Teriyaki Beef and Mushrooms

My slow cooker has saved me from many kitchen meltdowns, and when I'm feeling lazy I know that I can always plop a few food items in the cooker and let magic happen. The other day we needed something to eat for dinner but we also hadn't been grocery shopping in a while, so the only fresh items we had were a bunch of white mushrooms. We popped them in the slow cooker with some stewing beef and it became a dish that I will make many more times in the future!


Serves 2
Ingredients:

• 1 package of stewing beef
• 20 white mushrooms, cleaned with stems trimmed 
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped 
• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1/4 cup barbeque sauce

 Directions:

1. Place all of the ingredients in your slow cooker over high heat for 5 hours. Take off the lid and let it cook for another 30 minutes (this helps the sauce reduce a bit). 
2. Serve over rice or udon noodles!

Tip: This dish would pair well with steamed edamame, ponzu-glazed asparagus , or a simple green salad.

Slow Cooker Chipotle Barbeque and Lime Chicken

My slow cooker is my best friend in the kitchen. When I want sauces and sides to be the stars on the plate, I usually throw a chicken or a hunk o' beef in the slow cooker. I knew we were going to have soft tacos for dinner tonight, so last night before bed I added the marinade to the chicken and let it defrost overnight. Now, I have an arsenal of hot sauce, so if you don't have chipotle sauce on hand you can find it in, surprise, the hot sauce section of most grocery stores. Otherwise, you can add any other hot sauce you like to the mix (like tapatio or cholula!).

The chicken goes well with Mexican flavors, but I plan to use my leftovers in a lasagna!
If you are looking for sides to accompany this dish, check out my post here!

Makes enough for 8 soft tacos plus leftovers
Ingredients:

• 1 cup bbq sauce
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/2 cup chipotle sauce
• 1 roasting chicken

Directions:

1. The night before, marinade the chicken in all of the sauces (you can put it all in a large ziploc bag or in a plastic-wrap covered deep dish). 
2. In the morning, place the chicken and the marinade in a slow cooker over high heat. Cook for 8-10 hours. 
3. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker using tongs, and carve it. Add the meat back into the sauce of the slow cooker, and keep it on low heat until serving time. 

Udon with Chicken and Asparagus

The BF and I ate this last night, and it took approximately 10 minutes of work... it was amazing! The best part about this meal is that it was super filling and I had everything in my pantry/fridge, so it required very little effort.

Serves 2 large portions (or enough for 2 servings + lunch leftovers)
Ingredients:

• 2 frozen chicken breasts
•  1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sriracha
• 10 stalks of asparagus (or however many you want!)
• 2 servings of udon noodles (available at most supermarkets, usually portioned out in packaging)
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil

Directions:

1. In the morning, put the chicken breasts and the teriyaki, soy and sriracha in a slow cooker. Turn the heat to low and let it cook for 8-10 hours. 
2. When you are ready to eat, bring a pot of water to boil and add the udon noodles. Boil for 2 minutes then drain and set noodles aside. 
3. Chop the chicken and asparagus. Preheat a large saute pan to medium heat and add the chicken and asparagus, then soy sauce to taste. Stir often and cook for 2 minutes, then add the noodles. Stir and cook for about 1 more minute, mainly to reheat the noodles and mix everything together. Turn the heat off, and right before serving mix in the sesame oil.

Enjoy!

Simple Steak Marinades

This is a compilation of my go-to steak marinade recipes - have at it!


Quick Marinade
This is a simple marinade that works best when you're in a pinch. If you forgot to marinade the steaks, no worries! Just put them in a ziploc bag or covered casserole dish around the time you fire up the grill or preheat the broiler (of course, the longer the better, but this will do when you're pressed for time).

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4 cloves of pressed garlic

Marinade time: 30 minutes



Simple Marinade
My love of all things uncomplicated shines through in this recipe -- it's all about the basics. It's all about the spices with a hint of liquid - let the spices do most of the work!

• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Optional: Cumin/garlic powder/paprika/etc.

Marinade time: 4-24 hours (the longer the better)



Spicy Marinade
This marinade is a great way to give a plain steak dinner huge flavor! I use this marinade on my cheaper cuts of meat.

• 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 sliced jalapenos
• 2 tablespoons sriracha
• 5 cloves chopped garlic

Marinade time: 8-12 hours



BBQ Marinade
This marinade is great for grilling or broiling steaks, because the honey caramelizes with the bbq sauce with the flash of heat!

