Steak and Potatoes

Beef is always part of my weekly menu. However, I mainly make ground beef. Steak is rare in our home. It is fairly easy so as long as you take care to marinate over night. It is my conclusion through the years of cooking meat, that marinated meat tastes even better because the juices have had the chance to soak in.
Part of growing up, beef was never a part of my household. When I came to America, my first taste of beef was a burger. Maybe that is why I feel more comfortable cooking with ground beef, it is just so versatile! So anyway, this is my concoction of different spices that make a fantastic marinade on any steak of your choice!!!



Marinade for Steak
1/3rd cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 medium cloves of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon of fresh or dried rosemary
Lime juice of one fresh lime
Salt & Pepper to Taste
I bought 4 Round eye steaks (they were tiny)

Mix all above ingredients together. Add Steak. Marinate over night.
Grill steak as to desired taste

Skillet Potatoes
8 medium to small Yukon gold potatoes
1 green bell pepper, cored & diced
1/2 white onion diced
pinch of garlic powder
pinch of paprika
Butter & Salt to taste

In a sauce pan full of boiling water, add the potatoes. Boil approximately 10-12 minutes, or until they are partially tender when a fork is inserted into them. Remove from water, drain and dice. In a skillet heat butter, add bell pepper and onions. Sautee veggie mix till they become soft and onions turn golden. Add diced potatoes, garlic powder, paprika and salt. Mix well. Cook the potatoes till they are a bit more tender (another 7 mins or so). Remove from heat and serve with grilled steak.

Valentine's Rustic Sweet Cherry Pie

I have a lot of time on my hands now. With this newly acquired treasure, I decided to make dishes that take a wee bit of extra time and care. I didnt realize how easy this pie would be to make, especially since it required only one crust. Also, the best part of baking this pie was making it in the afternoon. Usually, when I get home from work it is so late at night and that hinders the quality of my pictures as I struggle to find the right lighting to best showcase what I cooked. The advantage of cooking in daylight, is just that, cooking in daylight . Today was a pretty busy day for me in the kitchen. Yesterday's Roast chicken made today's chicken noodle soup. My thought in Whole Foods about a month ago to make cherry pie, also came to fruition today. I made it. I am new to pies. I am new to fruit pies rather. I have made pumpkin pie's many times, but never even an apple one. The dough was made from Duncan Hines Pastry flour that came in a box. However I have the best intentions when I will be making this pie completely and totally fresh this coming spring. Watch out for that! But in the meantime, this Cherry Pie was the sweetest sweet dish I ever had... *yum*

This valentines day, try making a cherry pie. It is oh so good!

Rustic Sweet Cherry Pie

1lb bag of frozen sweet cherries (thawed and drained)
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/4th cup sugar/white or brown
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 lime (lime juice)
Mix all above ingredients in a bowl
Duncan Hines Pie Crust powder/mix dough according to instructions

9" Pie Plate. Place the dough flat into the pie plate
Fill the plate with the cherry mixture and fold the edges over towards the center. Brush edges with milk and sprinkle vanilla sugar (or any other color/flavor desired).
Bake @ 350 degrees for about 50 minutes, or till golden brown.