Welcome to Cooking with Less Kilowatts! There is nothing better than sitting down in the evening to enjoy a delicious home-cooked meal. But did you know that changing what you do in the kitchen can make an impact on your monthly electricity bill? Each week, I will help you find ways to cook using less energy while still getting a satisfying, flavorful meal. Trust me – I won’t just tell you to do everything in the microwave. I’ll help you cut down on your energy consumption.
This week’s delicious installment of Cooking with Less Kilowatts features fresh and tangy marinated beef and vegetable kabobs prepared on the grill. Instead of marinating the ingredients separately and then cooking the steaks on a grill and vegetables in the oven, I make one large marinade, cut the ingredients into small pieces, and skewer them for easy cooking. This approach retains the flavor and integrity of my original recipe, while eliminating the need to use a grill and oven simultaneously – which could save you energy if you bring the cooking outside.
The marinade ingredients have a high acid content, making this a quick marinade that can be done in a short amount of time while prepping the other parts of the recipe. It also means you need to open your refrigerator less, reduces shelf space inside, and lowers the energy required for a long marinade. The refrigerator is one of the biggest energy users in your kitchen, so it’s important you find ways to use it less to increase your energy savings.
While this recipe employs a double burner cast iron grill on the stove top, you can definitely use your favorite outdoor grill. The cast iron grill is an excellent option for anyone without access to an outdoor grill.
By making small adjustments to recipes your family already loves, you can make a small impact in your daily energy use, and over time, make an even bigger impact on your energy monthly bill!
It is time to get grilling! Let’s get to it!
Marinade Ingredients:
- ½ tbsp. Liquid smoke
- 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
- ¼ tsp. Ground Mustard
- 1 tsp. Sea salt
- ½ tsp. Black pepper
- ¼ tsp. Onion powder
- 2 tbsp. Fresh lemon juice
- 4-5 Sprigs fresh thyme
Kabob Ingredients:
- 3 Garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp. Butter
- 1 lb. Filet/tenderloin beef, choice grade
- 1 medium Eggplant
- 1 medium Red onion
- 2 large Portobello mushroom heads
- 2 Lemons
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 4-6 Skewers (bamboo or metal)
Directions:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all marinade ingredients and set aside.
- Cut the beef filet/tenderloin, eggplant, red onion, and mushrooms into medium-sized pieces. Try to keep the sizes of each ingredient similar to the other ingredient for even cooking. If cut into smaller pieces, you will need more skewers, but cooking time may be less.
- Toss the cut beef, eggplant, red onion, and mushrooms in the marinade and let sit in the bowl for 10 minutes for a quick marinade. Toss ingredients after the 10 minutes to make sure everything gets coated.
- While those ingredients are marinating, microwave the sliced garlic cloves and butter for 1 minute in a small microwave safe bowl to melt the butter and infuse the garlic flavor without becoming overpowering. Set to side to use to brush on kabobs during cooking.
- Once marinade has been on ingredients for 10 minutes, take the ingredients and slide them onto the bamboo kabob sticks, alternating ingredients. Slice lemons in half to be grilled with the kabobs.
- Heat double burner cast iron grill over medium heat for a couple minutes to heat up. Spray a small amount of nonstick cooking spray across the grates. Place the kabobs horizontally at least 1 inch apart from each other and begin grilling.
- Grill in 2 minutes intervals for 10 minutes, slowly turning the kabobs each time (5 turns). At this point, rotate the kabobs 45 degrees to get cross grate marks to give them that grilled look.
- Brush kabobs with the garlic butter and place cut lemons on outer part of grill to heat.
- Turn heat to lowest possible setting (or off) and let kabobs and lemons continue to cook another 5 minutes for medium doneness.*
- When done, brush one more time with garlic butter, remove kabobs from grill, place on serving plates or platter and squeeze grilled lemons’ juices over finished skewers.
- Serve alone, with a side salad, or simply over white rice. Enjoy!
Note: If your family does not own a grill of any kind, you can take the quick marinated ingredients and bake them all together on a big pan (not skewered) in the oven at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes, then broil for 2-3 minutes, remove from oven, brush with the garlic butter, and squeeze fresh lemon juice over the food. And now it’s time to skewer!
*Cast iron maintains heat well, so once the kabobs have been seared, you could turn both burners to the lowest heat setting (or off) and let the kabobs continue to cook another 5 minutes to soften vegetables or continue to cook meat beyond medium.
Enjoy this amazing family recipe and I will see you each and every Thursday for another energy saving entry of Cooking with Less Kilowatts!
Recipe and Photos by Stacie Morgan
