When you get home from work or home from a busy day, a simple delicious supper is a nice reward.  Now I was going to omit noting that I started the meal off with a quick sample of yet another fantastic fudge bar – ahh I love them.

So where were we… back to the summer steak and salad.  It was just a simple dish but so tasty.  It started off with some fresh leafy lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and some old cheddar cheese.  I then took a rib eye steak and prepared it with some olive oil, cracked black pepper and salt.  I threw it on the grill, only flipping once and cooking until about medium well.  We picked up some fresh rolls at the local bakery and called it a meal.

Zesty Tip: When cooking meat that is on the thin side – it is important to under cook it slightly as it will continue to cook when you take it off the grill. After which you should tent it until the plate is completed.

Zesty House Update

As promised after my last house update, here are some updated photos of the progress thus far.  The foundation is in, the exterior is insulated with the spray foam.  The weeping tile and gravel are put in around the footings of the foundation and the garage walls have had the black tar applied.

The next steps are to complete the basement floor adding the in floor heat as well as the top coat of concrete.  After that, we will back fill around the foundation, complete the garage floors and begin to start with the floor joists and framing!

Yay – I cannot wait!

I hope you have a great day and if the sun is shining – enjoy it.

Take care

zesty

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Hi I am Becky Fusselman of “Growing Into Rebecca”.  I am a weight loss blogger turned into a weigh loss maintainer/food blogger in general after losing over 130lb.  Yes, that is right a whole person.  I enjoy food in general and am always in the mood for a good peanut butter preferably paired with chocolate.

I said No Fajitas!

I love cooking on Friday’s!  It is my normal day off and I get to decide what to make for our dinner together.  When I told Kevin I laid out steak for fajitas, he was a bit sad and said “Kind of wish we could just have steak.”  Therefore steak and potato night was born.  I just took the steaks (which were just a whatever cut as I thought I would be making fajitas) and marinated them all afternoon in a Fat Tire beer.  When I placed them on the grill I used a bit of Chicago Steak seasoning which is really just a salt and pepper blend.

While the steaks were cooking Molly our Boston and I ate some snap peas.  We are both a big fan of all sorts of summer produce.

Side Salad Ingredients

• 1 head of romaine lettuce
• 1 Roma tomato
• Half a cucumber
• ¼ small red onion
• 2 slices of dill pickle
• Topped with balsamic vinegar

We also cut some sweet potatoes thinly and used about 1Tb of olive oil with some chipotle seasoning.  These took about 40 minutes at 450 to get nice and crispy on the outside, but yet still a bit soft on the inside.

And with all that the No Fajitas on Friday dinner was served.

To finish off a great meal I turned a store bought angel food cake mix into this.

To make a delicious topping I used one pound of strawberries sliced, a few tablespoons of sugar and water.  I cooked them on the stove-top till they reduced in their own juices.  I cut the cake into wedges and topped it with the berry reduction.

I have to admit we used the Redi-whip out of a can though.  No heavy whipping cream here.

Becky (Growing Into Rebecca)

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So I packed the grill and moved it to the inlaws….. almost mandatory don’t you think? With that I decided to do some grilling for everyone.

On the Menu

• Strip loin Steaks
• Grilled Zucchini
• Sauteed Mushrooms and Onions in a Balsamic Reduction
• Grilled Lemon Rosemary Baby Potatoes

The results were acceptable.  I enjoyed everything overall although I found the steak to be just average.  The meat was a bit tasteless and slightly overcooked (which was my fault).  On the bright side, everyone’s plate was clean after the meal.

On the Steaks

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

On the Potatoes

• Salt and Pepper
• Fresh Rosemary
• 1 Tsp. Butter
• Drizzle of Olive Oil
• Lemon Juice

In the Mushrooms

• Salt and Pepper
• Mushrooms
• Sweet Vidilia Onions
• Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/2 Tsp. Sugar

Zesty Tip: When grilling potatoes, the use of a tin foil plate is a great idea and eliminates the risk of the aluminum foil breaking open and losing your hard work.

I am so tired! I hope you have a great day. On the house front… the survey of the land was delayed for today so Ugh… I am staying positive but why do small things take so long to get accomplished.

Take care

zesty

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Well as most of you know by now – I like to keep things simple when it comes to food. The odd time I go all “chef like” and kick it up a notch but most times I tend to stay pretty regular and simple. Last night was no exception. I was sitting at the office wondering what to make for supper – debated some roasted salmon, some olde fashion spaghetti and then a thought rolled in my head from a commercial iI heard on the radio. Two for One Sirloins at Sobeys!

That was all my little brain needed – as I packed up may bag and headed home, all I could think of was sizzling steak on the barbecue. Some other thoughts creeped along side as I wondered what I could make with the steak. Being on PEI, and being somewhat of a meat and potatoes boy one side dish was pretty easy… potatoes.  Too add a little more health to the meal I thought lets steam a little cauliflower and broccoli.  When cooking vegetables – I pretty much always follow the technique for perfectly cooked vegetables as the results speak for themselves.

So I quickly made my way home with two delicious pieces of sirloin steak.  I say hi to the family and then march out to fire up the barbecue.  I turn the barbecue on to high heat to warm up the grill and prepare the meat to sizzle. 

Preparation

Getting back to the simple things in life – I just take olive oil and rub a small amount on both sides of the meat and then follow it up  with some fresh black ground pepper.  I do not salt the meat as it tends to tense up the meat and extract the natural juices ( which we do not want to do )

• Bring Steaks Out of the Cold: Have steaks at room temperature before grilling.
• Check the Oil: Lightly oil the grilling rack before putting steaks on (it keeps meat from sticking and cracking while keeping the natural juices in).
• Get the Grill Hot: Preheat grill to 600 to 800 degrees F and keep it at this temperature for 30 to 45 minutes before putting steaks on.
• Avoid the Flip-Flop: Only flip once after five minutes of grilling.
• Ditch the Fork: Use tongs or a spatula (A fork allows juices to spill out).
• Don’t Perform Surgery with a Serrated Knife: To see if steak is finished, press on it with the palm of your hand. It will feel spongy when rare, have some resistance when cooked to medium and be firm when well done.
• Rare: Squeeze the pad at the base of your thumb. It should feel spongy and feel very little resistance.
• Medium: Press on the middle of the palm of your outstretched hand. It should feel firm.
• Well Done: Squeeze the base of your small finger. It should feel firm with no give.
• Give it a rest. After grilling, give the steak a rest for a couple of minutes to let the juices redistribute before cutting into it. A drizzle of olive oil or a pat of butter gives the steak a handsome sheen and spectacular flavor and finish.

While the steaks are resting i grab the potatoes , add some butter and spoon up some fresh vegetables and relax with the family and enjoy an old classic summer meal.

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