Tri Tip

The story behind Tri Tip Beef (a.k.a. Triangle Roast):  This cut of meat is limited in availability because there is only one per side of beef.  Therefore it is typically ground into hamburger or cut into cubes and sold as soup meat.   This often over looked piece of meat is not only relatively inexpensive but also very flavorful and has become a favorite amongst the few in the know. The tri-tip roast or steak (also called a triangle roast) is the 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 pounds of meat that sits at the bottom of the sirloin.   It has great flavor and tends to be much lower in fat than most cuts of beef i.e., it's a good lean cut of beef. 

The thing to remember is that lean also means it will dry out faster so it is recommended that you prepare with a good marinade &/or Rub.  Particularly good flavors for tri-tip are Southwestern or Asian. Because tri-tip is lean, be careful not to overcook it, particularly when preparing the full roast. Medium is as far as you should go with this cut. Use a meat thermometer to monitor often during cooking.  If you are used to grilling other cuts, this one can throw some grillers off by appearing underdone when it is ready to serve and by the amount it ‘swells’ when cooked.

Santa Maria/Grilled Soy Lime Style – This simple tri tip recipe utilizes a hybrid marinade that is loosely based on a combination of spices picked up from two different recipes.  

Ingredients

€        2-3 Lb. Tri-tip roast (we use Missouri Legacy Beef - Free Range Beef)

€        Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Seasoning Blends – Meat Magic (optional)

Seasoning Marinade:

€        2 teaspoons freshly ground 4-color pepper

€        1 teaspoon onion powder

€        1 Tbls. Garlic powder

€        2 Tbls. Sea Salt (fresh ground)

€        1 ½ Cups Apple Juice (100% pure juice)

€        ¼ Cup Soy Sauce  (low sodium)

€        2 ½ Tsp. Lime Juice

€        1 Tbls. Red Pepper Flakes

€        2 Tsp. Worcestershire sauce

€         2 Tsp. Cayenne  Pepper

€        ½ Tsp. Fresh Ground Ginger Root

€        Optional: Corn Syrup or Honey (3 Tbls.)

Basting Sauce:

€        ½ cup red wine vinegar

€        ½ cup vegetable oil (or EVOO) (add garlic powder if you can’t find garlic infused oil)     

Preparation and cooking

1.    Mix together all marinade ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the tri tip in a 1 gallon freezer bag.  Place in refrigerator for 4-8 hours turning occasionally.

2.    Whisk basting sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside for basting.

3.    Lightly oil your cooking grid and fire up BGE to T-Rex.  Remove from Marinade and pat dry. 

4.    Rub each side with Paul Prudhomme’s Meat Magic then sear the tri-tip at 600 to 700 degrees for 3-4 minutes per side. NOTE:  This recipe calls for Searing; it is NOT necessary and you can choose to start the cook indirect and get very similar results without searing (cooking time for indirect will increase slightly)

5.    Remove seared tri-tip from the BGE, cover it with foil and let it rest while bringing the BGE temperature down to 350 to 400 degrees. Optional: During this cool down period consider adding a few oak chunks to your lump.

6.    Now set up BGE for Indirect cooking (plate setter) and return the tri-tip back in the BGE and cook to an internal temperature of 125-130 degrees (approximately 35 minutes) for medium rare, basting with the sauce every 5 to 10 minutes (optional).

7.    Return the tri-tip back into the BGE and cook to an internal temperature of 125-130 degrees, basting every 5 to 10 minutes.

8.    Remove tri-tip from the BGE, cover it with foil and let it rest 15 minutes; to serve cut into ½” slices against the grain.²

1 Paraphrased from Beef Tri-Tip, One of the best cuts you are probably not buying, By Derrick Riches, About.com Guide 2 this recipe is adapted loosely from Foodnetwork.com’s website; titled “Santa Maria Style BBQ” with lots of input from the gang at EggHeadForum.com

Missouri Legacy Beef - Organic and rich in flavor!

Made a quick trip to the Farmers Market to pick up Valentines Night Dinner (Kansas City Steaks) and to stock up on our favorite cuts of Missouri Legacy Beef .

MLB is as tasty and tender as traditional corn-fed beef with the health benefits of grass-fed beef.   We recently visited Mark and Susie on their ranch to see first hand how they raise their beef.  We found out that Mark follows the blood lines of his cattle and in doing this it allows him to select the best cattle.  He then supplements their diets with a high fiber ration which results in beef that has the wonderful taste you expect and desire! 

