this recipe the first time and he loved it! Between he and I we have eaten the entire batch the two times I've made it. The All-Star.. well, let's just say he's not a fan of any team who's colors include green!

Final Score
Coach - Home Run
Catcher - Home Run
The All-Star - didn't even show up to play!

***edit - please see label disclaimer in "True Confessions" - 11/7/2013

Tweet

Saturday Morning Math

Can I just simply say that...

This

Plus this

Plus this

Plus the Catcher and The All Star still snuggled under their blankets equals

TOTAL SATURDAY MORNING BLISS

Tweet