Happy Birthday to me - LC style

Dinner tonight was awesome. It's my birthday today and I said I wanted a birthday steak instead of a birthday cake. So, here's my rib-eye birthday steaks:




Yep, that's just 2 rib-eyes stacked on top of each other.
And no, candles don't stand up well when they are in a nice, tender, juicy rib-eye.




My entire birthday meal was excellent.
Grilled rib-eye steak, cauliflower poppers topped with Parmesan cheese, cottage cheese, and fresh avocados. One of my favorite meals. I love all of it.

Russian Shashlik

These are pretty much Russian Shish-ka-bobs, but they were wonderful.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 -2 pounds boneless beef sirloin or tenderloin tips

1 large onion coarse grated

1 large onion, cut into 1 inch pieces

6 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 large green pepper (I used red instead)

Directions:

1. Trim meat into 1 1/2 inch cubes

2. Combine grated onion, garlic, wine, wine vinegar, olive oil, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper in large dish.

3. Add beef and toss to coat beef.

4. Let marinade for 4-8 hours, the longer the better.

5. Assemble Kabobs using marinaded meat, cut onion, and cut pepper.

6. Grill over high heat until done, marinading every few minutes if desired.

7. Enjoy!!!

This recipe was from Steven Raichlen's Barbecue Bible

Lettuce Bundles with Grilled Beef in a Lemongrass Marinade and Thai Peanut Sauce

This recipe is a bit complex, but very good. There are 3 parts to it, so I will do one section for each. This isn't a LC recipe but I cut out the sugar and noodles it calls for, and it turned out good.

Main Ingredients:

1 boneless sirloin steak cut one inch thick

1 bunch fresh basil, stemmed

1 bunch fresh mint, stemmed

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and thinly sliced

1 head Boston or Bibb lettuce, separated and dry

Aromatic Lemongrass Marinade

Thai Peanut Sauce

Aromatic Lemongrass Marinade Ingredients:

3 stalks fresh lemongrass or 3 strips lemon zest

2 large shallots, coarsely chopped

5 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

5 tbsp Asian fish sauce

3 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Thai Peanut Sauce Ingredients:

2 tsp minced peeled fresh ginger

1 hot chile (serrano, jalapeno, etc)

1 clove garlic, minced

2 scallions, both white and green parts

1/3 cup chunky peanut butter

1/3 cup coconut milk

2 tbsp Asian fish sauce or Braggs liquid Aminos

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

Thai Peanut Sauce Directions:
1. Combine the ginger, chile, garlic, scallions, peanut butter, coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice, and cilantro in a small saucepan.

2. Bring to a boil, stirring to mix well, then reduce to low and let simmer 5-10 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and taste for seasoning. Should be served warm or at room temperature. Should be think but pourable.

Aromatic Lemongrass Marinade Directions:

1. Combine lemongrass, shallots, and garlic in a mortar and pound to a coarse paste.

2. Work in the fish sauce, lime juice, and pepper.

3. If you do not have a mortar and pestle, use a blender and process to smooth puree.

Main Directions:

1. Cut steak into 1/8 inch wide strips and put in the marinade. Let marinade in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or longer.

2. Put the meat on skewers and grill over high heat, 1-2 minutes per side for well-done.

3. Combine the basil, mint, jalapeno slices, and meat on a lettuce leaf and dip in the peanut sauce and enjoy.

This recipe is based on one from Steven Raichlen's Barbecue Bible.

Beef Sirloin Salad

Simple salad with some nice grilled beef sirloin.

Ingredients:

8 oz sirloin steak, 1 inch thick

2 cups romaine lettuce, washed, dried, and broken up

1/2 medium ripe tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes)

1/8 sweet red onion, thinly sliced (I used scallions)

Salad Dressing of your choice (I use Ranch or Blue Cheese)

Directions:

1. Prepare Steak as desired (Grilled or broiled are best)

2. Arrange lettuce on plate.

3. Cut steak into thin slices across the grain.

4. Put on tomatoes and onions and top with dressing.

Very simple, yet very yummy, especially if the meat is still warm. Can also be done with chicken as well.