Their diet also increases the Omega-3 oils and CLA’s which serves to make the beef healthier.  By using this wonderful beef product you are not only enjoying the best beef around, you are also supporting a vanishing art and making a statement about how food should really be ~ healthy, sustainable, and full of taste.

"The craft of family ranching lives on! My grandfather would be proud. We ranch the way he did, on open pastures.” MARK MAHNKEN, 3rd generation rancher, Mahnken Farms, Missouri Legacy Beef.

Bacon Chicken and Dumplings (Organic ingredients)

This recipe does NOT qualify as healthy but it does include a few organic ingredients.  Sometimes you just can’t help yourself and have to eat comfort food.

Ingredients

• 4-6 slices bacon
• 5 Medium white potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 Medium Sweet Onion, diced
• 4 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts  (organic) – diced and seasoned with poultry seasoning.
• 3 Cups – Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1 Tsp. Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Poultry Seasoning (to taste)
• Coarse Sea Salt and Fresh ground Black Peppercorns (to taste)
• 1 14-15 Oz. Can, Whole kernel corn, drained
• 3 Cups, Low Fat Half-and-Half

• 1 ½ Cups Bisquick  
• 1 Cup Organic 2% Milk

Directions

1. Place bacon in an extra large Cast Iron (CI) Skillet or 6 Qt. Dutch oven and cook until done (or microwave in advance and save grease).  Crumble Bacon and set aside.

2. Keep or put the bacon grease in the skillet and bring up to temperature.
3. Add the diced potatoes, onion and chicken to the bacon grease and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently (it will cook slower in a Dutch oven due to smaller pan area). Note: If using a Dutch oven add a little EVOO to keep the chicken from sticking to the pan during simmering.   
4. Add the chicken broth, corn, more PP’s poultry seasoning, sea salt and fresh pepper.
5. Pour in half-and-half and bring to a boil; add crumbled bacon.
6. Biscuits: In a medium bowl, combine the Bisquick with milk and mix well (dough should be thick enough to ‘drop’).
7. Drop tablespoon sizes of dough into boiling mixture; reduce heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes uncovered.  Cover the pan and simmer another10 minutes. Be careful NOT to stir while simmering, or dumplings will fall apart. 

Jalapeno Tri Tip - Free Range Beef (Organic)

Description

Jalapenos mixed with the other ingredients give a spicy and delicious jolt to a Tri Tip; the marinade is divine and marinating longer is better for more infusion of this great marinade. 

Ingredients

1 ½- 2 ½ Lbs. Tri Tip Beef Roast (Missouri Legacy Beef) 

5 medium/large Fresh Jalapeno peppers, (cut off the stems)

6 cloves, Fresh Garlic, peeled (adjust to taste)

1 ½ Tsp. cracked Black Pepper

1 Tbsp. coarse Sea Salt

1/4 cup Lime juice  

1 Tbls.Oregano

Preparation and Cooking

1.    Marinade:

1.1.  Combine jalapenos, garlic, pepper, salt, lime juice and oregano in a blender. Blend until smooth.

1.2.  Place steak in a large resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade over the steak, and tumble to coat. Seal bag; marinate in the refrigerator 6 – 24 hours.

2.    Cooking the Tri-Tip:

2.1.  Preheat Big Green Egg for high heat; indirect (plate setter legs UP, Grid with Drip Pan) I usually lightly oil the grill grate.

2.2.  Drain and discard marinade. Cook Tri-Tip to desired temperature (I recommend using a continuous monitoring style thermometer) to approximately 125 degrees internal or to your desired doneness.  

2.3.  Remove and let rest for 15 minutes.  Slice across the grain and serve.  Makes approximately 6 Servings, Prep Time: 20 Minutes, Cook Time: Approximately 60 Minutes indirect; cook to temperature not time!

