Who Rules The Grill?

I rule the grill! Today the Boy had a double header out in Sanford Manitoba.  It was a bit of a trek but for 2 games of baseball, we don't mind.  (FYI, they won the first game but lost the second game.) This morning before we left the house, I made sure to throw together a marinade for a flank steak I had just begging to be flavoured up.  The fine people behind Canadian Beef have thrown together a great contest for Canadian bloggers called 'Who Rules The Grill?'.  The contest caught my eye on Twitter and I knew I needed to think of something.  I chose a flank steak to toss on the the grill but first I had to marinate it for a while.  As I browsed through my fridge and freezer I found some chipotle peppers and limes...hmmmm think, think think.....

Chipotle Lime Grilled Flank Steak Salad

3 (or 4) chipotle peppers, chopped
1 tbsp (or so) chipotle sauce from the peppers
zest of 1 lime
juice of half a lime
1/4 cup olive oil
pinch of salt and pepper
1 flank steak, trimmed of excess fat and connective tissue
salad dressing of your choice

Chipotle and lime: the perfect combination!

In a zip top baggie, combine the peppers, sauce, lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, and salt & pepper.  Use your hands on the outside of the bag to mix it all up.

The no mess way to mix!!

 Add the steak and once again use your hands on the outside of the bag to ensure the steak gets completely covered in chipotle lime goodness.

Place the bag in the fridge to marinate for the day or overnight.

Heat up the grill and grill your fabulous flank steak for 5 - 6 minutes a side or until medium.  Remove to a plate, cover with foil and allow the steak to rest for 5 minutes.

mmmmmmmm.......

Give your steak a 1/4 turn half way through cooking to get fabulous grill marks!

 Once rested, thinly slice the steak across the grain.

Slicing across the grain ensures a nice tender steak.

 Serve on top of your favourite salad greens with your favourite fixins' and dressing.

This really was such a perfect dinner tonight. Tasty protein, lots of veggies....oh so yummy! I think next time I will add some cheese of some sort....

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

Dips: It Takes One to Know One

So while walking with the class the other week, I turned my ankle and fell to the ground in grand fashion! We were only half way to our destination so I pried myself up off the concrete, looked around to see how many students saw and kept walking with the one student who happened to be walking with me.  It was slow going that last 1.5km.  We were heading to the movies.  There is a second run cheapie movie theatre a mere 3km from school so it is a popular spot for June field trips as we can easily walk there.  Once we made it to the mall, the student and I stopped at the pharmacy to pick up some first aid supplies to clean up my knee then met the rest of the class to watch "Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2" That movie was great. I truly enjoyed it!  One of the teachers was kind and drove me back to the school after.  Lots of ice, x-rays, and a couple of physiotherapy visits later, it is merely a really bad sprain....we're talking lower ankle, upper ankle, hurts from ankle to knee at times!!! ACK!! The best part (see the sarcasm) is the bruising.  I am fair skinned and bruises show up oh so nicely....it really does look way worse than it feels....I hope!

I figure no one wants to see ugly ankle pictures so let's get on with the grub!
In our venture to eat healthier we have become dippy with dip!  To be more specific, hummus and tzatziki!  Both hummus and tzatziki are such simple dips and a great way to add some flavour to your veggies, sandwiches, wraps, or whatever it is you want to use them on.  Keep a bin or a zippy top bag filled with cut and ready to go veggies in the fridge and you are set for lunches, snacks, even dinners!
I even made some fresh pita.  After reading this post here at A Little bit of everything, I just had to make it! I haven't made the roasted veggie dip yet, but I plan to!

A few simple ingredients is all it takes!!

Tzatziki (reminds me of my trip to Greece!)  Printable dip recipes

1/2 long English cucumber
1 cup Greek style plain yogurt
1 clove garlic (chopped fine or grated with a micro plane)
salt & pepper
1 tsp lemon zest (optional)

Grate the cucumber.  If your yogurt isn't very thick, squeeze out the excess liquid.  The PC Greek style yogurt at Superstore is so incredibly thick, I didn't drain the cucumber.

Grate in the garlic, lemon zest (if using), and add the salt and pepper.
Stir in the yogurt.  (Use your judgement here.  If the amount of yogurt doesn't cover all of the cucumber, then add more yogurt.  Consistency is really up to you!)

Let the tzatziki rest in the fridge for a while before eating...if you can wait.

Serve up with pitas, veggies, on sammies, in wraps, by the spoonful....

Hummus (unfortunately I can not find the pics I took of the hummus. I will post them when I find them, or make more and take new photos!)

