Menu Musings of a Modern American Mom

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Korean BBQ Shish Kabobs

Don't ask me why, but I had just been dying to try these for a while now! Every time I see them in a magazine or travel show, it just seems like something you would grab and eat while you walk through some street vendor's stalls in an exotic shopping spree oversees. Can you tell that I'm ready for school to be out and vacations to start?!

Well making them doesn't have to seem all that exotic, because the ingredients are super common, and the technique couldn't be easier. I took a traditionally cheap, "tough" cut of meat, cut it in a way that basically cheated it into being being super tender, marinated for a few hours to make it super flavorful... and the results were outstanding! My family demolished every one of the skewers, so there were no leftovers to worry about. And seriously, what kid doesn't like meat on a stick?! LOL!!

#glutenfree #dairyfree

Print this Recipe!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup soy sauce

use coconut aminos for gluten free

1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
3 cloves finely minced garlic
1 tsp white sesame seeds
1 tsp black sesame seeds
1 1/2 pounds beef flank steak

Step-by-Step:
Let's prepare the marinade first so they can go straight into it when they are cut. Just combine everything except the meat.

1/2 cup soy sauce + 1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger + 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil

3 cloves finely minced garlic + 1 tsp white sesame seeds

1 tsp black sesame seeds. This is how it all looks all mixed together.

Now we are ready to slice the meat. Here is where we will trick the meat into being super tender. This is the only place where you really need to pay attention.

See how there is a "grain" to the meat? You can see the fibers of the meat running in the same direction as the grain of the wood of the cutting board. Flank steak typically comes in a "roll."

1.5 pound beef flank steak

Now let's unroll the flank steak and turn it 90 degrees so that it is running left to right.

We are going to cut it "across" the grain. Definitely NOT "with" the grain. You want your knife to be oriented 90 degrees to the direction that the fibers of the meat are running. (Otherwise, it may be like chewing shoe leather.) In addition to this, can you tell that I am not cutting straight down into the board? My life is angled at about 45 degrees to the cutting board.

I cut the flank steak into about 1/4" slices at the top, but by angling them, the flat broad surface came from the exposed inside. It is important to get them as uniform as you can so that they will have uniform cooking times. Tip - I didn't do this, but it helps if your meat is about 1/2 frozen as the firmness makes it easier to get more uniform slices.

Throw all the meat into a gallon sized zip top bag.

Pour all of the marinade over the meat.

Why is this my favorite marinating container? You can shove it into just about any space without taking up much.... space! You can squeeze out all the air, which puts the marinade in direct contact with the meat. Now go find something fun to do for a few hours. I let these marinate for 3 hours while we had some water fun... boating, playing on the beach, letting the kids kneeboard, etc.

After 3 hours, I threaded them onto bamboo skewers. I used an over-under pattern. I did not soak the skewers because these were going to grill so quickly that it was not going to be necessary.

Holy smokes it made a huge pan of them!!!

At this point, I handed them off to my husband to do the dirty work. LOL!!! He grilled them 7 minutes on side 1, 1 minute on side 2. They were so incredibly tender!!! In this photo, they are just one side 1, over the coals.

Ta-da!!! Oh, and I also skewered some veggies and fresh pineapple. We had some wild rice on the side. A super delicious, healthy and flavorful meal!

I hope you enjoyed this simple and delicious recipe!
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Written Method:

Combine all marinade ingredients.

We are going to slice the meat "across" the grain to trick it into being super tender. You want your knife to be oriented 90 degrees to the direction that the fibers of the meat are running. In addition to this, can you tell that I am not cutting straight down into the board? My life is angled at about 45 degrees to the cutting board.

I cut the flank steak into about 1/4" slices at the top, but by angling them, the flat broad surface came from the exposed inside. It is important to get them as uniform as you can so that they will have uniform cooking times. Tip - I didn't do this, but it helps if your meat is about 1/2 frozen as the firmness makes it easier to get more uniform slices.

Throw all the meat into a gallon sized zip top bag. Pour all of the marinade over the meat. You can squeeze out all the air, which puts the marinade in direct contact with the meat. I let these marinate for 3 hours. After 3 hours, I threaded them onto bamboo skewers using an over-under pattern. I did not soak the skewers because these were going to grill so quickly that it was not going to be necessary. Grill them for 7 minutes on side 1, and about 1 minute on side 2. They are super thin and cook very, very quickly!

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Oatmeal Banana Smoothies

I am willing to bet that most parents out there have at some point had to shake their heads at a half eaten bowl of oatmeal, left in haste by the breakfast crowd who didn't want to be late for school. You don't want to throw it out. You know it's super healthy, but at this point, it has turned into this abysmal clump of "goo" that you really don't really want to deal with. You can't spackle the wall with it, so what can you do with it? Make a smoothie with it! Yes, I'm serious!!!

Blend the oatmeal up as one of the components of this super healthy and filling smoothie that YOU can grab as you are running out the door on your way to work, or to the gym. This smoothie is a great breakfast option and an excellent pre-workout shake, delivering a huge dose of protein, lots of Vitamin B-6, Omega-3's, calcium, riboflavin, lots of potassium for quick muscle recovery and the energy you need to get you through a long day at work or a tough workout. The fiber from the oats help you feel satisfied and also slows the absorption of sugar, to give you a steady supply of energy without a sudden influx of insulin. Cinnamon, in addition to being antimicrobial, is one of the oldest used Chinese remedies and has therapeutic benefits such as stabilizing your blood sugar.

I betcha next time you see that bowl of half eaten oatmeal, you're gonna remember what I said. And believe me - not only is it delicious, it's also VERY filling!!!! The other perks, are that 1.) it will take you less than 5 minutes to throw this all together in the morning, and 2.) this is all stuff you probably have already! You have to like that!

Print this Recipe!

Ingredients: (for 2 smoothies)

1 cup milk
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup cooked, cooled oatmeal*
1/4 cup slivered almonds
2 Tbsp honey (or sugar)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups ice

* I used my daughter's leftover Maple/Brown sugar oatmeal which is pre-sweetened. If you are using plain oatmeal, you may like to add more sweetener.

Step-by-Step:
I know I always give y'all step-by-step, but I'm sort of at a loss of what to say, because all I did was dump it all together and blend it up in my handy dandy Vitamix until it was smooth as a baby's butt! HaHa. I had some friends give me a hard time about saying that, actually. Like, "eeeuuwww, gross, who wants 'baby's butt' in their drink?!' " Well, dadgum.. y'all know what I mean.

1 cup milk. Feel free to use Silk or almond milk or whatever floats your boat!

1 ripe banana

If you froze the banana in chunks the night before, you may be able to get by without using ice cubes. Just a thought. :)

1/2 cup cooked, cooled, pre-sweetened (left over) oatmeal

1/4 cup (or a small handful) of slivered almonds

*tip - I keep my almonds in a zip top bag in the freezer.

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp honey (or sweetener of your choice)

2 cups ice

Blend until smooth. And that's it!! These are very filling!

Here's my little barefoot fountain fairy that came out to ....assist me with the shoot. (???) But this is what what really ends up happening. The fountain fairy ends up just playing in the water. HaHa!!