Organic/Sustainable Beef Tri-Tip (multiple tips version 3)

The ingredients for this cook have been adjusted to allow for adequate marinade to cover three Tri-Tips (5 pounds) versus the version previously shared for 2-2.5 Lb Tri-tip. The picture here is of just one 2.5 Lb. Tri-tip cooked medium rare.  This beef comes from Missouri Legacy Beef in Salsbury, MO. 
     The nice thing about cooking multiple tips is that you can cook them to different temperatures to please a larger audience (even thought the low side of medium rare is where this meat is best.
     The story behind Tri Tip Beef (a.k.a. Triangle Roast): This cut of meat is limited in availability because there is only one per side of beef. Therefore it is typically ground into hamburger or cut into cubes and sold as soup meat. This often over looked piece of meat is not only relatively inexpensive but also very flavorful and has become a favorite amongst the few in the know. The tri-tip roast or steak (also called a triangle roast) is the 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 pounds of meat that sits at the bottom of the sirloin. It has great flavor and tends to be much lower in fat than most cuts of beef i.e., it's a good lean cut of beef.
     The thing to remember is that lean also means it will dry out faster so it is recommended that you prepare with a good marinade &/or Rub. Particularly good flavors for tri-tip are Southwestern or Asian. Because tri-tip is lean, be careful not to overcook it, particularly when preparing the full roast. Medium is as far as you should go with this cut. Use a meat thermometer to monitor often during cooking. If you are used to grilling other cuts, this one can throw some grillers off by appearing underdone when it is ready to serve and by the amount it ‘swells’ when cooked.
Santa Maria/Grilled Soy Lime Style – This simple tri tip recipe utilizes a hybrid marinade that is loosely based on a combination of spices picked up from two different recipes.
Ingredients
• 5 Lb’s of Tri-tip roast (sustainably raised/organic)
• Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Seasoning Blends – Meat Magic
Seasoning Marinade:
• 4 teaspoons freshly ground 4-color pepper
• 2 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 Tbls. Garlic powder
• 3 Tbls. Sea Salt (fresh ground)
• 2 ½ Cups Apple Juice (100% pure juice)
• ½ Cup Soy Sauce (low sodium)
• 1 ½ Tbls. Lime Juice
• 2 Tbls. Red Pepper Flakes
• 2-4Tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 3 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper
• 1 ½ Tsp. Fresh Ground Ginger Root
• 6 Tbls. (Local organic) Honey
Basting Sauce:
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 cup vegetable oil (or EVOO) (add garlic powder if you can’t find garlic infused oil)
Preparation and cooking
1. Mix together all marinade ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the tri tip in a 1 gallon freezer bag. Place in refrigerator for 4-8 hours turning occasionally; overnight will result in the best outcome however.
2. Whisk basting sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside for basting.
3. Lightly oil your cooking grid
4. Set up BGE for Indirect cooking (plate setter) fire up BGE to T-Rex.
5. Remove tri tip from Marinade and pat dry. Rub each side with Paul Prudhomme’s Meat Magic then place the tri-tip into the BGE and cook to an internal temperature of 130 degrees (approximately 35 minutes) for medium rare, basting at least once each side during the cook.
6. Remove tri-tip from the BGE, cover it with foil and let it rest 15 minutes; to serve cut into 1/4" slices against the grain.2
1 Paraphrased from Beef Tri-Tip, One of the best cuts you are probably not buying, By Derrick Riches, About.com Guide 2 this recipe is adapted loosely from Foodnetwork.com’s website; titled “Santa Maria Style BBQ”

Should going GREEN require you to advertise for somoene for free?

Should going GREEN include advertising? I'll admit that while cooking on my BGE increases my carbon footprint*** significantly, we do try to be green, organic and sustainable as much as we can.  For example we use all organic beef, chicken and veggies whenever possible.

We also have two car trunks full of those canvas shopping bags (this is part of our attempt to at least act GREEN). Problem is, these bags, while nice, all include HUGE corporate logos and advertising on them.

I converted one of them...I think I may do the rest!  Maybe I should start a line of NON-advertising shopping bags...got any venture capital lying around? 
***For the carbon footprint purists:  Lump Charcoal produces about 13,000 Btu per pound and 7 pounds of carbon dioxide per hour and carbon dioxide is one of two primary types of greenhouse gases associated with this topic.   While us charcoal lovers tend to claim that when the charcoal is burned the carbon dioxide is returned to the atmosphere, closing a carbon neutral cycle, there is a very convincing argument to the contrary too.  Add in the use of propane weed burners or torches for instance to light a BGE and you have to add to that the fact that propane produces about 15,000 Btu per pound and 5.6 pounds of carbon dioxide per hour. Unfortunately propane is a non-reunable source of energy which takes you down yet another path for debate.  The REAL point however of my original post was the humor I saw in bags intended for 'green' use all contain advertising; slight but humor nonetheless, or less, or none.

