Tag Archives: baked potatoes

The Vegetarian Cooking Steak

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The Vegetarian Cooking Steak

Hello!! I have been a vegetarian for a very long time and Johnny very much isn’t lol. However, he eats all of the MorningStar and Gardein products and typically orders out if he’s craving a burger. In our almost half a decade long relationship, I think I have cooked bacon five times and steak once. Twice if you count this past Wednesday! I often get asked if it bothers me to cook meat and it honestly doesn’t so much. I just hate to touch it and also the fact that I’m serving a food that I can’t taste for quality control. I am pleased to report that the steaks I made were top notch according to Johnny and our best boy, Cliff, so that’s not bad at all for a second go! Check it out:

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Our bestie has been feeling a little low and Johnny asked me if it would be okay if I cooked a homemade dinner to cheer him up. He is so thoughtful and I was more than happy to accommodate. The guys requested my seasoned baked potatoes and steaks and that seemed easy enough! I decided that if I was going to do steaks, I was going to do it right and wanted to find a mesquite marinade recipe to compliment the potatoes. I clicked around online for a bit and ultimately ended up choosing what was the most simple and had the fewest ingredients from The Spruce Eats.

The recipe for the marinade was easy peasy lemon squeezy and used less than ten items – most of which I already had at home. It needed red wine, rice wine vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper. On Tuesday, I mixed the ingredients and let the steaks sit in zip lock bags until it was time to cook them Wednesday evening. To cook the steaks, I fried them in butter with salt, pepper, and a dash of hope that all would go well…

It went… Fine lol. The meat thermometer I was using wasn’t the best and I couldn’t seem to get a clear read on it. The steaks felt like they took forever to cook and by the time I thought to just cut into it to see what was going on, they were already done and should have come off the heat a few minutes prior. Despite that mix up, I was thrilled that both Johnny and Cliff enjoyed them so much and that the marinade was bold, flavorful, and smokey. They both completely cleaned their plates and that was good enough for me!

The next time we have Cliff over for dinner, I’m going to try cooking chicken for the first time ever so we’ll see what happens!

What is something that you have never cooked before? What is a food that you refuse to eat? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Super Easy Baked Potato Dinner

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Super Easy Baked Potato Dinner

Hello! After a long stint of craziness in my life, I have finally found some extra time and energy in the evenings to cook again. It makes me so happy to be able to make dinner and mine and Johnny’s wallets have been happy because we haven’t had to DoorDash in weeks! Despite having the additional time to cook, that doesn’t mean I want to spend all evening cooking and if the meal takes longer than a half hour to make than I say forget about it lol. The same goes for if the recipe has a million ingredients because that’s a hassle and a half too!

With my time and ingredient limit in mind, I racked my brain for dinners that I could make fairly effortlessly when putting in my curbside order. I came up with several, one of them being baked potatoes. I cannot tell you the last time I have had one and as soon as I thought about it, I was craving them something fierce. This past week, I made a baked potato meal with all of the fixings for me and Johnny and my dad and brother and it turned out SO bomb. 20/10 would make again! Check it out:

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Although baked potatoes are crazy easy to make, I have never made them before. In my youth, I remember my parents just sticking the potatoes in the oven and calling it a day. I wanted to make the 2.0 version, however, and began consulting different websites to find the best way to make them. The resounding theme that I found was to coat the potatoes in olive oil and seasoning and bake it on a foil lined sheet. I did just that and coated the skins with salt, pepper, parsley, and rosemary and let them bake for about an hour at 425 degrees. Once they were close to being done, I steamed broccoli and dinner was ready to go.

The final result of my baked potato effort was a huge hit and everyone who I cooked for loved it. The oil and seasoning truly made all of the difference. The skin of the potato was so crisp and flavorful and the inside was soft and fluffy – they were the dictionary definition of “just right”. This meal required no skill or thinking, but it was the favorite thing that I have made for my captive audience in a minute. Often times, simple is best when it comes to making dinner and this is one that I would definitely make again soon!

I have been working hard at setting small goals for myself and cooking was at the top of my list. I am beyond thrilled that I am holding true to my goal and accomplishing it and the reward is everyone enjoying what I am making. That’s the best part of all! ❤

What is your favorite easy dinner to make? What is your go to baked potato toppings? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah