Smothered Rice

I really felt like making something a bit different yesterday, and I guess by throwing together a bunch of random things I just happened to have, it worked. My husband didn't complain, so hey, I guess it's a winner in my eyes. At first I was wondering what I could do with an entire package of tortillas I've had sitting on the counter for awhile. Do those ever go bad? If there's no mold, they're edible to me! I played with the idea of maybe steak and onion filled quesadillas, or maybe like a fajita style dinner, but hey, is a fajita, a fajita with no peppers? It just didn't seem right. So, I went with this. I'll call it smothered rice because, well, I honestly don't know what the heck to call it. I figured 'Steak, Corn, Onions, Fire-roasted diced tomatoes, and Pinto Bean smothered Rice' was a bit much don't you think? Sort of like those people that have like eight names. I mean, I can see possibly four because well, I say that's not that weird, but eight?

I'm not quite sure where I was going with that, but, I'll have you know that this was really easy to make and with only two pans, it was an easy clean up as well. Now, I know people swear by rice cookers, and well, I probably would too if I ever took mine out of the cupboard and used it. Honestly, they make me nervous. I can use a sandwich press, a blender, and well, definitely a whisk, but, a rice cooker? I don't know. Can I put other things besides rice in the cooker? Can I season the water? It just brings up so many questions, and well, my husband obviously can't answer them. I suppose my handy dandy rice cooking manual might, but eh, I'm not much for heavy reading these days.

That's sort of a joke... my husband got me hooked on the Legend of the Seeker show on Netflix. We flew through the first two seasons to find out that, what, they cancelled the show after that! Now, I really want to finish the story, it sounds like now all I have to do is get through eleven or twelve books to do so. Did I mention that these books are supposed to be like twelve-hundred pages long? Looks like I better get started because the sooner I finish, the sooner my marriage and cooking can resume. I have this bad habit that once I get enthralled into a book or series of books, I'm lost in that world until I finish the page. Then I walk around in a daze for a day or two trying to adjust myself into my own life again. Twilight was hard for me folks, I mean, I really thought Alice and I were going to be best friends.

Alright, from food, to having eight names, to rice cookers, and reading, here it is. Smothered Rice... stuff.

Ingredients:
1 11. oz. boneless steak (your choice, cut into strips)
1/2 can whole kernel corn
1/2 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1/2 can pinto beans
1 onion (sliced)
2 cups rice

Directions:
Using a small amount of olive oil, begin cooking steak and onions over medium heat in a large pan. Season to taste, I used black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic salt, and paprika. Once the steak begins to brown, add remaining ingredients, minus the rice. You should begin cooking your rice around the same time you begin preparing the.. smotherings. Allow steak to cook through, onions and remaining ingredients to cook through as well. Keep on simmer until rice is done cooking. Serve over rice.

Steak Kabobs

You know, I thought there was some sort of rain curse on my kabob night, but the clouds shifted, the sun shined upon us, and finally, kabobs were made. I think all the build up ruined this meal. I was way too excited to make these and then I was left disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I thought the onions and steak was very good. I didn't want the meal to feel like 'steak & potatoes' so I decided to omit the potatoes and as a side, served Couscous. My husband thought it was 'tasteless' but if you're not familiar with it, I can understand not being able to appreciate it. When I was younger I remember my dad making it. I've always thought it was good, it's something different, which is nice sometimes, ya know?

I marinated the steak in a BBQ mixture. That was really great I thought. I also wrapped some of the steak pieces in bacon, because who doesn't like a little bacon once in awhile? I mean, there's got to be something good about the dang stuff or Beggin' Strips wouldn't be such a huge market right? Oh, well I suppose dogs will eat just about anything, right? Either way, I'm sure whether you're human, dog, or meat-eating dinosaur, you can appreciate a little bacon.

BBQ Marinade:
3/4 c. BBQ sauce (your favorite)
1/3 c. oil
1 tbl. minced garlic
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
salt & pepper

I should also warn you, I stabbed myself pretty good with one of the skewers. (insert sad chef face here)

Steak & Potatoes

If you've signed on to read my blog day after day, I commend you. My husband has finally figured out he's in fact, the butt of each of my jokes. I mean, it's all in good nature, right? One of my followers, or, biters as I call them, suggested that I make Meat Loaf for dinner last night. Then, of course, my husband had his little heart set on meat loaf, but I shot him down. I mean, I do make a really good meat loaf and my husband does in fact love it, but, I really had my heart set on kabobs. Well, you know that the one time I really want something, I wouldn't have the skewers for it. Come on, who doesn't keep their house stocked with over-sized tooth picks.. of sorts. Well, apparently this gal doesn't.

I was even willing to drive to the commissary to pick a few up. Wouldn't you know the commissary on post is closed on Mondays? Well, with the steak already thawing in the sink I figured I better put it to good use. This resulted in steak and potatoes for dinner. Not just potatoes though. Oh no, they were grilled to tender perfection with whole cloves of fresh garlic, large slices of white onion, and carrots! Now, I normally make these for only potatoes and onions, but I've got some fresh garlic and carrots that are in need of being used before they go bad. Who doesn't like carrots anyway?

I've had these foil pouched potatoes since I was younger. I remember my brother coming up with the idea when we had a tiny little charcoal grill in my mom's driveway. I also remember my brothers potatoes always being very crispy and a lot of it burning and sticking to the foil when it was all said and done. Well, not to brag or anything, but I've basically perfected the foil potatoes. Hey, if that sounds like boasting, take it for what it's worth people, take it for what it's worth. I did give him credit for the idea after all, right?

My trick? I take a mixing spatula and spread a thin layer of butter across the foil before placing the potatoes on it. Wha-la, and that my friends, was how the perfectly cooked foiled potatoes were created.

I seasoned the streaks with ground black pepper, garlic salt, and (steak & chops) seasoning grinder that my dad got for me before I moved down here. Mmm.

Ingredients:
2 steaks (your choice on cut)
2 potatoes
1 onion
6 cloves of garlic
3 carrot sticks
butter
ground black pepper
garlic salt

You'll also need foil... and a grill, just in case you haven't quite caught on yet.

Directions:
I'm not going to explain how to season and grill the steaks because, I'm hoping you already know that part. As far as the potatoes go, scrub clean and slice into 1/4 in. slices. Place on buttered surface of square of foil. Make sure your foil is large enough to place your food on and wrap up with no food being exposed. I double wrapped mine to prevent burning, which worked quite well, but it was a pain to check the tenderness of the potatoes.





Place 1 sliced potato, one sliced onion (slice into larger pieces so they don't burn) , cut up carrots, and 3 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole onto the foil. Top with 2 tbl. of butter, ground black pepper, and garlic salt. Wrap up, place on the grill over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes total, turning every couple of minutes. The foil was just sitting over an open flame people, so, for the love of blog, please be careful.