Need an Idea For Dinner?

Do you need an idea for a great, quick meal for dinner tonight? Boy, do I have the recipe for you. I am passionate about creating a fantastic meal each and every night. Most evenings when I come home from work I know that time is of the essence. I can't spend 2 hours chopping and sauteing. Lets not even think of all of the clean up time. I don't want to spend a full evening chained to the stove and the sink.




Beef Fajitas fits the bill. I promise it's easy peasy. This meal can be made entirely on the grill. First you want to start out with a great piece of flank steak. I get my meat from a small local grocer. I find that the larger the grocery store the less quality meat they offer. At least that's how it is in my area. I always let my meat get to room temperature. I never cook a cold piece of meat. Alright if you are using a gas grill like I do pre heat your grill on high for 15 minutes. Next squeeze 2 to 3 limes over your flank steak. Don't forget to salt and pepper your steak. There is no need to marinate your steak for hours. Just sprinkling your juice while your grill heats is enough. Throw your steak on your grill and cook each side for about 5 to 7 minutes. On my grill it turns out medium to medium rare. Just the way my family likes it. Remove your steak from the grill and tent it with tin foil so it can rest for about 10 minutes. While it rests we can cook our veggies.





Check out this beauty! Trust me, it's out of this world! Is your mouth watering yet?





Next get your veggies ready. Remember we are cooking everything on the grill. Slice your onions in 1/2" rounds. Don't separate them into rings. Seed and cut your peppers like I have so they can cook easily on the grill. Turn your grill to medium heat. If you like add a bit of olive oil to your veggies to keep them from sticking to the grill. It will take 8 to 10 minutes to cook. After you have removed the veggies from the grill quick throw on your flour tortilla's for 20 seconds per side.





Slice your rested meat thinly on the bias against the grain. Next slice your veggies. This is great! Not a pot or pan to wash! Yippee!






Put together your Fajitas. Yum! Make sure to make some guacamole and salsa if you are a fan of those condiments. I have a great recipe from guacamole. If you are interested just let me know in your comment. I am always happy to share.
I guarantee you that if you serve this meal for your family or friends you will be a total rock star! Enjoy!

Roasted Potimarron Soup

I have a rare vegetable that grew in my garden this year. It's called a Potimarron pumpkin. It's also know as a Hokkaido squash and Kuri pumpkin. The color is an intense orange that is almost red. I couldn't find a lot of information on the potimarron. That is information in English. It seems as though this pumpkin is popular in french cooking. The potimarron is known for it's sweet and savory taste with a touch of chestnut. Sounds good right?!





I did some searching on line to find a good recipe. I found this blog with a nice post about the potimarron. I cut the pumpkin in half and roasted it in the oven cut side down for 1 hour at 375 degrees. After the pumpkin has cooled scoop out the flesh. Saute a chopped onion in pan with olive oil. Add your pumpkin flesh to the onion with 3 cups of milk. Also make sure to add salt to taste. I always use Kosher salt. I love the way it tastes. Cook until it boils very gently. If you have a hand blender put it to use and blend your soup right in your pan. I don't have a hand blender so I used my regular blender. The recipe calls for creme fraiche. I didn't have any so I used a very small amount of sour cream. The soup is very thick and creamy.





The pumpkin has quite a few seeds. I carefully went through the seeds to save them for next year.





I simply placed the seeds on a paper towel to dry. Don't you love planning for the future?! If you are interested in growing this unique pumpkin please let me know. I always love to share.




If you decide to make this soup don't leave out the sage browned butter. The sage browned butter added another layer of flavor to the soup. It was very simple to make. In a small pan melt 4 tablespoons of butter. Add a few fresh sage leaves. Cook the butter until it starts to foam and then brown. It's so good!




The soup is fantastic! It was a huge hit at my house. I'm sure you could make the same recipe with any pumpkin or squash. This is the perfect soup for a cold fall evening.