Italian Onions (Family Favorites)

The next recipe I wanted to revisit from my cookbook, Carrie's Experimental Kitchen, for the Family Favorites theme is this one for Italian Onions; especially since today is National Hot Dog Day. This Italian Onion recipe originated from my Great Uncle Artie Palladino and he graciously shared it with me a few years ago. He uses water instead of chicken broth so if you're looking for a vegetarian option, you can use that or vegetable broth instead. I really like how simple and quick these are to make and they have become a staple at all of our summer barbecues. Since I don't eat hot dogs, I personally like to add these Italian Onions to a nice juicy burger or grilled Italian sausage sandwich . 

Italian Onions
Prep Time:  5 minutes    Cook Time: 35 minutes   Total Time: 40 minutes    Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 Vidalia Onion
• 1 tbsp. Butter
• 1/2 c. Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 3/4 c. Ketchup (I used Heinz)
• 1 tbsp. Dried Oregano
• Kosher Salt, to taste
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Cut the top and bottom off of the onion and peel back the skin. Cut the onion in half lengthwise, then slice into thin strips. 
2. Add the onions to a medium saucepan along with the butter and simmer over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes. 
3. Once the onions have started to soften, add the chicken broth and reduce heat to low. Simmer approximately 15 minutes until the onions become translucent; stirring every 5 minutes.
4. Add the ketchup, oregano, salt and pepper and simmer for another 15 minutes. Serve hot. Can be prepared up to three days ahead of time and kept refrigerated. 

Nutrition Facts

Calories 70, Carbs 11.7g, Fat 2.9g, Protein .3g, Fiber .3g, Sugar 10.7g

*Calculations based on ingredients entered into Calorie Count and may not be 100% accurate. 

Enjoy! 

Italian Onions Shopping List

You can find this recipe for Italian Onions, along with 180 other recipes in my cookbook available at many online retailers like Amazon, BN.com and IndieBound. Signed copies or hardcover versions are available by emailing carrieexpktchn (at) optonline (dot) net. 

If you are a Goodreads member, I'm holding a Giveaway where you can enter for your chance to win a copy for yourself, but hurry, Friday, July 26, 2013 is the last day to enter!  

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Carrie's Experimental Kitchen

by Carrie Palladino Farias

Giveaway ends July 26, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Flank Steak Stuffed with Brie & Zucchini (Family Favorites) and How to Cook the Perfect Steak This Father's Day

Ah yes...Beef is more than likely going to be "What's for Dinner" this coming Father's Day. According to the most recent Consumer Grilling Study, three out of four Americans say that the one meat they grill the most often is beef (69%); while chicken came in second (25%) and pork came in third (6%). I would tend to agree as it seems like we eat beef more often in the warmer, grilling months ourselves.

I don't know about you, but I'm a visual person. Show me and I can do it or figure it out. Tell me and you lost me. So I found this chart below to determine how long to cook your steaks as a guide, but try not to poke too many holes in the meat while cooking as the juices will flow out and cause your steak to dry out.  Cooking times do vary according to the cut of meat as well so for a more specific list, including the different cuts of beef and minutes to cook per side, click on the link to see this really helpful chart from Beef It's What's For Dinner.

As far as Father's Day plans, I'm not quite sure what we're going to do yet. Saturday is my rescheduled Book Signing from 1pm-3pm; then we're heading to a combined graduation party for my nephew(high school) and niece(college) where I'm bringing that Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad with Kalamata Olives, Capers and Sun Dried Tomatoes, and with the hubby traveling so much lately between his father's surgery, vacation and business trips, I think he'd prefer just hanging home for the day to recoup.

I'm thinking that I may make this family's favorites recipe for Flank Steak Stuffed with Brie & Zucchini from my cookbook. I can't believe I haven't made this recipe since I originally created it in August 2011 and it was one of our favorites...always on the quest to find new and exciting new recipes I guess! For this dish, I sauteed some zucchini with fresh rosemary, garlic and mushrooms. Then I added some slices of Brie, wrapped it up, sliced it individually and grilled it. I have to say it was AMAZING; however, you have to grill these on a higher temperature so that all of the cheese doesn't run out before the meat is done cooking.

Flank Steak Stuffed with Brie & Zucchini

Prep Time:  30 minutes                               Yield: 6

Cook Time:  Personal Preference                 Serving: 1 piece

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb. Flank Steak
• 1 1/2 c. Zucchini, cut in half then sliced
• 1 c. Mushrooms, sliced
• 2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp. Fresh Rosemary
• 1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4oz. Brie, white rind removed and sliced
• Kitchen String

Directions

1. Using a meat tenderizer, pound flank steak until it is rectangular in shape and even thickness. 
2. In a pan, heat oil and sauté the zucchini, mushrooms, garlic and rosemary until the vegetables get soft.  
3. Evenly spread the zucchini mixture on top of the steak, leaving a 1/2" border around all sides; then add the cheese. 
4. Roll up the flank steak lengthwise and tie with six pieces of kitchen string; spacing them out evenly to where you will slice them. 
5. Using a sharp knife, cut the rolled steak into six individual pieces. Season with salt and pepper just prior to grilling. 
6.  and grill until desired doneness.  

Nutrition Facts

Calories 260, Carbs 1.8g, Fat 13g, Protein 32g, Fiber .5g, Sugar .7g

*Calculations based on ingredients entered into Calorie Count and may not be 100% accurate. 

