TASTY TUESDAY

The Meal Deal

Today I decided to share an entire meal with you all that I made last night for a dinner Chase and I had with the missionaries from our church. They are from Hong Kong and South Korea. We wanted them to enjoy a meal that was American yet maybe a little different than what they usually eat here in Hawaii. It was a success! They had never had squash or asparagus before. It was absolutely delicious. If you are stuck on what to make for dinner tonight, go with this ;) It was delicious. Steak, garlic balsamic asparagus, caramelized butternut squash, and sweet rolls. And the order in which I cooked them was the squash, asparagus, and steak last so it was all served hot.

Garlic Balsamic Asparagus

Ingredients:

1 lb. asparagus

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. minced garlic

Directions:

1. Wash asparagus and then remove the bottom couple of inches of each stalk. Just snap off the woody ends. It may seem wasteful, but you won’t eat it, anyway–it’s too tough.

 

2. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, oil, vinegar, and garlic.

 Drizzle over asparagus and toss to coat.

3. Reduce heat to low, lightly oil pan, and place asparagus on the pan. Drizzle any remaining oil/vinegar mix over the asparagus. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until asparagus is bright green and still slightly crisp, turning very frequently.

Steak

Ingredients:

I got two sets with two steaks each (total of 4) and they were 1" thick NY steaks

Directions:

1. Remove steaks from trays and place in large bowl or zip log bag (I used my crock pot)

2. Marinate well and let sit 3 hours in fridge (I used the following sauce, Lawrys)

3. After 3 hours pass set oven to broil on high 
and move the cooking rack to the second highest notch

4. Remove steaks from fridge and place on sprayed broiling pan 

5.  Sprinkle pepper and seasoning of choice on top (Mrs. Dash)

6. Once the oven is pre-heated, place steaks on pan in oven 
with oven door cracked open (as appropriate for broiling)

7. Broil for 5 minutes on each side depending on how you like your steak cooked. 
Mine cooked a little slower so I cooked a total of 25 minutes, 
10 or so on each side (cooking in Hawaii sometimes changes things). 
Just eye-ball it and you be the judge as to cooking time.

Caramelized Butternut Squash

Ingredients:

Half a butternut squash (mine was a little over a pound)

5 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/8 cup light brown sugar packed

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 tsp. black pepper 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

2. Cut off the end of each butternut squash and discard

3. Peel the squash and cut in half 
(mine already was cut in half, this is for 2-4 pound squash)

4. Using a spoon, remove the seeds




5. Cut the squash into 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" cubes (large and uniform is best), 


and place them in a gallon size ziploc or large bowl

6. Mix the melted butter, brown sugar, salt and pepper in a separate small bowl.




7. Pour the butter, brown sugar, salt and pepper mixture over the squash and shake around the sealed bag or mix in bowl well so all vegetables are covered

8. Spread the squash on a cookie sheet and sprinkle a
little extra brown sugar and butter if you would like (I did)

9. Roast for 45-55 minutes, until the squash is tender and the glaze begins to caramelize

10. Turn the squash while roasting a few times with spatula to be sure it browns evenly

11. Serve hot!

Now set the table all cute and enjoy! 
I added some sweet rolls and butter as a side,
 or you can do mashed potatoes and gravy. 
Happy Cooking!