London Broil

London Broil has a reputation for being a tough cut of meat, but it can be as tender as an expensive steak. Add that to it being super inexpensive and you have the makings of an impressive, flavorful meal. You will need to grill it, though. I don't have any idea how to bake it to get the same results. To get it really tender you also need to plan it a couple of days before. But we are talking less than $10 to feed a family of four. As anyone who has to watch their budget knows, meat is expensive. London Broil is the perfect choice when you want to feel like you are splurging on a decadent meal, but are feeling the pinch of the economy.

You will need:

one London Broil (Top Round Roast)
Italian dressing (I highly recommend Good Seasons mix)
plastic bag



Since I keep mentioning my preference for Good Seasons Italian dressing I figured I should post some pictures of how easy it is to make.

You will need:

Good Seasons Italian dressing envelope (about $2 for 2)
1/4 cup vinegar (white or apple cider)
3 T water
1/2 cup oil (your choice)



Mix the vinegar and water in a bowl or bag. I think the recipe actually calls for apple cider vinegar, but I used white. (I had just made BBQ sauce and used up all my cider vinegar. I buy white in monster bottles for $1 and put it in everything. I put a T in pots that I am soaking, 2 T in the laundry and it whitens better than Oxy Clean, and it is indispensable for cleaning the coffee pot.) Add the envelope of seasoning.



Mix thoroughly.



Now add the oil and mix.



Pour over whatever you want to marinade or use in salads. It's fantastic!! It also comes with two in a box with a cruet. The bottle actually has lines for the vinegar, water, and oil, no measuring. I have about six cruets, but use them for other things. (homemade vanilla, cinnamon, taco seasoning that was bought in bulk, etc.)



Now here comes the prep time--you will need to marinate this guy for two days. Yep, two. You can grill it after one and it will be tasty and delicious, but give it the full two days and you won't be sorry. So tender, so juicy. You'll think you are dining in the finest of restaurants with expensive meat. Trust me. (Flip the bag a couple of times a day to keep the marinade evenly covered over the meat.)


Grill your London Broil on medium heat (away from the direct heat) for 7 minutes per side, 5-6 minutes if you have a thin cut, 8 minutes if you like less pink in your meat.





Let it sit for a full 15 minutes. If you cut into it before that you will lose all of your great juices and end up with dry meat. That's a hard and fast rule that applies to all meat. Leave it alone and let it rest for 15 minutes.


The last, but very important part of having London Broil is cutting it on the diagonal against the grain. This step makes the London Broil super tender. It can be unchewable if you don't cut on the diagonal. Turn your steak at a 45 degree angle and slice thinly.



Don't be surprised if you family groans in pleasure at the flavor of this meal. Pretend you spent a ton of money on the cut of meat, exaggerate how long it took to prepare, and give your self a pat on the back for being cheap and easy...wait, that didn't sound right! The meal is cheap and easy, not you. Buy yourself a little something for spoiling your family on a budget! :)



Enjoy!

Healthier Banana Bread

Bananas ripen so quickly here in Florida. We seem to get only three days before I have to put them in the fridge to stop them from ripening further. And then a lot of times we forget about them. I blame my fridge--I hate it and complain about it daily. It's one of those horrid side-by-side things, but it was brand spanking new when we moved into this house 5 years ago and I can't justify replacing it just because it has space issues. The side-by-side fridges are deep but narrow making it impossible to find anything because everything is shoved to the back and covered by what's in front. So I end up buying doubles and triples of products and...I could go on and on. I. Hate. My. Fridge. But I love banana bread, which I make often because, well, see above. I've tried to healthy-up the recipe since we eat so much of it.

You will need:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups white flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter (Smart Balance!!)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs (or egg substitute)
4 overripe bananas
cinnamon (to taste)
one loaf pan



In a small bowl, combine flours, baking soda, and salt--set aside. In a large bowl, mash the bananas. I use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Add butter and applesauce and mix together. (I made this recipe with cinnamon applesauce once because we were out of unsweetened and it was really good, so any applesauce will do.)



Add sugar and cinnamon, mix, then add eggs one at a time. I don't measure cinnamon in my recipes, I just shake it out until it looks right. Add to your taste, but I suggest about a tsp or so.



Now gently add your flours and stir. You can use a spatula or wooden spoon for this step if you are worried about overmixing. Stir until just combined--you don't want your bread to be tough.





Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes or until center is baked.





If you are worried that your oven temperature is not accurate then bake this bread at 325 until the center is baked. A common complaint about quick breads is that the centers are still raw while the sides are overdone, which is most often caused by an oven that is too hot. If it happens, you can tent some foil over the top until the center is done. Another cause of a raw middle is a pan that is too small. Make sure your loaf pan is large enough--if you are unsure, make 2! A crack down the middle of the bread is perfectly normal.


Let cool for 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack and then turn out.



Banana bread is better is wrapped overnight and eaten the next day. But who does that?? We love our banana bread hot from the oven and smothered in butter.



To add a punch of extra flavor try adding 1 tsp of banana extract. I do that sometimes (when I'm not out of extract). I love it with or without!



One final note: the more whole wheat you use, the drier the bread. White flour keeps bread moist and tender. If you insist on using all whole wheat, up your fat in the recipe (at least 2 more T butter). Your bread will be denser and much less tender, but still tasty!

Enjoy!!

my recipe card:

Good for Anything Sauce

This sauce recipe is perfect for beef, chicken, or fish--but fish is my favorite. It is reminiscent of T.G.I.Friday's Jack Daniels Grilling Sauce. Chock full of flavor and you don't have to mess around with marinating anything. This sauce is a topper!

