Sirloin Steak Bites with Mushroom Sauce

I wanted to cook a special meal for our 30th anniversary (we were going out to celebrate later in the week), so I went looking for a good steak recipe. The following is adapted from three different recipes I found on the internet. Everyone loved it!

Two large, thick sirloin steaks (about 4 pounds)

SIRLOIN STEAK BITES

Trim off the large pieces of fat. Cut the meat into 1-inch pieces and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle generously with sea salt, freshly ground pepper and any herbs of your choice that you would like to add (I used rosemary-garlic seasoning). Toss everything together really well and set aside.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium high heat. Add 1/2 stick butter (real butter, of course) and allow to melt and brown slightly.

Add meat in a single layer and cook for 45 seconds. Flip and cook for 30 more. Don't stir until after the second 30 seconds. Stir it gently for about 20 more seconds. Remove to a serving platter and cover with foil.

Add more butter (a Tbsp at a time should do) and repeat the process until all the meat is cooked.  Pour the remaining butter over the meat, and serve with the mushroom sauce (see below).


MUSHROOM SAUCE

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1 pound baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, sliced (white and green parts)

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add  vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Add:

1-1/2 cups red wine of your choice (I used Merlot)

Simmer to reduce the liquid by about half - about 15 minutes, on medium low.

Serve with steak bites.

Country Pork Rib Stew

I'm not good at making meal plans, in spite of my best effort. Many days I pull something out of the freezer and hope for the best - I have no idea what to do with it and half the time I don't know for sure until it's done! Sometimes the result is good, and sometimes it's not. Tonight, the result was amazing. We just finished dinner, and the kids have shooed me into the computer room to type out what I did. They want me to make it again!

When I create, I don't measure, so it's really difficult to type it out. I'll try to guess, but if anyone else happens on this and wants to try it, adapt it for your own. Those of you who need exact recipes - I'm sorry! 

Country Pork Rib Stew

1 onion, sliced

1/2 green pepper, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp olive oil

Saute the vegetables in a dutch oven on medium high heat until soft. Add :

2 lbs. boneless country pork ribs, cut into stew sized pieces

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic and herb seasoning

Stir and cook on medium high until lightly browned.. Add:

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup V-8 juice

1/4 cup sherry wine

1 tomato, diced (canned would be fine too)

Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.  About 30 minutes before dinner time, remove cover and raise the heat slightly. Mix 2 Tbsp flour with 1/2 cup water until very smooth. Stir slowly into stew and mix well. Simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Just before serving, I added a small can of green beans and a small can of mixed peas and carrots, just to stretch it out a little. It was a good fit!

Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.

The sauce was SO delicious, the kids and I (we're all soup lovers) ate it in a bowl, over rice, like soup! 

** Feel free to add whatever vegetables you like. I wish I'd added some celery and potatoes or turnips.

** I think this would also be great for the crock pot.

These quantities served 8 people, but we all ended up wanting more. I'm going to double it next time.

Barbeque Sauce

We use this mostly with boneless pork country ribs, which are often dirt cheap at Winn-Dixie. The kids request it often and eat it all up! You can do it in the oven or the crock pot. I've never made the sauce separately.

• 1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
  
• 1-1/2 cups brown sugar (packed)
  
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
  
• 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  
• 2 tbsp chili powder
  
• 1 Tbsp brown mustard
  
• 1/2 tsp pepper
  
• 1 tsp garlic salt
  
• 1 small onion, chopped
  
• 1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
  

Simmer for an hour or until it thickens. Or mix it up and throw it in a roasting pan with your meat, basting it when you remember.

Boneless Pork Loin Roast

This is one of our favorite main dishes and is ridiculously super easy. It's not a recipe per se, but a method. It's also super cheap if you shop wisely. I haven't paid over $2 per pound for pork loin in years. If it doesn't go on sale at Winn-Dixie, they have it at Sam's for that or less.

