Ribeyes with Balsamic Marinade and Summer Garden Relish

Steak and Marinade:

4 - 8 to 10 ounce Ribeye steaks

1/3 cup EVOO

1/3 -1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup Montreal steak seasoning

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. onion powder

1 Tbsp. meat tenderizer

At least two hours before grilling: Mix all ingredients except steak in a 2-gallon Ziploc bag. Score steaks and add to marinade making sure that all surfaces of the steaks are covered. Place in refrigerator and turn every thirty minutes or so. I usually will do this step the night before and turn every so often during the next day until I grill that night.

Relish:

2 pints grape tomatoes, cut into quarters

1 Japanese cucumber, diced

1 small red onion, finely diced

8 ounces balsamic vinaigrette (I use Newman's own)

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the above ingredients the night before and place in the refrigerator tossing every so often. Once the steaks are grilled spoon over each steak and enjoy!

Granola Bars

These are super easy!

A great kid friendly recipe.

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Ingredients:

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3/4 cup butter, melted

1 cup raisins (you could also use chopped up apricots or cherries or whatever dried fruit you like best)

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

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Preheat oven to 350. Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan with a large piece of foil. Lightly grease the foil.

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In a mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon until well blended. Add dried fruit, nuts, butter, and vanilla. Stir until moist and crumbly. Dump into your prepared baking pan. Press down into the pan with your fingers. Bake until the top is golden brown, 35-40 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting. Store in an airtight container.

Vietnamese Lettuce Wraps

If you are looking for a recipe using only what you already have in your fridge/pantry...this probably isn't the one.  But it's super yummy!  And yeah, I'm aware that the paper plates are SUPER high class...and the one picture shows what a free-for-all family dinner can be at our house, but we're among friends, right?

Vietnamese Lettuce Wraps

Thin cut pork, skewered and barbequed
Peanuts, crushed (dry roasted and unsalted)
Green Onion, sliced
Shredded Carrot
Large Leaf Lettuce (we have used a variety of kinds, it really depends on what is best in the season)
Rice Vermicelli Noodles (these I would buy at the health food store, because they are much cheaper than when (if) you can find them at the grocery store.)

Wrap carrot, onion, peanuts, noodles, and pork in lettuce and dip in sauce.

Dipping sauce/pork marinade

2 garlic cloves, cut into pieces...they are for flavor, but not for eating, so make them big enough that you won't accidentally dump a huge chunk of garlic in your wrap
3 T Sugar
2 T Lime or lemon juice
1 C. warm water
6 T fish sauce (buy at the health food store as well.  We use the Tiparos brand.)
1/2 tsp. ground red pepper (or red pepper flakes)
Add shredded carrot and green onion to taste
Combine and mix well.  Make sure all the sugar is dissolved.

You can marinade the pork in the dipping sauce before cooking, but it is not necessary.  (I usually do)

While this may seem like an odd recipe, my kids eat it like crazy.  They LOVE building their own, and believe it or not, they love the fish sauce, too. 

Marinade

1/2 c. Soy Sauce
1/2 c. Water
2 Tb. Lemon juice
1 Tb. Brown Sugar
2 Tb. Oil
1/4 tsp. Hot pepper sauce
1 clove Garlic
1/4 tsp. Ground black pepper

Mix Well.
Marinade meat at least 1 hour. Best if over night.
For beef, chicken and wonderful for Shisk-Kabobs

Veggie egg rolls

I got this recipe off of the food network. It's an easy and yummy one from Emeril.
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Ingredients:

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons canola oil (I used vegetable oil)

1/2 head green cabbage, shredded

1 cup julienne carrots (I bought the matchstick ones)

1 cup julienne snow peas (I didn't have these on hand, so I used Celery)

1 tablespoon corn starch

1/4 cup soy sauce

8 egg roll wrappers

peanut oil for frying (I can't use peanut anything in our house, so I used vegetable oil)

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sauce: (I skipped this and just used a store bought sweet and sour sauce)

1/4 cup dry mustard

1/4 cup water

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In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat the sesame and canola oil. Saute cabbage for 2 minutes. Add carrots and snow peas. Cook an additional minute.

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Whisk together cornstarch and soy sauce until smooth. Stir into vegetable mixture. Cook until sauce comes to a boil and is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

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Lay the egg roll wrappers on a flat surface and lightly brush edges with water. Place 1/8 of the filing at one end of each skin, leaving a 1/4-inch border at the top and sides. Roll wrapper over filling, tucking in the ends after the first roll. (If this sounds too confusing, just look at the picture on the back of your egg roll wrapper package. It shows you how to roll up egg rolls.)

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Heat 3 inches of peanut oil in a large, deep saucepan. When the oil is hot, about 350 degrees, fry the egg rolls until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from fryer and drain on paper towels.

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For the sauce, just combine the dry mustard with the water.

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*** What do you do with all the left over wrappers? Well, Hayden and I got a little creative one day.... we peeled and cubed up a few granny smith apples, cooked them with a little butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Do you see where this is going? Yeah, we made dessert egg rolls for lunch. It was fantastic! Have fun and get creative. Leave a comment if you've got other ideas for those leftover wrappers.

Tortellini Soup

1 pound italian sausage

1/2 cup sliced onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1 1/2-2 cups chopped zucchini

3 (14 oz) cans chicken broth

2 (14 oz) cans stewed tomatoes (cut up if whole or big pieces)

3 1/2 cups water

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

8 oz cheese tortellini (or more if you want)

Brown sausage. Add garlic, onion and zucchini. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, water, salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add tortellini. Simmer 20 min or until tender. If you like it milder, use regular flavor ground sausage, the italian gives it a little bit of spiciness. I use about twice the amount of tortellini, its so good!!! You can also add other vegetables if desired.