Santa Maria Style Tri Tip (sustainable beef)

The story behind Tri Tip Beef (a.k.a. Triangle Roast): This cut of meat is limited in availability because there is only one per side of beef. Therefore it is typically ground into hamburger or cut into cubes and sold as soup meat. This often over looked piece of meat is not only relatively inexpensive but also very flavorful and has become a favorite amongst the few in the know. The tri-tip roast or steak (also called a triangle roast) is the 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 pounds of meat that sits at the bottom of the sirloin. It has great flavor and tends to be much lower in fat than most cuts of beef i.e., it's a good lean cut of beef.

The thing to remember is that lean also means it will dry out faster so it is recommended that you prepare with a good marinade &/or Rub. Particularly good flavors for tri-tip are Southwestern or Asian. Because tri-tip is lean, be careful not to overcook it, particularly when preparing the full roast. Medium is as far as you should go with this cut. Use a meat thermometer to monitor often during cooking. If you are used to grilling other cuts, this one can throw some grillers off by appearing underdone when it is ready to serve and by the amount it ‘swells’ when cooked.

Santa Maria/Grilled Soy Lime Style – This simple tri tip recipe utilizes a hybrid marinade that is loosely based on a combination of spices picked up from two different recipes.
Ingredients
• 2-3 Lb. Tri-tip roast

• Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Seasoning Blends – Meat Magic

Seasoning Marinade:
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground 4-color pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 Tbls. Garlic powder
• 2 Tbls. Sea Salt (fresh ground)
• 1 ½ Cups Apple Juice (100% pure juice)
• ¼ Cup Soy Sauce (low sodium)
• 2 ½ Tsp. Lime Juice
• 1 Tbls. Red Pepper Flakes
• 2 Tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper
• ½ Tsp. Fresh Ground Ginger Root
• Optional: Corn Syrup or Honey (3 Tbls.)
Basting Sauce:
• ½ cup red wine vinegar
• ½ cup vegetable oil (or EVOO) (add garlic powder if you can’t find garlic infused oil)
Preparation and cooking (NON SEAR METHOD)
1. Mix together all marinade ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the tri tip in a 1 gallon freezer bag. Place in refrigerator for 4-8 hours turning occasionally OVERNIGHT is best however. 
2. Whisk basting sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside for basting.
3. Lightly oil your cooking grid and fire up BGE to T-Rex. Remove from Marinade and pat dry. Rub each side with Paul Prudhomme’s Meat Magic.
4. Set up BGE for Indirect cooking (plate setter) and return the tri-tip back in the BGE and cook to an internal temperature of 135 degrees for medium rare, basting with the sauce twice during the cook.  
6. Remove tri-tip from the BGE, cover it with foil and let it rest 15 minutes; to serve cut into 1/4 to 3/8" slices against the grain.2
1 Paraphrased from Beef Tri-Tip, One of the best cuts you are probably not buying, By Derrick Riches, About.com Guide 2 this recipe is adapted loosely from Foodnetwork.com’s website; titled “Santa Maria Style BBQ”

Flank Steak Stir Fry II (Sustainable, Organic)

Missouri Legacy Beef Flank Steak (Columbia, MO) was once again the centerpiece for tonight’s stir fry. Sustainably raised beef is the best for sure an combined with organic veggies it completes a fast and satisfying dinner experience.  We used as much sustainably raised ingredients as we could this time around. 

Ingredients
1 lb. Flank Steak (sliced into slightly larger than bite size pieces)
6-8 Medium Shallots – Organic (chopped)
1 12 oz. can of Baby Corn - Organic
1 8 oz. can of Sliced Water Chestnuts
1 Medium Green Bell Pepper - Organic (sliced thin)
1 Medium Yellow Bell Pepper - Organic (sliced thin)

1 Small Red Bell Pepper – Organic (sliced thin)
House of Tsang Wok Oil
6-9 oz. (to taste) House of Tsang Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce
2 + Tbs. Minced Fresh Garlic (organic)


Preparation
1. Marinate the beef with Country Bob’s Seasoned Salt and Garlic Pepper 3-4 hours prior to cooking.

2. Fire up the BGE and let it come to full flame while you prepare your ingredients; Drizzle Wok Oil into hot Wok and add the minced garlic, shallots.
3. Immediately stir in the flank steak stirring constantly until done
4. Dump in Veggies and add more Wok oil around the edges of the pan; stirring constantly until peppers are 'limp crispy'
5. Add desired amount of Sauce, bring to temperature, remove and serve over white rice.

Served up with a nice Tomato, basil, Mozzarella salad on the side....

