Vicki's Nico's Super Fries

During the many years we lived in Tucson, one of the things we most enjoyed was the amazing Pima library system (really just I did :)), the cost of living, but mostly the variety of things to do and places to eat.  I am definitely a city girl at heart, and although Tucson isn't my favorite city ever, I loved living there.  Aaron not so much...:)  Anyway, they had a chain of shops there called Nico's Taco Shop, and we loved it.  They had these super fries that Aaron and I would split, and it was delicious.  We started going there while we were without kids, and continued going after both of our first two.  The boys loved their beans and rice.  Anyway, we don't have a Nico's here, so I decided to recreate the recipe.

One of the important things is the amount of cheese used.  I always love cheese, but for these, there doesn't need to be too much cheese.  Aaron and I both felt like this was a really good take on one of our favorite take-out foods, we gave it a perfect 10, and so did Owen, and Noah gave it a 9.  Each serving, for 5 servings, was 583, but that includes LOTS of steak.  Here's the easy recipe

Pico de Gallo:

3 Roma tomatoes (or a little less), chopped

1/2 large jalapeno, seeded and ribs removed, chopped

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1/2 lime, juiced

2 T chopped cilantro

salt

Guacamole:

1/4 recipe Pico de Gallo

2 Haas avocados

salt

Steak:

1/4 c tequila (or a balsamic vinegar and some soy sauce might be good too if you don't use alcohol)

1 lime, juiced

dash of coriander

2 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped

1/2 large jalapeno, diced

salt

1/4 c olive oil

1.5 lbs flank steak, trimmed of fat and seasoned

Fries-homemade or storebought

sour cream

1/2 c Mexican cheese

Mix together the ingredients for the pico and stir well, being sure to be generous with the salt.  Set in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Mix together the tequila, lime, coriander, garlic jalapeno and salt.  Drizzle in the olive oil, then pour over the flank steak.  Let marinate in the fridge for a few hours.

When ready to prepare, cook the fries either in the oven, or if frying your own, in oil.  Mix together the guacamole, then portion the fries onto five plates.  Top each fry portion with cheese, then top with steak.  Serve with sour cream, guacamole, and pico de gallo.  

Michael Symon's Flank Steak with Bacon Corn Salad

Sorry about the late posting the last few times, I keep losing track of days :).  This was a delicious meal, and I loved the salad.  We actually had salad left over, and had it for leftovers the next day.  Each serving was 340 calories, for six servings, and Noah and I gave this a perfect 10, and Owen and Aaron gave it a 9.  Here's the easy recipe from Michael Symon:

Flank Steak (about 1 lb)
salt and pepper
4 T olive oil
1/2 lb bacon, diced
4 ear sweet corn, kernels cut from the cob
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 c loosely packed arugula
1/2 onion, sliced thinly

Season the steak with salt and pepper.  In a pan, heat 3T oil, then cook the flank steak on both sides until cooked to desired doneness.  Cook the remaining bacon with 1 T olive oil until crispy.  Add the corn and cook until the corn starts to brown.  Add the red pepper flakes and 1/2 c water to deglaze the pan.  Stir in the vinegar.  Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding salt and pepper.  Cut the steak thinly against the grain.  Top with the bacon, corn, arugula, and onion.

Chinese Take-Out's Mongolian Beef

I am a red meat kind of girl, so when I get to have beef rather than chicken for Chinese food, I am all in :).  Aaron prefers chicken most of the time, but I love me some steak/beef/what ever.  This Mongolian beef has such great flavor, and we all gave it a 9, except Aaron who gave it an 8.  Like all the recipes in Chinese Take-Out cookbook, this is relatively low in calories, but we always wish we had more sauce.  Each of the five servings was 256 calories, not including the rice, but it would be more if we made more sauce, which I plan on doing next time.  In fact, I will just post the doubled sauce recipe here, so I won't even try to make it the other way :).  Here's what to do:

Marinade:
1 T soy sauce
1 T mirin
2 t cornstarch

1 lb flank steak, sliced thinly against the grain

Sauce:
1/4 c soy sauce
4 t hoisin sauce
4 t chili paste
4 t mirin
2 t oyster sauce
2 t sesame oil
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes

1 T oil
2 leeks, white part only sliced thinly
1 t minced fresh ginger
1 scallion, chopped

Marinate the beef in the marinade for about 10 minutes.
Mix the sauce ingredients together, then set aside.
Heat the oil in your pan, then add in the beef to stir fry for a few minutes.  Add the leeks, and ginger and stir fry for another few minutes.  Add the sauce, and stir, cooking until the beef is cooked to desired doneness.  Garnish with scallions and serve.

Sweet and Savory Coconut Rice

Again, we don't have any pictures, but don't worry, the link with the recipe does!  We really liked this rice, Aaron especially.  I found it just a little sweet, so I added more salt to it, but Aaron and the boys liked it just how it was.  The coconut rice is found here, and it was fast and easy to make.  Aaron said it reminded him of Dominican rice he ate there, and he's wanted since.  He actually requested that I make this frequently, which I think scores a perfect 10 from him.  I gave it an 8, and the boys gave it a 9.  We had it with some green beans and this flank steak, which we also enjoyed, just not as much.  I can't serve meat medium rare because I'm preggers, so I had to serve it well done, and steak well done is just not delicious.  Oh well.  It was a great meal and we enjoyed it.  I will hopefully get back on the pictures next week, but I'll have a cookie recipe coming up soon that was pretty good.