Monday, February 21, 2011

Carrot-Ginger Rice

I love finding new side dishes. I get in these really weird cooking ruts where I don't feel inspired to cook anything, but finding a yummy new side dish can be just the thing to get me going again. We had this with the Honey-Soy Salmon recipe that I posted about a while back. Mmmmm. :)

Carrot-Ginger Rice
(from For the Love of Cooking Blog - I LOVE this cooking blog - it is the best!)

-1 cup basmati rice (I didn't have basmati on hand and just used my regular old stuff and it worked fine)
-2 cups chicken broth
-2 tsp olive oil
-1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
-2 carrots, peeled and grated (to make this faster, just use matchstick/shoestring carrots)
-1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
-1 clove garlic, minced
-sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
-dash of cayenne pepper
-1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Combine the rice and chicken broth together in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover with a lid, and steam for 20 mins. Remove from the heat and let sit for 5 mins before fluffing with a fork.

While the rice is cooking, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until tender. Add the carrot, ginger, and garlic to the onions and cook, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes. Add the rice to the mixture, along with the cilantro, sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, and dash of cayenne pepper. Stir gently so all ingredients are well combined. Serve immediately.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Tangy Lime Grilled Top Round

Alright well, now that we're past the holidays and well into the New Year, it's time to get kicking again!

Here's a yummy recipe for marinated beef that makes a great base for a stir-fry. Just add your favorite vegetables, some sticky rice, and boom baby - a tasty dinner.

Tangy Lime Grilled Top Round

-1 beef top round steak, cut 3/4' thick (about 1 lb - really you could do about 1lb of lots of different thinly sliced beef cuts. Just marinate extra long if its a tougher piece of meat.)
-1/4 cup lime juice
-2 TBSP brown sugar
-2 TBSP vegetable oil
-1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
-3 large garlic cloves, crushed

Combine all and marinate for AT LEAST 6 hours.