Flavorful London Broil

It has been way too long since my last post.  My family and I went to the mainland for 5 weeks!  I can't believe I was gone that long.  It is good to be back in Hawaii, now I need to find time to schedule some beach time.
While I was staying at my in-laws house, I made London Broil.  My mother in law asked if I had posted this recipe on the blog yet, and I replied that I had not.  I didn't feel like it was worth posting about, because it is so easy.  She convinced me, that someone like her would want to know how to cook a steak, and what to marinate it in, so that it turns out juicy and flavorful.  Do not be intimidated by steak.  I have talked to many friends that don't even know what to do with a steak.  Trust me, it is sooooooo easy.
The story behind this recipe, comes from my childhood.  Growing up, every once in a awhile, my family would have London Broil, baked potato, and a salad with Good Seasons Italian Dressing on it. This is a perfect combination of flavors in my book, I still love it. It was a major treat to have steak, and my parents could afford feeding a family of 7, when they made London Broil.  London Broil always goes on sale.  You can get it as cheap as 2.00/pound on the mainland.  So buy it!  The way you stretch this steak, is by slicing it thinly rather than giving each person a hunk of beef.  Plus since it is a very lean piece of meat, you must slice it thinly, or it will be too tough to eat. Any leftovers are great for steak tacos, steak and eggs, or steak sandwiches.

Flavorful London Broil

1 London Broil
1/2 c Italian dressing (any kind)
1 tbs Lawry's Season Salt
1/2 tbs Montreal Steak Seasoning
1/2 tbs garlic powder

Place all ingredients in a freezer ziplock bag.  Let marinate at least 3-4 hours, or up to 6.  Turn broiler onto high.  Place steak onto a broiler pan, or a jelly roll pan with a cooling rack on it.  Place in the oven, with the rack as close as it can go to the broiler and cook for 6-7 minutes on both sides.  Remove steak to a plate, and let rest for 10 minutes.  Using a sharp knife, slice steak thinly against the grain. Serve.

Garlic, Rosemary and Parmesan Oven Fries

I have been making oven fries for a long time.  I started out just sprinkling season salt on the potato wedges, and while that is good, this recipe is better.  These have a ton of flavor, and go with any meal. I usually always make these to go along side a burger to get the "burger and fries" feel.  Tonight I made them with grilled chicken and a salad.  My husband, and two boys don't like potatoes very much, but they love these.  In fact, my 3 year old eats the brown skins off the potato wedge first because they are his favorite part.  Fiberlicious!

You can really add any dry herb you want.  Thyme, oregano, basil are some variations that would be good. Don't waste your money on getting freshly grated Parmesan, you really can't tell the difference.  I normally don't use canned Parmesan cheese on anything except marinades and roasted vegetables.  You get the same flavor as using expensive, freshly grated Parmesan in this recipe.

Garlic, Rosemary and Parmesan Oven Fries

4-5 russet potatoes (you could use red potatoes too.)
4 garlic cloves, pressed
2-3 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/3-1/2 c Parmesan cheese (in the can)
1 1/2 tsp salt or more to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Slice potatoes in half the long way, take the 2 halves and slice again the long way. Cut 3 wedges of potatoes from what is left after you cut the potatoes.  Place potato wedges on a jelly roll pan or large cookie sheet.  Add olive oil, salt, herbs, 1/4 cup of cheese and garlic.  Toss potatoes to coat evenly, and settle potatoes into an even layer on the pan.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden and crisp. 

Healthy Mexi-Bowls

As I have said in recent posts, my family LOVES Mexican food.  I made these healthy Mexi-bowls last night for dinner, not because I planned it really.  Two nights ago I had made tacos for dinner, and with those tacos I had made some Pico De Gallo (minus the avocado).  I had some left over.  And while I was at the beach with my kids, I of course was thinking about what I was going to throw together for dinner.  I had leftover grilled chicken from tacos, leftover Pico De Gallo, Crock Pot pinto beans in the freezer....my mind started to put all these things together.  I made some white rice with a little bit of toasted orzo in it,  and cooked it with chicken broth.  Then when the rice was done, I fluffed the rice while incorporating the Pico De Gallo.  So really, that was only thing I actually cooked.....rice.  This is a great, healthy, well balanced meal that does wonders for leftovers. If your kids are picky...just serve them rice by itself, beans by itself and chicken by itself.  Then you can please both kids and adults. All recipes for this meal are highlighted here for your convenience.

