Coffee Marinated Steak

Coffee Marinated Steak

2 tablespoons sesame seeds
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup strong brewed coffee
1 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 pounds boneless beef top sirloin steak, cut 1 inch thick

DIRECTIONS:

Melt butter in skillet. Add sesame seeds and toast them. Add onion and garlic to the skillet and saute them until tender.

In a bowl, combine coffee, soy sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and sesame seed mixture. Pour half of the mixture into a sealable plastic bag; add steak. Refrigerate overnight if possible or at least for 6-8 hours. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade also.

Drain and discard marinade from steak. Grill steak, covered, over medium-hot heat for 6-10 minutes on each side or until the meat reaches desired doneness. Warm and serve remaining marinade to serve with steak.

This was such an awesome recipe!!!

Cuban Black Bean Soup

3  (15 oz) cans of no-salt added black beans, undrained
2 (13 3/4 oz) cans low-sodium beef broth
1 1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cup water
3/4 cup chopped green pepper
2 tsp minced garlic
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can no-salt added chopped tomatoes, undrained. 
1 (4 1/2 ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained
1/4 lb.  extra lean cooked ham, diced
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper

Directions:

1.  Combine first 6 ingredients in a large Dutch oven; bring mixture to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
2.  Add tomato and remaining ingredients to bean mixture.  Cook, uncovered, over low heat 30 additional minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Hmmmm....Hubby and I loved this recipe.  Hubby says "let's have this again".

Sonya's Drunken Kielbasa Soup

Making a soup base:

All of my soups start out with onions, garlic and other vegetables sauted in olive oil, then I add the meat and the liquids and spices.  Often it is made up according to what we have in the house.  I think this is how soups were made a long time ago as well.  Keep those left over peas, corn, beans and put in the freezer, even if it is just a little bit.  Works well to throw in soups later.

When creating a soup or sauce, I have been taught to find a balance between, tangy, sweet, salt, and heat.  You want a perfect blend that is pleasing to the palate.  Always add a little sugar, not too much salt, add some vinegar to give it the tangy edge, and a little bit of pepper to taste.  Just a few pepper flakes and a dash of hot sauce does NOT make a soup too hot to eat, as long as you don't add too much.  So experiment with the sauce and taste it as you can and adjust as needed to find the right blend for you.

This soup I made this week turned out pretty special I thought.  It is probably the favorite of all I have made. So I took careful notes on what I added.  I added a 1/2 bottle of beer to this one and it really enhanced the flavor.  Therefore, I'm calling it Drunken Kielbasa Soup!  lol  Here is the recipe.  Keep in mind since I just throw things in, I don't always know exact measurements so I'm giving my best guesses here to recreate my soup.


Drunken Kielbasa Soup

Ingredients

1/2 Package of Kielbasa
32 oz. can of Chicken Broth
1 14.5 oz. can of chopped tomatoes
1 16 oz. can of black beans
1 can of water
6 oz. beer (I used Corona)
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 small onion chopped
1/2 green pepper finely chopped
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
11/2 tablespoons sugar
couple of shakes of red pepper flakes
2-3 dashes of hot sauce
2-3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
Your favorite Seasoning Blend*

*My seasoning blend was  "Every Day Seasoning" by Trader Joes.  It had the following in it. And I added a few good shakes.

Sea salt
Dry mustard
Black peppercorn
Coriander
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Paprika
Chili Pepper


Directions: 

Saute the garlic and onions in the olive oil in a large dutch oven pan until the onions are no longer firm.  Add the green peppers and cook for a minute or two.  Then add celery and kielbasa and cook for two to three minutes until the kielbasa cooks down some, while stirring.  Then add tomatoes and 1 can of water, chicken broth, and beer.  Then add remaining ingredients and spices (except add beans toward the end).  Bring to a boil.

Once it boils, cover and put it on medium or low to simmer for a while.  I cooked mine for over an hour.  Add the black beans about 15 to 20 minutes before serving.  You could make rice or noodles on the side and serve this dish over either one.

The flavors blended well and was even better on the 2nd day when we had leftovers!

Enjoy!

Shrimp Scampi

Shrimp Scampi

1 lb. peeled, large raw shrimp (31/35 count)
1 (12 oz.) package angel hair pasta
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp. salt free Italian Herb seasoning
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup freshly grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1. Devein shrimp, if desired.

2. Prepare angel hair pasta according to package directions.

3. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onion and garlic, and saute' 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in Italian-herb seasoning and Worcestershire sauce.

4. Reduce heat to medium. Add shrimp, and cook, stirring occasionally, 3 to 5 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink. Stir in lemon juice. Toss shrimp mixture with pasta, and sprinkle with cheese and parsley. Serve immediately.

We sure did enjoy this!

Spicy "No Salt" Seasoning Blend

SPICY "No Salt" SEASONING BLEND

1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon cumin

This will be good on a lot of Mexican type dishes we have decided.  And perhaps some soups.  The cumin really drives this blend!  Will be good on meats as well.  

We doubled the recipe.  And we'll enjoy using this seasoning without missing the salt we would normally have added.  Our blood pressure readings will thank us too!

Savory "No Salt" Seasoning Blend

SAVORY "no salt" SEASONING BLEND:

6 teaspoons Thyme
3 teaspoons Sage
6 teaspoons Savory
5 teaspoons Rosemary

This blend can be used with most meats and some vegetables and soups.  We are finding that we can eat a lot of foods and enjoy using seasonings w/o having to use so much salt.  We doubled the recipe b/c we plan on using it often.  You may want to do that too!

Zesty "No Salt" Seasoning Blend

Zesty "no salt" Seasoning Blend:

2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon mace
2 teaspoon mustard

This blend will be good on chicken, pork and many vegetables.  

We doubled the recipe when we made ours!  Nice to have some blends that have some great tastes but do not have the salt!