Chimichurri and Beef, its what's for dinner! Bonus- where do cows come from?

Hello Peeps!

Announcements: Some of you may have seen my post on FB about my graduation from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. I have mentioned taking online classes from there a few posts ago but now it's official, I am a certified Health Coach! I am so excited to start this new journey, following my passion of healthy living and helping others, its quite possibly the best job IN THE WORLD! FB Business page should be up and running soon shortly followed by my website. If you just can't wait and you've got to reach out to me sooner email me at sinclair@otbhealthsolutions.com. Keep your eyes peeled (what does that even mean anyway) for links for my stuff soon!

I am going to give you the bonus first because I am that kind of awesome! Where do cows come from? Well my cow comes from this amazing little farm in Carnesville, GA called Indian Creek Angus. I have ordered from them twice now and their meat is legit! The are Certified Naturally Grown, a member of Georgia Organics and Eat Wild, and Animal Welfare approved, basically they are happy cows. They do not have the USDA Organic certification because not only are they hella expensive but also the government makes these small farms jump through crazy hoops to get it and takes a long time. These nice folks encourage everyone to take a trip to the farm and see for yourself the environment and treatment of their animals. Besides after everything we know about our government's involvement with the food industry can we even trust their labels? But that is a whole other can of worms! Check them out, their meat is awesome they have lots of options for you to choose from, get together with you friends and buy in bulk it will save you money in the long run! It took my husband and I about 6 months to eat our quarter of cow.

And the moment you've all been waiting for, on to the recipe.....

Chimichurri is defined by Wikipedia (the most reliable source for definitions) as a green sauce used for grilled meat, originally from Argentina.^[1][2] It is based on finely-chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano, and white or red wine vinegar. 

I think the main difference between chimichurri and pesto is nuts, basil, cheese (I don't use cheese in my pesto) and pesto is Italian.

It goes great on steak, chicken, or even fish or shrimp. I have a friend (you know who you are) who eats it by the spoonful, she's a little strange! There are lots of different ways to make Chimichurri as there are for pesto, you can add in cilantro or a little jalapeno, or add a little finely diced tomato but this recipe is the basic, everyday stuff.

Chimichurri:
makes about 10 oz.
Keeps in the refrigerator about two weeks

Ingredients:
2 cups Parsley- just chop the stems off but don't worry about ripping off the leaves
2 TBSP Red Wine Vinegar
3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Garlic Cloves (or more for fending off vampires)- smashed and peeled
1 Shallot- rough chop
1/2 juice and zest from Lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:
Get ready, this is REALLY hard! Put parsley and 1/4 cup EVOO in food processor and pulse to breakdown parsley, add the rest of the ingredients and mix till all is combined and texture is thick.

That's it! Top on your favorite protein and Enjoy!

Skirt steak with veggie kabob and jicama fries

If you don't live in Georgia, go to Eat Wild to find a farm near you and start supporting your local farms today!

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Marinated Flank Steak and Chicken with Chimichurri Sauce

Hello again!
Today I am sharing a couple marinades I made up on the spot for a dinner I put together for a few friends. I knew I would be making the chimichurri sauce since this is a heavy garlic sauce and we are all garlic lovers! So I wanted to make a marinade that would help enhance the flavors without covering up the deliciousness of the quality steak and chicken. My first thought was they would be very basic and very similar. I knew I wanted a liquid component, a tenderizing component, a little acid and some similar flavors found in the sauce. Its amazing how simple marinades are to make and it really help the texture and flavor of the meat and chicken. Of course you don't have to marinate the meat at all, the sauce is very flavorful but I wanted to be fancy!

Steak w/ Chimichurri accompanied with some roasted brussels sprouts and asparagus and a organic basmati rice with sauteed veggies.

Steak Marinade:

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Flank Steak
1/4 cup white wine (optional)
1/4 cup white vinegar- tenderizer component
1/4 cup olive oil- any kind, I used a herb infused one just cause I had it
Juice from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon onion powder
1tablespoon garlic powder
Salt and Pepper

Preparation:

Cut your flank steak into manageable portions if you need to. Place in a large freezer bag, our in all marinade ingredients. Seal bag and shake it up to coat the steak. Put in the refrigerator for an hour to overnight, the longer the better.  To cook, heat a sauce pan on high heat, melt a tablespoon of fat (duck, bacon, ghee, butter) take steak out of marinade and brown both sides, 1 min each side, discard marinade. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, place browned meat on cookie sheet and bake for 15 mins.

Chicken Marinade: Looks a lot like the steak marinade

Ingredients:
2 lbs. chicken breasts and thighs
1/4 cup white wine (optional)
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar- tenderizer component
1/4 cup Olive Oil- any kind, I used herb infused
Juice from 1 lime
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
Place chicken and all marinade ingredients into a larger freezer bag. Seal bag and shake up to coat. Put in refrigerator for an hour to overnight, the longer the better. To cook, heat a sauce pan on high heat, melt a tablespoon of fat (duck, bacon, ghee, butter) take chicken out of marinade and brown both sides,
about 2 mins each side, discard marinade. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, place browned chicken on cookie sheet and bake for 15 mins.

Chimichurri Sauce- super awesome easy sauce!

Ingredients:
5 garlic cloves
1 bunch parsley (about 1 cup)
1 bunch cilantro (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup vinegar (I use red wine vinegar)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste.

**If you want your sauce thicker use less olive oil and vinegar, just be sure to use the same amount of each, try 1/2 cup of each and add a little more till you get the desired consistency.**

In a food processor or blender, combine garlic and oregano and a little olive oil and pulse on low, just to initially chop up garlic.

Add the remainder ingredients and pulse on low until smooth sauce it formed. Spoon on top of chicken and/or steak and ENJOY!!!

I hope you all are enjoying these recipes, if you are feel free to leave me some feedback!!

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