Grilled Tuna Steaks

Jon and I have become fans of a PBS channel called "Create." On this channel, we have become fans of the show "Barbecue University." OH-MY-GOSH, every time I watch this show my mouth just waters. This past week, we watched an episode where he cooked tuna steaks, grilled zuchinni, and grilled pineapple. And we just have to try it. We even found a fish market here in the middle of Las Vegas! Seriously, in the middle of the desert? Yup! We got 1 inch tuna steaks for $9.99/lb. That is a friggin' steal! Now, I am posting the recipe for the marinade before we try it, so if it's completely nasty, I'll pull it. But it looks so good.

Basil-Grilled Tuna

Ingredients:
4 tuna steaks (3/4 inch to 1 inch thick; 6 to 8 ounces each)
1 bunch fresh basil, washed and stemmed
4 cloves garlic, cut in half
3 strips lemon zest
Juice of 1 lemon (3 to 4 tablespoons)
1 Tbs. white vinegar
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. black pepper

Directions:
1. Trim any skin or dark or bloody spots off the tuna. Rinse the tuna under cold running water and blot dry with paper towels. Arrange the steaks in a nonreactive baking dish.
2. Combine the basil, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Pour this mixture over the tuna and let marinate in the refrigerator, covered, for 30 minutes to 2 hours, turning the tuna steaks several times.
3. Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high. When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate.
4. Drain the tuna steaks and arrange on the grill. Grill until cooked to taste, 2 to 3 minutes per side for rare, 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium, rotating the steaks 45 degrees after 2 minutes to create grill marks. The steaks should be nicely browned on the outside. Test for doneness using the poke test: A rare steak will be soft, a medium-rare steak will be gently yielding, and a medium steak will be firm. Transfer the steaks to plates or a platter and let rest for 3 minutes before serving.

Grilled Pineapple

Here is the recipe for the grilled pineapple we will be making. We'll have it for dessert with a nice big scoop of vanilla ice cream. MMMMMM......

Coconut-Grilled Pineapple

Ingredients:
1 ripe golden pineapple
1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high.
2. Peel, slice, and core the pineapple. Shake the coconut milk well before opening the can. Pour it into a bowl. Put the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and stir with a fork or spoon to combine.
3. When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. Brush each pineapple slice on both sides with coconut milk, and sprinkle, also on both sides, with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Arrange the slices on the hot grate, and grill until nicely browned on both sides, 4 to 6 minutes per side. If a crosshatch of grill marks is desired, rotate each slice 60 degrees after 2 or 3 minutes on each side. Transfer the pineapple slices to plates or a platter for serving.

Steak Kabobs

I know that everyone is doing all that they can to save money these days. Gas is out of control, there is flooding in the midwest, and all of this affects everything, especially food! I have been sitting down each week to plan my weekly meals out, trying to spend no more than $4 per person per meal.


My sister-in-law recently introduced me to a new shopping tactic that I found works brilliantly. We try to keep our driving to a minimum, so we only go grocery shopping on Saturdays. I know that when I go shopping, I will have to go to Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, and Smith's. BUT! The new tactic is that when I make my shopping list every Thursday/Friday, I pull out the ads we get in the mail each week (for us, it's Smith's, Albertson's, Von's, and Food 4 Less), and look for the sale items that I have on my list. I write down the cheapest sale price for each item and where that price is at. For example, I wanted to try this new recipe this week, Steak Kabobs, so I looked in the ad for steak that was on sale. At Smith's, top sirloin was $2.49. At Von's, it was $1.49! So I wrote that price down. Then, you take your list to Wal-Mart, and they will price match ANYTHING! Seriously, ANYTHING! I got everything on my list, including the water I normally get at Sam's Club, at Wal-Mart. Not only did I save money on gas, but I also saved around $25 on my grocery bill! (By the way, the meat at Wal-Mart is extremely overpriced. They steak I got was $5.38 per pound. So if you shop at Wal-Mart, make sure you do a price match especially on meat!) I owe a big thanks to Dawnie for enlightening me on some money saving tricks!


Now for the recipe. I think I found a keeper that is very cost effective but doesn't taste like it. We tried this recipe last night, and it was very difficult not to hurt yourself by eating too much! These are very good, the meat is so tender, and the vegetables get a nice flavor to them. You can use any type of steak you like, but I used a top sirloin that was thick cut. This was actually something I got Jocey to eat too! Because she doesn't like meat, we made her an all vegetable skewer and an all asparagus skewer. Watch for sales on steak and this meal will only cost you around $12, and it'll feed 4-5 people ($3 per person ain't too shabby!). I also found that metal skewers are easier to use so that the mushrooms don't break.

Steak Kabobs

Ingredients:
2 lbs. steak, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 package whole mushrooms, cut in half
2 red peppers, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup Kraft Greek Vinagrette Dressing, divided in half


Directions:
1. Put steak cubes into large ziploc bag with 1/2 cup of the dressing. Toss to evenly coat steak. Allow to marinade for 6 hours.
2. Blanch asparagus - bring enough water to cover asparagus to a boil. Put asparagus in water and allow to simmer for 3 minutes. Immediately drain and run asparagus under cold water to "shock." This will help to soften the asparagus and keep it a bright green color.
3. Thread meat and vegetables, alternating, on skewers. Grill over medium-high heat for 15 minutes, or until meat is cooked and vegetables are at tender-crisp stage. Brush with remaining dressing while the skewers cook.