Shrimp Tenderloin Dinner

Our daughter Megan is visiting us from College for a week and has demanded I prepare a number of her favorite dishes on the Egg (she misses the egg more than me probably).

Tonight, Beef Tenderloin with Dizzy Dust and Wok Shrimp (flour, panko crumbs, Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Seasoning) wokked in sweet onion and minced garlic and EVOO.

Tenderloin tips, Fried Potatoes and Grilled Romaine Lettuce

Sustainably raised beef tenderloin tips, organic romaine lettuce, and fried potatoes and onions tonight. Marinated the beef with Bad Byron's Butt Rub, oiled the lettuce and sprinkled with garlic salt, fried the potatoes in a iron skillet with Spanish sweet onions on EVOO...tasty and quick. 

Cherry-Marinated Bone-in Ribeyes with Corn Salsa and POLENTA

Starting with 2-4 Bone-In Ribeyes (sustainable &/or organic preferred) or Beef Tenderloins this recipe calls for a simple marinade that serves to infuse your beef with the tartness of cherries. When grilling the beef the marinade will result in a thin crusty glaze. BTW, T-Rex is NOT the recommended cooking method for this recipe. This recipe is fantastic with mashed polenta seasoned with sun dried tomatoes and garlic salt.

Marinade Ingredients
 2-4 each - 1 ½” Bone-In Ribeyes or Beef Tenderloin steaks

 12 oz. Can – Frozen Cherry-Apple Concentrate, thawed

 ½ Cup – Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

 1 Tbsp. – Fresh Ground Peppercorns

 2 Cloves – Minced Fresh Garlic

Corn Salsa Ingredients

 1 Cup – Frozen Whole Kernel Corn, thawed

 1/3 Cup – Finely Chopped Red Bell Pepper

 1/3 Cup – Finely Chopped Green Bell Pepper
 ¼ Cup – Fresh Chopped Red Sweet Onion
 1 Tbsp. – Fresh Cilantro
1 ½ Tsp. – Lime Juice (half for concentrate)

¼ Tsp. – Fresh Ground Sea Salt
 1/8 Tsp. – Fresh Ground Peppercorns

Preparation and Cooking

1. Trim excess fat from steaks and place in a large resealable freezer bag.

2. In a medium size bowl, stir the juice concentrate, EVOO, pepper and garlic. Pour into bag over meat, seal and rotate to coat meat well and place in refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
3. Fire up your Big Green Egg to T-Rex (full-flame) and remove Beef from refrigerator. Drain off and discard marinade
4. Cooking method 1: Toss those steaks on the grill for 2-3 minutes per side (to taste but NEVER more than Medium – Medium-Rare). You will likely not get a glaze finish with this method.
5. Cooking method 2 (recommended): Cook indirect on your grid with a drip pan for 30-40 minutes. Turn after 20 minutes. Serve with the Corn Salsa.
6. Corn Salsa: In a medium size bowl combine the corn, red and green peppers, Onion, Cilantro, Lime Juice, Salt and Pepper and mix. Set stand at room temperature. If made ahead of time the salsa should be refrigerated for 24 hours and removed 1 hour prior to serving at room temperature.

...one Rare and one Medium Rare Organically Raised Kansas City Steaks!

Kansas City Steaks; 1.5" One Rare and One Medium Rare for Valentines Day dinner. 

Sustainably raised beef this stuff cooks and tastes like no other...on my!  Combine that with some baked potatoes and a salad, topped off with some Oregon Pinot Nior.

New Years Freezing Cook!

Set a new personal record tonight...cooked up some tenderloin with a wind chill at ZERO!  The cook was worth the effort however...if anyone ever told me (while living in Florida) that I would be Eggin' in sub-zero weather someday I would have told them they were crazy...no that I AM CRAZY.  Keep on Eggin'!

Next Up: Boneless Ribs (Baby Back)...

This will be my first attempt at this cut of meat so I'm off today doing some research on just exactly what method I should use to cook them up.  Stay tuned; maybe tomorrow?

Sustainable Flank Steak Stir Fry on the Big Green Egg

Missouri Legacy Beef Flank Steak was the centerpiece of this stir fry meal tonight.  All sustainably raised beef is the best for sure. 

