London Broil and Stir Fry

I had no clue what to fix for dinner. I did however know there wasn't anything really in the house I wanted. It was off to the grocery store looking for a good deal. I headed to the meat department( I think it should be in the front of the store instead of the back since that's where I start when I don't know what to fix) for the reduced for quick sale. I found a great looking london broil for only $4.00. I then headed to the produce to have a look around. I decided on an onion, celery, a zucchini, and a green bell pepper. I had also found a package of thinly sliced pork for $2.35( not in the reduced area), so that's dinner for tomorrow.

I let the steak come up to room temp, I patted it dry, put salt and pepper on it, then drizzled it with canola oil (I normally use olive oil but I am out right now). I heated the cast iron skillet on medium high heat and turned the oven on to 425 degrees. I seared the steak on all sides for about 5 minutes each side, or when the meat released from the pan. I then put the skillet in the oven and let it cook for about 10 minutes for medium.

Meanwhile I heated a non stick skillet with some canola spray. I put all the veggies in there then stir fried them until tender but not mushy.

That's all I fixed.

Hamburger, Rice, and Green Beans

I laid out some hamburger this morning but wasn't sure what I was going to do with it until I decided to cook dinner.

I took the hamburger added 4 cloves chopped garlic, salt, pepper, 1/4 cup bread crumbs and 2 tablespoons Safeway's steak and chop marinade. I mixed all of that together, placed a cube of pepper jack cheese in the middle then formed patties. I cooked them in a frying pan until the doneness I wanted.

Meanwhile, I took a box of Rice A Roni parmesan chicken rice, and cooked it, and put a bag of steamable green beans in the microwave.

Pasta, Steak, and Bread

On the spur of the moment I laid out some thin steak but didn't have a clue what I was fixing to go with it until about an hour before dinner time. I have a lot of pasta and potatoes but didn't feel like potatoes tonight. Pasta it was.

I took 2 cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes in tomato juice put them in a skillet with 4 cloves of diced garlic, and some diced squash I had frozen about a month ago. I let that simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile I started the pot of water for the pasta and got the cast iron skillet ready for the steak. I dried the steak then sprinkled on some salt, pepper, and the sweet steak rub. On a side note be careful picking up those cast iron skillets I think I pulled something in my side doing this the other night. When I dropped the pasta I drizzled some EVOO on the steak and placed it in the hot skillet, just long enough to get a good sear on it, it only took a few minutes per side since it was thin. When the pasta was done I added it to the sauce along with about 1/2 cup of the pasta water. I served the pasta with grated Parmesan cheese.

Chicken Sandwiches and Chocolate Cake

I wanted something fast and easy tonight. I always do. We went to the store to see what might be good for dinner. Jake has band camp all week and is worn out after therefore doesn't want to cook. We started again at the meat case looking for something cheap. I found 2 chicken breast for $4.35....perfect. I decided to make chicken sandwiches.

I took the chicken and pounded it out. I then breaded it by combining flour, breadcrumbs, with salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne pepper. I dipped the chicken in that then into a bowl with eggs and a little bit of milk, then back into the flour mixture. I then fried it until it was golden brown. It gets done so much faster when it's pounded out.

 Meanwhile I toasted some sandwich rolls. After toasting I took a clove of garlic and rubbed the bread with it so the bread had some flavor. We placed 1/2 of the chicken breast on the roll with some colby cheese and bbq sauce.

On the way home from the farm I mentioned I really was craving chocolate but I really needed to go home and ride my stationary bike. Well, Jake suggested I still make something yummy then ride my bike. He won. We went back to the store and found a box cake mix on sale( not like us to use a box mix) it was $1.62 and the frosting was about the same amount. I made the cake and put it in the oven, then got on to my bike.

Swai, Rice, and Salad

I told my sister I would bake fish for dinner and some make some rice. Zach asked for chicken flavored rice I said ok specially since I had some rice a roni in the cabinet. She said she would make a salad.

For the fish I drizzled some EVOO on it the sprinkled it with salt, lemon pepper, rosemary, thyme, fresh green onions, and thinly sliced onions. I let that marinate for a little over an hour.  I then placed it a 425 degree oven for about 25 minutes. For those of you that didn't know swai is an asian catfish.

Meanwhile I made the ric a roni following the directions on the package.

Steak, Baked Potatoes, and Veg

This afternoon I told Jake lets go to the store and see what we want for dinner. I hadn't laid anything out but knew I had to fix something. We went in and the first place I went was to the meat section, I think it's the best place to start, then you can build on that. I went to the reduced for quick sale. A lot of people tend to shy away from this section because they feel the meat isn't any good over there. As a single parent I tend to go there because I can't afford much other than that, and we get tired of eating chicken. Today they had a lot of steaks that looked really good. I decided on some top sirloin, 2 great size ones for $8.50.

I took the steaks, dried them, and then rubbed them with a sweet grill mates rub. Next I seared them on all sides(about 8 minutes on both sides) in a cast iron skillet that has the grill shape at the bottom.

I then placed them in a 450 degree oven for 10 minutes. I took it out and let it rest.

Meanwhile I put 2 potatoes in the microwave for about 8 minutes (poke holes in them first). Then I threw a bag of steam-able veggies in the microwave for 6 minutes. I also sauteed 1 red onion, chopped mushrooms, and 3 cloves thinly sliced garlic, then added 1 bottle of Heinz chicken and ribs sauce.

This was so good, even though I didn't touch the potato. I ate the veggies and steak.

Breakfast/lunch

We all went to bed very late, and I know I didn't sleep much at all, so we all got up late this morning. So the 3 of us got together and made breakfast. Troy chopped up the potatoes and jalapenos, Jake shredded the cheese, and I cooked it all. We had a good breakfast of potatoes, scrabbled eggs, and sausage.

Tonight I will be making some ground turkey tacos at my sister's house.

Steak Sandwiches

Jake said he wanted Subway for dinner but I didn't want that for dinner nor did I want to drive to that side of town again. So I suggested going into the store where I saw some steaks in the discounted meat section earlier. I grabbed an onion, some sandwich rolls, and the sirloin steaks. There were 2 perfect roll size steaks in the package for only $4.77. So in totally for our steak sandwiches it cost me $7.50 where that would have been the price just for 1 foot long at Subway. 

I took the steaks dried them off, used a sweet and smokey rub on them, then threw them on my George Foreman  G-5 grill. Meanwhile I sliced and sauteed the onion in some margarine. I toasted the rolls in a skillet. We put the some bbq sauce on the rolls, then when I pulled the steaks off the grill I put some pepper jack cheese on them so it melted until it was melty. We placed that on the rolls and I topped mine with the onions. It was a sandwich you had to use a knife fork with.