Recipe from Dana Carpenders 500 LC Recipes

Shish-Kabobs

I know, this isn't difficult, but figured I'd post it just to give someone the idea. We had not made them in about a year because we just never thought about it.

Ingredients:
Stew Meat or whatever else you want
Red, Yellow, and Green Peppers
Grape Tomatoes
Mushrooms

Directions:
1. Dice everything up.
2. Put on skewers (don't forget to soak the wooden ones first if you use them)
3. Grill on medium heat about 5 minutes per side.

You can use whatever you want to for seasoning on the meat. A marinade would be good. We just use olive oil to coat the meat, then seasoned with black pepper, seasoned salt, blackened seasoning, garlic, coriander, and a bit of paprika. Turned out very good.

Beef Bourguignon

Here's a great crock-pot/slow cooker meal. Takes about 15 minutes to prep, 8 hours to cook, and is fantastic. It's similar to the Beef Burgundy we had made before but was much better.

Ingredients:
8 pieces of bacon, chopped
1 1/2 cups red wine
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp quick-cooking tapioca
2 tbsp olive oil (divided)
2 10 oz packages mushrooms, quartered (we didn't have fresh, so used canned instead)
1 1/2 tsp celery salt
2 lbs beef stew meat (or any other meat that is good in a slow cooker)
1 lb bag frozen pearl onions, thawed

Directions:
1. Add first 10 ingredients (bacon through tapioca) to the crock pot and mix well.
2. Warm 1 tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and brown the mushrooms and celery salt. Drain mushrooms and add to slow cooker.
3. Add remaining olive oil and brown the beef in the oil.
4. Add the beef and onions to the slow cooker and mix well.
5. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours, stir well, then cook for another hour. Remove bay leaf just before serving.

This recipe was from The Everyday LC Slow Cooker Cookbook

Eye Round Steaks with Onion-Cream Gravy

We usually buy some eye of round steaks as they are fairly cheap and I have never found a great way to use them. Here's a new recipe I found in a Steak Cookbook. Very simple, yet very good.

Ingredients:
4 eye of round steaks (about 5 oz each)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, large diced
1 sprig fresh oregano or 1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp white pepper (I used Szechuan roasted pepper and salt blend)
pinch of cayenne, to taste
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
pinch of salt, to taste
1 tbsp fresh parsley leaves, minced (Optional)

Directions:
1. Pat steaks dry and coat with oil.
2. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat.
3. Cook onion until soft (about 4 minutes), then add oregano and wine, raise to medium heat and simmer until wine is nearly gone(4-5 minutes).
4. Add cream and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 minute, then stir in vinegar, pepper, cayenne, and mustard.
5. Transfer mixture to blender (or magic bullet) and process for 30 seconds, then pour into saucepan and season with more salt and cayenne if desired. Set Aside
6. Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steaks after it is hot and cook until seared and crusted (about 2 minutes) Turn steaks and season wtih salt if desired. Cook 2 more minutes (for medium-rare).
7. Transfer steaks to cutting board to let them rest while re-heating the sauce.
8. Divide sauce among 4 plates and top with either the whole steaks or cut the steaks into 1/2 " thick slices.
9. Top with parsley if desired.

This recipe is from the Steak Lover's Cookbook by William Rice. A very good book that talks through different cuts of meat and the best way to prepare them.

Beef Burgundy

A very simple meal to just throw in the oven and let it cook for a while on it's own.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 pounds boneless beef cut into 2" squares (I used 1 lb chuck and 1 lb eye of round)
1 cup dry red wine
3/4 tsp guar or xanthan
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 large onion, sliced
8 oz mushrooms, chunked if they are large
2 green peppers, sliced or chunked

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 250
2. Put oil in heavy skillet and brown the beef over medium-high heat.
3. Put beef in 2 1/2 quart casserole dish
4. Combine wine and guar/xanthan in a blender for about 10 seconds then pour over beef.
5. Add salt, paprika, oregano, onion, mushrooms, and peppers and stir together.
6. Cover and put in the oven for about 5 hours.

A few things I might change on it would be to cut back on the xanthan, add in some black pepper and garlic. Also, I cooked mine at 300 for 4 1/2 hours and it turned out fine.

This recipe was from Dana Carpenders 500 LC recipe book.