Top Round Steak

This is a combination of recipes I found online to do something a little different with the one pound top round steak I bought at Target for $3.50.

In my large Le Creuset skillet, I placed the steak, with about one teaspoon of cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil.

I preheated the oven to 350 degrees.

On the steak, I scattered the following:
- 1 clove diced garlic
- about 1.5 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
- about 2 teaspoons country herb blend
- about two teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- about one teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
- about two teaspoons lemon juice

I threw one can of potatoes around the steak and plan on baking it for about an hour. I placed my large pfaltzgraf platter over the top as a cover.

Chicken salad on pretzel rolls

I bought Gabby's Pretzel Dinner Rolls at Target. These are scrumptious little things.

I make many varieties of chicken salad, and the label 'chicken' salad will take you to them. I liked this one, despite the low volume of crunchy bits.

- one can, 12-ounce, canned white meat chicken, diced
- about 2 teaspoons mayonnaise (I often use vegan mayonnaise, but today I used regular)
- one teaspoon country herb seasoning
- 1/4 cup mandarin oranges (I use a sharp knife to cut the oranges into thirds)
- 1/4 cup chopped apple (leftover from the orchard)
- 1/4 cup blueberries (I let frozen blueberries thaw inside the mix)
- shredded carrots and red cabbage picked out of a Fresh Express Veggie Lover's Salad

Pork with apples without apples and with peaches

I made an incredible lunch today from last night's leftovers and that made me realize that I didn't blog yesterday's meal. So, to try and remember...

- 5 thin boneless pork chops
- apple juice
- brown sugar
- canola oil
- country herb blend
- one can sliced peaches
- 1/4 cup Archer Farm lemon dill mustard

Cook the pork chops in one tablespoon canola oil, five minutes each side in the Le Creuset skillet.

Add about 1 teaspoon country herb blend, one cup apple juice, 1/2 cup brown sugar, the peaches (drained) and the mustard. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and let simmer about 15 minutes. Add frozen greenbeans, serve when the greenbeans are cooked.

Now, with the leftovers, I chopped the pork and the peaches very small. I put them and the leftover juice in the skillet. Cook until. Add about 1-1 1/2 cups cooked spaghetti. Swirl with about 2 teaspoons sesame oil. Cook until noodles are hot, stirring constantly. Sprinkle liberally with sesame seeds.

Venison stew

I made venison stew last night for my family to eat while I was at work. I didn't intend it as stew, but it happened that way.

As usual, I didn't have enough time or ingredients to follow a recipe so I did an internet search for venison loin and experimented from there.

Everyone seems to suggest soaking venison in salt water/vinegar to lessen the game taste. They recommend a few hours and even better overnight. I gave it an hour, so who knows if it even did anything but... My brine solution was salt, pepper, one cup water, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and almost a cup of white vinegar. And my "country herb" blend.

After I got the loin pieces out of the marinade/brine, I dredged them in flour and cooked them on medium high in canola oil in my Le Creuset skillet. Meanwhile, in the crockpot, I poured a can of Progresso French onion soup (which has BUTTER in it, but more MSG than butter... So, is that a little butter or a lot of MSG? Either way, scary. I hope to never come in contact with this soup again.) And a cup of water. Which later we added another 12 ounces of water at least...

I cooked the meat about five minutes on each side and then I poured a cup of water over it and allowed that to boil most of the way off. I poured the meat and all the drippings into the crockpot. My husband added chopped potatoes. We cooked on high about four hours then reduced to low for another three to four. (I'm not sure when they ate dinner.)

About 20 minutes before they ate, they added frozen carrots.

They loved it and devoured it as stew.