Sizzlin Steak Fajitas

I've been told by a certain male in my household that I don't cook enough steak.  So, dear husband...this recipe was for you! 

What is it about the sizzle of fajitas that just makes your mouth water anytime a waiter at a restaurant walks by you with a plate?  With my attempts to duplicate this restaurant quality at home, I've found a couple tricks along the way that work well and settled upon the below recipe our family highly enjoys!

 

Sizzlin Steak Fajitas
Ingredients
1 Tbsp Tastefully Simple Roasted Garlic Oil
1 onion
1 green or red bell pepper
1 flat iron steak (1 - 1 1/2 lbs)
flour tortillas (I use burrito size, but you can use smaller)
Your favoite toppings (cheese, avacado, tomato, lettuce, etc.)
Tastefully Simple Seasonings:  Seasoned Salt, Garlic Pepper, Wahoo Chili, and Fiesta Party Dip



Directions
Season the steak with Garlic Pepper and Seasoned Salt and grill 7-8 minutes (turning 1/2 way through and seasoning other side).  You want to get the nice grill marks and crispiness out the outside - the inside will still be pink.  Remove from grill and let steak rest for at least 10 minutes while you cook the vegetables.  This allows the juices to redistribute into the meat.

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.  Slice onion and bell pepper and add to skillet.  Sprinkle with Garlic Pepper, Wahoo Chili and Fiesta Party Dip.  Note:  The fiesta will add the heat factor, so use it based on how spicy you like your flavor.  Once onions have carmelized, slice steak diagonally into thin strips against the grain and add into skillet.  Continue to stir and cook until steak is done to your liking.  Heat tortillas (I microwave for about 30 seconds), stack your meat, veggies, and toppings & enjoy!

Panini Perfection

I've said it before and I'll say it again....our Balsamic & Basil Dipping Oil is adds PERFECTION to a panini sandwich!  One of my hosts also told me last week that the Burger & Brat Mustard is fabulous on a turkey and cheese sandwich.  I've had a craving for one ever since.  So...today while the kids were searching out some new books at the library, I decided to thumb through some cooking magazines for recipe ideas.  I came across some gourmet panini recipes.  As I glanced through the ingredient listing, I knew there was no way I was going to that much work.  And why bother when I can shop from my own shelves!  Definitely one of the best things about being a Tastefully Simple consultant.  I stopped by the local grocery store on the way home, picked up a couple ingredients and here was the delicious result...

Turkey & Pear Panini
1 loaf nice artisan bread (I used HyVee Baking Stone - Asiago)
cheese slices (I used smoked gouda - would highly recommend!)
1-2 tsp of Tastefully Simple Burger & Brat Mustard
1 pear, peeled and sliced
sliced turkey (I used HyVee Honey Mesquite)
2 Tbsp Tastefully Simple Balsamic & Basil Dipping Oil

Slice bread into serving size pieces and cut in half.  Spead small amount of Burger & Brat Mustard on bread, top with slice of cheese, turkey, and sliced pear.  Brush top and bottom of bread with Balsamic & Basil Dipping Oil.  Place on panini press or yes...I still use my George Forman grill :)  Cook until bread is golden brown. 

Note:  If you don't have a panini press or tossed out your GF grill back in the 90's, then use a skillet and something as simple as a brick covered in foil to press down the sandwich.

My kids weren't so sure about fruit on a sandwich, but my oldest gave it a try and agreed it was good.  The other two...well, at least they picked it off and ate it separately.  Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!

Creamy Ham & Veggie Pasta

Earlier this year, I made a mixed vegetable dish that included mushrooms.  I fully expected the kids would pick around them, but to my surprise...they instead announced they like mushrooms again.  (We went through about a 2 year span where all of a sudden they didn't like them anymore.)  So when I found mushrooms on sale this week, I decided to pull out this Creamy Ham & Veggie Pasta recipe which I love.  I must give credit to Julie Trusler (an AMAZING cook from my home town) who's recipe in her cookbook "JT's - Volume 1" was the inspiration - I simply tweaked to our liking and incorporated items I have on hand.  Now with many dishes, you can omit mushrooms and not really impact the dish.  However, I strongly encourage you to include them with this one.  Really adds a ton of flavor to the meal!

