HO HO HO& Merry Christmas! This Cheap$kate Santa comes bearing not gifts, but GIFs, so you don't have to wait until the early morning of December 25th to open your pictorial presents!
'Tis the time of year where I set the table with a cornucopia of eye-popping delights for you to over-indulge in.
Have you been bad or good this year? Well, I'm not judgmental whether you've been a do-gooder or the naughty type, so read on.
While not a brightly wrapped package sitting under the Christmas tree waiting to be opened, you can watch my GIFs anytime. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just check out the animation below for an eyeful.
The letters, GIF, stands for Graphics Interchange Format and is a short video, graphic, or photo clip. There is usually no audio, and a clip lasts for a few seconds. I make a GIF that plays in a loop, that is, it keeps repeating. You can read all about a GIF by clicking here.
I use GIFS to show how a recipe looks in compressed and speeded-up time as it bakes, fries, or boils, and the slicing or assembling of veggies, fruit, and meat. I also make photo stories. And sometimes I make GIFS just for fun like the Goldfish Crackers below.
In another example below, I assemble and cook aBlueberry Pancake...in just a few seconds with my GIF.
So keep on scrolling and feast your eyes on my 2019 roundups of GIFs past. And click on any recipe name or food product to see the scrumptious recipe/review blog post -- so dig in.
Meat and potatoes - can't beat it for a primitive indulgence. I don't eat a lot of steaks but when I do it is usually Ribeye Steak. It's so good I had to make a simple video recipe, pairing it with sliced Red Potatoes.
I find T-Bone a bit tough as the more tender fillet mignon side is usually quite small. Whereas a Ribeye is marbled with fat, some large some small fatty deposits - they keep the meat tender and you can just slice the fat away if you prefer. I indulge in the whole hog.
T-Bone and Ribeye
There is an extra tender fillet along the outer edge which is my favorite part. You'll know it when you slice it. And even the bone has a thin layer of meat on it so gnaw away!
I find a Ribeye is part rib and steak with the best of both worlds. Now not all Ribeye is the same. I find boneless cheap micro-thin slices at my localDollar Tree and 99c only Stores. Since they cost a buck and are in the 3-ounce range, you get what you pay for. These thin fillets are good enough for aCarne Asada Taco or sliced for a Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry. Some cuts of Ribeye are boneless - I prefer bone-in.
But for my money, splurge and go for a thick cut of Ribeye from your fave grocer. I have a local Latin market that sells Ribeye for less than five bucks a pound for 4 or 5 packs. I usually break the package down and freeze the steaks.
They defrost fast enough. I discovered a way to defrost steak in an hour by placing a heavy pan or pot on the wrapped frozen steak (or just a regular frying pan filled with water or anything heavy.) Believe it or not, it works quickly. This has become my go-to defrosting method for most frozen meats. (A thick roast or whole chicken is too large and clumsy for this method, but chicken pieces defrost a bit quicker than normal with weight.) If you have a cast-iron pan or pot, give it a go.
I like Red Potatoes more than Russet for roasting. But use any cheap and tasty spud you like. A Red Potato is usually small enough for a single serving, while Russets may give you leftovers. As for flavor, I find Red Potatoes a bit moister when cooked through. But don't get me wrong I like all spuds.
If you want to try something a bit different then grill yams and sweet potatoes. You do need to watch them a little closer as they will burn black, but you can always scrape that off if you like.
Potatoes are cheap any way you slice them. My Latin market sells them for way below a buck and I can get them 5 pounds for 99.99 at my local 99c only Store. Russet Potatoes are even cheaper.
How do you like your steak? With just salt and pepper? I add a favorite BBQ Sauce to mine right at the start. The sauce does tend to slide off when you turn the steak, but that's okay with me, I like just a hint of sweetness or sour from the BBQ sauce.
Medium-rare is for me. You do have to watch the grill or frying pan but you can get char and medium-rare. The way I do it is to char one side well and flip the steak and cook another minute or so, much less time than the charred side. And serve charred side up.
I've done it enough times this way, you get the best of both worlds. My final check for doneness is to slice into the steak and look for a little red color.
I like a steak right off the BBQ grill, but second, best is broiling in the oven or in a small toaster oven.
For an oven, I broil the steak about 6 inches below the fire or heater element. This takes a little longer but there is less fat splatter and I can turn the steak at the right char time. Of course, broil the steak your way. My broiler oven auto-sets to 550 degrees.
A counter toaster may not have a 6-inch distance separation from the heating element, but the oven does have temperature control, so you can cook at a slightly lower temp and watch the steak as it cooks and chars.
I slice the potato to about 1/4 to a 1/2 in thickness. You can make silver dollar rounds or just cut them like regular French fries. I find they char about the same time as a steak. And be sure to flip them like you do the steak.
They are easy to check for doneness, just poke them with a fork or knife and the potato slice should easily pierce when done. Sometimes they take a minute longer so just remove the steak when done and let the spuds broil for another minute or so.
