Chile Cilantro Lemon Rice

1c long grain white rice

½t Trader Joe's Chile Lime seasoning

1±T butter

1 lemon - zest & juice (I didn't have lime :-( ) 

2c water

½-1c finely chopped cilantro leaves and stems

Sauté the rice, seasoning and butter to wake up the flavors and brown the rice a bit.  Add the zest and water.  Simmer, steam and when the water is almost evaporated, add the lemon juice and cilantro.  Cover and remove from the heat.  Let stand a while before serving.  Shown here with a simple green salad (with mango-chipolte dressing) and a pan-seared, butter, white wine and A-1 sautéed steak. . .Lin

Steak Stir-Fry

1 lg. carrot - chopped

6-8 Brussels sprouts - sliced

4 green onions - sliced

1/2 lg. yellow beet - slice-chop

1 mini red pepper - sliced

fresh ground pepper

1/2 lemon - juiced

3T dark fig balsamic vinegar 

stir-fry sauce or soy sauce

12oz. lean steak - slice or cube

1/2c slivered almonds

Combine everything, but the steak and almonds, in a medium size bowl.  Toss and mix well so everything is coated by the marinade, then let stand 15 minutes or so.  Drain some of the marinade onto the steak in a medium non-stick skillet.  Put the vegetables into a larger skillet and sauté until they're still crisp, but slightly tender.  Meanwhile, stir and sizzle the steak for only a few minutes until it's almost as done as you'd like.

Put the steak and almonds into the larger vegetable pan, stir and sauté all of this together for a few minutes.  Serve as is or over rice or noodles. . .Lin

Colorful Vegetable-Beef Stir-Fry

4-6 oz. steak

an interesting oil

your favorite seasonings

1T steak sauce

& balsamic vinegar

any vegetables you like

A Tiny Pepper-Top Mosaic!

Chop the steak into a non-stick pan, with the next 3 ingredients.  Today I used avocado oil.  Stir and heat this until it just starts to sizzle.  Cover and remove from heat to let flavors blend and the meat marinate just a bit.  Meanwhile, chop-slice-dice the vegetables however you prefer.  Add them to the meat then turn the heat to high and pay attention!  Keep everything moving, until the vegetables are still crisp-tender.  If you have leftover rice, or pasta, that can be added now.  The meat should be medium-rare to medium at this point.

This can be made with any meat; lamb, pork, chicken, shrimp.  If I were using either chicken or shrimp, I might try those with 1/2c± sun-dried tomato or basil pesto.  With any of the heartier meats, you could cut the pieces larger, use coconut oil, cubed-raw potatoes, larger vegetables, more cooking time, with curry powder or curry paste to create a wonderful East Indian stir-fry dinner.  Be Bold, Be Creative!  Happy Cooking! . . . Lin   

Steak-For-Breakfast

4-6 oz. beef tenderloin
4 cloves garlic - chopped
1/2 lg. onion - chopped
1-2T butter
4-6 oz. sliced mushrooms
1-2T A-1 steak sauce

Cut the beef into bite-size pieces and saute' with all other ingredients until everything is done the way you like. . .Lin

Steak, Shrimp and Vegetables - On the Grill

4 sm. Yukon Gold potatoes

4 sm. Carrots

1 red (purple) onion

lemon thyme, garlic chives, etc.

seasoned salt and fresh ground pepper

3T butter

2 steaks – these were Top Sirloins

14oz. Frozen (thawed) shrimp

Wash, cube and combine vegetables, add herbs, seasonings and butter on top of some heavy duty aluminum foil. Fold ends of foil together, sealing everything inside, leave a small opening at the top of the package to check for doneness. Start cooking the vegetables first. After 5-10 minutes, put on the peppered steaks after scoring the fat on the edges with a sharp knife. When the steaks are about half done, put on the shrimp that has been tossed with some sort of seasoning. I sprinkled these heavily with Pampered Chef's Citrus-Basil Rub. Brush with melted butter while cooking. . .Lin