Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Stove Top Sirloin Fajitas



The more I food blog...the more I find other food blogs far superior to mine. F you internet. F you.  That being said here is a non-grilled take on fajitas...the brown person's ultimate gift to the white person's stomach.  I can't promise that this is totes original but hopefully different in some ways to what's already out there on the interwebz.


I use sirloin to make fajitas for a couple of reasons.  For starters it's usually on sale for $3 a pound at least once a month at your local grocery.  Skirt steak (what most restaurants use) is an ok cut of meat but due to the popularity of fajitas is just as/sometimes more expensive.  It's also very tough and needs some prep to be tender on the plate.  Sirloin has great flavor, needs little prep and is often cheaper.  No brainer.


Grab some sirloin, yellow onions (red are good as well) red and green bell pepper, lime, cilantro, olive oil and your spice rack.




Quarter your onions and then pull apart the petals.






Cut your peppers in half from the bottom and then scoop out all the innards.  Then slice into thin strips.



  Put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a pan over medium heat and dump in your veggies and add a little salt and pepper. 


The oil and veggies alone are great..but if you are feeling adventurous put in a teaspoon or so apiece of cumin (smells like BO but man it is key in mexican food) oregano, garlic powder and cayenne.  Cayenne only if you like to get lit.



I like to cook the veggies for about ten minutes before putting the steak in.  That gets them tender and they'll crisp up at the end.  Slice your steak into strips and season however you like.  You could do simple salt and pepp or some of the seasonings you used on the veggies.  I like the meat to stand out so I squirt a little lime juice on there with some montreal steak seasoning.



Push your veggies to the side in the pan...add a little more oil if you like and get the meat frying in half the pan.



Turn the heat up to high.  The meat is going to sweat out all of it's water and blood content over time.  You want to cook the mixture long enough so that most of the liquid has evaporated.  Probably 7-10 minutes.


Most Mexican restaurants will sell you take out chips and salsa for about the same as the local grocery.  A pint of salsa and a bag of FRESH chips at Chuy's is $5.50. Getting a little help from restaurant or store bought sides let's you focus on the main dish and makes the whole process less time consuming and intimidating. I also bought fresh tortillas which saves me from making my own or eating store-bought shitty tortillas like Mission.  If you want to do homemade tortillas however I highly recommend it, and you can do so by following this critically acclaimed post here to learn how.



Take em up...plate em up and nom.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Oven Roasted Pork Loin


This recipe is super simple and doesn't take much time to prep.  There's two great things about these pork loins.  They go on sale every other week for $1.99 a pound...and even if you aren't a fan of these particular ingredients in this recipe, there are so many simple 4-8 ingredient combos you can use... it will get you in the kitchen trying some things out and it's near impossible to F up.  Here we go.


All you need is your loin, honey, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard and paprika.  Sweet and pork go together like cocaine and waffles.  And the vinegar and mustard bring together the sweet with the tangy.  Boom.

4 Tbls   Honey
2 Tbls   Apple cider Vinegar
4 Tbls   Dijon Mustard
3 Tbls   Brown Sugar
1/2 Tsp Paprika


Get a small container to mix your ingredients.


In goes the honey, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar and paprika.  I like to use a little more paprika than the recipe calls for. And if you are cooking a big girl...4-5 pounds you can double the recipe above.  










Now mix it all together.  Get your loin in a baking pan...fatty side up.  


And baste on a layer of the sauce.  Leave plenty in the bowl because you are going to take it out and re-baste a couple of times while cooking.  


Into the oven at 350.  Follow the directions on the packaging for how long...generally pork is about 30 minutes per pound.  Mine was around 4 lbs so I left it in for about 2 hours.


Re-baste with the sauce a couple of times during cooking.  


 Take her out when the juices are running clear and let her sit for 5-10 minutes. Then slice, plate, and demolish it.  


Enjoy.


Friday, September 28, 2012

Buffalo Chicken and Potato Bake


Here comes a buffalo chicken and potato bake that will drop your hunger.  Like it's hot. This recipe has a fair amount of prep work but the cooking is easy.


Gather your ingredients…

  • 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 8-10 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes  (I leave the skin on)
  • 1/3 cup olive oil 
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 TBS. freshly ground pepper
  • 1 TBS. paprika 
  • 2 TBS. garlic powder 
  • 6 TBS. hot sauce 
Topping:


Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Crazy hot, I know.  Wash the potatoes and cube them up real nice.  Leave the skins on…they will get nice in crispy in the oven.




Get all of your seasonings in a big mixing bowl with the olive oil and hot sauce...dump your potatoes in and give them a nice spray tan orange coating.  

As you can tell from the pictures below...I put the potatoes in first then all the seasonings.  That was really, incredibly stupid and I'll regret it for the rest of my life.  Don't do that.  






Then get them into a pan and into the oven...leave as much of the sauce behind in the mixing bowl as possible. 


Wash and cube your boneless skinless chicken breasts...I used a little dark as well.   Then get them chickens in the mixing bowl and coat them too. Add more of the same seasoning mix if you'd like.   



Also dice your bacon and green onions in with the chicken.



The recipe calls for cheddar or colby jack cheese…but I like bleu cheese with my buffalo chicken so I used mostly bleu with a little bit of cheddar.  And I didn't have any shredded cheddar so I tore up some cheddar slices.  WT...I know.  This would also be a good time to add some ranch dressing in there if you wanted...I rolled sans ranch.  


When the potatoes have been in for 45 minutes, pour the chicken-cheese-bacon-onion mixture on top and put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes (longer if you used bone pieces of chicken).  Reduce the heat to 400.  

(no picture for this... my photog lost interest apparently)

Put yourself a side in the microwave…a can of beans, bag of broccoli and cheese…whatever gets it done for you.  This loaded chicken bake isn't the healthiest so probably something green would be good.  Your heart will hate you a little less.  


Pull that crap out and eat it like a champ.  Simple, cheap, delicious.  Boom. 




Wednesday, September 26, 2012

West African Chicken Stew


So after a brief hiatus...I'm out of the apartment and into my new home...with some upgraded gear...and rocketing back into the blogosphere with .... West African Chicken Stew.  My analytics tell me that no one from Africa is actually looking at my blog...but then again they probably don't have computers
over there.



So who wants AIDS?  Well go somewhere else...because this stew won't give you any.  No Malaria neither.  Here's what you'll need:

2 lbs of chicken...I used a combination of boneless skinless breasts and thighs
1 onion
1 sweet potato
1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 tbs of tomato paste
1 can of white beans
1 can of corn
1/4 cup of peanut butter
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ginger
1-2 tbs oil




Wash and cut up your chicken however you'd like.  I removed most of the skin and fat from the thighs but left a little for flavor.

Get the chicken into a pan with the oil over medium heat and let it fry until it is no longer pink.

While that's going, check your yard for a supply drop from UNICEF containing your veggies.  Not there? Ok, well thats pretty much just like Africa too.  Make sure there are no warlords on your property stealing your supplies.


Peel and cube the sweet potato.  I also used a couple of yukon gold potatoes.  I peeled and minced the ginger...it stayed pretty crunchy in the final product...I'd recommend smashing it into more of a paste if you are using fresh.  





Then peel and chop your onion and garlic.     


Open your canned veggies with a sharp rock or stick.  Pour them into your big soup pot and add the rest of the veggies, seasonings, and the peanut butter.


Put the chicken in and bring it to a boil. Then reduce the heat to a simmer for about 30-45 minutes.  Voila.  Your stew is done.  Share it with your tribe.  Refrigerate or freeze the leftovers.