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 or 2 cloves garlic
1 to 2 tbsp tahini or peanut butter (optional)
cayenne (pinch or to taste)
1 jalapeno
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
water to thin out if you don't want to use too much oil

Toss everything but the olive oil and water into a blender or food processor.  With the machine running, drizzle in olive oil.  If you are skeptical about using too much olive oil, switch to drizzling in water.  Keep the machine and the liquid drizzling until you reach the consistency you want.  Some people prefer a thick dip and others prefer a thinner dip.
Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.  (Remember, it is easier to add flavour and heat than it is to take it away!!)

Until next time, stay warm and eat well. (And stay on your feet!)

Drink Your Cocktails, Cupcake

Did you know it is very easy to add booze to your cupcakes?  It is as simple as brushing on some rum or tequila, or whatever on to cupcakes when they come out of the oven, again before icing, and heck, put some in the frosting as well!

Strawberry rhubarb daiquiri

Remember those amazing strawberry rhubarb cupcakes?? Well, I brushed a batch of these little beauties with rum, twice...then I added rum to the the strawberry meringue butter cream....Yum!! You heard me correctly....just add some liquor to a Swiss meringue butter cream after it is finished and you are set!!

Mango lime margarita

Then there was the wonderful mango lime cupcakes?  Those were brushed with tequila, twice then were topped with a tequila lime icing!!  Tequila lime icing is as easy as switching out the water or other liquid for lime juice and tequila.  A little lime zest never hurts either!!

I took these little gems over to a friend's house to help celebrate her birthday.  I must admit I enjoyed hearing the rave reviews!!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!!

Honey Dijon Chicken

So I had a slight panic attack tonight....it all started with an afternoon snack with the Boy.  We noshed on some fabulous garlic sausage (from HMG Meats and Deli), cheese, and pickles....oh those pickles.  The pickles were in a bowl....somehow the bowl wound up upside down on my laptop with pickles and pickle juice all over the keyboard.  Ack!!  The Boy should just be kept away from electronics!! It was a complete accident.  What to do, what to do??  First I turned the power off (I am told to take the battery out but I couldn't get the battery out) then put the keyboard portion in rice.  That's right, rice.

Things seem to be working well.  There was one moment of panic when I first turned it on and every now and then the keys won't move too easily but then a piece of rice pops out.  I am still finding some pieces of rice here and there but all is working!!  Whew!!

FYI, this rice trick also worked when my Blackberry fell in a puddle!!

Tonight's easy peasy dinner involved minimal dishes and the BBQ again!

Honey Dijon Chicken, adapted from Food Network.  You will need:

• Dijon mustard
• Runny honey
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• zip top freezer bag for marinating

First:  In a zip top freezer bag mix equal parts Dijon mustard and honey.  Add some salt and pepper and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Mix it all up and add some chicken pieces, seal up the bag and move everything around so the chicken gets all covered in saucy goodness.

Make a foil pouch and drizzle in some olive oil.  Toss in some veggies.  Tonight I had some baby potatoes so I used those.  You can use carrots, beans, asparagus....whatever you have.   Add a pat of butter for good flavour and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Toss it all on the grill.

I do love a Monday night BBQ....it means I can get my toes in the grass and enjoy some time outside.

It's a new BBQ so I am still learning the hot spots.

Yummy!!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!!

BBQ Season is Finally Here!!

We kicked off the weekend with the most fabulous New York strip steaks ever!!! There is a new fabulous store in the neighbourhood.  I must confess, we bought NY strip steaks last weekend from here and there were also fabulous!! For those in Winnipeg, HMG Meats and Deli (642 Leila Avenue, 339-8406) is THE place to get steaks, pork, garlic sausage....well they will pretty much take care of all your meat needs...(he he).

 One thing I love about BBQ season is cooking everything on the grill.  Wrap it in foil if you must, toss it on the grill.  I did use 1 pot to boil the corn, but I did that outside on the side burner.  Corn is NOT in season at all here and I don't feel bad about boiling this stuff instead of grilling it. I didn't even eat it. I took one bite and...well...ew.

If you don't mind, I think I will just give some pictures of BBQ goodness. After a busy weekend of gardening and watching the Boy play baseball, baking some rye bread, banana bread, and so on.....it is time to relax.  Here's to a great week for everyone!!

make a pouch of foil, add a pat of butter, salt and pepper and toss it on the grill!!

Salt and pepper is all these perfectly aged steaks need!!

Potatoes on, mushrooms on, grill marks perfect!

The dissappointing corn looked so good!

Yeah, that's right, there is no green on my plate, wanna make something of it?   Didn't think so!

Oh, and some top notch root beer to top it all off!!

I hope to get back to blogging more regularly.  I think what is going on (besides baseball season) is that after a long, cold winter us prairie dwellars try to spend as much time as possinle outside when it warms up.  In the depths of winter, it is easy to cozy up in a blanket and blog away.  I have been baking and cooking and taking pictures.  I just need to find some time to write.

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!!