We usually buy a whole boneless pork loin. Smaller ones are sometimes on sale, but the whole one costs around $20 and gives us 4-5 meals. Wow, you can't beat that! And it's a really good cut of meat! This method is for the roast from the whole, boneless loin.

As soon as we get the loin home we cut it into pieces. We used to choose roasts, chops etc but now only do roasts because we can cut it into chops or chunks later if we decide to. Usually we make at least one large roast (for company), a medium one and 3 smaller ones. These get wrapped up in freezer wrap and labeled according to size. If there are any loose pieces lying around they go into a ziploc to go into something.

Cooking a roast is one of the easiest meals on my menu yet it can be one of the most elegant! Here's how we do it:

Start seasoning with the fat side up. Rub some olive oil into the roast. Then rub some crushed garlic into that. Use as much or little as you like - we like a lot. And the kids like to help!

Boys season the pork loin.

After that, sprinkle whatever you want on top. We probably don't do it the same any time. We have a nice herb garden and can go pick whatever suits our mood - tarragon is good, basil, rosemary, thyme or oregano. Sometimes I "go Greek" and use oregano with a little mint.

Or I get lazy and just use something from the spice cabinet - lemon pepper, dried rosemary, Slap Ya Mama. The thing is to use whatever you like. There's really no way to ruin it at this point!

The important part of the cooking is the actual cooking. Pork Loin is very lean and dries out easily!! Here is where you can really mess it up. It took me lots of trial and error to get to this point, but I figured out how best to do it.

I use a cast iron dutch oven. Any oven safe pot with a lid will do.

Add a little olive oil to the pot and coat the bottom. Add the roast, then about 1/2 cup of liquid - water, wine, broth - don't pour it OVER the roast to knock all the goodies off! Just pour it into the pan.

Cover and put in the oven at 325 degrees. Place the meat fat side up. Do not remove the fat prior to cooking! Always cook pork fat side up to retain the juices. Pork loin is so lean that you will need to leave the fat on while cooking - there isn't much, and it's easily removed for eating. This is a trick I learned working in a restaurant.

It won't take nearly as long to cook as you think! Recipes will tell you 30 minutes per pound. That may be too much. Always use a meat thermometer! You want the internal temperature to reach 155 degreed, then remove it from the oven. Yes, the thermometer says it needs to be 160 degrees - don't worry. You need to let it rest after taking it out of the oven, before you carve it. It will keep cooking while it rests, and it will be enough by the time you're ready to eat! Otherwise you're left with a dried out, overcooked pork roast and THAT, as they say, is not "Good Eats"!

I allow about an hour to cook mine, and I think that roast in the picture - a typical size for my family - is about 3 to 3-1/2 pounds.

When it gets to about 145 I take the cover off to let it brown a bit in the last few minutes. If it doesn't get brown enough, you can use the broiler - just for a minute!

When the thermometer shows 155, remove it from the oven. Place it on a cutting board (use tongs to move it. If you use a fork, the juices will drain out!) and cover with a foil tent while you get everything else ready. 15 minutes of resting time should be more than enough. Use the thermometer to see when it's reached 160 degrees.

Meanwhile you can use the pan juices to make a lovely gravy. Honestly, though, my family loves the juices "as is", so I rarely make an actual gravy for this.

The most important things to remember, in my opinion, are

• Do not overcook
• Cover while cooking, and use liquid in the pan

You don't need a lot of liquid, I use as much as I do because we like the sauce. A few Tablespoons are enough to keep the roast nice and moist, as long as it's covered.

Carve, and enjoy!

Meatloaf

This is my favorite meatloaf recipe ever. :)

1 lb. ground chuck
1/4 lb. ground sausage
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 egg, beaten
1/2 bread crumbs
1/2 can chopped water chestnuts
2 ribs celery, chopped fine

Mix all ingredients and place in a loaf pan. Cover with sauce (below) and bake for 1 hour at 350 F.

Sauce:

1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp vinegar

Whisk together and pour over meat.