Salisbury Steak and I have a long history. It’s not a pretty story. It’s not a horror show, either, but it’s not pretty. I’ve yet to find one that I’m really psyched about. It’s always just, “oh, okay…salisbury steak. Did we have nothing else in the house? Meh.”

Rachael Ray also very rarely matches my tastes. When I like it, I love it, but most of the time I don’t like it and I *really* don’t like it. So I’m nervous but excited about this recipe that I found.  I figure, even if the steak is bad, you could probably put anything with those mashed potatoes and it would be FABULOUS.

2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and chunked, 3 large potatoes
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup half-and-half or cream, eyeball it
4 ounces, 1/2 cup garlic and herb cheese (recommended: Boursin)
3 tablespoons chopped chives or, 2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Seasoning by McCormick) or, coarse salt and pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons, 3 turns of the pan
12 crimini or baby portobellos, sliced
12 shiitake mushrooms, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups beef stock

Place potatoes in a pot and covered with water. Cover pot with lid and bring water to a boil. Salt boiling water and potatoes. Leave lid off pot and simmer at rolling boil until tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

While potatoes cook, combine meat, Worcestershire, onion and steak seasoning or salt and pepper. Form 2 large, oval patties, 1-inch thick.

Preheat large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the meat patties to a hot pan. Cook meat 6 minutes on each side until meat is evenly caramelized on the outside and juices run clear. Remove meat and cover with loose tin foil to keep warm. Add 1 more turn of the pan extra-virgin olive oil and butter to the pan, then the mushrooms. Season mushrooms with salt and pepper and saute mushrooms until tender, 3 to 5 minutes.

To mushrooms, add a sprinkle of flour to the pan and cook 2 minutes more. Whisk in stock and thicken 1 minute.

While sauce thickens, drain potatoes and return to hot pot. Smash potatoes with a little half-and- half or cream and garlic and herb cheese. Smash and incorporate chives. Add salt and pepper, to your taste.

So, many years ago, while in college, I used to work at the Cheesecake Factory.

*insert hundreds of people drooling here*

Anyhoo….My favorite sandwich there was the Navajo. It was wonderful, on warm fry bread, a grilled chicken breast with tomato and avocado and lettuce and mayo. It was the bread that made that sandwich so amazing. Yum.

Fast forward to last week…I came across a recipe for tacos that had the same idea and decided that if I had to move mountains, it was getting on this week’s menu. So here it is. I’m salivating already.

Navajo Fry Bread

* 4-5 cups flour
* 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup instant milk
* 2 cups water

Filling

* 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
* 1 onion, chopped
* 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
* 1 can pinto beans

Suggested Toppings

* grated cheese
* salsa
* lettuce
* tomato
* onion
* sour cream
* green onion

To make fry bread: Mix dry ingredients.  Stir in water.  Knead dough lightly; cover and let rest 15 minutes.  Heat 1″ vegetable oil in a 10″ skillet.  Pinch off dough in small amounts and pat dough into thin 8″ circles.  In the hot oil, quickly brown on both sides.  Drain on paper towels.
To make filling: Brown ground beef and onion, drain.  Add beans and garlic salt.  Simmer 10- 15 minutes.

I happened across this recipe on a website that I’m really starting to enjoy. It also just HAPPENS to be a gluten free recipe, which I love, considering that a very good friend of mine has Celiac’s.  I don’t go out of my way to cook gluten-free, but I consider it a bonus when a recipe doesn’t require any funky changes to be gluten free. So yay!

1 recipe prepared polenta, chilled until firm and cut into thin, 1/4 in. thick, 3 inch wide cubes. (Prepare according to box instructions, using veg broth instead of water if desired, and spices to taste)
1/2 tbsp. olive oil
Your favorite grill seasoning (gluten-free)
small bowlful of fresh spinach
marinara sauce (gluten-free, of course- most are, luckily)
Organic cheddar or feta cheese

Heat olive oil in nonstick pan on medium and swirl to evenly cover surface. Add your polenta squares and season generously with grill seasoning. Let brown and then turn. Season browned side and turn once more to set in the spices. Add spinach to one side of the pan and let wilt. To assemble, heat oven to broil. Place browned polenta squares on cookie sheet and top with wilted spinach. Drizzle with marinara sauce and top with organic cheese. Place under broiler and let cheese get melted and golden brown on top.

For more great menus, please visit http://www.orgjunkie.com!

For those new to the Kitchen, I link recipes that are linkable in my Monday post, but always post the recipe the day it is made and when I can, post a picture as well as my review of it in the comments.  So if you are intrigued by a dinner, come on back to see what we thought!

Also, not every day is a new recipe.  On days where I’m cooking something we already know and love, I try to link to the original post so that you can still try it, but I pose a Question of the Day that I would love feedback on.  On days where we are doing Fend For Yourself (FFY) Buffet, I post something that I “covet” for your review and commentary.

Monday -  easy polenta lasagna

Tuesday -  Navajo Tacos

Wednesday – salisbury steak

Thursday -  FFY Buffet…long overdue appointment at the salon…I can’t wait.

Friday – maple dijon pork tenderloin (repeat recipe)

Saturday – no dinner, big party tonight (it’s a surprise, so I can’t speak further. Suffice to say that I am cooking those pork dumplings for the cocktail hour and my maple dijon pork tenderloin for an entree as my contribution!)

Sunday -  recovering from cooking. It’s a breakfast for dinner night fo’ sho! TBD, though.