Creamy Ham & Broccoli Pasta
8 oz rotini pasta
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp Tastefully Simple Roasted Garlic Infused Oil
8 oz. white button mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
1 cup diced ham
8 oz. (about 1/2 bag freezer bag) of chopped broccoli, cooked
1/2 pint of heavy whipping cream (splurge and get the real stuff here!)
1/2 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese

Cook pasta in water until al dente.  While pasta is cooking, make sauce.  Melt butter in skillet (using a combination of both butter and oil will bring out a fuller flavor to the mushrooms).  Add oil and sliced mushrooms; saute until golden brown.  Add garlic, ham, broccoli, cream and cheese.  Cook for few minutes to thicken sauce.  Add cooked pasta, toss and heat through.

NOTE:  Leftovers make a great lunch the next day too!

Lemon Peppercorn Scallops

I think it's a bit fascinating how our bodies crave different types of food depending upon the season.  During the summer when the heat turns up a notch I find myself wanting more salads and lighter meals.  Yesterday I ventured to the grocery store with thoughts of shrimp in mind, but when the selection didn't look so great, I noticed they had some fresh scallops.  (Well, as fresh as we can get here in the mid-west - ha!)

Being that I've only cooked scallops once, I'm definitely not a pro!  However, the first attempt (posted on this blog on 6/22/11 - Baked Scallops) was a success, so I thought I'd give it another shot. 

Tastefully Simple just released our 'Returning Favorite' products for June & July.  These are items we've had before and clients requested back.  Two of them - Meyer Lemon Infused Oil and Green Tea Peppercorn Seasoning - pair together quite nicely and are a combination I generally use on tilapia.  (Meyer lemons are kind of like a cross between a mandarin orange and regular lemon, so have a great citrus flavor.)

I really wanted to make a sauce similar to a local hibachi restaurant nearby, but that didn't meet my standards.  I went with a nice panko bread crumb topping instead.  The fact I'm posting the recipe on this blog should tell you we all enjoyed the meal!  (I will admit my two youngest smothered them in tartar sauce.  However, the rest of us enjoyed the true flavor.)

Lemon Peppercorn Scallops
2 Tbsp Tastefully Simple Meyer Lemon Infused Oil
1 1/2 Tbsp Tastefully Simple Green Tea Peppercorn Seasoning
1 pound (about a dozen) scallops
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 Tbsp butter, melted

Heat oil in skillet.  Rinse and pat dry scallops.  Note:  you'll want to get them good and dry to avoid the oil popping at you when you add them to the skillet.  Place scallops in oil and sprinkle with Green Tea Peppercorn Seasoning.  Cook about 8-10 minutes until golden brown.  Combine melted butter and bread crumbs then add to skillet.  Give everything a good stir and cook minute or two more to combine the flavors.

We just ate this as prepared above, but it would work well as a pasta dish also.

Hawaiian Ham & Swiss Sandwiches

Added a Tastefully Simple touch to this recipe, and it came out DELISH!  Original recipe was from www.Heatherlikesfood.com.  It called for adding poppy seeds into the sauce that goes over the rolls, but I knew I'd get nothing but complaints from my family about these...and more importantly - I forgot to buy them at the store - ha!  I think the onion flavor on the rolls was plenty & there enough other sweetness to this recipe that I don't think you need them.  As I noted within the ingredients listing, I think you can get away using half the amount of butter.  Next time I plan to only use 4 Tbsp melted butter as using the full amount did make the bottom roll a little soggy.  They were very tasty though and extremely easy!

Good 'make ahead' recipe for busy spring schedules.

Ingredients

• 12 King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
• 12 slices Honey Ham
• 12 slices Swiss Cheese
• 1/4 C Mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 8 Tbsp butter, melted  ( NOTE:  I will use 1/2 this next time - I don't think you need this much)
• 1 tsp Tastefully Simple Onion Onion
• 1/2 tsp Tastefully Simple Merlot Sauce
• 1/4 C brown sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°
2. On a rimmed baking sheet or 9x13 dish, place bottom half of dinner rolls and top with 1 slice of ham and 1 slice of swiss cheese. Spread about 1 tsp of mayonnaise on each top-half of roll and place on top of ham and cheese. 
3. In a small bowl combine the mustard, melted butter, brown sugar, Onion Onion and Merlot Sauce. Mix until combined and evenly pour over the assembled rolls. Cover with foil and refrigerate until ready to bake.
4. Bake covered with foil for 10 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the tops are browned, and cheese is good and melted.

