Herb-Marinated Sirloin Tip Steaks with Mushroom Sauce

Did you know I'm in grad school? Yep, I'm taking 12 units (3 classes) towards a Masters Degree in Education, while continuing to work as a full time teacher. I'm stressed and feel like I'm buried under homework, but I'm also really glad I decided to persue another degree. What does this all mean to you, my dear readers? Well, one, it answers the question of why I've been slacking on my blog; I'm not cooking as much, and when I am, it's usually nothing special.

I'm attending classes at Cal Poly Pomona, which has an excellent teacher preparation program, but it's really known as an engineering and agriculture school. They have a whole program dedicated to the meat sciences, including breaking down sides of beef and making their own sausages! If I could cram a few more hours into my day, I'd love to take some of those classes...and maybe some classes in the Restaurant and Hospitality program. And a photography course or two. Sorry, birdwalk.

Anyway, I recently decided to check out the campus farmstore after tasting the Meat Sciences original "Broncowurst" and discovered they sell free-range, grass-fed, organic cuts of beef. Ever since the husband and I watched Food Inc. we've eaten less red meat and have been interested in buying more humanely treated meat when we can, which isn't always easy to do. Well, here was a whole freezer section of meat that fit that criteria, so I grabbed a package of sirloin tip steaks and headed home.

A quick search on Google informed me that this is a tougher cut of meat, and isn't the same thing as a sirloin steak. The websites I looked over highly recommended marinating the cut for several hours before cooking to produce a more tender entree. I also cooked up a mushroom sauce to top the dish, which tasted very similar to the mushroom sauce at Henry's Pacific Grill. Yum.

The husband and I both loved this dinner and can't wait to make it again. The marinade was definitely the right way to go; the meat was tender and incredibly flavorful.



Herb-Marinated Sirloin Tip Steaks with Mushroom Sauce
Source: marinade adapted from Grass Fed Beef 101, Mushroom Sauce adapted from My Recipes
Printable Recipe

Marinade Ingredients
2 sirloin tip steaks (about 2 pounds total)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup balsamic
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon pepper
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
4 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 teaspoon honey

Mushroom Sauce Ingredients
1 cup thinly sliced shallots (about 2 shallots)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 pound baby bella mushrooms, stems removed, rinsed, thinly sliced
pinch salt
1 cup beef broth
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon butter
1 cup green onions, minced

Directions
Combine all of the marinade ingredients, except for the beef, in a medium bowl and whisk together. Place the steaks in a glass bowl or pie pan and pour the marinade over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and marinated in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours, turning the mean occasionally.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray. Sautee the shallots and garlic for 2 minutes, just until the shallots begin to soften and turn translucent. Add the mushrooms and sautee for 4 minutes. Sprinkle with salt after about two minutes.

Add the broth, wine, vinegar, and butter. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 6 minutes. Sauce will reduce. Add in the minced green onions and cook another 2 minutes. Turn heat to low and keep warm while steaks cook.

Heat a broiler to high and line the broiler pan with foil. Spray with non-stick spray and set the marinated steaks on the foil. Discard the remaining marinade.

Broiler for 4 minutes, then flip steaks and broil for another 3-4 minutes, depending on your desired level of doneness.

Plate and spoon the mushroom sauce over the top. Serve immediately.

Homemade Pumpkin Puree

A few weeks ago I was earnestly awaiting fall. Never mind the 100+ degree temperatures we were still experiencing; I wanted to taste fall! The best way to satisfy a fall craving is with pumpkin treats, so I set out to the grocery store to pick up a can or too of pumpkin puree. Of course, the shelves were bare. Two years in a row of poor pumpkin crops led to two years of a pumpkin shortage. Even suppliers online were estimating shipping times upwards of 2 months!

Just as I was thinking about roasting pumpkins for my own pumpkin puree, Annie of Annie's Eats posted a tutorial on that very topic, taking all the guesswork out of it for me! By the time I got around to picking up some pie pumpkins, canned pumpkin puree was back on the shelves. However, I fancy myself a hippie of sorts, so I still wanted to give homemade pumpkin puree a try. Super easy, though a bit messy. If anyone out there has a baby, I bet this would make for some great homemade baby food too.

You can freeze your homemade pumpkin and save for the next time you're craving a homemade pumpkin treat. I used mine to make pumpkin cream cheese muffins....yum!



