The Steak I Can't Recommend Enough!

Flat Iron Steak Fajitas



The flat iron steak is the best steak ever! I purchased this piece of meat at Whole Foods. It is about 8 ounces and was only 4.50, I think. All I did for the meat was place it in a zip lock with a spice mixture, about 1t of oil, and a couple shakes of Worcestshire sauce. Then I moved it around and let it sit about 20 minutes.
Spices:
1/2t Cumin
1/2t paprika
1/2 cayenne
salt
pepper

I love the Calphalon grill pan. I just throw vegetables on there with some salt and they are perfect. Now, I do have to wave an oven mit over the smoke alarm every minute or so. Whoever chose to place a smoke alarm in the hallway, right by the entrance to the kitchen, is a chooch!

Pink Moon Cupcakes...the latest craze in Powell.


Next Post...the weekly Cupcake Specials. Because I am a nice person, and I think a lot of people want to know what all this place has!

Roasted Poblano and Chicken Penne

3 handfuls Dry Penne Pasta
1 cup chopped rotisserie chicken
1 roasted poblano peppers
1/2 roasted red pepper
1/4 of a yellow onion sliced
1 cup sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 large garlic clove
1t oil
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (pisses me off...because why do I have a whole can and then only use one...now I need more recipes that calls for this)
1T flour
1t cayenne
1/4 t cumin
2 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup broth
1/2 cup water
optional: shredded taco cheese

And now for the process:
I created this dish based off of the Mushroom Cream Sauce that is used in a Cooking Light Mushroom Enchilada recipe.

Warning: This ended up spicy!!

Under Broiler: place peppers, halved. Roast until skin is black. Place peppers in a zip-loc bag to cool. This will make it simple to peel skin off.

In nonstick pan, heat oil and add mushroom, onion, and garlic. Cook until soft and shiny. Add chipotle pepper (cut it up...and if you remove the seeds, this won't be so hot). Add flour and spices. Cook to make it nutty smelling. Whisk in broth and water. Bring to a simmer to thicken. Add sliced roasted peppers. Add chicken. Add cream cheese and remove from heat.

After boiling penne, add to sauce (salt sauce to taste). Shredded mexican cheese looks nice and adds a little more cheesiness.

This makes two big servings. And I did NOT eat all of it by myself.

If I was a Mexican Food Party, this is what I'd be:

I would be margaritas and sangria. There is boxed Sangria mix at Trader Joes, I think. Just slice up some lemons, limes, oranges, and add it to the wine mix. Put it into a pretty pitcher; I've heard Snowman Pitchers would be a nice irony, considering it is a WARM weather drink and there is a foot of snow on the ground.

I would also be a spread of dips. Salsa, Guacomole, Black Bean, and Queso would be perfect! And there are multi-colored chips at Trader Joes (the blue ones), as well as precut carrots, celery and peppers. Even better, Whole Foods veggie counter will package up those vegetables for you, even if they aren't already prepared in the Cut Vegetable Case.

There are two very easy crockpot meat recipes, that would then be perfect for burrito/taco bars. Put a roast in one crockpot, with a package of taco seasoning and some beef broth. Put chicken breasts in another crockpot, with the same and let them cook up to shredded seasoned goodness. Along with the seasoning, cut a lime in half and put that with the chicken. Cut an orange in half and put that with the beef.

I swear I created this dish in college and now it is all over every "easy dinner" webpage in the world. I called it Enchilada Lasagna. Now it has stupid names like Enchilada Bake, Casserole, whatever. It is pretty much all from the can, and I just needed a can opener and an oven. I lived off of this when I did my student teaching. Fast for when I got home at 630pm, and great in my lunch, since I left at 530am.

Here are the recipes!!

"Why didn't anyone tell me about this" Salsa
Can of chopped tomatoes with garlic and onion
garlic
jalapeno (canned) slices
cilantro
salt
lime juice
BLEND in food processor. This tastes just like the Senor Antonios, Las Margaritas, and La Vaquera salsas!!

Black Bean Dip
Mini food processor: Place:
a can of drained black beans.
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup of chopped red onion
A handful of cilantro
2 cloves of garlic.
Blend until smooth.

Guacomole (buy it when you are at Whole Foods)

Queso
Melt Pepper Jack Velveeta (it is white like real queso blanco). Add a can of Rotel tomatoes with chile peppers. I have this little dipper crockpot that would work great for this.

Enchilada Lasagna
1 large can of white meat chicken (or use the crockpot chicken)
1 can of enchilada sauce
1 package of flour tortillas
1 can of refried beans
1 chopped small yellow onion
1 shredded cheese package
1T oil, to saute the onion and combine with chicken.

Layer from bottom of casserole dish up:
tortilla, refried beans, chicken and onion, cheese, tortilla, enchilada sauce, beans, chicken and onion, cheese, tortilla sauce cheese.

For the crockpot meats:
Brown the roast and then put into a crockpot. Pour a can of beef broth over the roast, along with the package of taco seasoning. Anti packaged seasoning? Use Cumin, Coriander, Chile Pepper, Salt. The halved orange adds an interesting flavor. 8 hours on low.

Chicken can be thrown in raw. Pour the broth over it, and add the seasoning. There are some other marinades that could be used instead of the seasoning. They are on the top shelf in the Mexican aisle at any grocery store, and generally, I can't reach them very well...so I have never bought them. But it could work!