Filet Mignon with Lettuce Wraps

Good Friday Morning Foodies! I'm so glad this week has come to an end! I have so much to do these days because I'm moving in about a week. My entire house is in shambles and it's really hard to find the time to cook anything fun for dinner. Tonight, I'm going over to a friend's house and we will be making this fantastic filet mignon recipe at her place. It will be heck of a lot easier to navigate her kitchen ha ha.
Well, hope everyone enjoys their weekend. Happy eating!

Ingredients

• 4 6oz filet mignon steaks

Marinade

• 1 large onion, sliced
  
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
  
• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
  
• 1/4 cup apple juice
  
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  
• 2 teaspoons dark (toasted) sesame oil
  
• 4 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Scallion Salad

• 1 large bunch scallions, finely chopped
  
• 2 red chiles, seeded and thinly sliced
  
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
  
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  
• 1 teaspoons dark (toasted) sesame oil

Lettuce rolls

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
  
• 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
  
• 3 tablespoons soybean paste
  
• 1 1/2 heads Bibb lettuce, leaves separated

Directions
Place steak in a 6" x 9" baking dish. Combine marinade ingredients; pour over meat. Cover with plastic; refrigerate 1/2 to 2 hours. Combine salad ingredients in a bowl; chill until ready to serve. Remove meat from marinade; pat dry. Coat grill or broiler pan with cooking spray. Heat grill on high. Grill or broil steak 3 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Transfer to a platter and let rest 10 minutes. Remove onion from marinade. Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Cook onion over medium-high heat until tender, 5 minutes. Move to a bowl. Cut meat thinly. For lettuce rolls: Layer rice, salad, soybean paste, onions and steak in the center of each lettuce leaf; roll up. Serve 4 rolls per person.
Source:Grass...it's what's for dinner

Red Beans and Rice with Bison Andouille

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone! It's Mardi Gras, and out office is completely decorated with purple, green and gold streamers, balloons and beads! It's going to be a great day of food and fun here I can tell ya! Last night after dinner, I started working on the feast set for tonight...Classic Red Beans and Rice with Bison Andouille Sausage. It's going to be pretty easy to toss this together so I can focus on the Amish bread. I hope you all have a great Mardi Gras.

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried red beans
  
• 3 1/2 cups water or chicken stock
  
• 4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
  
• 2 bay leaves
  
• 1 large onion, diced
  
• 1/4 cup oil
  
• 1 pound bison andouille sausage
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
  
• salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste
  
• 2 cups steamed rice

Recipe Directions
Wash, sort and soak beans overnight, as per package instructions. Drain beans and place in a Dutch Oven with 3 cups cold water. Add garlic, celery, onion, bay leaves and oil and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, adding water as needed and stirring occasionally. Add sausage and parsley and continue cooking for about an hour. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste during the entire process. Serve over steamed rice.

The Sisterhood Award & Shrimp Etouffee'

This morning I was plesantly surprised and honored with a blog award from one of my favorite bloggers out there... NuKiwi!

A Kiwi Kitchen is a fantastic blog filled with honesty and great taste, so to receive this from someone so dedicated to her blog and readers means a lot to me. It's great to know that my hobbies are shared and appreciated by such phenomenal people. Thanks again.
And now to pass the award along! I chose the bloggers below.
Nicole of From the Inside
Caitlyn of The Alchemist Chef
Kikki of White Plate

Thank you guys so much for creating such interesting and honest content on your blogs. Keep up the great work!

Rules of the Award

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
   
2. Nominate as many blogs as you want which show great attitude and/or gratitude!
   
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
   
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
   
5. Share the love and link to the post and the person from whom you received your award.
   

Now...on to the recipe of the day!
Fat Tuesday is almost here and I'm really excited! I'm going to be making Shrimp Etouffee' tonight for dinner tonight! With as much as this recipe yields, I'm either going to have to invite a bunch of friends over, or freeze some! I decided against making a King Cake this year, as I foolishly fell into the trap of Amish Friendship bread again! I absolutely love Amish friendship bread, but I know the sweet cinnamon-sugar path will eventually lead to a large quantity zip lock goop bags sitting on my kitchen counter, and a sneaking suspicion that I should have more friends to pawn this stuff off on before trying it again. At any rate, tomorrow is day 10, and I will be making my Amish friendship bread to enjoy after the Fat Tuesday Feast. I know it's a strange combination...but I'm kind of a strange person, so it works for me! I'll remember to record the process with my flip for everyone to see. And BTW...if anyone wants an Amish Friendship Bread Starter....I'm going to have quite a few of them in about 10 more days ;)

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
  
• 6 tablespoons salted butter
  
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 2 cups finely chopped onions
  
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
  
• 1 cup finely chopped green pepper
  
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
  
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
  
• 2 (14-ounce) cans beef broth
  
• 2 (14-ounce) cans water
  
• 3 bay leaves
  
• 1 teaspoonful dried basil
  
• 1 teaspoonful chili powder
  
• 1/2 teaspoonful dried oregano
  
• 1/2 teaspoonful black pepper
  
• 1/2 teaspoonful Cajun Spice
  
• 3 pounds large cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined

Recipe Directions
In a heavy Dutch oven or stockpot, add oil and butter. When the butter has melted and the mixture is hot, add flour. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to foam and turns a deep shade of golden brown. It will emit a "nutty aroma." Add onions, celery, green pepper, garlic and tomato paste and mix thoroughly; the flour mixture will be absorbed. Add broth and water and stir well to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, skimming any foam that rises to the surface. Add bay leaves, basil, chili powder, oregano, black pepper and Cajun Spice and cook for another 20 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add the shrimp, cover and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Source:Shrimp Etoufe'