Sweet Molasses Steak

*Not my image, it came with the recipe. Also, those are PC molasses, so we know the recipe is from Canada. Yay!

The more I eat, the more I love to cook. The more I cook, the more I like to eat!

Over the past eight months, I've learned to cook a whole lot of new things, but we were still using store-bought marinade for beef. So when I saw this recipe, originally from Allrecipes.com, I had to try it.


Overall, I loved this recipe, but it was much sweeter than we were expecting. It really was very sweet, but that works with a nice juicy steak! Also, I expected the marinade to burn off a bit more on the grill, but because I was grilling rare and medium-rare, the steaks came out a little bit saucy. It works, but if you don't like sauce or gravy, you might want to wipe the marinade off the steaks before grilling.

Next time I make this, I'm going to spice it up a little bit. I would almost add jalapenos to the marinade... Or perhaps serve it with a spicy veggie/rice dish instead? I'm not sure. But anyway, enough maybe, here is what you came for.

Admittedly, it takes a lot of discipline for me to use molasses in cooking, because my instinct is instead to eat them directly out of the jar. I definitely had a few tastes along the way, but managed to get my 1/2 cup in the bowl.

As usual, I can't follow an original recipe to save my life. So I made some changes. This is my version.

What you need:

1/2 C molasses
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C tomato ketchup
1/2 C spicy ketchup (I used Heinz chili ketchup)
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP dried oregano
1 Tsp minced garlic
2 TBSP minced white onion

What you do:

Ready? Easiest. Directions. Ever.

Take all your ingredients. Mix them in a bowl and stir them together. Put them in a zipper bag with your steaks. Let them sit anywhere from 4 to 24 hours. Grill to taste. Serve with something. Or nothing. As you like it.

One suggestion: If you can't marinade for at least 4 hours, I suggest you tenderize your steaks with a fork... lots of holes means the marinade will get more surface area and help make your steaks soft and juicy. Yums.

Awesome AJ-Grilled Turkey Breast

*Yes, this is my image... I ate every scrap of food on my plate!

Awesome AJ-Grilled Turkey Breast

My hubby and I try to eat relatively healthy. Nothing pre-packaged if we can help it... mostly, dinner is meat and vegetables. We love chicken, beef, and pork, but after a while these three can get a little boring. Hence bringing turkey into the mix. While browsing Pinterest, I found this awesome recipe by Taste of Home and had to try it out. 

Guys, I do not regret it! If you love turkey, you will love this recipe. The flavor is interesting but not overpowering, and grilling the turkey makes it tender and juicy and wonderful. This is so good that I ate an entire tenderloin while standing next to the grill! Of course, I was locked out of the house at the time (long story) so it's not like I had anywhere to go at the time, but still. 

As you can see, I served my turkey with steamed peas. I think it would be great served with just about anything. I also think it would be fantastic chilled, sliced, and stuffed in a sandwich with some mayo, cheese, lettuce, onion and tomato... but we liked it so much tonight that there are no leftovers at all. 

What you need:

You'll need to marinate your turkey for a minimum of two  hours. I would suggest anywhere from four to eight hours to get lots of flavour out of your marinade. But two hours is sufficient to get some flavour in there so go for it!

1 to 1.5 lbs boneless skinless turkey breast tenderloins

1/4 C Apple juice
1/4 C Soy sauce (reduced-sodium if possible)
1/4 C canola oil
2 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP fresh minced onion (I just chopped mine nice and fine... it wasn't quite minced but it was fine)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp minced garlic (I always use the kind in the jar)

Dash of black pepper

I don't know if I've mentioned this or not, but I try really hard to stay away from garlic powder and powdered onion. There are two simple reasons for this. First, I prefer the taste of fresh garlic / onion. Second, I find my body processes fresh better than powdered, period. The original recipe calls for 2T dried minced onion and a dash of garlic powder. If you prefer dried, please feel free.... just don't breathe on me!

What you do:

Easiest. Process. Ever. 

Whisk all ingredients except the turkey in a bowl to mix them together. 

If you are marinating less than four hours, pierce your turkey tenderloins all over with a fork so they absorb more flavour. If you're marinating for longer, you don't need to do this (but it won't hurt, either). 

Put your turkey into a plastic zipper bag. Pour the marinade on top of it. Seal the bag. Your prep work is done!

Now, if you're going to marinate less than four hours, I suggest you marinate it at room temperature. If you're marinating for longer than four hours, you should put the bag into the fridge. Try flipping it over a few times throughout the day if you can, but this isn't necessary. 

Warm up your grill to medium heat. If you've been marinating in the fridge, be sure to take your bag out at least a half hour before you want to start  grilling and let it warm to room temperature.

Grill tenderloin for 16 to 20 minutes, turning every 4 to 5 minutes. You can use a meat thermometer to check done-ness, but I prefer just to slice a small piece out to check it. 

Let it rest for a couple of minutes before serving, and enjoy! 

Honey-Lime Pork Tenderloin

*Yes, this is my picture. Of my dinner. It was soooo good!

Honey-Lime Pork Tenderloin

I found this on Pinterest. It was originally from the Daily Herald... and since the first time we tried it in 

September, we've made it almost weekly since. I've made a few changes to suit us, but as always I suggest you do it properly the first time by following the original recipe. Then you can play. ;)

Making the marinade: 

1 lime, zested
1/2 C fresh squeezed lime juice
(normally I squeeze out the lime I zested, then add a little bottled lime juice to make up the rest)
1 1/2tsp coarse sea salt
1/4C honey
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped. (I use 1-2 tsp of the pre-chopped garlic in a jar. Way easier.)

Using your marinade to make awesome pork:

That's it. Easy right? Combine all the ingredients in a bowl to make the marinade, then pour it over 1lb of pork* in a freezer bag. Marinate the pork for anywhere from 4 to 24 hours before cooking. We always do this recipe on the grill, medium heat. 

I don't reserve any marinade for post-grilling. Instead, I tightly wrap the pork immediately after grilling and let it set for 5 minutes before serving. We often eat it with rice and veggies, but occasionally just with salad.

*we use either tenderloin or chops. We tend to like the chops best, but tenderloin is so cheap and delicious, it's hard to resist.