Healthy Mexi-Bowls

1 c white rice
1/2 c orzo (if you don't have orzo, just use another 1/2 c rice)
1 tbs olive oil
2 c chicken broth
1 c pico de gallo
2 c whole pinto beans (or 1 can pinto beans, heated)
2 chicken breasts, cubed, shredded or sliced (cooked however)
2 c lettuce, finely shredded

Garnishes:
salsa (optional)
avocado (optional)
sour cream (optional)
cheese (optional)

For the rice, heat olive oil in a medium pot, add orzo and stir over medium heat until orzo is golden.  Add white rice, and stir around for about a minute.  Add chicken broth, and bring to a boil.  Cover and let simmer on low for 17 minutes.  Fluff rice with fork and drain any juice on the pico de gallo and add pico de gallo to the hot cooked rice. 
To assemble the mexi-bowls:
In a bowl start with rice, then beans, then chicken, then lettuce, then any garnishes you would like.

Butter Mochi

This is another one of those Japanese/Hawaiian treats that I have learned to love while living in Hawaii.  I'm almost afraid to post this recipe, because mochiko flour (rice flour) may not be available on the mainland unless you go to a Japanese specialty store. If you can get your hands on mochiko flour, make this awesome recipe.  It's a buttery, coconut, chewy type of custard that my friend Jenny and I have been foaming at the mouth about lately.  I looked at several recipes and kind of came up with my own to suit my taste.  This recipe makes alot, but is always a hit.  I definitely like this version of mochi one hundred times better than just plain mochi (the one with no butter).  You can make this in a 9x13 pan, but I like to make these in a muffin tin,because then you get optimal chewy edges.  In the muffin tin, this recipe makes about 36 servings.

Butter Mochi

1 stick of butter, melted
2 1/4 c sugar
1 box of mochiko flour
1 can of evaporated milk
1/2 c water
1 can coconut milk
4 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix melted butter and sugar together until combined.  Add eggs, beating them one at a time.  Combine evaporated milk and water in a separate container and whisk them into the egg mixture.  Add vanilla and salt, mix.  Add mochiko flour and baking powder, mix until combined.  Lastly add coconut milk, whisk until smooth.  Using a 1/3 measuring cup, scoop batter into well greased muffin tins.  Bake mochi for about 20 minutes or until the edged are nice and golden.  Do not under bake these.  Believe it or not they are better the more golden they get!

Healthy Nutella Banana "Ice Cream"

Want to eat ice cream and not feel guilty about it?You need to make this right NOW.  If you want you can just use bananas but I decided to amp up the  "ice cream" a little bit by adding some addictive nutella to the mix.  Let me tell you how easy this is.....Slice bananas, freeze bananas, puree frozen bananas with nutella, and enjoy smooth, creamy "ice cream", made with no cream, and except for the added sugar in the nutella, is made with natural sugar from the bananas.  Bananas have the amazing characteristic to turn into an amazing, smooth, cold, creamy treat.  If you don't believe me, you need to test this recipe out.  I was skeptical, but I'm a full on believer.  Yes, yes, full fat, full sugar ice cream is to die for, but rarely do I find a healthy alternative that I actually want to eat.  You could add in a little vanilla extract, cinnamon, maple syrup, peanut butter, berries or peaches or cocoa powder to flavor your "ice cream".  After you puree your "ice cream", store in an air tight container in the freezer.  Enjoy! The original recipe and idea for this healthy dessert came from here.

Healthy Nutella Banana "Ice Cream"

3-4 bananas, sliced
2 tbs nutella (or any other add in you have on hand)

Slice bananas into chunks.  Lay flat on a cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap.  Place into freezer until almost frozen solid.  In a food processor or blender, place almost frozen bananas.  Blend until almost smooth, add nutella, and puree until smooth and creamy.  Freeze leftovers in an airtight container.