Soy-Ginger Flank Steak

Living in southern California means that we pretty much bbq all year long but summertime (and the desire to leave the stove & oven OFF as much as possible!) means we bbq even more! I found this recipe in Food & Wine Magazine 6 years ago and it has been a favorite ever since! I love that I can prep it the night before, allow the marinade to soak in & then let Kurt throw it on the grill for a quick, delicious dinner.

Ingredients

One 2 lb flank steak (TJ's just started carrying all natural flank steak and it's only $1/lb more than Costco)

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 4 limes)

2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger (highly recommend using a microplane grater/zester)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

freshly ground black pepper (I usually omit this)

Directions

1. Using a small sharp knife, score the flank steak on both sides in a shallow crosshatch pattern and transfer to a shallow baking dish.

2. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, lime juice & ginger.

3. Pour 2/3 cup of the soy marinade over the flank steak and turn to coat. Let stand for 10 minutes (I let it marinade overnight sometimes). Reserve the remaining marinade.

4. Heat your bbq up to moderately high heat.

5. Remove the steak from the marinade & pat dry. Brush the steak with the olive oil & season with pepper if desired.

6. Grill the steak about 11 minutes for medium to medium-rare meat, turning occasionally.

7. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the meat against the grain. Drizzle with the reserved marinade and serve.

Kobe Beef Sliders

I was having one of those days. AND, it was my day to prep dinner for that week's swap. I pulled into Trader Joe's and had no clue what I was going to do. So I said to myself, "Whatever the sample is tonight is what I'm doing for swap this week." It's no secret that we're pretty fond of TJ's samples around here but this particular night??? Yeah, it was a winner!

Ingredients (all available at Trader Joe's, obviously!)

* 1 lb Kobe beef (TJ's sells it in the freezer section) You could also use ground turkey, ground sirloin or your burger ingredient of choice

* TJ's Fresh Bruschetta Sauce

* Shaved Grana Padano Parmesan Cheese

* Organic Micro Greens

* Mini Slider Buns (I've also done this with King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls... YUM!)

* TJ's Garlic Herb butter

Instructions

1. Prepare 8 small burgers with the meat and either pan fry or grill.

2. Spread garlic herb butter on the inside of the buns or rolls and broil or toast for a few minutes to melt the butter and brown the bread a bit.

3. Assemble: Burger, some shaved parmesan, a scoop of bruschetta & some micro greens.

4. Enjoy!!

Irish Tacos with Fried Cabbage

No trip to Trader Joe's is complete without swinging by the sample kitchen and seeing what's on the menu for the day! (Liv reminds me if I forget!) I have gotten a number of great ideas from their samples and a few of them have become part of my regular cooking repertoire. This week's sample was something very different but also pretty tasty and with my swap day falling on St Patrick's Day this week, I thought this was a fun thing to make!

INGREDIENTS:

*1 package corned beef (I used TJ's premade, but you could certainly make your own)
*1 package corn tortillas (12)
*1 package TJ's frozen mashed potatoes (Super convenient, but of course you could make your own)
*1 package creme fraiche (7.5 oz)
*12 oz shredded pepper jack cheese

*1 bag shredded cabbage (10 oz)
*1/2 cup diced onions
*1 tbsp butter
*1 tbsp cider vinegar
*1 tbsp sugar
*2 tbsp water
*TJ's organic micro greens

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. To fry the cabbage: melt butter and saute onions until tender. Dissolve sugar in vinegar, add to cabbage, then add to onions in the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add water and cover. Simmer until done.

2. For tacos: Cook corned beef according to package instructions, then shred. Toast corn tortillas on both sides in a hot pan. Cook mashed potatoes according to package instructions. Layer tortillas with potatoes, corned beef, creme fraiche, cabbage & cheese. Garnish with micro greens & enjoy a twist on the traditional St Patrick's Day dinner!

Meatball Parmesan Sliders

Here is the link for this weeks recipe. This meal was a big hit in our household. I modified it a little bit to fit our taste and needs. I opted to make the meatballs out of beef only. I would have added some ground pork but couldn't find any suitable. I also tripled the garlic...like I do for almost every recipe. I used more fresh parsley than stated and I added fresh basil as well to season the meat a bit more. I had never made homemade meatballs before and I have to say I will probably keep this as a staple in the freezer for those nights I find I want to just throw some spaghetti in the pot for the kids and with some frozen pre-cooked meatballs in the freezer I could pull a few out and thaw them right in the sauce. I used my big kitchen mixer and threw all of the ingredients together and then rolled out about 48 meatballs. My fear in making meatballs is that they might crumble or fall apart when cooking in the sauce...not so! Gently turn them over in the sauce if the sauce isn't covering the whole meatball and they will cook through nicely. Now, I couldn't find brioche bread either, so I opted for the mini slider buns at Trader Joe's and I think they were pretty good. Simply butter each side of the slider bun and toast for a minute in the toaster oven. Add the meatball and kind of push it down a bit so it won't roll off. Then I added a piece of provolone cheese, some red onion and a few fresh basil leaves and returned to the toaster oven until the cheese melted. You can also scoop an extra bit of marinara sauce on right at the end. Scrumptious! Throw in a ceasar and you have dinner girls!