Homemade Pumpkin Puree
Source: Annie's Eats
Printable Recipe




Ingredients
Pie pumpkins
water

Directions
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Using a sharp knife on a stable surface, slice each pumpkin in half lengthwise. I found their shells to be very hard, so be careful!

Scoop out all the pumpkin "guts" and seeds. Set aside if you want to make roasted pumpkin seeds, otherwise discard.

Place the pumpkin halves face down on a cookie sheet (be sure to use one with raised sides). Pour water onto the cookie sheet until it's about an inch or so deep. This will help steam the pumpkin flesh.

Bake the pumpkins for about 60-90 minutes, or until a fork can easily pierce through the shell. Let cool.

Drain the water off of the cookie sheet and discard. Scoop the roasted flesh out of the shells and into a food processor. Process until it is a smooth puree.

Line a mesh strainer with paper towels and set over a medium bowl. Scoop the pumpkin puree into the strainer and let sit for about an hour. This allows the excess liquid to drain out of the puree. Discard the liquid and store your pumpkin puree in a freezer-safe container. Freeze if you are not going to use in the next few days.
Note: I got about about 3 cups of pumpkin puree from two pie pumpkins.

Spicy Oven-Fried Chicken

I love browsing blogs and discovering new (to me) blogs during my down time. Seeing the creativity of others on the internet -- and not just in the food bloggosphere, but in the crafting, decorating, and other creative blogs as well -- inspires me to try new things, both inside the kitchen and out.

Recently while browsing through blogs and following links to other people's favorites, I found Everybody Loves Sandwiches. I just had to click on the link because, well, I love sandwiches! :) I was so excited to see what they had to offer and definitely was not disappointed with their plethora of posts. As I scrolled down through their older entries, I found the offering that sealed the deal for me; I added I Love Sandwiches to my list of favorites before I even finished reading.

What is it that could have me so smitten with a website, you ask? Oven-fried chicken. Wait, not just oven fried chicken, but SPICY oven-fried chicken. I love oven-fried chicken. Make that LOVE. It is so freaking good, and I always feel like I am cheating the evils of fat since oven-fried chicken doesn't even come close to a fryer. Add in a layer of spice, another foodie love of mine, and you had me at hello. (Ok, I abhor Rene Zellwegger, so I am really ashamed to have used that line. Also, abhor is one of the vocabulary words I taught my Language Arts Review students last week. Teaching them new vocabulary words makes me feel smarter. heh. However, as always, I digress.)

Where was I?? Oh yes, my love of oven-fried chicken and spicy foods. Add a spice component to oven-fried chicken and I've found my new favorite meal. This is also a healthy alternative to buffalo wings during Monday Night Football.

Don't be scared by the adjective spicy in this recipe though. We all know that the husband is a total wuss when it comes to spicy foods, yet, he loved this chicken as much as I and asked me to make it again soon. The spice comes through in the flavor without burning off your tastebuds. More of a daredevil in the heat department? You can easily up the amount of hot sauce and cayenne to set your mouth aflame.

Spicy Oven-Fried Chicken
Source: adapted from Everybody Loves Sandwiches
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
1 container plain non-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk
Juice & zest of 1 lime
3 Tablespoons hot wing sauce
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
5 chicken boneless chicken thighs

1 cup dry breadcrumbs (I used the herbed breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 Tablespoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 Tablespoons butter

Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients (Greek yogurt through the pepper) and stir until smooth. Add the chicken to the mix and turn to coat. Let marinate for 15 to 30 minutes.

In a shallow pie pan, combine the breadcrumbs, flour, thyme, paprika and cayenne. Stir with a fork to combine.

Pick up one chicken thigh at a time and dredge in the breadcrumb mixture, coating both sides. Set the chicken in the baking dish and repeat with the remaining chicken thighs.

Dot the chicken with butter (don't skip this step, or your chicken won't come out with a crisp coating). Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

An Apple A Day

The calendar says fall, but here in sunny southern California, the temperatures still shout summer. Just yesterday, we hit record-breaking temperatures, including a scorching 111 degrees where I'm at! Not fun when you park on the wrong end of campus and have to walk about 2 miles from the parking lot to your class, followed by taking the stairs up to the 6th floor. yuck. It was still 97 degrees when my class ended at 7pm!

After an incredibly hot August, and now September, I'm ready for it to start feeling like fall, and I felt like an apple spice cake with a maple cream cheese frosting would be just the thing. When I was googling I came across Bakerella's Apple Cake Pops (which she made with chocolate cake) and *knew* I needed to combine the cake pops idea with the apple spice cake recipe for a fun fall treat!