Ingredients

1 lb. Flank Steak (sliced into slightly larger than bite size pieces)

6-8 Medium Green Onions (chopped)

1 12 oz. can of Baby Corn

1 8 oz. can of Sliced Water Chestnuts

2 Medium Green Peppers (sliced into 2" pieces)

1 Medium Orange Pepper (sliced into 2" pieces)

House of Tsang Wok Oil

6-9 oz. (to taste) House of Tsang Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce

2 Tbs. Minced Garlic

Preparation

1. Fire up the BGE and let it come to full flame while you prepare your ingredients.

2. Drizzle Wok Oil into hot Wok

3. Add Minced Garlic and stir

4. Add Meat and stir-constantly until done

5. Remove meat to rest

6. Dump in Veggies and add more Wox oil around the edges of the pan; stirring constantly until green peppers are 'limp crispy'

7. Add Meat and stir in desired amount of Sauce, bring to temperature, remove and serve over white rice.

Bone-In Ribeye - Missouri Legacy Beef on the BGE

Bone-In Ribeye's tonight.  Missouri Legacy Beef special cut...especially great...T-Rex'ed on both sides, closed the cover and finished these 1.5" babies just right.  MLB is hormone free and some of the best beef we are getting our hands on around here.  Wow!

Remember PANT-RY RAIDS?

Okay, tonight I didn't even make it to the porch to even look at my BGE Instead I raided the PANTRY to find something to eat; again. However, my onion, ham and tomato were sustainably raised and from the Farmers Market here in Columbia, the POTATOs were from a CAN! Oh my. Seasoned the ham with some southwest chiplote seasoning and the potatos were masked with garlic and parsley. I have to get back to that grill...and remember to thaw things in the morning...

Organic Free Range Chicken Broth

Walking through BJ's yesterday I noticed they had added a small organic section to one of their isles. The item that caught my eye however was a six-pack carton of Organic Free Range Chicken Broth.

I use a LOT of chicken broth in my TAGINE cooking especially, since I often can't find (or sometimes afford) free range meat and vegetables it't nice to have a product that I use literally every week be organic.

Certified USDA Organic the 32 oz. aseptic reclosable packaging I can't wait to 'pour it on' as it were.

What makes it organic...the broth is made from "grain fed chickens, raised without hormones or antibiotics in an environment where they can roam freely." It is a gluten free product.

This product will probably get it's first test in my new MINI TAGINE I just picked up at Sir LaTable this week. The companies website is http://www.pacificfoods.com - Keep On Eggin'

Cascadian Farm Organic Granola

Okay, I have to admit, I've tried about every Granola available, and the two things (make that three) that have always disappointed me have been the fact that they are tasteless, dry and clumpy.

After two bowls of Cascadian Farm Organic GRANOLA (dark chocolate almond) I have to admit I may start eating GRANOLA for breakfast again (my wife actually eats it for dinner sometimes).

Okay, the samples I received HAVE to be fresh, but this GRANOLA is hard to describe, it is actually not 'dry'-while 'moist' may be the wrong term to use, the GRANOLA doesn't clump or stay clumped when you add milk (ORGANIC 2 % BTW).

The flavor mixture is probably what really put me over the top, I know a lot of GRANOLA has almonds, but that little touch of Dark Chocolate pushes this GRANOLA to the top of the list for all of the brands I have tried.

The GRANOLA is made up of Organic whole grain oats, wheat and barley, crisp rice, almonds and dark chocolate; with no artificial flavors or preservatives. Their foods are grown Organic with no synthetic pesticides or chemical fertilizers.

With 14 g of whole grain per serving this is a great source of whole grains but at 250 Calories per 1/4 cup serving (w/1/2 cup skim milk) you probably aren't going to use this as a diet breakfast if you are counting total calories as a 1/4 cup fits into the palm of your hand. It is however very low in fat.

For the sustainable fans the box is 100% Recycled Paperboard and the company supports the community even further by participating in the Box Tops for Education program.

A variety of products are available and you can find out more about these and other products on http://www.cascadianfarm.com/ or by calling 1-800-624-4123 C.T. zone).

Buy it and try it...you won't be sorry. Their website even has a store locator.

This is a independent opinion made at the request of the organization for NO compensation (other than the sample products).

New York Strip Bites and Organic Shrimp on the WOK

Quick and dirty...lite the fire, get it t-rex hot, drop on the NYS bite sized pieces (preseason), dump some Vegetable oil in the WOK, add minced garlic and green onions and when hot, drop in the preseason shrimp (a combination of Louisiana Shrimp Mix and Bad Byron's Butt Rub, shook up in a bag about an hour before the cook. It all finishes in about 4-5 minutes.