My Other Passion

For those reading this post, you might think I do everything "quilty". But you're wrong!! Meet my other passion…cooking. Well let me clarify that some more-- I love trying new food recipes and sampling spices I've never tried. The girls (Drew and Justin) snicker and crack jokes about my endless viewing of Martha Stewart. Last week Martha had on Eva Longora (just in case you haven't heard, she's from Texas) demonstrating her recipe for beef skirt steak. She topped her steak off with Queso Fresco (Mexican cheese that my girls thought was Feta cheese) and a squeeze of fresh lime. This all looked and sounded good but I wasn't motivated to make this until I ran across the following recipe while flipping through Southern Living magazines in the local library:

Smoky Barbecue Rub

Stir together 2 Tbsp. firmly packed dark brown sugar.

2 tsp. garlic salt.

1 tsp. chipotle Chile powder.
½ tsp. ground cumin.

¼ tsp. dried oregano.

Mix ingredients together and rub mixture on meat. Let meat marinated for 1-2 hours in refrigerator.

OK, I have a confession to make—I hate following directions! So this is what I did to the recipe. First of all, I couldn't find Chipotle Chile powder in our local grocery store so I did the next best thing. I found Chipotle Peppers in Adobe Sauce (canned). I chopped two of the peppers up fine and tested the heat of the peppers. I can't stand to much heat so two or three would be just right for me. I also added 1 tsp. of onion powder to the rub and lastly I added 2 Tbsp. of olive oil. So now instead of a rub, I got a paste J I rubbed the paste over the skirt steak and let marinate for three hours. I cooked the steak on my extra-large Forman Grill (I sometimes use my Forman grill like a stove-top grill) but this could also go on the outside grill. With the top open on the grill, the steak cooked for six minutes on each side. I thought if I cooked with the top open I could better control the heat and cooking time. Try slicing some red onions and red bell peppers, coating them with a little olive oil and salt & pepper. I used half of the grill for the steak and the other half for the peppers and onions.

I served the steak as tacos with slice of red onion and red peppers, a squeeze of lime, chunks of avocado and Queso Fresco. In the picture you will see I added some homemade potato salad. It all was um, um, good!

This meal was very easy to make, fast and cheap. You just can't go wrong with all those qualities. I hope you get the chance to try the recipe out. Please let me know what you think and/or if you added something different.

Okay, now on to something "quilty"! This last month my family moved into our home. Mid-way through all the unpacking I had the need to start creating but I needed to load my EQ6 onto my new laptop. How come you can never find things when you're looking for it??? I went through box after box and no EQ6. I even offered to pay a reward to the girls if they would look for the software. No luck. Finally after looking at the price of the new EQ7 ($189.00) I decided to check eBay out. My luck was changing because I found a brand new copy (still in wrap) for $111.00 but with the option of submitting a Best Offer. Alright I'm feeling lucky, so I placed an offer for $100.00 and guess what…I got it! The box arrived in three days after paying for the auction and now I'm ready to roll.

Well, I hope I didn't talk too much on this post but it has been awhile. Take care and keep creating!

Tracy Ward

3-B Girl's Quilts