Slow Cooker Herb-Rubbed Turkey Breast

 -with turkey gravy

Sometimes, as much as you want things to be different... as much as you tell you yourself it will be different... sometimes things take longer to change than our well-intentioned selfs would like. As much as I would like to say that I left 2016 in the dust and 2017 is already waaaaaaay better, sometimes life just doesn't work like that. 

16 days into the New Year and I'm already beating myself up for the lack of posts. I'm mad at myself for still feeling the effects of last year's depression. Why can't it just be gone? 

Chicken with Creamy Dijon Mushroom Sauce

I love a good saucy chicken. 

BUT- it must be done correctly. For one, it must be cooked properly. Overcooked, dry chicken takes me back to my college sorority days when the cooks would serve us dry, flavorless, season-less chicken. The kind where you chew, and you chew, and you chew. There's no end reward. You end up with a dry, ball of mush that you eventually force down your throat with a large gulp of water.

And then you never want to eat chicken again.

The Ultimate Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich

-with a legit moist-maker!

Calling all "Friends" fans! I've taken on Monica's Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich, complete with a moist-maker! For those of you not in the know, a moist-maker is an extra piece of gravy-soaked bread in the middle of the sandwich. I know all kinds of people hate the word moist, but I'm sorry. It's word that must be used, and used often, by foodies. You don't want your chicken to be dry, you want it to be... moist. Same with cake. And brownies. And steak. And all kinds of meats. So peeps, I apologize, but the word must be used.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

We are getting so close to Thanksgiving, I thought I would share my holy grail recipe for mashed potatoes. They are made with milk and sour cream, a sprinkle of fresh herbs, and the most important part, a truckload of freshly roasted garlic. Oh yeah. Don't make this recipe for date night, unless of course part of your date entails rebuffing the advances of vampires.

Bourbon and Brown Sugar Marinated Flank Steak

There's just something so American about steak and potatoes. The standard meal of the "burly" man. I'll give it this- it's true comfort food, and exactly what the doctor ordered in the middle of our region's third polar vortex of the month. 

This is one of my favorite ways to prepare flank steak. We don't eat steak a lot, but when we do, we devour. This recipe was actually a happy accident. I discovered it when I was first learning how to cook, about 6 years ago. My husband and I were living in our first apartment in Portland, OR and we were both working jobs with crazy hours. We didn't have a lot of time to cook, so I made stuff I could prep in the morning or the day before. I had put a flank steak in this marinade in the morning for that evening's dinner. The hubby ended up having to take clients out, and dragged me with him. We decided to leave the steak in the marinade and cook it the next night. You really aren't supposed to leave meat in marinade that long (it breaks down the fibers in the meat), so I was nervous 24 hours was too long. One bite instantly erased the doubt, however.

There is soooo much flavor in the marinade. It really tenderizes a tough cut like flank. I love the slightly sweet flavor from the bourbon, mingled with the salty, savoriness of the accompanying ingredients. The leftover marinade is boiled on the stove to kill any bacteria, infused with some cornstarch to thicken it up, and drizzled over the steak. Hmmmm, I wish I had some more. No such luck ----> :(

I hope everyone's having a great week so far. The hubby's had the whole week off, so we've been plowing through the Oscar nominations for Best Picture. It's our tradition. They are a hard bunch to watch this year! We've watched "The Wolf of Wall Street", "American Hustle", "Gravity", "Captain Phillips", and I made it through about 30 minutes of "12 Years A Slave". I had a very visceral reaction to "12 Years",  I'm not sure I'm going to be able to watch the whole movie. It's really hard to watch, I was crying within 10 minutes with no end in sight. The hubby might be watching it on his own. Today we are tackling "Dallas Buyer's Club" and "Her". Whew. So far, the only movie I've enjoyed watching is "American Hustle". I'd highly recommend it, the acting is superb and the movie doesn't drag.  I loved the fast pace. Ah, if only I chose the Oscars :)

Now back to the food-

Ingredients:

1-lb flank steak

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup green onions, minced

1/4 cup bourbon

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp cornstarch

Directions:

1. Combine flank steak through Worcestershire sauce in a large ziploc bag. Marinate in fridge for 24 hours, turning the bag occasionally.

2. To cook the steak- remove from fridge 1 hour before serving. Allow steak to come to room temperature. Preheat a gas grill over high heat. When hot, add steak, reserving the leftover marinade. Grill 5 minutes on each side, remove from the grill. Allow steak to rest on a plate, covered by tented foil, for 10 minutes before slicing. Slice meat against the grain for best results. 

3. While meat is resting, prepare sauce. Pour reserved marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Mix cornstarch with 1/2 tsp water. Whisk cornstarch mixture into pan. Cook over medium heat until sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat and serve over meat. 

*This sauce + mashed potatoes= heaven. I recommend mashed potatoes as the accompanying side dish.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light.

Linked to: Weekend Potluck

Gobble Gobble!

I have been meaning to blog for the last couple of days, but it has just not happened! To be honest, my to-do list almost always takes precedence over blogging and for the past week at the end of the day, the blogging has fallen by the wayside. So this morning, I put my blog on my to-do list! I have been running around like a crazy person getting ready for Thanksgiving. I am feeling a little bittersweet this year. Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite holidays but this will be my first Thanksgiving in 28 YEARS that I have not been home with my parents. Wow. Like I said, bittersweet milestone. The hubby and I are having Thanksgiving at his mother's house this year. It should be a small celebration and I am ok with that! Jerame has taken on the task of the turkey, which he plans to deep fry. I volunteered to make my garlic mashed potatoes. Yum! I have adapted my recipe from a cooking light recipe and they are yummy!

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Here is my recipe. The ingredients you will need (this recipe serves 8 by the way):

4 garlic heads (you can use 2 but we like to really taste the garlic in ours)

2 1/2 lbs of red potatoes

1/4 cup of butter

1/3 cup of low fat buttermilk

1/4 cup of low fat sour cream

2 tbsp of minced parsley

1 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel the garlic heads and wrap in aluminum foil. When oven is preheated, place aluminum packets in oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool (this takes a while). Once cool, squeeze the garlic out of the heads and reserve roasted garlic.

Cut potatoes in half or if they are large potatoes, into fourths. Place potatoes in pot and cover with 1 inch of water. Salt water if desired. Bring water to a boil, then lower heat and simmer potatoes for 12-15 minutes. Pierce potato with fork to check tenderness. Remove potatoes from heat and drain water.

I usually then put the potatoes in a mixing boil. Add the reserved garlic and butter. Using a hand mixer, smash the butter and garlic into the potatoes. Add a little of the buttermilk and begin mixing on low. Once mixing, add in the rest of the buttermilk, the sour cream, the parsley, and then the salt and pepper. Be careful not to over mix. The mixing process honestly takes less than 1 minute. I usually taste test the potatoes at this point and add more seasoning if needed (I find that I never add more salt and pepper). 

You're done and you have DELISH potatoes.

I am also in charge of making pecan pie and my mother's clam dip. I will be making both of those tomorrow and definitely planning on taking pictures to blog about since it will be my first time making either! Eek! Hopefully all goes well.