Meats and Main Dishes Page 2

Spicy Peppered T-Bone Steaks

2 (16-ounce) beef T-bone steaks, cut 1-inch thick

Pepper Seasoning:

3 tablespoons coarsely ground mixed peppercorns (black, white, green and pink)
2 teaspoons kosher or table salt

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Spicy Peppercorn Steak Sauce:

2 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 c. chopped onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 c. ketchup
1/2 c. ready-to-serve beef broth
1/3 c. raisins
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. molasses
1 Tbsp. soy sauce

Additional ready-to-serve beef broth (optional)

Combine Five-Pepper Seasoning ingredients in a small bowl; mix well. Reserve 2 teaspoons for Spicy Peppercorn Steak Sauce. Set aside remaining mixture for seasoning beef steaks.

To prepare Spicy Peppercorn Steak Sauce, heat oil in small saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes or until tender but not browned. Stir in ketchup, broth, raisins, vinegar, molasses, soy sauce and reserved 2 teaspoons Five-Pepper Seasoning; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer gently 10 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally. (Sauce will thicken slightly.)

Place sauce in blender or food processor container. Cover; pulse on and off for slightly chunky texture. (For a thinner sauce, additional broth may be added 1 tablespoon at a time; pulse on and off after each addition.) Return sauce to saucepan; keep warm until ready to serve.

Press remaining Five-Pepper Seasoning evenly onto beef steaks. Place steaks on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, uncovered, 14 to 16 minutes for medium rare to medium doneness, turning occasionally.

****This can be prepared on top of the stove or grilled

TIPS:

Spicy Peppercorn Steak Sauce may be prepared ahead and frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months. To reheat, heat from frozen in a saucepan over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. ( If you decide to use one of your better balsamic vinegars, use part when preparing your sauce before freezing and save some to add when you reheat your sauce) If your local market doesn't have four-peppercorn mix, a three-peppercorn mix may be substituted. Or make your own mix by combining equal amounts of whole black, white, green and pink peppercorns.

To easily grind whole peppercorns, use a pepper mill or coffee grinder (used only for seasonings). They can also be crushed in a food-safe plastic bag. Place the peppercorns in the bag, squeeze out the air and seal. Use the bottom of a custard cup, rolling pin or side of a heavy pan to crush the peppercorns.

1. I cooked mine in a skillet with a little melted butter.
2. I didn't place my sauce in blender, I served it as is, the way my DH likes 3. I used only 1/2 c. ketchup (We like the sauce thick and also hot so I didn't cut back on any of the other ingredients, except the vinegar)
4. Used rib eyes, not T-bones
5. I used one of my better balsamic vinegars. One I serve at the table and I cut it back a little. I added just added a little over 1 1/2 tablespoons while cooking the sauce and 1/2 tablespoon a couple minutes before I removed the sauce from the heat. (My taste buds just tell me balsamic vinegar is to be treated like wine for some dishes. The better the vinegar, the better the end result. This may very well be my imagination, but if it is, my hubby and I both feel the same about this particular recipe. LOL!)

Sauce:

Sauce on Steak:

One of my favorite balsamic vinegars:

Tequila Lime Chicken

2 or 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (whole or cut in strips)

1 shot Tequila (about 1 oz)

1 shot lime juice

1 large onion (in rings)

1/2 tsp. salt (or too taste)

Black pepper to taste

1 shot olive oil

Cajun seasoning to taste (may just use paprika or cayenne)

Mix all ingredients except chicken in a bowl. Pour marinade into freezer bag with chicken, seal with as little air in bag as possible. Marinate in fridge for at least 30 minutes. (Less if you are pressed for time.) Grill or saute chicken. If you saute, reserve the marinade while browning the chicken. Then once chicken is browned well, pour marinade into pan to deglaze, getting up all the little bits in the pan. Add onion and simmer until chicken is done.

Candied Bacon Meatloaf

1 1/2 lb hamburger meat
1/2 lb ground mild sausage
1 or 2 eggs (depends on their size)
1/2 to 3/4 can evaporated milk
1 small onion, finely diced
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 to 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper (depends on taste)
1/2 or less tsp salt

1 c. of Pepperidge farms original recipe seasoned croutons ( I use these rather than bread crumbs, they disolve, not big lump of a crouton present in final dish, but the flavor is really a great addition to the meatloaf)
1 heaping Tbsp dried chives
1 Tbsp candied bacon (if you decide to try this recipe, I'll give you the recipe for the candied bacon, just let me know)

Topping:
2 Tbsp candied bacon
1/2 to 3/4 c. ketchup
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp cider vinegar

In large bowl, slightly beat egg, add only 1/2 c. of evaporated milk, worcestershire sauce, chives, onions, salt and pepper. Mix til blended. Add hamburger and sausage, mix all, but do not over work the meat. Add croutons, mix with hands to evenly distribute, if mixture seems to dry, add the extra milk. Add 1 Tbsp. chopped candied bacon, saving the rest for topping and serving. Place in loaf pan.

In small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, 2 Tbsp. candied bacon, cider vinegar and katchup. Spread evenly over the meat loaf. Bake 1 hr at 375F to 400 F oven. May also be baked in casserole dish...When removed from oven, sprinkle with remaining candied bacon and serve.

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Candied Bacon Recipe

You can do the candied bacon two ways, one in a skillet and the other in the oven, I always use the oven.

1 pound thick sliced bacon
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp. prepared mustard

Spread bacon on a foil-lined broiler pan. Bake at 300F for about 30 min. In a small container, mix together with a fork the brown sugar and mustard, until crumbly. Take the pan with the bacon out of the oven an dispose of the grease then cool.

Evenly distribute the brown sugar mixture by hand over the bacon and return to oven; bake 20 to 30 more min. Remove from oven and cool.

Cut bacon into 1 to 2 inch pieces and serve or crumble to use in other dishes as I did with the meat loaf. Do not let the bacon pieces touch each other or stack on top of each other when you take them from the oven, they will stick together.