Broiling Ribeye Steak & Red Potatoes is an easy and quick hearty meal. There may be a bit of smoke produced in the kitchen, so leave a window open or oven fan on for the last few minutes of cooking, but believe me, it's worth smelling a little smoke for.
Broiling Ribeye Steak & Red Potatoes - Video
Play it here. The video runs 2 minutes, 20 seconds.
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
Ingredients ( one serving)
Ribeye Steak - any size or thickness. With or without bone.
1 or 2 Red Potatoes - depending on size. Okay to use any favorite potato including Russet or Sweet Potato and Yam.
BBQ Sauce for Steak - optional. I add enough to cover the steak. I cover just one side and start broiling with BBQ Sauce on top. Okay to add as much as you like.
Salt and Pepper to taste - for both steak and potatoes.
Directions
Nothing to this recipe really, just put everything on an oven-prof pan or wire rack and broil Ribeye and Red Potatoes until the desired doneness. I find I can do the whole meal from prep to cooking in 15 minutes at most, as long as the steak is defrosted.
Get the oven broiler started, it may take a couple minutes to get going to the right temperature.
I first slice potatoes thick, about 1/4 inch. I slice into discs to keep it simple but you can make French Friy slices. I sprinkle on salt and pepper. If you have a favorite seasoning mix like Cajun Seasoning then use that.
Arrange potato slices on the pan or wire rack. If you use a flat pan you may want to lightly drizzle or spray potato slices with veggie oil to keep them from sticking. A wire rack is just easier to use since potatoes will not stick as easily, which means you can leave off veggie oil.
Add steak to the grilling pan. For my defrosted Ribeye Steak I first season one side with salt and pepper. I then spread on the BBQ Sauce. I cover my steak on one side only and have that side facing up towards the heating element or fire.
I like the sweet char that comes with broiling. You can add BBQ Sauce to both sides if you like. A lot of the sauce will drip off, but that's okay with me. If you don't like BBQ Sauce then leave it off. You can use any favorite steak sauce.
When the broiler oven is hot add the pan with steak and potatoes under the fire or heating element. I usually have them about 6 inches from heat.
I go by sight for grilling, when steak and potatoes are charred then I turn them over to finish cooking. This may take 3 to 5 minutes depending on how close the meat and potatoes are to the fire.
For a medium rare steak I char one side and then cook the other side for a minute to finish. A final check is to slice into meat to check for the amount of redness or doneness.
For the potatoes, turn them when they are light to medium brown. They are done when easily pierced by a knife or fork.
Depending on how thick you slice them they may take a minute or so longer to cook through, so it's okay to leave them in when you remove the steak. It's fine to let steak sit for a minute.
Serve immediately and dig in!
This recipe works well with Hamburger Patties too. Chicken pieces are a little tricker with potatoes as chicken takes twice as long to cook through. But I've done it - I just add potato slices when one side of the chicken is done. Again it's easy enough to take out the potatoes when done anytime during the cooking of hamburger or chicken.
Fresh fruit and yogurt go well togetherin my latest recipe video, Raspberries and Yogurt.
Pre-mixed yogurt with fruit is too sweet for me. It is easy enough to mix a handful of raspberries into yogurt. Raspberries are very delicate, so mix lightly or they will fall apart, but even that is okay if you don't care about appearances.
This fruit and yogurt mix will keep a couple of days in the refrigerator -- if you can resist finishing it off in one sitting!
This isn't so much an original recipe as a recipe reminder of how easy and nutritious it is to add fresh fruit to yogurt.
Anytime I find fruit on sale at my local 99c only Store, I immediately think of a light breakfast. My most common homemade yogurt with fruit includes strawberries, pineapple, sliced mango, blackberries and blueberries.
Fresh frozen fruit mixes nicely into yogurt, although the texture is mushy when defrosted. Some canned fruit works well, I like canned pineapple and peaches in natural juice.
As for yogurt I just use plain. Vanilla and other flavors are usually too strong and often have added sugar. But, if you like a certain type on sale then use it.
Sometimes an unusual brand will show up on sale like this creamy French-style yogurt called "oui" made by Yoplait. It was so good I got half a dozen jars. They also had a lemon-flavored that held up well with the addition of raspberries.
"Oui"is advertised as "French Style," whatever that means. But it is milder tasting - less sour than typical yogurt, with a slight almond flavor. And the glass jars are collectible too.
As with any new find at a 99c only Store, I will try it in the car parking lot, and if it's good then I will go back and get a whole bunch more. I've learned you gotta be impulsive there or it may be gone an hour later -- snooze you lose!
So do check out my latest stop-motion animated video. There's really nothing to this recipe and anyone can make it. Sometimes less is more, for a perfectly delicious recipe.
Raspberries & Yogurt - Video
Play it here. The video runs 35 seconds.
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
