Steak bites are a weeknight mainstay of our meal planning rotation. Cajun Steak Bites have just enough kick to please both my spice lovers and less adventurous eaters.

Cajun Steak Bites

Steak bites are crispy bits of steak that cook up quickly and easily on the stovetop. I like to use a skirt steak cut into bite-sized pieces.

When making these bites be sure to not overcrowd your pan. You want to give each piece the chance to crisp up and get browned edges. Overcrowding the pan will result in the piece being steamed instead of browned.

The goal when cooking the meat is to create a crisply browned outside and a lovely pink and juicy center for each piece.

As the meat is cooking, if a piece is slightly larger and has a side that looks like it hasn’t browned, flip to that side again for 20-30 seconds. Take caution not to overcook the steak.

I am often asked if I use inside or outside skirt steak. The truth is you can use either in this recipe. However, if I have the choice I go with the outside skirt.

Outside skirt is usually a bit larger in size and is more flavorful and tender than the inside skirt. Sometimes you just have to go with what is available at your local market.

There isn’t always time to marinate a steak so these tasty bites with a flavorful dry rub are a perfect solution. The juicy bites cook up in minutes and make a complete meal, just add a vegetable.

I served the steak bites with a pan of Roasted Green Beans and Garlic Paprika Roasted Cauliflower, along with some Roasted Red Potatoes seasoned with the same Cajun spices I use on the steak bites.

Cajun Steak Bites Recipe

1. Cut the steak into bite-size pieces, about ½” – ¾” in size. Place the meat in a large b

Asian Cucumber Salad

This light and fresh Asian cucumber salad is our new favorite healthy side dish, complete with a sweet and tangy vinegar dressing.

Earlier this year I was working on an Asian steak marinade and I was playing around with the idea of using black vinegar in it. The final recipe was tested when Cade’s mom came into town and it was a total hit. Without even realizing it though, I’d added black vinegar to the cucumbers instead of the steak marinade that morning. It turned out both dishes needed something a little different than what I was doing and it was awesome!

You can read below for a substitute as we still love cucumber salad with just straight up rice or apple cider vinegar. In fact, we often use both. 

Ingredients for Asian Cucumber Salad

It only takes 7 ingredients to make this simple but refreshing salad recipe. Here is what you will need:

• English Cucumber – I just to just slice them thin by hand, but feel free to remove the seeds if you want
• Red Onion – totally optional but I love the zip it adds, do a fine slice on a mandolin
• Rice Vinegar – mild, sweet and sour flavor
• Chinese Black Vinegar – a dark mild vinegar with a slightly fruity flavor
• Honey – adds sweetness and balances the saltiness and tang
• Sesame Seeds – give them a little toast to enhance the nutty flavor
• Fine Sea Salt – dissolves easily into the dressing and adds flavor

Read more

The secret to this Better Italian Stuffed Peppers recipe isn’t anything crazy, so why does no one do it? I guess it took a hater of stuffed peppers to make the magic happen.

Motherhood with Joy

My friend recently had her little boy in the hospital with a bad case of pneumonia. Anytime a child, especially one that’s still a young toddler ends up in the hospital, my heart lurches into the reality of time and love. It seems only yesterday and somehow a million years ago that I was lying in a hospital fighting to survive along with an unborn baby doing the same thing, but at my own expense. I lack an awful lot in life, certainly when it comes to parenting, but times like these always remind me of one thing, and I hope it will make sense to say it, at least I’m here.

I may not make perfect decisions or respond to situations perfectly, but oh how I perfectly ache to be a good mother. To remember to love them and to strive a little more to extend that love to those outside of my home. As I honor the gift of motherhood I find myself wondering, what is the secret to motherhood with joy?

My friend’s son made it out of a much longer stay in the hospital than expected. She had so much on her plate and could have lost faith in tomorrow, in medicine, even in God, but she continued on, giving all she could muster each day for him.

