NY Strip Kabobs

It is no question that it is summertime here in the mid-west. For me that means firing up the grill! This time I'm going less traditional than just steaks. My biggest critics, my two and seven-year-old girls, really enjoy my grilled steaks but I want some variety and eye-appeal today. I love kabobs because they look great, appease the critics, taste great and are easy to make!

The first step to making kabobs is picking the vegetables that appeal to your pallet. I chose a medium zucchini, orange and red bell peppers, yellow onion, and my fav portobello mushrooms. The mushrooms turn out sooo flavorful and juicy! I put the mushrooms on without the stem and slice the veggies to a respectable kabob size. (Not too small or they won't stay on the skewer.)

Next the meat. I would suggest a quality meat. Nothing is worse than a beef jerky-tasting kabob! I chose a 1/2 in thick NY Strip because I know that it will turn out medium to medium-well and has minimal gristle. Carve it into roughly half inch cubes. They won't be exact and make sure to cut out the fat or it will make the meat chewy.

Final step before grilling is to randomly skewer the ingredients and add some seasoning. Use what you like but not too much, when grilled to perfection it will have a good flavor naturally. Give the whole kabob a light dusting. My family has an affinity for all-purpose Greek seasoning.
 

Next step is my forte, my wife did the most of the slicing, I'm the grill-master! So the most important thing is to set the flame to just under medium. Place the kabobs on your grill and set a timer for seven minutes. When the timer goes off give them a quarter turn and repeat. This time when the timer goes off give them a quarter turn and set the timer for 3-5 minutes, after this session they should be cooked thoroughly. If you cook the kabobs too fast the meat will be chewy and the veggies will be hard and burnt...uncool.

The zucchini will have a dry appearance on the outside and the edges of the bell peppers and onion will be somewhat burnt when finished. I let my seven year old pick between some summertime sides: mac and cheese, pasta salad or couscous, being the strange child she is we had pasta salad! My wife and I chose a spring mix salad that complimented the kabobs nicely. Surprisingly and a little disheartening, there were no leftovers!

Ingredients:

2lb NY Strip Steak

1 whole red bell pepper

1 whole orange bell pepper

1/2 medium yellow onion

1/2lb portobello mushrooms

1 medium zucchini

1 package of Kabob skewers

Whole Wheat Fried Zucchini

Harvest time has begun! The first vegetable this year that we have harvested from our modest garden is zucchini! This year has been a plentiful harvest. We love to put it in a skillet with some soy sauce or bake up some zucchini bread but unfortunately it is a vegetable that gets tired fast! Today I changed up the menu with one of my favs since childhood, the fried variation.

Fried may not be the healthiest but it is the tastiest in my opinion! I read a few comments of the recipes that I found for batters, the main complaints were that the zucchini had turned out bland. I've never had that problem because I love pepper but I had an idea while I was getting my batter ingredients together. Wheat Flour!

One of my new favorite things lately is to cut the flour in my recipes in half and replace it with whole wheat flour. It adds flavor and healthy grains to my recipes as well as giving a slight nutty flavor to this one. In the case of this recipe it enabled me to cut most of the salt and pepper that I usually add after I remove it from the oil.

This recipe will cover a large zucchini. Grab all of your dry ingredients, I always mix them together before the wet and it seems to go well. When you mix the wet ingredients the result should be creamy enough to stick to the zucchini slices.

Next step is grabbing your knife and slicing without needing bandages! One tip I can give about slicing methods has everything to do with flavor. The thicker the slice the more the end result will taste like zucchini. Slice thinner and you will get a crispier less vegetable tasting end result.

Unlike most things I put in my grease fryer, zucchini can only be one layer. Otherwise the slices will stick together and generally make things difficult. I fry them for 2-3 minutes or until the side showing turns a light brown. At this point I turn them and continue frying for another minute or so. Turning isn't necessary but it gives the end result an even, presentable appearance.

A great thing about this side dish is that one can season it to match the main course. Throw some Italian seasoning on or some cayenne pepper or we've even thrown Greek seasoning on top. In order for the dish to adhere to your additional flavoring it is important to sprinkle it on before completely cooled. Place the zucchini onto paper towels immediately after removal while cooling in order to soak up excess grease. Serve while it is still warm for best flavor! If you are a dipper...grab some Ranch!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 egg