•  1/2 cup BBQ sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 can of beer

Marinade time: 24 hours




Comfort Food Marinade
I use this when I'm craving comfort food - think stew! The deep, rich flavors that come with slow-cooking beef are alluded to when you marry the flavors in a red wine-based marinade.

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• Salt/Pepper
• 2 cups red wine

 Marinade time: 8-24 hours (the longer the better)

Balsamic-glazed Asparagus

Asparagus is an old fried in my kitchen - it sits beside our steaks and chicken thighs, gets mixed into our pastas and casseroles, and tonight it was sauteed with balsamic vinegar! Oh my, it was delicious (and so so easy).

Serves: 2
Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of asparagus (about 10 stalks per person if they're small, 5-7 if they're thicker)
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon butter

Directions:

1. Preheat a medium skillet to medium heat.  Chop off the tough ends of the asparagus and then chop the stalks in half. When the pan is nice and hot, add the asparagus and balsamic vinegar. Stir often and let it reduce for about 2 minutes.
2. Add in the butter and turn the heat to low. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. 
3. Serve hot as a side for lunch or dinner!

 Hooray! Steamy Balsamic Asparagus!

Variations:
- add in crumbled bacon and blue cheese for a more filling and rich side
- use fig balsamic vinegar or other infused balsamic vinegars for a more sweet/savory kick
-  Crack in an egg when you add the butter for amped up scrambies!

Fried Rice

The BF and I live a few blocks from Chinatown, so it's really easy to indulge in Chinese food "classics" like this one - fried rice. Even the name warns you that it's not going to be healthy, but that never stopped us before. This is my take on fried rice without the whole super-fried part - I use less than a tablespoon of oil for this whole dish, which provided us with two large entree-sized servings plus leftovers. Of course, you can make this as a side dish but be warned, it's addictive!


Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 4 medium carrots
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 3 green onions
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• Optional: Chopped cooked chicken/beef/pork/shrimp

Directions:

1.  Pour 2 cups of water into a medium pot with the cup of uncooked rice and bring to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Cook for 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender. Fluff the rice with a fork and set aside. 
2. While the rice is simmering you can begin to prep your veggies. Peel and dice the carrots (I like to slice them lengthwise in quarters then dice them up... kind of like chopping pickles!). Slice the green onions into thin rings and set aside. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Preheat a large frying pan to medium-high heat, then drizzle it with oil. Add the carrots + 1/4 cup of water. Let the water cook off, then turn the heat to medium and add the peas and corn. Once the carrots are fork-tender and the corn and peas have thawed, add the cooked rice to the pan. Slowly add a few splashes of soy sauce to keep the rice from drying out.
4. Hollow out a space in the middle of the pan (think volcano) and pour in the eggs. You're basically making scrambled eggs in the middle of your stir-fry without mixing them together yet. Continually stir the eggs, and as they harden start incorporating them into the stir-fry.
5. Optional: Now is the part where you'd stir in your cooked meat! Add the remaining soy sauce, give it all a good stir, then serve it up!

Enjoy!


PS If the whole egg thing seems overwhelming, just make loose scrambled eggs in a separate pan and plop them in towards the end - I just like to do them in the middle of the pan to save myself from a massive pile of dishes later on.

Rack of Lamb with Red Wine Garlic Sauce

I made my first rack of lamb last night, and it was delicious (don't worry, I have second opinions to back up my horn-tootin' self!).
This recipe is simple yet flavorful, which in case you haven't noticed is something I love.


Ingredients:

• 1 rack of lamb, frenched (your butcher can do this if it's not already packaged that way) 
• 3 cups red wine (Shiraz/Malbec)
• 2+6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, dried thyme

Directions:

1. Marinate the rack of lamb in a gallon-sized ziploc bag with 1/2 cup of red wine and 2 chopped garlic cloves for at least 1 hour (overnight would be great!!!). 
2. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Prepare a roasting pan by coating it with foil and drizzling canola oil on the base. Place the rack of lamb fat-side-up in the pan. Season generously with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and thyme, and 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary. You want to form a crust, so don't be shy about seasoning! Bake in the middle of the oven for 20-30 minutes, depending on how well done you like your meat (30 minutes is a deep pink but not red).  Tent the rack and let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
3. Meanwhile, pour the remaining wine and  the garlic in a small saucepan and simmer until reduced to a thick sauce, about 1/4 of the amount of liquid that you began with. 
4. Slice the rack of lamb apart by using the bones as a guide, top with a hearty spoonful of the red wine garlic sauce, and enjoy!