Martha A. Cheves's Blog, page 106

Fresh Express Steak Salad

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Remember I told you that Foodbuzz and Fresh Express sent coupons for me to use and hopefully work up some good recipes?  Well my Steak Salad isn't just good it's Delicious!

1 lb. steak, cut into strips
1/4 cup marinade (I used Dale)
1/2 bell pepper cut into strips
1/2 med. onion, cut into strips
1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Put steak and marinade in a bag and refrigerate for about an hour.  Remove steak from marinade.  Saute until medium well done.  Remove from pan.  Heat oil, add peppers and onions.  Saute until slightly tender.  Add meat back to pan.  Turn heat to low.  Add cheese and toss until meat, peppers and onions are coated and cheese has melted.  Place over a bed of Fresh Express blend of your choice.  Drizzle with your favorite dressing. 

Changes - I used Italian but had planned on Ranch until I realized I was out.  But I have to say that the Italian is perfect.  Also, the changing of the dressing flavors will completely change the taste of your salad allowing you to make up a batch of meat, have one salad with Ranch, one with Italian and maybe another with vinegar and oil. You can also make changes by changing the cheese flavors, by adding a few chopped black olives or maybe some French fried onions.  As I say... Think With Your Taste Buds.

French Chocolate

Another Cold Weather drink.  Heat 2 ½ squares unsweetened chocolate (1 oz. each square) and ½ cup water over low heat, stirring until chocolate melts  Add 2/3 cup sugar and ½ tsp. salt  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 4 minutes.  Cool to room temperature.  Fold in ½ cup whipping cream that has been whipped.  Store in refrigerator.  To serve, place 1 heaping tablespoon in each cup and fill with hot milk.  Stir well.  Makes 6-8 servings depending on size of cup.

PICANTE SAUCE GOES ITALIAN!

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This week I received a package from Foodbuzz and Pace.  Inside I found 2 jars of Pace Picante Sauce.  So what do I do?  I come up with a new recipe using this very versatile sauce but I didn't want to go the traditional route by making something Mexican.  Instead I went Italian and am calling my newest dish.

Meaty Italian Turnovers

1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. bulk Italian sausage
1 cup Pace Picante Sauce
1 sheet puff pastry
5 slices of cheese (cheddar)
sour cream
1/4 cup Pace Picante Sauce


Brown both meats, allow to cool then add Picante Sauce.  Set aside.


Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.  Thaw 1 sheet of puff pastry (about 40 minutes on the counter).  Slice into 9 equal squares.  This is easy to do since the sheet is folded into 1/3s.  Simply cut at the folds and then slice each into 1/3s.  On a sheet of waxed paper/foil/parchment paper (your choice) sprinkle about 1/4 cup flour.  Spread over paper.  Dust rolling pin with flour.  Roll each to about twice their original size.  Fill each with meat mixture allowing room to fold over.  Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or foil.  Bake 20 minutes or until slightly browned.  Cover with 1/2 slice of cheddar cheese.  To serve, top with sour cream and a drizzle of Pace Picante Sauce.

Thanksgiving & Charbroil in October

OK Guys.  Here is what we have all been waiting for... how Charlotte, NC Fire Station #27 liked the use of as well as the taste of the turkey cooked in their new Charbroil's Big Easy Turkey Fryer.  Just to recap, Foodbuzz and Charbroil chose me to test the Big Easy.  The Big Easy fries your turkey without the use of oil.  It cooks using infra-red heat.   Well, I thought about this and decided that the best people to test this on would be the men at my son-in-law's fire station.  So, here are the results.

[image error] Mr. Tom gets an oil rub down.  This is the only oil used during the cooking of the turkey.








[image error] After his oil rub, Mr. Tom gets a massage using a dry rub.  In deep frying a turkey, you inject the solutions into the meat and/or under the skin.  Not with the Big Easy. You only use the dry rub.  So, with the elimination of the oil, you have saved a nice chunk of money and the ease of using the rub cuts down preparation time.  A big plus for the Big Easy.

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Fire Fighter Eddie is now preparing to put Mr. Tom into his sauna.  The Big Easy will take up to a 16 lb. turkey and the cooking time is about 8-10 minutes per pound.  Mr. Tom weighed just over 14 lbs. so his cooking time ended up being about 1 3/4 hours.








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                  Watching the pot "fry."







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I think the guys are getting hungry and Mr. Tom is sure looking tasty.



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                                                       Oh Yeah!  165 degrees!  Lets eat!




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The browning of the outside is perfect.  Now, lets see what the inside looks like.




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Bring this picture up and enlarge it so you can see the juices seeping out as Firefighter Eddie slices.  Boy this turkey is moist!




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Time to chow down!  While enjoying our meal I asked the guys to compare the Big Easy with the standard oil type turkey fryer.  Their comments were; "it's healthier since you are not using the oil for frying"; "preparation time is quick and easy"; "clean-up is a breeze, you don't have to re-store the oil or find a way to dispose of it"; "taste is wonderful and the meat is very moist"; "you can practically put it on to cook and walk away without having to worry about the oil boiling over"; "there are no oil spills to clean up".  Negative "cooking time is longer but not enough to be a problem."