You will need:

3/4 cup honey
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar (dark is preferable, but light is fine)
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2 T lemon juice
2 T white vinegar
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste (I add a few shakes of each)



This recipe makes quite a bit of sauce. I get three full uses out of it, half it if you only want to use it once. It keeps in the fridge, covered, for two weeks.

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium/low heat and whisk.



Bring to a rolling boil then reduce the heat to a simmer/slow boil.





Boil and reduce for 15-20 minutes or until syrupy. (Watch the sauce closely to be sure it doesn't bubble over.) Remove from heat and pour into a bowl to cool a bit.



For fish--I rub each fillet with a bit of oil and Montreal Steak seasoning and put into a skillet on medium/high heat. Drizzle with sauce...



and cook for 4 minutes on each side, drizzle with more sauce after flipping.



Then, if you want to take a picture, remember to do so before eating it down to the last two bites. :)



Enjoy on grilled (or baked) beef or chicken as a finishing sauce. I usually just put plastic wrap over the sauce and store in the fridge and then use it up in a few days. To store it longer, put it in a sealed plastic container or bag.

Margarita Chicken

What says summer better than a margarita? Well, margarita does a great winter, spring, and fall, too. It's an equal opportunity drink. This recipe is great for chicken or fish. I love to cook Mahi Mahi this way, although I switch out the Montreal Chicken seasoning for Steak seasoning when I do fish.

You will need:

1 can frozen margarita mix, thawed
2/3 cup tequila
2 T Montreal Chicken seasoning
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts



Clean the chicken and cut each breast into thirds and put into a plastic bag. In a bowl mix together the margarita mix, tequila, and seasoning. I like to use Jose Cuervo Gold in recipes and drinks because it has a strong, bold flavor. I used Jose's White in margaritas once and they had no tequila flavor at all. Very sad.





Pour the marinade into the bag over the chicken and marinate for at least an hour, four is better, but don't do it overnight.



The chicken is best cooked in a frying pan. I add about a tablespoon or so of oil in the pan, but if you have non-stick it is really not necessary. Cook for 7 minutes over medium heat on first side, then flip and cook for another 3-5 minutes (depending on how thickness of your chicken).





Are you loving my new green frying pan? I am!!

The sugars in the margarita mix will start to brown, so it's important that your heat is not too high. It makes for a really yummy coating on the chicken. Really, really tasty.





It is possible that this chicken is excellent eaten cold right out of the fridge, but I have no idea. We never have any leftovers from margarita chicken.

Enjoy!

**note: I never use the frozen mix for margaritas. I am a strict Finest Call gal. Some Finest Call margarita mix, a heavy pour of Jose Gold, a few splashes of Triple Sec, and ice. I suddenly got very thirsty...

Pecan Chicken

Pecan chicken is a classic Southern dish traditionally made with bone-in, skin-on chicken. Like fried chicken, but with a pecan (pronounced pee-can in the South) crust. This recipe is a healthier version I found in one of my favorite cookbooks and then made even healthier.



You will need:

2 pie plates
9x13 baking dish
3T butter (Smart Balance)
3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 cup ground pecans
1 T paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts



Clean your chicken and cut the breasts into 3 pieces each, about the size of chicken tenders. You can leave them whole, but the smaller pieces have more coating, so more flavor, and they cook faster. Kids love anything that resembles a chicken tender.


Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. I covered my glass baking dish with foil for easy clean-up. Cut up the 3T of butter and put them in your baking dish, then place the dish into the oven while it preheats.




Mix the pecans, flour, paprika, salt, and pepper in one of the pie plates.



In the second pie plate, whisk together the buttermilk and egg. Line up your dishes starting with the buttermilk mixture, then flour, then melted butter in the baking dish.



Dredge each piece on chicken in the buttermilk mixture, coating it thoroughly.



Then evenly coat each buttermilk covered piece in the pecan mixture.



Place each piece in the dish with melted butter, then flip over so that it is buttered on each side.



Mmmmm. Buttermilk, pecans...two of my favorite words. I'm getting hungry!

Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes. The coating will brown up nicely.



This chicken is amazing hot from the oven. I served it with some saffron rice and homemade whole wheat rolls (recipe to come). But, my favorite way to eat this chicken is cold from the fridge, cut up on a salad. Hot or cold it's super delicious and almost guilt-free. Enjoy!

Macaroni Stew

This recipe is so simple and so flavorful. Tomato allergy or not, it is one of my all-time favorites and I always brave the stomachache and eat some. You can make this stew on the stove or in the slow cooker. And like chili, it's even better the next day!

You will need:

1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
1 medium onion
1 cup chopped carrots
2 cans green beans
1 cup (or 1 can) corn
1 small can tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste (I like the kind with roasted garlic)
1 envelope Lipton onion soup
2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
********************
8 oz cooked elbow macaroni



Saute the meat with the onion and carrots until all traces of pink are gone from the meat. If you meat is super lean, you might need to add 1T of oil. (My carrots look strange because all I had were those matchsticks carrots for salads. Someone--and I won't name names--ate all my baby carrots.)



Stir in the rest of the ingredients, except the macaroni. Do not drain the canned veggies.



Bring to a boil and then lower the heat. Cover and simmer for at least an hour, but the longer the better.



If you plan on eating the entire pot in one night, then you can add the macaroni to the pot. If not, then add a handful of macaroni to each bowl before topping with stew. Pasta has an annoying habit of swelling and then breaking down in the stew pot. The stew will be nice and hot and will warm the macaroni immediately.





Stir and enjoy! (Ignore the magically changing bowl...I forgot to take a picture in the white bowl before hubby started chowing down.)