Honey Lime Tuna Steaks

This is a recipe off the Old Bay Seasoning website. It was pretty good. Definitely liked the flavor, but I over cooked the fish so it was too dried out. I will make it again though, and not overcook the fish.

Honey Lime Tuna

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoons McCormick® Basil Leaves
1 pound tuna steaks

Directions

In a small bowl, mix oil, OLD BAY, lime juice, honey and basil. Place tuna steaks in large resealable plastic bag and add marinade. Turn to coat well.

Marinate in fridge 20 minutes (longer for extra flavor).

Transfer fish to grill and discard any leftover marinade. Broil or grill fish over medium heat 5 to 6 minutes per side or until desired doneness. (Tuna is more moist when its center is still rosy-pink after cooking.)

Steak Soup in the crock pot

The first time I had steak soup was when I was living in Kansas City. Steak soup is popular there with all the bbq restaurants everywhere. Its so savory and filling! Perfect for a cold day. Perfect for a warm day too, as it was 80 degrees here! I still crave winter foods, even though we don't have much of a winter. All of the measurements on my recipe are not exact. I eyeball everything. Try to base the ingredients on what you have in your fridge or pantry.

Steak Soup

1 1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh green beans
2-3 potatoes, 1 inch dice
3-4 cups left over steak, finely chopped
3 cans beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp pepper
1 tsp dried Thyme
salt to taste
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup margarine

Add all ingredients except 1 can of beef broth, flour and margarine to a crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hrs, or as long as you need to. About 1 hr before serving, melt butter in a small sauce pan, add flour. Make a roux and cook for a minute. Add 1/2 can beef broth and whisk until smooth and no lumps. Add the rest of the broth and stir to combine. Heat until boiling again, then pour it into the crock pot and stir. Let it simmer on high another hour, to thicken up. Season with salt to taste. Enjoy.

Antipasti skewers

Here is another easy and quick appetizer to whip up. For these, its just a cherry tomato, a slice of salami cut in half and a chunk of Mozzerella cheese. I served them with a store bought pesto for dipping. They would also be great with an olive on them too!

Good times and finger foods

I have to apologize to my readers and fellow bloggers about my lack of blogging lately. I really did think that as Fall arrived, Id be on a fall baking and blogging spree. Its just not the case. I have been so busy with other things that arent nearly as fun as cooking. I promise that soon I will be back on the bandwagon.

Last week, we had dinner at a good friends house and they introduced us to these yummy gems. I think these are one of the best appetizers Ive ever had. I made them tonight for my family and we ate them up in about 5 minutes. I was wishing Id made more. But in all actuality, Im glad I didnt, as these are fattening and full of everything we dont want to be eating too much of. I got this recipe from my good friend, Beth. She got it from recipezaar.com and the original recipe is here. Beth served it to us with a yummy honey mustard sauce that is so easy to whip up and just perfect with this dish.

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts with Honey Mustard dipping sauce (adapted from recipezaar.com)

For the chestnuts:

3 cans sliced water chestnuts
1 lb bacon
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Mix the soy sauce with the brown sugar and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Marinate the water chestnuts in the soy sauce mixture for at least an hour. Cut the bacon in half crosswise. Take 3 slices of marinated chestnuts and wrap a half slice of bacon around each stack of 3. Secure with a toothpick. Place in a large baking dish that is sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

For the dipping sauce:
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup mustard

Whisk the honey with the mustard until well combined. Serve immediately.

Baked Potato Soup

I had a bag of potatoes in my pantry and I decided to make some soup. I love baked potato soup with all the fixins...sliced green onions, crisp bacon, cheese and sour cream. This recipe was pretty good. I was really excited about this soup when I made it. When we sat down and ate it, I thought it was missing something. I realized that I had forgot to put in the 1 cup of sour cream! That is huge! I was bummed about that, but easily remedied the problem by adding a nice big dollop of daisy to each of our bowls. Once stirred in, it was nice and creamy, just like I had imagined. I didnt have any sharp chedder, so I used a colby jack blend and I really think that a sharp cheese would have really made the flavors pop. Next time I make this, I will definitely use an extra sharp chedder...no pre-grated cheeses will work as well. I used turkey bacon. I love turkey bacon when its cooked really crisp. I almost cant tell that its not pig!! What I really loved about this soup that is different from other creamy soups Ive made is that it doesnt use any fat at all for the base. No butter or oil. Just whisk the milk into the flour and heat until creamy and thick. I will try to use that method in the future when Im throwing a soup together from scratch or even a sauce. I served this one up with some chewy sourdough with butter. It was so good!

Baked Potato Soup from Cooking Light

4 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)

2/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces)

6 cups 2% reduced-fat milk

1 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, divided

1 teaspoon salt (I used over a Tbsp)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (again I used more)

1 cup reduced-fat sour cream (I forgot this. Doh!)

3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided

6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled (I used turkey bacon)

Cracked black pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°.

Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 8 bowls. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tablespoon bacon. Garnish with cracked pepper, if desired.