I guess that’s it. All I can do it strive each day to begin again and remember that though tempted to lose faith in many things, myself, people and the world, God never loses faith in those things. Maybe I won’t end up with adult children that think I was the best mom, but maybe they will think I was trying to love them. Maybe that’s enough. Just to try to love.

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! This has felt like a really long week for having been just a four-day work week. I’m looking forward to downtime with family and maybe a hike this weekend too.

Starting next week, we’re back to the regular mix of savory and sweet recipes on the website. Anyone else craving some meat, potatoes, and vegetables after seeing so many ice cream recipes??

ON THE BLOG this week: Rich, dark, ultra-smooth, and creamy chocolate meets a hint of orange in Chocolate Orange Ice Cream like no other you’ve ever tasted.

Tart and sweet Roasted Rhubarb Ice Cream is a flavor combo my taste buds crave. The tart pieces of rhubarb are nicely balanced by the sweet cream.

Sweet and slightly tart Cherry Ice Cream is made with just a handful of easy ingredients. No custard base, no eggs, no cooking time, just a quick whirl in the blender with cream, sugar, and cherries.

Dairy Free Chocolate Ice Cream that doesn’t taste dairy-free and doesn’t have any hint of coconut? YES! It is possible and it is fantastic!

Bite-size chunks of Monster Cookie dough are more irresistible than ever when tucked into the Best Ever Cookie Dough Ice Cream.

What I’m CRAVING: Ranch Chicken and Potatoes with Cheese – this dinner is so good! The recipe is one from my first cookbook and my friend Deborah shared the recipe on her site a while back. It’s definitely time to make it again.

What I’m WATCHING: Heartland Season 11. How could I have forgotten about this show? I stumbled on it again the other day and grinned like mad. I have 4 seasons to catch up on now. It’s been fun to watch the characters develop and see how things have changed.

What I’m READING: Mama Bear Apologetics by Hillary Morgan Ferrer. I’m still working through this one. I’ve never called myself a “mama bear,” so admittedly it makes me cringe a bit every time I read those two words, BUT if you can look past that part, this is an excellent reference on teaching your kids apologetics.

If you aren’t already familiar with apologetics, contrary to how it might sound, the word apologetics does not mean saying you’re sorry. Instead, it refers to the defense of what you believe to be true. Understanding apologetics enables us to confidently deal with the intellectual challenges to Christianity. Our faith is grounded in reason, not just feelings, and learning apologetics

Rich, dark, ultra-smooth, and creamy chocolate meets a hint of orange in sweet ice cream like no other you’ve ever tasted.

If you’re skeptical of the chocolate and citrus combination, one taste will be all it takes to convince you. (And if you don’t love the darkest of chocolate, any chocolate you love will work beautifully in this ice cream.)

Chocolate Orange Ice Cream

We tried a Chocolate Orange flavored ice cream while we were in Montreal and Sean declared it the best one he tried throughout our vacation.

It really was fantastic. So, naturally, I couldn’t resist trying my hand at recreating it. Four (maybe it was five ?) batches later, this ice cream has been declared one of Sean’s all-time favorites.

Do you love the chocolate and orange combination too? Don’t miss the EASY to make Chocolate Covered Oranges that my family adores!

Over the years, I’ve made this ice cream with extra dark chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, regular cocoa powder, and special dark cocoa powder too. It works every single possible way.

Sean and I love it best with the darkest of dark chocolate, however, my boys like it best with semi-sweet chocolate. The final color of the ice cream will be determined by how dark your chocolate is. As you can tell by the photos here, it will vary a good bit.

I’ve made this both with and without orange zest, as well as with store-bought juice. The zest makes a big difference in the results, especially when using fresh orange juice.

Fresh and store-bought orange juice will both work well. The fresh orange juice produces a milder flavor with a little more sweetness to it. The store-bought orange juice was just enough stronger than fresh I preferred it in the end.

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