Unfortunately, in this past week’s Menu Plan Monday, I neglected to include SUNDAY.  Nice. This is it!

I got this recipe in a free magazine issued by Hannaford’s called “Fresh.” You can get it here on their website.

3 Tbs Olive oil
3 lb Boneless beef top sirloin steak, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black pepper, freshly ground
2 ea yellow onions, chopped
2 ea Jalapeno pepper, seeded, chopped
2 ea Chipotle chilies in adobo, minced
6 ea Cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbs Chili powder
1 Tbs Paprika
1 Tbs Ground cumin
1 Tbs Dried oregano
14 oz Can diced tomatoes with juice
12 oz Amber ale beer
2 Tbs Fresh lime juice
3/4 cup Beef broth, low sodium
3 Tbs Flour, masa harina

In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Pat beef dry with paper towels, season it with salt and pepper, and add to pot. Cook until browned on all sides, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes. Add onions, jalapenos, chipotles, and garlic to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, paprika, cumin, and oregano and stir until well incorporated, 1 minute. Add diced tomatoes and beer and stir for 1 minute more, scraping up any browned bits that have accumulated on bottom of pot.
Add lime juice and enough beef broth so that liquid just covers beef. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, partially covered, and stirring occasionally, until meat is very tender (you should be able to shred it with a fork). Add masa harina or cornmeal to pot and stir to incorporate. Cook, uncovered, for another 8 to 10 minutes, to thicken chili, stirring occasionally. Serve hot. Ladle chili into bowls. If using, serve with side bowls of chopped cilantro, Cheddar cheese, and lime wedges.

This is another repeat recipe for our table, but not for the Kitchen. It’s so much more than the sum of it’s parts, I can’t even tell you. If you have children, this is a must try. They will love the chicken!

4 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup buttermilk (I use the powder stuff, I don’t go through it fast enough!)
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders (about 18) (I use chicken breasts and cut them up into tender sized pieces)
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan (DO NOT use the kind you buy in the pasta aisle.  get the real thing.)
3/4 cup Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs

Place the buttermilk in a large bowl. Add the chicken tenders and stir to coat. Let stand at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Brush 1 tablespoon of oil over each of 2 heavy large lined baking sheets and place a piece of parchment paper over it so it sticks, then brush some oil on top of the paper.

Meanwhile, mash the garlic with the salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the vinegar and then the remaining 1/2 cup of oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with pepper. Transfer the vinaigrette to a small serving bowl.

Stir the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a pie dish. Remove the chicken tenders from the buttermilk and dredge them in the bread crumb mixture to coat completely, pressing to adhere. Arrange the coated chicken tenders on the prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over the chicken tenders and bake until they are cooked through and golden brown, about 12 minutes.

Transfer the chicken tenders to a platter and serve the vinaigrette alongside for dipping.

Today’s dinner is a repeat. Actually, it’s the same meal, just that the recipe made so much, I froze a good half of what I made for another day.

Today’s meal is reminiscent of roast chicken and stuffing. A recent movie, Julie and Julia, is bringing a lot of Julia Child’s recipes back into the spotlight… not they ever really LEFT, but you know what I mean. French cooking intimidates a lot of cooks!   It got me thinking after I read a recent article that said the best roast chicken is to be found in Paris (Julia would approve).

How do YOU roast a chicken?

A few Christmases ago, a very good family friend gifted me with the Gourmet Magazine cookbook. I had eyed it for a while but was thrilled to finally get a copy.

I’ve used the hell out of it. Some of my favorite recipes that I had used prior to owning the cookbook, so I now have a permanent record of them that I can refer to, not worrying about the kids coloring on the paper and it disappearing, or losing it from the Gourmet website, etc. In addition, it’s got a lot of great recipes that I tried once I got the book (like Irish Soda Bread…made every St. Patty’s Day!)

This is a repeat recipe for us, even though it’s not on the site (which is why I didn’t label it as a repeat recipe QotD post). It’s fabulous. Usually, I don’t care for most Rachael Ray recipes but this one was amazing. It’s a go-to brunch recipe for me if I’m heading to a potluck, or if I have anyone over for Sunday breakfast. You will LOVE it. Just don’t try to use dried thyme. Suck it up and use fresh. Trust me.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
2 tablespoons butter
8 small red potatoes
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 large ham steak, finely chopped
2 cups baby spinach leaves, chopped or, 1 box, 10 ounces, defrosted frozen chopped spinach, wrung dry in a kitchen towel
10 leaves fresh basil, chopped or torn, a few rounded spoonfuls of prepared store bought pesto may be substituted
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, a couple of generous handfuls

Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of extra-virgin olive oil, about 2 tablespoons, and 2 tablespoons of butter. While the pan is getting hot and the butter is melting, cut the potatoes in half and then thinly slice them, add to the hot skillet and season with salt, pepper, thyme and the crushed red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring every now and then, for about 10 minutes or, until potatoes have browned and are tender. Add the onion and the ham and continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes

Finish off the hash by adding the roughly chopped spinach and basil to the potatoes. (Defrosted frozen spinach and some pesto would be added in at the same point if using substitutions.) Toss to wilt and warm the spinach. Sprinkle the hash with tomatoes and cheese and remove from the heat. Transfer the ham and spinach hash to plates. This is great with over-medium or easy fried eggs!

I am not really doing anything special to this. I’m essentially following the guide with the ham- it’s a spiral sliced ham and comes with the packet of glaze. I actually wouldn’t want to do too much with it since I am using leftovers later this week in a very savory dish, anyway!!!