Grilled Venison Steak with Smashed Red Potatoes!

I realize it has been awhile since I've blogged, and I'd love to say I'll be better, but who knows!  Recently I have been cooking and baking more, thanks to cooler weather and lots of venison in our freezer.  We are almost exclusively a venison household at the moment, which has been a lot of fun to experiment with.  Part of the reason I wanted to start blogging again was because there seems to be a lack of healthier recipes for venison. 

Grilled Applewood Rubbed Venison Steak

Venison Steak (these were bone-in)
McCormick's Grill Mates Applewood Rub

Pre-heat grill, rub the rub on both sides of the steak, put steaks on grill (4-5) minutes on each side. 

Smashed Red Potatoess
6 Medium Sized Red Potatoes
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Butter
1 packet of Potato Topping (usually found in the produce section)

Place potatoes in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil and cook until tender, but not mush with a fork.  Remove potatoes from water, cool.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In the meantime, mix olive oil, butter and Potato Topping in a small bowl.  Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.  Place potatoes on parchment paper and smash with a fork.  Top each smashed potato with olive oil, butter and topping mix.  Cook in oven approximately 20 minutes.

Served with corn and some low-fat blue cheese dressing.

Simple Pasta & Veggies

There are so many nights that I don't walk in the door until close to 7:00. My bedtime is close to 9, so that leaves me very little time to cook, bake, spend time with fabulous husband, work on the house, play with the dogs and cats etc etc. So when I can pull off something really simple, but tasty, I'm all about it. This recipe was really easy.

1 box pasta - shells

Lots of veggies (carrots, squash, zucchini, onion, tomato)

Fresh Parsley

Salt & Pepper

Butter

Garlic

3 Cheese mix from Whole Foods

Cook past according to box. Brown butter and garlic. Add onions, salt and pepper. Saute for a few minutes then add veggies and throw over the pasta.

DONE!

Tasty.

Enjoy. I did.

Not Your Mother's Potato Salad....

I love potato salad, especially in the summer. It just evokes summertime backyard grilling fun. Fabulous Husband wasn't so much a fan. So I searched for a recipe I thought he would like and then I stumbled upon this. He LOVES it, and so most people I make it for. It's not to heavy on the mayo, and has a nice spice kick to it. Plus, it's got that fresh flavor, not that sitting in a bowl of mayo blah flavor.



The inspiration is Mesa Grill's Southwest Potato Salad (aka Bobby Flay).



Ingredients
1 1/2 cups prepared mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chipotle pepper puree (Didn't have any so I omitted)
1 large ripe tomato, seeded and diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
3 scallions, chopped, white and green parts (Whoops! Didn't have these either)
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
16 new potatoes, about 3 to 4 pounds, cooked, drained and sliced 1/2-inch thick


Directions


Combine all the ingredients, except the potatoes, in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place warm potatoes in a large bowl and pour the mixture over potatoes and mix well. Season again with salt and pepper, to taste.


NOTES: Even without the chipolte pepper puree and the scallions it was good this time around. I've made this a few times and this was the first time I didn't do it exact. This is a must for people who like their food a little spicy!

Garlic Parmesan White String Beans

We get these beans at the farmer's market, and the are so crisp and fresh I try to keep them as crisp and fresh as possible when I prepare them. This dish is so simple, quick and very flavorful. It's was a great side dish for our grilled chicken and mashed potatoes. And will most likely be used again next week when I make my first ever meatloaf.

Garlic Parmesan White String Beans

1 tablespoon EVOO
2 cloves of Garlic
2 handfuls of white string beans
Cracked Black Pepper
Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Saute garlic in EVOO. Rinse and snip beans, add to pan and cook to preference. Remove from heat, toss with cracked black pepper and Parmesan cheese.