okay... I'm a jerk or just preoccupied

I've been away too long and so much has gone on in the last umpteen months! I feel that I have left you totally neglected and that someone might report me to bloggy protective services or at least just pass me up. SO I'm BACK!!!! Please don't kick my dog... er, if I had one.

My parents came over for the weekend to help us on a couple of wiring projects in the new house and with them they brought us a new dinner recipe. I so wish I would have taken pictures of this beautiful dish. My dad found it online here and mom and I adjusted it to our liking. My husband and dad commented that it tasted like it was of good restaurant quality. Hey, hey! Two thumbs up for us! We are awesome, but we already knew that. I'll put the recipe at the end of this post.

Now, because we are a larger than life family we doubled the recipe. Here are a few of the ways we tossed this puppy up. We had fresh salsa, chopped tomatoes, a mexican variety of cheese (? four cheese and mom bought it-figures, cheater). The meat only marinated for 4hrs - I can't imagine how much more delish the meat would have been if it had been marinating overnight! I also took about a quarter of the meat and cooked it until it was brown throughout, I won't touch it if it's pink and have passed that nasty habit on to the youngest of my offspring. We DID NOT put our tostadas in the oven to melt the cheese -growling, angry mobs will make that decision for you. Our flank steak was cooked on the grill-so we had it on for a couple minutes longer on each side. That was it!

I am so making this again!

I have had many chaotic moments since my last post. I will follow up with that on later postings, no need for drama or to drag everyone down in one fatal swoop. So for now, please enjoy this easy, beautiful, delicious dinner!


Dr. Pepper Marinated Steak Tostados
Ingredients
Meat and marinade:
1 pound skirt or flank steak (we used flank)
1 (16-ounce) bottle Dr. Pepper
Slaw:
1/2 cup thinly sliced red cabbage
1/4 cup thinly shredded
green cabbage
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into
thin strips
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
4 teaspoons malt vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Tostadas:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
11/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
4 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
11/2 cups shredded caciotta or Monterey Jack cheese (mexican blend)
1/2 cup goat cheese crumbles

Instructions
1. Pour Dr. Pepper over steak. Refrigerate 4 to 12 hours.
2. To prepare slaw, toss cabbage, bell pepper and cilantro together. Whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar and granulated sugar. Pour over cabbage mixture; toss. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry tortillas 8 to 10 seconds on each side. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt; drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
4. Prepare grill. Remove steak from marinade. Combine 1 teaspoon salt, brown sugar and pepper; rub on meat. Grill meat 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
5. To assemble tostadas, preheat oven to 350F. Place tortillas on baking sheets. Sprinkle with cheeses. Slice steak into thin strips. Distribute among tortillas. Bake 5 to 6 minutes, until cheese melts. Remove from oven and top each tostada with 2 tablespoons slaw. Serves 4.

Recipe adapted with permission from Grady Spears and June Naylor's, The Texas Cowboy Kitchen (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2007).

"Home at the Range," July 2009.