HOLY CRAP STEAK!

Guys. Guys, I made an AWESOME steak today.

This might not be impressive for most people, but I have never made a steak before. Hell, I have never prepared any kind of animal product besides fish before!

Also, I didn't really bother to follow any recipes. I was like "Eh, I know what a cooked steak looks like."

Well, I ALMOST lit the kitchen on fire due to spattering oil on an open range, but hey... it didn't happen so we're going to ignore the dangerous aspect of my cooking experiments.

So, okay, I'm not going to exactly give you a recipe since I don't entirely know what I exactly did since I was mostly in a panicky blur, but I'll give you the general idea.



Ingredients:
Porterhouse steak
1 tbsp olive oil
minced garlic to taste
Lawry's Signature Steakhouse Marinade
McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning

Cooking directions:
So: marinate the steak in the marinade for 30 minutes and put in the fridge. Make sure to coat it completely, above and underneath. After this, what I did was put the skillet on high with the olive oil and minced garlic in it, and put the steak on that. What resulted was an oily, spattery, highly flammable danger zone. I grabbed the pan, turned the heat to medium, and drained out a bunch of the oil. I then put more marinade on top, as well as some steak seasoning. I'm not ENTIRELY sure how long I was cooking the steak during the confusion, but I figure it was about 4 or 5 minutes, it was lightish brown on the bottom. I then flipped it, and cooked it for another 3 or 4 minutes, until when cut it was brownish pink inside (I like my meat medium well). Depending on your tastes, you will have to change the times a bit. I think my steak was a bit under an inch thick, so it cooked quickly. I then put it on a ceramic plate, covered it in tin foil and stuck it in the oven to keep it warm while I made the green beans and mac and cheese.

Sides:
Green beans- I just used frozen green beans, steamed them in the microwave and added some salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Annie's white Mac and Cheese shells- follow the instructions on the box, duh.

The next day:
I made the second steak that had marinated overnight pretty much the same way and with cous cous and tomato and feta cheese salad.

Kelly's Spanish Rice and Beans

I'm baaack! Here is my latest creation, more or less made from what I had around the kitchen. It doesn't look very nice in the pictures, but let me assure you, it is deeeeelicious!

Ingredients:
2 cups rice
1 can black beans
1 or 2 tomatoes
1/2 large white onion
1 tbsp garlic (fresh or pre-chopped like I used)
1 cube chicken bullion
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lime juice
to taste:
chili powder
cumin
turmeric
parsley
oregano
dill
salt
pepper

Directions:
Cook rice according to directions on the rice package, but add the chicken bullion cube and 1 tbsp of olive oil, as well as some chili powder, cumin and turmeric. You will also add these to the bean/onion mix so don't put too much in. I cook my rice in a rice cooker, I suggest everybody gets one, it is awesome. Make sure to stir it once in a while to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom. While the rice is cooking, put a skillet on medium heat and add 2-3 tbsp olive oil. Chop the half an onion and add it to the olive oil, allowing it to brown. Add garlic and spices. Once it is brown, add chopped tomatoes, then drain the beans and add those as well. Once the rice is done, mix it in with the onions and beans, add the lime and voila! I had mine with a simple tomato and avocado salad, which was just tomatoes and an avocado seasoned with lemon and sea salt.