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Now that we all have full stomachs, its time to clean up the kitchen.  So how do Firefighters determine who's turn it is to do the dishes?  They play cards... winner is exempt.

I left the Charbroil Big Easy with the "Boys of Fire Station 27."  I do have a promise of a video to come when they cook venison as their next meal using their Big Easy.  Total rating - from 1 - 10.... a 15+!

Chocolate Coffee

 Winter is coming and I that's when I start looking for some really delicious hot drinks to keep me warm, at least inside.  If you are a chocolate lover, you will love this one.  2 Tbsp. instant coffee¼ cup sugarDash of salt2 ½ oz. squares unsweetened chocolate1 cup water3 cups milkWhipped cream  In a saucepan combine coffee, sugar, salt, chocolate and water.  Stir over low heat until chocolate has melted.  Simmer 4 minutes, stirring constantly.  Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until heated.  When piping hot, remove from heat and beat with mixer on low until frothy.  Pour into cups and top with dollops of whipped cream.  Depending on cup size, makes 4-6 servings.  Changes – You might want to try some of the flavored instant coffees such as hazelnut.

Fresh Express

In yesterday's mail I received a wonderful surprise from Foodbuzz and Fresh Express.  They sent me now 1 but 12 coupons, each one is for a free bag of Fresh Express salad mix.  To make it even better, I found that one of my local super markets was running a Fresh Express sale.  The sale is a buy one get one free.  That doubled each coupon's value!  Now I plan on getting busy to see how many tasty recipes I can come up with using Fresh Express.  Stay tuned to see what I create.

Charbroil Turkey Fryer

So, what will I be doing with the Turkey Fryer sent to me by Foodbuzz and Charbroil?

My oldest daughter's husband is a Firefighter for the Charlotte Fire Dept.  What I've decided to do is take the Turkey Fryer to the station and let the guys do the actual cooking.  Leslie (my daughter) and I will provide the turkey and all the fixins.  We will be serving them dressing and gravy, green beans, mac & cheese, slaw, rolls and some to be decided on later desserts.  We will be taping the actual cooking, he meal and getting comments from the guys regarding the cooker's performance, ease of use and cleaning as well as their comments on the actual cooked turkey.  After the meal and taping, the cooker will be left with the station.

And this will all take place when?   Sunday 10/10/10!  I hope to have a video posted of this "Early Thanksgiving Dinner" up and running next week for everyone to see.

White Lasagna

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This was a recipe that came to me on the way to work one day.  I wanted to try something different using ground beef and Alfredo sauce.  This is what I came up with.  For changes - Use Italian sausage instead of ground beef.  This is also good made with Imitation Crab or shrimp.  I've not tried it yet but I think chicken would also be great and I might even add some spinach to the 1st layer.

View the full recipe by going to Martha's Recipe Cabinet.

Out of 25 people I was chosen!!!!!!

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Below is a notice I received from Foodbuzz and Char-Broil

This Thanksgiving, how about taking your turkey to the next level? To help make it happen, we'd like to introduce The Big Easy® Oil-less Infrared Turkey Fryer from our latest Tastemaker partner, Char-Broil®!

Admit it, you've always been a little curious about deep frying turkeys, but between the mess and the potential danger of all that hot oil, you haven't "taken the plunge" yet. That's where The Big Easy comes in. Instead of oil, 100% infrared heat does all the work. Leaving you with a perfectly cooked, juicy, crispy-skinned Thanksgiving centerpiece!

We're offering twelve Tastemakers the opportunity to inspire a little pre-Thanksgiving excitement by cooking a turkey or two in The Big Easy before Thanksgiving! Tastemakers will receive The Big Easy, a Flip HD video camera, and some helpful tools and instructions to get started.


Cheers,
Foodbuzz + Char-Broil


This is what I received next!


Dear Featured Publisher,

We will be shipping you your Charbroil Turkey Fryer on Friday. 

Cheers,

Saturday, Fed-EX brought me 2 packages containing my new Turkey Fryer. Now follow my blog to see what I'll be doing with it.  I have some big plans coming up this Sunday.

Swiss Onion Bake

 This is a very simple and really delicious Brunch dish.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook 2 cups sliced onions in 2 Tbsp. butter until tender but not browned.  Spread in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Evenly top with 6 sliced boiled eggs.  Cover eggs with 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese.  In a med. Saucepan mix 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, ¾ cup milk and ¼ tsp. pepper.  Heat, stirring until smooth.  Drizzle over cheese.  Butter enough ½" slices of French bread to cover egg slices.  Bake 20 minutes or until hot.  Broil to toast bread.  Serves 6  Changes – Add cooked bacon, ham or sausage.  Change the cheese to cheddar.  Add green peppers in with the onions.