Traveling Tuesdays...Middle East! And Moving...

Cooking environment :)

I'm typing amid boxes this week because we are moving! :) And yet I've managed to get healthy dinners on the table counter every night! It started with a lot of planning and a lot of lists, but I managed to set aside anything and everything needed to cook with--the very minimal of course since it still has to be loaded into a car. One pot, one pan, etc. That sort of stuff. It's been a crazy week, but it's actually been relaxing for the most part and I haven't really been stressed out...which is unusual for me! The packers who came were super nice and super quick finishing before 3:00/4:00pm Tuesday and Wednesday; and today our movers have been super fast and efficient. They even have been serenading us with songs from various artists such as Eminem, Nicki Manaj, and Flo Rida. :) It's been a huge change from the move from San Antonio to here. I'm pleasantly surprised and very happy! :)

So the deal with dinners this week was "how much stuff can I use up from the refrigerator??" And actually I'm rather proud of myself because I'm going to end up throwing out very little. Last year I felt like I threw out hundreds of dollars (not really...) so I was determined not to let that happen this year. For our traveling dinner this week, we went to the Middle East. I made some pretty tasty shish kebabs and here's the recipe!

SHISH KEBABS WITH TAHINI SAUCE
Serves 4

Ingredients

6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground all spice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound or so sirloin steak trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces*
1 1/2 onions, cut into chunks
Tahini Sauce (recipe below)

Added:
~1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (for heat)
2 small bell peppers, cut into chunks

Notes: the original recipe serves 8, so it calls for 2 pounds of sirloin and personally if you are making it for 8, I would double the marinade. 

TAHINI SAUCE

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup tahini*
7 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons water

Notes: You can find tahini in the Middle Eastern section of stores. It's a thick paste made from sesame seeds and smells a little like peanut butter. I accidentally dropped it on the floor and it definitely oozes a bit :) so...don't drop it! My wisdom for you for the day!

The first thing I did was make the marinade, so you combine the garlic, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of canola oil, salt, all spice, cinnamon, and pepper (and of course I added the chili garlic sauce in at this time as well). Whisk it together. I used a fork because I temporarily forgot I had a whisk set aside. It smells really good! I'm beginning to really enjoy cinnamon in recipes.

I then cut up the onions and bell peppers into chunks. I added the bell peppers because I really enjoy their flavor when grilled. I put them into my 8x8 Pyrex dish and set it aside.

Then I started on the meat. I trimmed off the fat (there actually wasn't that much!) and then cut it into 1-inch cubed pieces. I then added it into the Pyrex dish with the onions and bell peppers and poured the marinade all over them. Now in the recipe it says use a gallon sealable bag so that you can easily squish the marinade around with the meat and onions/bell peppers. I didn't do this (because I didn't have them), but it probably wouldn't have hurt as it was kind of tedious to turn everything over with tongs to make sure everything was coated nicely. I covered the dish and set it in the refrigerator for about 2 1/2 hours. I would marinate for 2 hours minimum.

Now it's time to cook! :) Take the meat out and put it equally onto skewers (if your grilling outside, let them soak in water for about 30 minutes so they don't burn!). I used about 5 skewers for the meat. And then I alternated two bell peppers and two onions into 4 other skewers.

I preheated my grill pan and sprayed some Pam on it and once heated got those puppies grillin'! Looks kind of funky, but they were all sizzlin' away! And boy did it smell DELICIOUS!!! Meanwhile, I made the tahini sauce!

To make it, you mash the garlic and salt into a paste in a medium sized bowl using the back of a spoon. You then whisk in the tahini, lemon juice, and water. It surprised me because it turned out pretty pasty. I guess for some reason I thought it'd be more saucy. I added some black pepper for flavor. 

I turned the meat and veggies every once in a while until they were cooked to our liking and then pulled them off the grill pan. Looks tasty, doesn't it?? :)

I made a salad and jasmine rice to go with it (the jasmine rice is by Success and is super easy/quick). I really enjoyed the flavors. It was really great with the tahini sauce too. The calorie count was 314 for the meat with the tahini sauce. A little higher than usual, but worth it!!




I was really happy that I was able to do one last Traveling Tuesdays dinner here in our Kansas house. I can't wait to get to Colorado and start it back up again. It's been so much fun discovering new flavors and new foods that I don't want to stop!! :) I can't wait to share with you updates on our new house and Colorado! Should be more interesting than food...maybe! :) Anyway, this is good bye for now...next stop...COLORADO! Yay! Please pray for us on our travels...we appreciate it!

Here are the recipes:
SHISH KEBABS http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/shish_kebab_with_tahini_sauce.html
TAHINI SAUCE http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/tahini_sauce.html