Weekend Cook Out

 

I've made progress people! After my confessions last week I managed to make not one but TWO of the recipes I had been hording.

I made a gluten free granola for breaky and a Steak Salad for dinner on Sunday.

The Granola has been in the pile for about 3 years {shameful I know}.

I have to be honest and say that for all the recipes I come across I don't think I ever do it exactly as is laid out. I nearly always use substitutions as I'm too cheap {my mam says I get it from my granddad} to go buying new ingredients for every recipe. I use what I have to hand. 9 times out of 10 it works out fine. The original version of the granola can be found here if you want to try that one. I used the following

2 cups GF Rolled Oats

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup Agave nectar

1/4 cup Honey

1/2 cup Shredded Coconut

1/2 cup Dried Cranberries

1/2 cup Raisins

1/2 cup Diced Figs

1/2 cup Slivered Almonds

1/2 cup Sunflower Seeds

1/2 cup Chopped Walnuts

1 tbsps. Ground Cinnamon

 

Combine oats, molasses, agave nectar in a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well to combine.

 

Spread granola evenly on a lined baking sheet. I used a silicone mat. Bake for 15 to 30 minutes until golden brown and hard. Let cool on baking sheet and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks in a cool dry place.

 

So easy to make I can't believe it's taken me so long. This will be a staple in my kitchen from now on. I had it with watermelon and some probiotic yogurt. Delicious..

 

The steak salad is a new addition. Donal Skehan was the inspiration behind it with this recipe. Below is my version. It's super easy to make once the steaks are cooked. Just bung everything in a bowl toss in the resting juices and balsamic dressing and serve.

 

Salad

2 tbsp. pine nuts

2 Sirloin Steaks

10 Shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 cloves of Garlic, minced

1 red chilli-deseeded and finely chopped

2 Shallots-peeled and finely sliced

1/2 Cucumber, peeled into thin ribbons

1 Romaine Heart, shredded

1/2 Radicchio Heart, shredded

Handful Sugar Snap peas, finely sliced

2 Spring Onion, thinly sliced

1 carrot, peeled into ribbons

Few mint leaves, shredded

 

Dressing

1/2 teaspoon Ginger, grated

2 tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar

2 tbsp. Olive Oil

Pinch salt and vinegar

 

Lightly toast the pine nuts in a small dry pan. Set aside.

Season the steak with salt, pepper and massage in some olive oil. Put a large pan on to pre heat. Make sure pan is hot so that it's sizzling when you add the steak. Depending how you like your steak cook for a few minutes on each side. The recipe suggests 3-4 minutes but we like ours more well done so I left them a few minutes longer. Once cooked removed from pan and place aside on a plate to rest.

 

Lightly cook the shrimp in minced garlic and drop of oil. Set aside. Slice rested steak. Save the steak juices at this point.

Place all the prepared salad ingredients in a bowl, drizzle with balsamic dressing and retained meat juices and toss salad. The most time consuming part of the recipe was preparing the veg. Once that’s done everything comes together easily. This would be a perfect addition to any BBQ menu.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend, I'm planning a bread adventure this weekend. Let's see how that turns out. Fingers, toes and even eyes crossed!!

 

Michelle xxx

 

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