Song of the Day

This is the Song - Punch Brothers

We checked these guys out last week and I was impressed! This is very much a Bess Song, but they have more upbeat bluegrass too.

Steak in Lettuce Wraps

This is a recipe I got from Self Magazine years ago. It is a time consuming recipe but its healthy and really good and refreshing! Oh and two things, you are supposed to use scallions, but I could not figure out where those were, or what the difference was between them and green onions were, so I just went with green onions. The other thing is that I forgot to tell Tommy to slice the steak really thin, so that kind of made them hard to eat. So just remember to slice the steak thin!!

What you need:
12 oz flank (or hanger) steak (we just use london broil bc its more tender)

MARINADE
1 large onion, sliced
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp chopped ginger
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup apple juice
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp dark (toasted) sesame oil
4 1/2 tsp sugar
SCALLION SALAD
1 large bunch scallions, finely chopped
2 red chiles, seeded and thinly sliced
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp dark (toasted) sesame oil
LETTUCE ROLLS
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
3 tbsp soybean paste (preferably Ssämjang) (I have never been able to find this so I just skip it, if you ever find it let me know where!!)
1 1/2 heads Bibb lettuce, leaves separated

What you need to do:
Place steak in a 6" x 9" baking dish. Combine marinade ingredients; pour over meat. Cover with plastic; refrigerate 1/2 to 2 hours. Combine salad ingredients in a bowl; chill until ready to serve. Remove meat from marinade; pat dry. Coat grill or broiler pan with cooking spray. Heat grill on high. Grill or broil steak 3 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Transfer to a platter and let rest 10 minutes. Remove onion from marinade. Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Cook onion over medium-high heat until tender, 5 minutes. Move to a bowl. Cut meat thinly. For lettuce rolls: Layer rice, salad, soybean paste, onions and steak in the center of each lettuce leaf; roll up. Serve 4 rolls per person.

The skinny 324 calories per serving, 9.1 g fat (2.8 g saturated), 34.5 g carbs, 4.4 g fiber, 26 g protein

Spicy Pimiento Cheese

This recipe is for use in the Spicy Macaroni and Cheese

What you need:
1 cup mayo
2 teaspoons grated onion
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (although next time I'll use more)
1 8oz block Monty Jack cheese with peppers, shredded
1 8oz block Colby cheese, shredded
1 4oz jar diced pimientos, drained

What you need to do:
In a large bowl, combine mayo, onion, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Stir in cheese until blended; gently stir in pimientos. Store in fridge up to 1 week. Makes 4 cups.

Spicy Macaroni and Cheese

Paula's new mag has a whole section on pimiento cheese. This macaroni is based off her Spicy Pimiento Cheese Recipe. I made the pimiento cheese on Sunday and used it in the macaroni on Tuesday. It keeps for a week.

What you need:
1 16 oz package elbow macaroni
1 recipe Spicy Pimiento Cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 cups whole milk
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup shredded Colby cheese
1/4 cup shredded Monty Jack cheese with peppers (I used Pepper Jack)

What you need to do:
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 13x9 baking dish. Cook pasta, drain. In a large bowl, gently combine hot pasta and pimiento cheese until blended and place in prepared baking dish spreading into an even layer. In a medium bowl, combine egg, milk, cream, s&p stirring until blended. Pour egg mixture over pasta mixture in the dish and sprinkle with shredded cheeses. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until bubbly and top is lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. (letting it stand is important bc it needs to congeal a little after it comes out of the oven, otherwise its a little runny.)

Spinach and Ziti Pasta

This is another recipe of Rachael's. She got it from Rachael Ray. Looks awesome too! Thanks Rach!

What you need:
1 lb ziti (i use penne)
1-1.5 lbs ground beef
1 med onion chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 boxes frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3 T butter
3 T flour
2 c milk
few grates fresh nutmeg (i use powder)
1 cup grated Parmigano Reggiano cheese (this is important- if you can't find it get a good aged parmesian)

What you need to do:
Boil pasta in salt water, drain. At the same time in large skillet brown meat, add onions and garlic. (6-7 mins) add spinach. In another skillet melt butter, sprinkle with flour over butter, cook 1 minute. Whisk milk into butter mixture on med high heat. cook until liquid has thickene. Add nutmeg, s and p. Add Meat/onion mixture with pasta and sauce. Mix well. Place in cassrole dish and top with cheese. Broil until golden brown.

Chicken with Skillet Gravy

This is one of Rachael's that she got from Catherine. It looks delicious and I can't wait to try it!

What you need:
1/3 c fine dry seasoned bread crumbs
2 T grated Parm cheese
1/2 t paprika
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 T milk
4 skinless boneless chx breast halves (i just bought the thin ones)
2 T cooking oil
3 T all pupose flour
1/4 t dried sage, crushed
3 T butter
1 14oz can chx broth

What you need to do:
1) In a shallow dish combine bread crumbs, cheese, and paprika; set aside. In another shallow dish combine egg and milk. Sprinkle chx pieces with salt and ground black pepper. Dip chx into egg mixture then into crumb mixture to coat.
2) In a 12 inch skillet heat oil over M-H heat. Add chx and reduce to medium. Cook until no lnger pink.
3) Stir flour and sage into melted butter in skillet. Add broth. Cook and stir over med heat until thickened and bubbly; cook and stir 1 min. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with gravy.

Suggested side: homemade mash potates (w/ chx gravy)

Oven Fried Chicken Skewers with Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce

Made this for dinner last night along with the spicy macaroni and cheese. Both were great. And both were Paula Deen of course. :) These are in her Tapas section so they're supposed to made while entertaining, but I just made them for dinner!

What you need:
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup panko (japanese bread crumbs)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 chicken breast tenders, cut in half lengthwise (what you see in the picture is just those precut, pretrimmed chicken tenders, not cut in any way, hers are smaller in her magazine)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 inch wooden skewers

What you need to do:
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside. In shallow dish, combine bread crumbs and panko. In another shallow dish, combine flour and salt. Dredge each chicken in flour mixture, then eggs, then bread crumbs. Thread each breaded chicken strip onto a 4 inch wooden skewer (I just used 8 inch bc thats what I already had). Place skewers on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until chicken is done. (I probably cooked mine for like 18 or so minutes and they were still so moist and tender.)

For Sauce: In a small saucepan, heat butter and garlic over medium high until butter melts. Remove from heat and stir in parsley and lemon juice. Serve skewers with sauce.