Looking or other Beef Grilling Ideas? How about some of these reader favorites!

Ginger Soy Marinated Strip Steaks

Vanilla Fig Balsamic Marinated London Broil

Mediterranean Stuffed Flank Steak

Enjoy and Have a Happy Father's Day! 

Baby Carrots in Honey Lime Butter (Family Favorites)

Last week, I shared one of our favorite recipes included in my cookbook for Grilled Pork Chops with Lime and Cilantro and today I have another Family Favorites recipe that I couldn't wait to try again. When making dinner, I like to keep the same flavors going with my sides and vegetables so I created these Baby Carrots in Honey Lime Butter to go with them. I love using fresh vegetables, they just taste so much better. I like how you can control the texture of them. For instance, have you ever eaten a frozen or canned carrot? They're like mush in your mouth! When you steam fresh carrots, I like to leave them a bit on the crispier side and my kids like them better that way as well. In fact, Gabrielle would only eat raw carrots if I was making the frozen variety for that very reason. 

In any event, these carrots made the perfect accompaniment to our pork chops and the hint of lime and sweetness of the honey were perfect! 

Baby Carrots in Honey Lime Butter

1 lb. Fresh Baby Carrots

1 tbsp. Butter

1 tbsp. Honey

1 tsp. Kosher Salt

1 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Juice from 1/2 Lime

Directions: 

1. Steam carrots in a double boiler until they are fork tender but slightly firm, approximately 10 minutes.

2. Heat butter over medium heat in a sauté pan, and add the cooked carrots, butter, honey, salt, pepper, and lime juice.

3. Cook over medium heat until most of the liquid evaporates. Serves 4.  

*Nutritional Information per Serving: Calories 81, Carbs 13.6g, Fat 3g, Protein .8g, Fiber 3.3g, Sugar 9.4g

*Calculations based on ingredients entered into Calorie Count and may not be 100% accurate.

You can find this recipe for Baby Carrots in Honey Lime Butter, along with many others in my cookbook; available at many online retailers like Amazon, BN.com and IndieBound. If you would like a signed copy or a hardcover version, please email me at carrieexpktchn (at) optonline (dot) net. 

 Carrie's Experimental Kitchen: A Collection of Mediterranean-Inspired Family Meals

A cookbook also makes the perfect gift!

• Mother's Day
• Father's Day
• Your favorite Graduate (they will have to learn to cook for themselves eventually!)
• Birthday's
• Anniversaries
• Wedding or Bridal Shower
• Or anyone just looking for some new inspiration in the kitchen! 

Grilled Pork Chops with Lime and Cilantro (Family Favorites)

Did you know that I have created and shared over 650 new recipes since I started this blog? In fact, this coming Saturday will be CEK's 2 year blogging anniversary! Many of the original recipes are no longer on the site, but you can find them in my cookbook available at many online retailers like Amazon, BN.com and IndieBound. 

 Carrie's Experimental Kitchen: A Collection of Mediterranean-Inspired Family Meals

The funny thing is that since I created all of these recipes, there are only a handful of them that I've made since. I know you might find that hard to believe that someone can have that much of a variety in their meal planning, but YES my family can attest to the fact that I've made something new almost every day for the last 2 years! They like my experiments and the first thing they do when they come home is look to see what I've made next; though sometimes they just crave a burger and fries or take-out pizza. It's all good. :)

So I decided that I would go back to the early days of CEK and pull out some of my family's favorite recipes from the cookbook, make them again and share the recipe with you each week in a new segment called 'Family Favorites'.  I will also include the Nutritional Information since these were not included in the book. 

For today's post, I decided to share the first recipe I ever published here on the blog for Grilled Pork Chops with Lime and Cilantro. I didn't even photograph it the first time and that's a good thing (my early photo skills were horrific!). I just love this recipe. The brining keeps this lean cut of meat moist and tender, and the lime and cilantro add an extra layer of freshness. Besides, it reminds me that summer is on its way! 

Grilled Pork Chops with Lime and Cilantro

4-4oz Boneless Pork Chops

3/4 Cup Water

2 Tbsp. Granulated Sugar

2 Tbsp. Kosher Salt

1 Tbsp. Fresh Cilantro, chopped

1 Tbsp. Fresh Lime Rind, grated

Juice from 1/2 lime

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

1 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix water, sugar, and salt until it dissolves. 

2. Add cilantro, lime zest and juice, garlic powder, and pepper, and whisk together until well blended. 

3. Trim any visible fat from your pork chop; then tenderize the chop using a meat mallet or the bottom of a glass. 

4. Add the pork chops and the marinade to a resealable plastic bag, and refrigerate no more than 2 hours. 

5. Remove the meat from the bag, discard the marinade; then grill the pork chops until the proper internal temperature is reached. (It all depends on the thickness of your chop and how you and your family prefer to eat it). Serves 4. 

*Nutritional Information per Serving: Calories 214, Carbs 9.1g, Fat 8g, Protein 24.5g, Fiber .8g, Sugar 7g 
*Calculations based on ingredients entered into Calorie Count and may not be 100% accurate. This recipe factors in all of the above bringing ingredients. Actuals may be significantly less as all of the marinade gets discarded and is not consumed. 

*Suggested Sides: Brown or White Rice with Baby Carrots in a Honey Lime Butter  

*For all of the main entrees in the cookbook, I also suggest side dishes that I've created that go along well with each recipe to help with your family meal planning.

Enjoy!