Beef Kabobs with Grilled Vegetables

Despite the fact that it feels as though summer will never come this year, it doesn’t stop most of us from dragging out the grill. And when I say “us” I mean my husband who’s the only one that grills in my household. I might like to cook but I hate smelling like the grill. And smelling like I just cut the lawn. And snow blower exhaust. And bills. You get the point I am sure, and that is that men are so handy to have around and sometimes are stinky.

Ingredients:

1 lb beef tenderloin (or your choice of cut)
½ c soy sauce
1/2c sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garlic powder
1 large zucchini, sliced
1/3 red onion, cut into 1” x 1” slices
1 red bell pepper, chopped into bite-sized pieces
12 oz mushrooms
¼ c olive oil
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Mix together soy sauce, sugar, ginger, and garlic powder. Set aside. Slice beef into 1”x1” cubes. Marinade beef in soy sauce mixture for 6-8 hours.

Cut vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place in bowl and toss with olive oil. Remove beef from marinate. Using metal skewers*, skewer all the beef leaving enough room between each piece to allow for thorough cooking. Place vegetables onto skewers. It is important to keep beef and vegetables separate as the beef will take longer to cook.

Over medium-high heat, grill the kabobs. Grill meat until desired doneness and vegetables until tender.

*If you don't have metal skewers, try using bamboo ones from the grocery store. Just make sure you soak them in water for a couple hours before use.

Beer Battered Onion Rings

These crispy onion rings are the perfect addition to Usinger's brats on the grill. We chose Lienenkugels Sunset Wheat for the beer as it gives a sweeter flavor to the batter, plus we love to go balls-to-the-wall when making Wisco style dinners. Don't like the smell of fried foods in your kitchen? Try using a deep fryer outside or on a grill side burner.

Ingredients:

1 quart vegetable oil for frying
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup beer (We prefer Leinenkugels Sunset Wheat)
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
4 onions, peeled and sliced into rings
Sea salt

Directions:

In a large, deep skillet, heat oil to 365 degrees F (180 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, combine flour, beer, salt, and pepper. Mix until smooth. Dredge onion slices in the batter, until evenly coated. Deep fry in the hot oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
Sprinkle with sea salt.

Whole Wheat Strawberry Pancakes with Flaxseed

Saturday mornings are my favorite time of the week. I like to get up before Eric and surprise him with a hot breakfast, and have special one-on-one time with our dog, Stella. If anyone knows Stella, they know she is extremely under appreciated and un-loved, so this is a time when she gets that additional attention that she so sorely needs. *winks (In actuality, I like to sing "Good Day Sunshine" by the Beatles to her as she wiggles her butt and tail in excitement...)

This recipe is a new take on an old favorite. The whole wheat flour and ground flaxseed give a nutty flavor to the batter, and also provides a great source of fiber. The skim milk and vinegar mixed together add tang to the pancakes, replacing fatty buttermilk. This recipe is very versatile, and can be made with any fresh berries, or even chocolate chips and peanut butter.

Ingredients:

1 c skim milk
1 T white vinegar
1/2 t. baking soda
1 c whole wheat flour
3 T ground flaxseed
1/4 t baking powder
1 T sugar
1/4 salt
1 egg
1 c chopped fresh or frozen strawberries (reserve 1/4 c for garnish)
2 T (or more as needed) lowfat salted butter for cooking

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix 1 c skim milk with vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, mix milk and vinegar with baking soda. Add remaining ingredients and stir until no longer lumpy. Melt butter in skillet and spoon batter onto hot pan until desired size is reached. When bubbles appear at pancake surface, flip and cook until golden brown. Serve with remaining strawberries on top with maple syrup and butter.

Fish Tacos with Avocado & Chipotle Sauce

Friday night fish fry meets health-conscious Mexican. They fall madly in love and marry. Meet their first born.

Ingredients

Fish:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound white flaky fish fillet, like tilapia or halibut

Chipotle Sauce:

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
2 teaspoons chipotle hot sauce or chipotle seasoning

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded red cabbage
1 sliced ripe avocado
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
Lime wedges
Additional hot sauce for those who love food smokin' hot (we recommend Cholula brand)

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Pour over the fish fillets and let marinate for 20 minutes.

Remove the fish from the marinade and cook in a skillet over a medium-high heat until cooked thorough, about 3 minutes per side. Set the fish aside on a plate for 5 minutes.

In a small bowl combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, and chipotle hot sauce.

Heat the tortillas on a grill pan for 30 seconds on each side.

Flake the fish with a fork. Top each tortilla with 1 tablespoon of the chipotle cream. Top with fish, cabbage, avocado and cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

Olive Juice

Lighting a dishtowel on fire. Grinding the teaspoon in the disposal. Replacing the disposal. Licking wine from the floor after an irreplaceable bottle breaks. Explosions of over-carbonated strawberry champagne. All of these tiny disasters are a result of our passion; cooking.

Date nights here frequently consist of the two of us trying something new in the kitchen, and it's never a dull moment. This blog will document our favorite recipes (some our own, some we are dying to give credit to) and how we love to pair each dish with a great wine. We might occasionally throw a wrench in things and post random events, items, sights and sounds that we would like to share with you.

Welcome to Olive Juice...