Parmesan Zucchini Patties

It could be this summertime weather we're having...it could be that the Tastefully Simple incentive trip to Cancun I earned is in 3 weeks...but I've been in the mood lately to try some new 'healthy' meals.  I'm a sucker for trying recipes which include pictures that look appealing to the eye - thus my addiction to Pinterest!

I will say though, I have found several good recipes there.  I generally adapt them to items I have in the house - which of course include several Tastefully Simple products.  And really...why waste time peeling and mincing garlic when I can just grab a bottle of Garlic Garlic?  While I love trying new recipes, I am still a busy mom (it IS soccer season now) and the family doesn't care if it's made from scratch.  If it's made in my home then it is 'Homemade' in my book!

While shredding the zucchini for this recipe, I got a craving for my Mom's Zucchini Bread - so today you get a bonus recipe.  I recommend grabbing an extra zucchini from the store and shredding enough to make both of these.  While I got the typical 'what is that' comment from all the boys as I was making the Zucchini Patties, they were gobbled up quickly and I was told "These Zucchini Balls are pretty good."  To which I corrected them and they were zucchini PATTIES not balls.  Given I live with 4 males...you can just imagine how the conversation took a downturn from there and giggles ensued.... Boys...what can you do except shake your head and laugh along with them :)

Parmesan Zucchini Patties (adapted from recipe in Shape magazine)

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Roasted Garlic Infused Oil

1 large zucchini, grated

1 large egg

1 c. panko bread crumbs (you can find these in most grocery stores now - and I think they are worth buying for this recipe)

1 tsp Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:
Remove excess liquid from freshly grated zucchini by placing them between paper towels and squeezing.  Heat a large skillet on medium, and add Roasted Garlic Infused Oil.  In a large bowl, combine all the other ingredients. Mix thoroughly.  Shape spoonfuls of the zucchini batter into 2-in. (diameter) patties, and drop onto the sizzling pan. Cook each side for about a minute and a half, or until the outside is golden brown. Finish the cakes off in the oven. Stick them on a baking pan and broil them for 1-2 minutes. Serve hot, alone or with ranch dressing.

NOTE:  I did stick the patties in the oven under the broiler for a couple minutes, but I don't think you really need to do this.  Mine were cooked nice and crispy before then.  We are ours plain.

Mom's Zucchini Bread

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup cooking oil

2 cups sugar

2 cups grated zucchini

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups sifted flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease and flour 2 loaf pans.  Beat eggs, oil, sugar, zucchini, vanilla - cream together.  Sift other ingredients and add to creamed mixture.  Bake one hour.

Easy Clean Up Dinner

Time to break out some fabulous GRILL recipes?  Heck ya!  Weather this week is GORGEOUS!

Here's a brand new recipe off the Tastefully Simple website using a couple of our spring products.  I must say...I think they could have picked a better name for the recipe :)  However, it's still worthy of praise.  We had this for dinner last night.

Note:  Next time I make it I will double the recipe.  Didn't quite fill up this family of growing boys, but it's always a good sign when they're asking for more!  Makes about 4 'normal' portions.  A portion what you see pictured below on each foil sheet.

Prep before the grill...

 finished product!

Easy Clean-up Dinner
Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef

Ingredients
1 lb. kielbasa sausage, cut into bite-size pieces
1 onion, sliced into wedges
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
4 small potatoes, cubed
2 Tbsp. olive oil or Roasted Garlic Infused Oil
1 Tbsp. Honey BBQ Seasoning & Rub
Burger & Brat Mustard

Directions
Combine all ingredients except mustard in a large bowl; toss to combine flavors. Divide the mixture evenly among 4 large sheets of aluminum foil. Top each with another sheet of foil, and roll up the edges tightly to seal. Grill over medium-high heat until potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes. Open foil packs carefully; drizzle sausage and vegetables with Burger & Brat Mustard to taste. Makes 4 servings.