Soup & Steak

Today we went with something a little easier to make since we were going to be busy for most of the day. Lisa and I, love french onion soup, so why not try and make it from scratch. To add to the meal we grilled up a nice peice of flank steak. The left over steak will work great for quesadillas or even fajitas later this week. I (kids) woke me up this morning to eat breakfast so instead of laying around being a bum I went ahead and made the soup. That way all we had to do later was reheat the soup and grill the steak. The end result was a hearty meal that could be made any time of the year.

Main dish was the french onion soup with homemade croutons and melted mozzarella cheese. For the sides we had grilled mushrooms and flank steak. To wash everything down we had some nice 2-buck-chuck wine.

Appetizer Night

Tonight we decided to have a appetizer dinner. Some of our favorite things all on one plate. Most of the items are repeats but several food items are new. The jalapeño poppers were the one thing that I haven't made before at home. Everything turned out great.

On the tray you can see asparagus, the bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers, stuffed mushrooms and some plain mushrooms. Everything was grilled on the charcoal grill along with some chicken breasts that are not shown.

Here is a picture of the grilled food. Ended up using the chicken breasts to make a batch of chicken chili.

Finished plate with fried onion rings, french fries, jalapeño poppers, stuffed mushrooms and spicy buffalo boneless wings. Everything was made at home and either grilled or fried.

French Dip

Decided to put the grill to the test this weekend by smoking a nice piece of meat and having french dip sandwiches for Sunday dinner. I started on Friday by giving the piece of meat a over night marinade to help tenderize it. Then on Saturday I smoked it for 4 hours on the grill. This happened to be my first real BBQ meat and it turned out great. I was very happy with how easy it was to keep the temperature between 275 and 325. Once done I put it in the fridge to cool until we were ready to eat on Sunday. On Sunday I made a nice au jus and placed the sliced meat into the au jus to warm back up. I used nice deli rolls with provolone cheese and some grilled onions to finish off the sandwich.

Chile Relleno

One of Lisa's favorite Mexican dishes is a Chile Relleno. Although mine didn't turn out as tasty as Bobby Flay's, it was still a good first try.

First you need to roast and peel your peppers. Not sure but I think I let the peppers sit to long in the plastic bag to sweat after roasting them. They ended up being super soft and not willing to stay together. Next time I will let them sweat for 3-5 minutes not the 20 minutes like I did this time.

This picture shows the peppers stuffed with cheese. You can use any good melting cheese that you wish.
Went with the classic egg white batter and it turned out great. I used 3 egg whites, 1 egg yolk, 3 tablespoons of AP flour and a pinch of salt. If I made this batter again I would try some seasoning in the batter since it tasted bland.
Finished plate consisted of 1 Chile Relleno with red sauce, Mexican rice and some re-fried beans with jack cheese.
Red Sauce
1 can stewed Mexican tomatoes.
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Puree tomatoes, onion, garlic, chicken broth and herbs to the consistency that you want. Heat oil over medium heat and add puree mixture to the hot oil. Simmer on low until you are ready to serve.

Batter
3 egg whites
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Beat egg whites to a stiff peak then add remaining ingredients.

Mexican Rice
To busy and cheap to make my own. Purchase box of rice and follow directions.

Re-fried Beans
Look for a can near you. Add cheese if you like.