With a 3 hour professional development training scheduled after an already long school day, my principal thought snacks might help the pain of staying at work until 6pm on a Monday night, so she asked me to bake up some cookies. But instead, I brought these apple cake pops!

Apple Cake Pops
Source: Cake and frosting from Eggs on Sunday
Cake Pop idea from Bakerella

Cake Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tart apples, peeled and diced small

Cake Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Butter and flour a 9 x 13" baking pan (Eggs on Sunday reccomends an 8" or 9" pan, but since I was making the cake into pops, I wasn't so concerned with a thick fluffy cake.).

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through salt). Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute.

Gradually add the brown sugar and continue beating on medium-high speed until well blended and light, about 2 minutes.

Add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time. Beat well after adding each egg, and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the yogurt, in two additions. Mix just until blended. Turn off the mixer, add the diced apple and stir by hand.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is light golden brown and a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Let cool for about 5-10 minutes, then crumble the cake into a large bowl. Finish cooling the cake in the refrigerator while you make the frosting.

Frosting Ingredients

6 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch ground nutmeg
pinch salt
1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup (NOT fake syrup! Spring for the real deal here)
1 cup confectioner's sugar

Frosting Directions
Using an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed, until smooth.

Add the vanilla, maple syrup, spices and salt. Reduce the speed to low and add the confectioner’s sugar. Beat until well blended. Increase the speed to high, and beat until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.

Mix into the cooled, crumbled cake.

Cake Pop Materials

Lollipop sticks (I needed 2 bags. Buy them in the cake decorating section at Michaels)
Pretzel rods, ends broken off into about 1/4" pieces
Green sprinkles (I used small star-shaped sprinkles. Be creative!)

Making the Cake Pops

After mixing the frosting into the cake, being sure it is evenly combined, shape about 1-2 Tablespoons into balls, using your hands. I got about 40 or so cake balls out of this cake recipe.

Set the balls on a piece of wax or parchment paper and chill until firm, about 10-15 minutes in the refrigerator. Once the cake has firmed up, melt the candy melts in the microwave and stir until smooth. Dip the end of a lollipop stick into the melted candy and then gently push into the center of each cake ball.

That's a lot of cake pops!

Return to the refrigerator for another 5 to 10 minutes to allow the melted candy to firm up on the sticks.

Rewarm the melted candy in the microwave for about 15 seconds, stirring until smooth. Make sure the candy is completely melted and free of lumps. Gently dip the cake pops into the candy melt, completely covering each cake ball.

Gently lift the cake ball out of the melted candy and lightly tap off the excess. Stick the end of the lollipop stick into a thick block of styrafoam. Immediately, press the end of a pretzel stick into the top of each "apple" and add a green sprinkle. I found it was easiest to place the sprinkles with a pair of (clean!!) tweezers.



Let sit until the candy coating is completely dried and has firmed up.

These pancakes are bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Pancakes are the perfect weekend breakfast. Anytime the husband and I indulge in a stack of Sunday morning pancakes, it reminds me of the times my parents would surprise me with a weekend breakfast of banana pancakes. Though I usually ate mine hours after everyone else since I always slept in as late as I possibly could (I had to make up for all those days of early morning swim practice before school!).
Usually when the husband and I want pancakes, we just hop in the car and head to IHOP, but add in two side orders of hash browns, maybe a side of bisquits and gravy (with the gravy...on the side), and two beverages, and you've got a pretty pricey weekend breakfast. I don't know about you, but if I am going to drop $30 bucks on breakfast, I don't want to spend it at IHOP!
I've made homemade pancakes before, both from a mix and from scratch, so I know how easy it is, I just don't enjoy the mess I tend to make and the pile of dishes waiting for me once breakfast is eaten. But, I figured a holiday weekend called for a real homemade breakfast, so I pulled out the canister of flour, my tin of baking powder, and an incredibly ripe banana hidden away in the freezer. Add some cinnamon and nutmeg, drizzle with real maple syrup, and that's a breakfast I don't mind laboring over--pun intended :).

Note-I got a whole lotta pancakes out of this recipe--including one mishapen Darth Vader-cake--and we couldn't finish the entire stack. I wrapped the remaining five pancakes up and tossed them in the freezer; a quick nuke in the microwave and stint in the toaster, and voila, a quick weekday breakfast!



