Steak Marinade

Another winner from melskitchencafe.com. This steak marinade seriously filled me with joy and turned me into a steak person. Steak forever.

Make-you-cry-it's-so-tasty Steak Marinade

1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup pineapple juice
3 garlic cloves minced

Combine all ingredients and marinate the steaks overnight (12-14 hours).

Mom's Cafe Rio

After several nights of ridiculously lame dinners, I mustered all my gumption to pull myself out of the post-vacation-dinner-rut I was stuck in and made Mom's Cafe Rio. It was the meal that just kept on giving! (I love leftovers with all my heart and soul.) I was always really intimidated of making homemade Cafe Rio because in the past it has just seemed so labor intensive. But it really wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. For a few reasons:

1. Mom's cilantro lime rice goes in the rice cooker. Hallelujah.
2. I used just tomatoes in lieu of making pico de gallo. I only make pico when Blake and I are tag-teaming it.
3. I didn't sear the pork. Just rubbed on the spices and threw it in the crockpot.
4. I used boneless pork loin instead of a pork roast. Pork roast is tastier because it's higher fat, but because of the fat you have to go through all of the meat and separate the fat out. (Like we did with the BBQ pork sandwiches at the cabin.) Takes FOR-EH-VER. But with the boneless pork loin, I just trim the big fat pocket off, throw it in the crockpot with the other ingredients, and once it's done I can just shred it and call it good. Not quite as fatty-delicious, but healthier and still the Cafe Rio pork we know and love.

I'm glad I gave this a try and found out it wasn't as intense as I was anticipating. Still more than my average meal, but definitely doable.

Homemade Cafe Rio

tortillas (we didn't see a need for tortillas--we just made massive salads)
chips (technically optional, but you know how I feel about chips)
cilantro lime rice
black beans, rinsed and drained
sweet pork
lettuce
pico de gallo (or tomatoes)
guacamole (or avocado)
cilantro lime dressing

Sweet Shredded Pork

4 lb. boneless pork shoulder roast

½ t. salt

¼ t. black pepper

2 t. chili powder

1 t. onion powder

1-2 T. vegetable oil

2 (10 oz.) cans red enchilada sauce

1 C. brown sugar, divided

½ C. salsa

½ T. Worcestershire sauce

¼ C. apple juice

Trim the visible fat from the roast and sprinkle with salt, pepper, chili powder, and onion powder.  Use hands to massage the spices all over sides of meat.

Heat the oil in a large pot over stove (medium-high heat).  Sear the pork roast for about 1 minute on all sides or until meat surface is golden brown.

While meat is searing, combine the enchilada sauce, 2/3 C. brown sugar, salsa, Worcestershire sauce, and apple juice in a slow cooker.  Add the pork, cover and cook on low for 7 hours.

Remove pork and shred, discarding any pieces of fat.  Add the additional 1/3 cup brown sugar to slow cooker and turn heat to high.  Add shredded meat.  Simmer with lid off for 30 minutes.

(*Note: I cooked an 8 lb. roast. After searing it, I put it in the oven, covered with foil or an oven-proof lid and cooked it at 325 degrees for about 2 hours.  By that time, the roast was starting to get more tender, and most of the fat had baked off.  I took the roast (I discarded the juices and fat from the roast) and put the roast into the crockpot, then covered it with all of the sauce mix (I doubled the sauce mix because the roast was double in size from what the recipe called for) and cooked it on low for about 5-6 hours.  One other tip: I had another recipe for this sweet pork that called for barbeque sauce.  So, I added anywhere from ¼ cup – ½ cup Sweet Baby Ray’s barbeque sauce.  I really think that helped the pork to taste pretty “authentic.”)

Cilantro-Lime Rice

Ingredients

• 1 c. uncooked rice (long-grain, white rice)
• 1 tsp. butter or margarine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (1/4 t. garlic powder)
• 1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

Instructions

• In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.
• RICE COOKER METHOD:  Put the first 6 ingredients in the rice cooker and cook like normal rice. Add the lime juice, sugar, and cilantro after the rice is cooked.

Creamy Cilantro-Lime Ranch Dressing

(aka Mom's Best Dressing Ever)

1 C. mayonnaise

½ C. buttermilk

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix (buttermilk kind)

1 lime, juiced (about 2 T. lime juice)

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ C. cilantro

1 tomatillo

Combine mayonnaise, buttermilk, lime juice, and contents of the packet of ranch dressing mix in a blender.  Add other ingredients and blend to thoroughly mix all the ingredients.  Refrigerate for at least an hour to allow dressing to thicken and meld flavors.

*Note: I have seen recipes use half mayo, half sour cream, maybe even Greek yogurt. Might be worth a try. If any of you try it, let us know how it turns out!

Clean Eating Chicken Tacos

Okay, so I first tried this recipe on Cinco de Mayo this year...YUM!! I have since made them a couple times. The awesome thing about this recipe is that it's one of those that you can take what you want and leave the rest. I tried the whole thing the first time and it was so delish! But, my favorite part of the recipe is the chicken rub. It gives the chicken so much flavor--which I never get when I make chicken tacos. (Probably because I am one of those people who throws chicken in the crockpot with some salsa and calls it good...never again!)

