This isn't Sirloin Steak!

Yesterday was one of the nicest days of the month.  Thankfully we were able to spend most of the day outside.  Cars washed, lawn mowed, patio furniture in storage, deck power washed, a little nap, and church.  It was a busy day!  My favorite part was the nap.  Unfortunately between the kids fighting it only lasted about 20 minutes.  So now it's 5:15 in the morning, I can't sleep....so let's blog!

The plan was to have Parmesan crusted sirloin steaks for dinner.  I had pulled them out of the freezer a few days ago to let them thaw.  When I pulled them out of the fridge and unwrapped I noticed the wrapper said Sirloin Steak Tip.  Well.... change of plans.

The Tip isn't really good for steak as it's a tougher piece of meat and needs to be marinated and I simply didn't have the time.  So, we changed plans and I decided to do a whiskey glaze sirloin kebabs!  First attempt and they turned out awesome!

I looked on the internet for some recipe's and didn't find one I specifically liked so with a few modifications, this is what I came up with.

Whiskey Glaze!
1 T Onion Powder
1 T Dried Chopped Onions
1/2 T Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 T Chili Powder
1/2 T Dried Mustard
2 T Honey
4 T Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 C Whiskey
2 C Brown Sugar
A splash of Beef stock ( you could also use beef bullion cubes)
1/2 Pineapple Juice.  I didn't have juice so I threw in some pineapple.

Heat over medium heat  to a boil and then lower heat and let it simmer and reduce.  This sauce was a little sweet and a little spicy.  If you  want it thicker, use less pineapple juice.  If you want it thinner, use more juice.

The Sirloin Tip was about 3lbs.  I ended up cutting into cubes and coating with olive oil, putting some off my favorite seasonings on it, and then added a little bit to coat the cubes prior to putting on the grill.

My oldest daughter Haley is learning to cook also.  She helped with the mashed potatoes and grilling the kebabs.  If making dinner is a chore, try cooking with your kids.  They enjoy good food and have fun helping make it!


The whiskey glaze sauce.  Any whiskey will do.

 Seasoned and cubed sirloin steak tip.

 Potatoes ready to be boiled.  I like them with the skins on.

 Emily made a ceasar salad.  Came from the bag from the store.

Steak tips just off the grill!  They are still pink in the middle!

 We tossed the cubes in the Whiskey glaze.   MMMMMMmm

For the mashed potatoes - we diced up 4 potatoes, boiled, added milk, garlic salt, and parmesan cheese.  Haley mixed them up.

Dinner is Served!

Smoked Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Well, things have been crazy lately and weekends seem to disappear so I apologize for no new posts.  These weekend I'm back in full force and just had one of the best dinners ever!  I think everyone else in the house liked it as every bowl in the house is clean,  The whining by the kids silenced momentarily as they scarfed down dinner and now they are back at it....oohhh Serenity now....

Usually I get cooking away and I forget that I'm trying to blog.  Sorry if the pictures aren't enough but this is definitely a dinner you should make!

Here's the inspiration.  One of my favorite restaurants is Buzzard Billy's Flying Carp Cafe in Des Moines, IA.  According to their website they only have 4 locations.  They used to have a restaurant on Court Ave. before it got flooded and a few months ago we went to the new one....it's just not the same.  The old restaurant was in the basement and this was one of my favorite dishes.  We used to go and drink on the patio, play trivia on crappy beer night...oh the memories.  I thought I would try and recreate the dish and I think I came pretty close.

Today after the dogpark walk I fired up the smoker and put on three pieces of meat.  I had a whole chicken, a chuck roast, and an arm roast.  My plan is to make a bbq beef from the arm roast, use the chuck roast in a three bean chili later and the chicken goes in the gumbo.   I seasoned the beef with a store bought Tri-R-Seasoning and put a little on the chicken as well as some store bought creole seasoning.

Here's what I did

I smoked 1 store bought chicken, although you wouldn't have to.  I also smoked the sausage for a little while.  Once the chicken hit 165 or so I took off the smoker and let cool and then proceeded to remove the skin and shredded.

Roux:
1 C Oil
1 C Flour

Ingredients:
1 Onion - Minced
1 Green Pepper - Minced
1 C or so Celery - Minced
3 garlic cloves  - Minced
2 bay leaves
1 T Cayenne - You can add more if you like it spicy
1 T Pepper
1 T Salt
1 T Cumin
1 T Ground Mustard
1 T Thyme
1/2 T White Pepper
1 T Paprika
10 C Chicken Stock

To make the Roux I heated up the oil and then added the flour and kept stirring over med. high heat until it turned a nice brown-dark brown color.

 As soon as that turned a nice color I added the everything but the chicken stock, chicken, and sausage.  I cooked the ingredients for about 5-7 minutes and then added the chicken stock.  I let this boil and then reduced the heat to a nice simmer and let it simmer for about 45 minutes  It reduced down to a nice consistancy and then I added the chicken and sausage.

When it's to the point you like it put it in a bowl and add rice!  I added some scallions on top and ate the crap out of it!


Here's a pic of the chicken on the smoker!

Chopping up the ingredients

 You need to whisk the roux the entire time while it's heating up and turning brown.  You don't want it to burn!

A pic of the ingredients

Smoked Sausage!

The finale!  It was awesome!

This is a going in the file as a repeat meal!  I bet it probably took 20-30 minutes to get everything diced up and ready to go and then it's relaxing while it simmers!