Cinnamon Banana Pancakes
Source: A Cooking in Cucamonga Original
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon nutmeg
1 overripe banana, mashed (you want the black bananas that look gross...they have the best flavor!)
1 1/2 cups milk (I used half and half, since I was out of milk)
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

Directions
Whisk together the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a second bowl. Slowly pour into the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. The batter should be slightly lumpy.

Heat a pancake griddle or a large pan on the stovetop over medium high heat.

Spray your cooking surface lightly with non-stick spray. Ladle batter onto the griddle and cook until the edges are done and the middle of the pancake has several bubbles in the surface (about 2-3 minutes). Using a large spatula, flip the pancake and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until the pancakes is golden brown and the middle is cooked.

Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree oven until the whole batch is cooked.

Spicy Black Bean Burgers

Here's an interesting factoid about black beans for you to chew on: You can cut your risk of heart attack by nearly 40% just by eating 3 ounces of black beans a sad (thank you Reader's Digest).
Not only that, but these little legumes are packed with fiber, antioxidants, and folate, as well as naturally low fat. Those benefits all add up to a healthy dining option.

But, eating a pile of plain black beans can get a bit boring. That's where black bean burgers make an appearance. Healthy, filing, and flavorful, these burgers make a great dinner and are easy to pack for lunch. Just add some sandwich thins and your favorite toppings and you're set! Just in time for back to school (well, really, back to work if you're me).

Spicy Black Bean Burgers
Source: Adapted from Good Things Catered
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
1 large bell pepper, any color (I used red)
3 green onions, roots trimmed off
1 large clove garlic
2 (15 ounce) cans no salt black beans, rinsed well and drained
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt (taste after mixing in the 1/4 teaspoon)
1 1/4 teaspoons sriracha (Spicy chili sauce)
1 egg
1/4 cup herbed bread crumbs

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roughly chop the the bell pepper, green onions (use both the green and white parts) and garlic into large pieces. Combine them in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until minced.
In the bowl of a food processor, add onion, green pepper, carrot and garlic.

Remove the vegetables from the food processor bowl and place in fine mesh strainer to strain off excess liquid. Gently press the minced vegetables to help squeeze out the liquid.

Add the drained black beans to the food processor and pulse several times to mash the beans into a chunky paste.

Combine the minced vegetables and mashed beans in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir to completely combine.

Using your hands, shape the mixture into patties. Place each patty on the parchment paper. The mixture will be thick and goopy, but should hold it's shape easily.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until edges have crisped up and burgers are cooked through.

Remove from oven and serve. You can also freeze these burgers for future meals.

Cherry Almond Granola

Please ignore the terrible turquoise color cast in this picture. I didn't have a chance to edit it out...plus I am not very good at editing. :/

The husband loves sugary, kiddie cereals; His eyes light up when Cocoa Pebbles, Cap'n Crunch, and Lucky Charms go on sale at the grocery store, hoping that I'll throw a box or two in the cart. I, on the other hand, didn't eat those types of cereals growing up, so I never developed a taste for them. In fact, I think most sugary cereals are disgusting and hate buying them for the husband.

What I did eat as a kid was Cheerios, Rice Krispies, shredded wheat (not the frosted kind!), oatmeal and granola. Now as an adult, I don't have time to sit down for breakfast, so I usually eat in my car while I drive to work or I eat in the teacher's lounge once I finally get there, so I like food that is easily portable and doesn't require a lot of dishes or utensils. One of my favorite breakfasts is granola stirred into low-fat or Greek yogurt.

My inner hippie wanted to try her hand at making homemade granola; I scoured the internet looking for recipes and found a ton! Eventually, I decided to just use the basic ideas from two different recipes, and add in the flavors I wanted, creating my own Cherry Almond Granola.

Cherry Almond Granola
Source: inspired by Annie's Eats and Alton Brown, among others
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
3 cups rolled oats
2 cups puffed rice cereal
1 1/4 cups dried cherries
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup plus 3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 250 degrees.

Combine the oats, rice cereal, cherries, coconut, and almonds in a large bowl. Stir to combine.

In a smaller bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.

Pour the wet ingredient mixture over the dry ingredients and stir to combine, ensuring the oat mixture is evenly coated.

Pour the granola onto two baking sheets (I lined mine with parchment to make cleanup easy), spreading into an even layer on each sheet.

Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, or until nearly dried. Rotate the baking sheets from top to bottom every time you stir, as well, to ensure they both cook evenly.

Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then transfer to an airtight container or ziplock bag.