Stuck In A Rut

Do you ever get stuck in a rut in the kitchen? I realized that I have been for a while. As you can see I haven't really tried any new recipes lately. Life has become; get up and get ready for work, go to work, do some errands, come home and eat whatever I can put together fast or what is in the crock pot. This has left me wanting something more....I want more flavor, different flavors...anything but the same things! At the same time I want to keep cooking with what I have on hand. We are moving in a few weeks and the more stuff I use right now, the less we have to pack up and move. It is also nice on the budget not to be running out and getting new ingredients for one dish! So these next two recipes are what came of me opening up my personalized cookbook torn from magazines.


Beef Knishes



Recipe found in Rachael Ray's Magazine. She serves hers with a Carrot Salad. Carrot Salad doesn't really go over well in this house so I omitted that part of the recipe. I broke my rule of not running out and getting an ingredient for one dish on this one. I bought the pie crust premade as it says in the recipe. Next time I am planning on making my own to see how it changes the recipe.

This recipe was ok. It really needs something to kick it up a bit. Something with some moisture. Maybe if you serve it with the carrot salad you would find it doesn't need anything else but this one set my creative wheels a spinning! Next time I am going to take the basic idea of this and make it my own, I will re-post that when I make what is in my head! The way it is now it was very dry. It needs something to give it that wow factor. The filling its self doesn't really provide any wow. It is just meat, garlic and onions with some salt and pepper. When I made these I added some green pepper and corn. Next time I am thinking some diced potatoes, maybe some Cheddar cheese, and some sort of yummy mushroom sauce....it is still in the works!

Rating 2.


Peruvian-Style Steak
Steak a la Chorrillana



This recipe too is from Rachael Ray's Magazine. This is a very simple recipe also but it had that, "Wow, this is good" factor to it. The recipe calls for a flatiron steak but I used BHF sirloin tip steak because that it what I had in the freezer. It was wonderful. Make sure you keep the meat to a medium rare doneness. I had a smaller steak that was slightly over done but the one that is in the picture was cooked to perfection and so tender and flavorful. The recipe called for just a simple salt and pepper seasoning on the steaks but I added a few shakes of garlic and onion powder to one side.

The potatoes and onions turned out perfectly too. My other half loves peppers, so we grilled up some pablano, bell and banana peppers up along side the onions. Instead of cooking the onions and peppers right on the grill, we put down some foil so they would not fall through. It turned out wonderful. The onions and peppers were fresh and clean tasting and lent a lot of flavor to the dish over all. The potatoes I cooked on the grates along side the steak. Just make sure to keep an eye on them so they do not get burnt. As they cooked I would move the more done ones to the top grate to keep them warm as the rest cooked. They had a great creamy texture in side and crisp smokiness on the outside. Perfectly cooked potatoes. Throughout the cooking process I kept brushing the potatos and onions with olive oil so they did not stick or dry out.

Another great thing about this recipe...no dishes! Only the tongs you grill with and plates you eat off of! Now that is a great meal!

Rating 3+.

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