Steak Tartare

Since i've been slacking on the food updates I thought i'd update you all on a few things while watching Ellen. I don't have any pictures either since I... well I have no reason why, I was just being lazy.
For Christmas my mom got me this cookbook THE NATURAL NUTRITION NO-COOK BOOK DELICIOUS FOOD FOR YOU... AND YOUR PETS! (long name I know). I love this book, now I just have to wait for the blender Frank's parents are sending us since most the recipes require a one. The first thing we made was Steak Tartare for Frank and the dogs. Frank said it was just okay, but next time he'd like to try it cooked on the grill. The dogs of course loved it! We only gave them a little since i'm not trying to make them sick or anything, so now they can look forward to dinner everyday this week :]

INGREDIENTS
1 cup steak, sliced into small, thin pieces
2 roma tomatoes, diced {I left this out since this meal was for Frank}
1 small chili pepper, finely deiced (remove the seeds){again left this out.. just cause ha}
1 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chopped basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon chopped thyme
Sea salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Put steak in a bowl, cover with lime juice, and refrigerate overnight; then drain and mix with remaining ingredients. The flavor will be better if you refrigerate the entire blended recipe for another hour before serving.

Something else I made out of this new cook book was a dressing. I made it specifically so Molly would eat her breakfast sooner rather than waiting a few hours. I didn't care for the dressing, but I think it's because there was too much olive oil for my liking. The dogs freakin love it though! Molly eats her breakfast right when I put it down in the morning. That makes me HAPPY :]

INGREDIENTS 
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons raw honey
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 or 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and blend well. Makes about 3/4 of a cup.

Last night I was really excited to make some oatmeal cookies from the recipes my mom sent me. The recipe ended up not being written correctly and the cookies didn't turn out. I was pretty upset since at this point I was craving some! So today I decided to make some banana bread. It's my Grandma Claudia's recipe, not sure if it's something she came up with or if it's one she found? It was okay, but my favorite is still THIS RECIPE {minus the nuts and chocolate chips} from Pam at Fortheloveofcooking.net.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup crisco
2 eggs
Dash of salt
3 banana's-well mashed
2 cups flour
1 cup nuts(optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoon buttermilk*

Substitution
2 tablespoon milk*
1 tablespoon vinegar*

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, cream sugar and Crisco. Beat in eggs and banana's. In another bowl mix flour and salt. Slowly blend together. In a measuring cup add baking to buttermilk. This will foam up (I just realized I forgot to add the baking soda, now I know why it didn't foam!). Blend into other ingredients. Pour into greased bread pan. Drop pan on counter a couple of times to help remove air bubbles. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until done. Makes 1 loaf.

Make sure to check back tomorrow afternoon to hear about my first time doing yoga in like 7 years!