Anyway, I found this recipe through pinterest (of course!) and it is from a site called The Live Fit Girls. Here is the Recipe:

Skinny Baja Chicken Tacos

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

20 min

For the Chicken

1. 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
2. 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3. 2 teaspoons chili powder
4. 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
5. 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
6. salt & pepper to taste
7. juice from 1 lime

1. 1. Slice chicken breasts thin, into 1/4 inch strips, and place in a medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix to evenly coat the chicken with olive oil and spices.
2. 2. Preheat a large skillet over a medium-high heat.
3. 3. Sauté chicken for 5-8 minutes or until lightly browned and the chicken is cooked through.

For the Cabbage Slaw

1. 3/4 cup red cabbage, shredded
2. 3/4 cup Napa cabbage, shredded
3. 1/2 shredded carrot (about 1 large carrot)
4. 3 tablespoons nonfat Greek yogurt
5. juice from 2 limes
6. 1 teaspoon raw honey (optional)
7. salt & pepper to taste

1. 1. While the chicken in cooking prepare the cabbage. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

For the Spicy Chipotle Sauce

1. 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
2. 1-2 ancho chili (canned in sauce)

1. In a blender or food processor, combine ingredients until smooth. Spoon mixture into a plastic baggy and cut the corner off to open a 1/4 inch.

Toppings

1. 8 sprouted corn tortillas
2. guacamole
3. pico de gallo
4. lime wedges for garnish

Mama Hull's Steak Salad

We grilled steak for dinner a few weeks ago and had leftovers. I immediately thought of mom's delicious steak salad. It was actually the first thing I ate at her house after being married to Quinton. So I guess it helps that I have good memories attached. But boy do we LOVE THIS SALAD!! (You don't have to have good memories attached in order to love it by the way-- it's good all on it's own)

We called mom to get the recipe. I remembered that it was a homemade garlic/oil/brown sugar dressing and that the salad was spinach, steak and bell peppers. Guess what!! I was forgetting a few other key ingredients, but I ended up having everything I needed already in my kitchen. No need for a grocery trip.. That NEVER happens to me. I was so happy! Ha! :)

So here it is. Steak is not a common meat in our meals, but when it is I will be sure to make extra for this salad! ENJOY!

Steak Salad

Melody Hull

Spinach

Leftover steak, sliced into thin strips

1 sweet red onion, or Walla Walla onion, sliced

1 sweet red pepper – or yellow or orange, sliced into strips

2 T. chopped peanuts (or any kind of nut)

Saute the onion and peppers either in a grill basket on the barbecue grill, or in a pan on the stove.  Make sure you first put them into a bag and toss a little olive oil in there so they soften and don’t stick to the pan.  Set aside.

Mix the following dressing over the stove – add cilantro at the very end because you don’t want to really cook it that long – keep it kind of fresh and green.  Then toss the spinach, steak strips, peppers and onions with the dressing.  Add chopped peanuts and serve immediately.  It turns out to be a slightly “wilted” salad.  Super yummy!

Dressing:

Juice of 2 limes or 4 T.

1 T olive oil

1 heaping T. brown sugar

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 T. soy sauce

2 T. fresh chopped cilantro

Healthy Refrigerator Bran Muffins

https://www.melskitchencafe.com/healthy-and-delicious-refrigerator-bran-muffins/

I love these muffins. They're healthy but crazy delicious, make-ahead, and high-fiber. ("Yoo hoo! Big summer blowout!")

I made a big batch the day before we left on our trip and brought a dozen with us. (Which ended up being a huge blessing once the constipation set it. How lovely... I'm three lines in to a recipe blog and I'm already discussing bodily functions. #stillaBriggs) And the second I walked in the door from our all-day roadtrip home, I preheated the oven to 375 so I could pair hot muffins with scrambled eggs and call it a mom-win as I fed my family something fairly legitimate from an empty, post-vacation fridge. Woo!

A few notes on the recipe... First and foremost, I love Mel. Hands-down, she's my favorite food blogger. I owe her so much!! You'll be seeing a lot of her food posted by me! Also, I've cheated the butter a little before when I just wanted to use up some butter that was on a plate (5ish T. instead of 8), and didn't miss the extra tablespoons at all.

Enjoy these little puppies! Fresh muffins + fruit makes for a lovely breakfast.

yield: 4 dozen muffins

MAKE-AHEAD REFRIGERATOR BRAN MUFFINS

PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES

 

COOK TIME: 15 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cups (about 8 ounces) wheat bran flakes or plain wheat bran
• 2 cups (about 4 ounces) bran buds (look like little pebbles) or all-bran (look like little twigs) 
• 2 cups boiling water
• 4 cups (1 quart) buttermilk (or equal parts sour cream and milk whisked together)
• 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup, 4 ounces) butter, melted
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 cups (15 ounces) granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups (about 25 ounces) whole wheat flour
• 4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl with a tight fitting lid (needed if you aren’t baking the muffin batter right away), add the wheat bran flakes or wheat bran and the bran buds or all-bran.
2. Pour the boiling water over the top, and mix well. Stir every couple of minutes while the mixture cools to room temperature. The mixture will be  thick and sticky; it’s ok if there are a few dry patches.
3. After the mixture cools to warm room temperature, add the buttermilk, melted butter, applesauce, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
4. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir until ingredients are combined.
5. The batter can be baked right away or stored in the refrigerator, covered well, for up to a month to bake as needed. Give the batter a good stir before using if it has been refrigerated.
6. To bake, scoop the batter into greased or lined muffin tins, filling 3/4 full. Bake at 375 degrees (350 degrees for dark coated muffin tins) for about 14-16 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.