Caribbean Vaca (minus the sand in your pants)

The weather has finally caught up with us here in the mitten. It's dark when I wake-up, and dark when I get out of work, there is frost on the windows, and worst of all, I can absolutely not get away with flip flops any longer.

So, what I need is a tropical meal choice to warm me up and give me the flavors of the Caribbean. This is salt free as well, and best of all, you can use this marinade/method with any meat (chicken, pork, beef).

Ingredients & Recipe:

Printable Recipe

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 Tbls. honey
• 2 Tbls. Canola oil
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 tsp. dried thyme
• dash of S & P
• dash or 2 of allspice
• dash or 2 of nutmeg
• 2 jalapenos, chopped (optional) or sprinkle in a few dashes of red pepper flakes

Whisk or stir all ingredients in a zip top bag. Save about 1/4 cup of the marinade in a small bowl for later. Place your choice of protein into the bag, i.e. chicken cutlets, pork chops, etc., seal it up and let it marinade for at least 6 hours (up to 24 hours).

When you're ready to cook, preheat a grill pan on medium-high heat (or use a non-stick skillet). Slap your meat on the pan & discard the bag and its contents. Grill about 5-7 minutes per side, basting frequently (using the small bowl of reserved marinade from earlier). Your meat should be cooked through, i.e. no pink in the middle for chicken or pork!

You Could Also Try...

• Serve your Caribbean meat over a bed of rice, top with a few slices of fresh pineapple.
• Create a Caribbean stir-fry; marinate diced meat in a zip top bag, and chopped veggies (bell peppers, onions, snap peas, slices mushrooms) in another bag with equal amounts of marinade. Saute the meat in a deep pan and when it is almost thoroughly cooked, add in veggies. Cook for 3-5 more minutes, serve over bed of rice.
• Skewer pieces of marinated meat on wooden or metal skewers, grill and serve as an appetizer.

You may want to consider wearing your bathing suit while eating this dinner...it'll get you really in the Caribbean mood:)

Manly Beef & Barley Stew

My sister-in-law and her husband welcomed their amazing little man, Jackson James, into the world last week! I'm so obsessed with him already- so cute, so aware, smells so good, snuggles so good- he is just SO GOOD! Anyways, I wanted to prep a few easy meals for them to have ready when they get 5 minutes and need to eat, and with all the "goo-goo" and "gaa-gaa", I thought I'd better make something hearty and manly!

Ingredients & Recipe:
Printable Recipe

• 2 lbs. of beef stew meat (best part of the cow for this is the "chuck", my market already had chunks of "beef stew meat" prepared, so I just cut them into even smaller bite sized pieces
• large zip top bag
• 1/4-1/2 cup of flour
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 Tbls. Mrs. Dash seasoning
• 3 Tbls. Canola or Vegetable oil

Begin by combining the flour, salt and seasonings into a large zip top bag. Toss in the chunks of beef stew meat, and allow them to be covered thoroughly by the floury mixture.

Get out your biggest spaghetti pot or cast iron dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat. Drizzle the oil into the bottom of the pot and begin to sear the meat, in batches. Searing means you want to brown the meat HOT and FAST- it seals in the juices and makes a crust to keep all the flavors inside. So in other words, toss in 1/4 of the meat into the hot pot, making sure each piece has some personal space, and don't touch for a few minutes. Use a wooden spoon to stir and sear the other sides. After about 6-7 minutes, remove this first batch of meat, set aside on a plate, and continue on with your next batch of the meat. Patience, my friend, patience!

• 1 white onion, chopped
• 2 leeks, rinsed well, white parts chopped finely
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 3 ribs of celery, chopped
• 2 medium red potatoes, chopped
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 2 Tbls. tomato paste
• 2 cups of beef stock
• 1/2 cup barley
• 4 Tbls. red wine or red wine vinegar

Now, in the same large pot you used to cook your meat, saute the onion, leeks, garlic & herbs, with a touch more oil and S & P, until very tender, about 10 minutes. Add the carrots, celery and potatoes, cook for 10 more minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, barley & DON'T FOR GET TO ADD THE MEAT BACK IN- cover and bring up to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, uncover and let everything simmer together for about 1 hour, or until the barley is plump. Before serving, stir in the red wine/vinegar and add S & P to taste. Enjoy with a big piece of crusty bread to sop up all the juice!

You Could Also Try...

• Add in whatever veggies you have at home, including peas, corn, button mushrooms...
• Want it more "soupy"? Add some water to your desired consistency.
• A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce is always a good thing for richness. Feel free to play around!
• Serve over buttery egg noodles, or use rice or lentils instead of barley