Grilled Flank Steak Sandwich

Grilled Flank Steak Sandwich with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette--Dressed and Pears
(sorry we ate it before we took a picture....yum, it was good)

Ingredients:
2 lemons
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (about 4 springs), stripped and chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 lbs flank steak
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
4 rolls, split
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 ripe Bartlett, Anjou, or Bosc pear
8 slices prosciutto di Parma
1 large bunch of arugula, cleaned and trimmed (2 to 2 1/2 cups)

Directions:
1. In a shallow bowl, combine the juice of 1 1/2 lemons, thyme, salt and pepper. Add steak and toss to coat. Marinate for 5-10 minutes.

2. In a small bowl, combine mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Whisk in 3 tbsp of Olive oil, then the blue cheese. Toast the rolls and rub the toasted cut sides with the garlic clove.

3. Preheat a grill pan or outdoor grill on high. Add rest of oil if on a grill pan. Grill the steak for 6-7 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate and loosely tent with foil to let the juices redistribute before slicing.

4. Thinly slice the pear, and toss in a salad bowl with the juice of the remaining half lemon. Slice the prosciutto into strips. Add the arugula leaves and prosciutto to the salad bowl and toss with the vinaigrette.

5. Thinly slice the steak against the grain and on an angle. Layer the steak slices onto the rolls and to pwith the arugula-pear salad.

Brought to you by Rachael Ray 365: No repeats. Russ made most of this dinner. It was so good!

Chinese Fried Rice

Chinese Fried Rice (rough recipe)

Ingredients:

6 eggs
5 cups calrosa rice made the day before
2-3 cups shreaded chicken
3-5 garlic cloves, minced, to taste
4 heads of green onion, chopped
3-4 heads of baby bok choy, chopped
sesame seed oil
soy sauce

1. In large skillet or wok scramble 6 eggs until really well done. Add about 1 tsp of sesame seed oil and garlic. Saute until garlic just golden.
2. Add precooked rice, soy sauce, and more sesame seed oil. heat up and break up. Add chicken. Add more soy sauce to taste as it cooks and sesame seed oil as it needs more moisture.
3. Add green onion in last 7 minutes of cooking. And bok choy when you have about 3-4 minutes left to cook.

Brought to you by Nei Wei (a friend/ co-worker from TMMC)

Shrimp Jambalaya with Sausage

Ingredients:
2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
7 oz of kielbasa turkey sausage, sliced, then quartered
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
3/4 tsp Creole seasoning (i.e. Tony Chachere's)
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/3 cup green onions
1 1/2 tsp hot sauce

Directions:
1. heat oil in a large 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add onion and next 3 ingredients. Saute 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
2. Add broth and next 3 ingredients to pan;bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 18 minutes. Add shrimp, green onions, and hot sauce. Cover and cook 7 to 8 minutes or until shrimp are done. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.

Place hot sauce and Creole seasoning on table for people to specialize their plate to their taste.

Yeilds 6 servings. Serving size 1 1/2 cups.
Per serving: cal 259 (14% from fat); Fat 3.9 g (sat 0.9g); Pro 18.2g; Carb 36.9 g; Fib 2.2g, Chol 104mg; iron 3.7 mg, sod 784 mg, calc 67 mg. WW points 5.

Brought to you by Weight Watchers annual recipes cookbook.

My favorite place to get books...

I have said before that I love reading. But buying books can get expensive especially if it only takes about a week to finish them. Of course now in days who knows when I can finish a book. Either way I still attempt. I always have books stacked up on my nightstand. Along with buying books comes the book shelf. I have two book shelves to be exact. And I started having piles of books beside the book shelf. So I heard about a website called paper back swap. Basically you post 10 books that you would be willing to give away. And for just posting those 10 books you get 3 credits. For each book you send out you get 1 credit and each book will you cost you 1 credit. (There are audio books and such but those are a little more pricey in the book process). You don't have to trade with the same person, you don't have to use all your credits at one time. You pay for shipping when you send it to someone else, so when you get it it is free. Anyways if you get a chance to head over, check it out. I really like it.

Currently reading: He Who Wept: An epic novel of Jeremiah By: T. Lemmons

Just ordered off of Paper Back Swap (for later): The Confessions of Saint Augustine By: Saint Augustine translated by E. B. Pusey

If you like apples....

If you like apples, which I don't know who doesn't, there is an apple festival in Oak Glen. Russell and I go every year. It's lots of fun! You can pick your own apples, make your own apple cider. And there is usually a petting zoo, yummy apple baked goods. My favorite is apple butter (more like how they make peanutbutter then "butter"). Their apple cider taste so fresh you can almost taste the dirt off the peel. And trust me that is a good thing.

For more information on the Apple Festival click here.

Don't forget cherry season is May through Mid July. And lots of Strawberry Festivals in May.

ALSO stay tuned to visit the largest corn maze in Southern California!

Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes

Ingredients:
3/4 lb bacon cooked and crumbled
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups whole milk
salt and white pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 lbs new red potatoes sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 cup grated monterey-cheddar cheese mix

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 8x10 rectangel baking dish
2. in a nonreactive saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Whisk in the milk and cook until the liquid is slightly thick and coats the back of a spoon, about 4 to 6 minutes.
4. Season with salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder. Remove from heat
5. In mixing bowl, toss the sliced potatoes with a little salt and pepper. Fold in the cream sauce and pour 1/2 into prepared pan. Layer with half of bacon and 1/2 cheese. Then add potatoes and the rest of the bacon and cheese.
6. Cover with tin foil and place in oven about 35-40 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Remove tin foil last 5 minutes to golden the top. Cool a couple of minutes before serving.

Pineapple glazed Ham with Pineapple Corn Relish

I got a great discount on a half a ham during the holidays and been meaning to have some friends over the share it with. Finally we got out dates together and had a wonderful dinner in the middle of the summer. Oh well...it was yummy.

Pineapple glazed Ham

Ingredients
1 6 to 9 lb ham
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1 tbspn honey Dijon or stone-ground mustard
3/4 tspn hot sauce
3 heaping tbspn crushed pinapple
1/8 tspn ground cloves
1 can sliced pineapple


1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Insert the meat into a cook bag and onto a racking pan with at least a 2 inch lip. Cook about 20 minutes per lb, fat side up. Insert a meat thermometer, making sure it does not touch the fat or the bone. Bake uncovered until the meat thermometer registers 135 degrees F.
3. Combine apricot preserves, mustard, hot sauce, crushed pinapple, and cloves in a small bowl, to make a glaze. Whisk until smooth. Remove the ham from oven and brush with the glaze. Bake until the meat thermometer registers 140 degrees about 20 mintues.

Pineapple Corn Relish

Ingredients:
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 cup whole kernel corn, yellow
1/4 cup diced onion
2 tbsp diced sweet red bell pepper
1 can chopped pineapple
1/3 cup water
pinch ground cloves

1. Combine the vinegar, sugar, mustard, and turmeric in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the corn, onion, and bell peppers; cook for 4 minutes. Set aside.
2. In a small saute pan, cook diced pineapple with water over medium heat until tender. And corn relish and a pinch of ground cloves and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Serve the relish hot or cold.