Lemon-Basil Marinade

This marinade smells so amazing!! I can't imagine that this chicken won't taste as amazing, but I will update this post after dinner.

Well, I got my hopes up too high. The marinade smelled great, but I didn't like the flavor of the cooked chicken. Most people would like the taste, but I thought it was too tangy.

Lemon-Basil Marinade

1/2 c. olive oil
1 c. chopped fresh basil
grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed through press
2 T white wine vinegar
1 T Dijon mustard

Whisk together and marinate 2 pounds of meat (poultry, veal, lamb, pork, or seafood) for at least a half-hour.

Herb-Marinated Chicken

This marinade was too strong, with the dried herbs. It might taste better with fresh herbs, I don't know. I used white vinegar (got my recipe ingredients mixed up) and I baked it at 375 degrees instead of grilling or broiling. I will use the leftovers from this chicken in my Chicken Alfredo Linguine tomorrow.

Herb-Marinated Chicken

1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar (oops, I used white)
1 T (about 3 cloves) minced garlic
1/2 t. dry parsley
1 t. dry rosemary
3/4 t. dry sage
1 t. dry thyme
1 t. salt
1/2 t. coarse ground pepper

1. Place chicken in a zip-top bag.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over chicken.
3. Seal bag tightly and shake gently to coat chicken well. Allow chicken to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, shaking bag gently twice during marinating to recoat chicken.
4. After chicken has marinated, discard remaining marinade. Preheat grill to medium-high heat, or preheat oven broiler.
5. Grill or broil chicken about 8-10 minutes per side, or until chicken is no longer pink and the juices are clear (cooking time may vary depending on the thickness of the meat).

London Broil

My paycheck ran out early this month, so I looked for a recipe that included ingredients I already had. Thus, London Broil. I was surprised to learn that "flank steak" seems to be the same as the "London Broil" cut of beef. This was a really simple recipe, also. I was thawing the steak, so I chose to marinade it while it defrosted instead of simply brushing on the seasoning. I have some steak leftovers that I will probably work into another recipe tomorrow night.

London Broil

1 1/2 lb. flank steak
1/4 c. Italian salad dressing
1 T dry white wine
freshly ground black pepper
salt

1. Wipe steak with a damp paper towel. With a sharp knife, score the steak 1/2-inch deep in a criss-cross pattern on both sides.
2. In a bowl, combine salad dressing and wine. Brush mixture over both sides of steak. Let stand for 15-20 minutes.
3. Place steak on rack in baking pan. Broil 2 inches from heat for 5 minutes on each side, or more if you desire more well-done steak.
4. With a knife in slanting position, cut diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, if desired.

Marinated Flank Steak

First of all I apologize for the quality of the pictures. Somehow my camera got set to "landscape" setting and I didn't realize until the next day ...

My friends were camping and invited me to a BBQ dinner, so I found a marinade recipe that I could try on some tri-tip steaks I had in the freezer. Unfortunately, the steaks had been frozen and partially thawed so many times that even a good marinade like this one didn't help. The flavor of the marinade was great, and the steaks had a pinkish hue due to the fact that I chose to use the balsamic vinegar option. I will keep this marinade to try on a fresh flank steak like the recipe calls for the next time around!!

Marinated Flank Steak

1/2 c. malt vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 c. chopped red onion
1/4 t. pepper
1 flank steak (1 1/4 lb.)

1. Combine vinegar, olive oil, onion and pepper in a heavy plastic bag.
2. Score the steak in a diamond pattern on both sides. Add steak to marinade, expell extra air from bag, and seal the bag. Place in a pan. Let stand 30 minutes. Turn bag over and marinade another 30 minutes.
3. Remove steak from the marinade.
4. Place the baking pan so that the steak is 4-5 inches from the source of the heat.
5. Broil steak for about 5 minutes on each side, more if you don't want it to be rare.