CONTEST - WINNING RECIPES

Surefire Sizzlers

For imaginative cooks like Shawn Solley, one great recipe often leads to another. In her family, the sake-and-ginger flank steak her mother and aunt had served up for years was a longtime favorite. But then Shawn combined it with her own marinade for venison tenderloin and…voila! The Grilled Asian Flank Steak she entered in our “All Fired Up” grilling contest was born.

“It was so good and so tender that now I use the recipe every couple of weeks with a variety of meats and fish,” she explains, “but the flank steak is still the best.” Our judges thought so, too, and awarded her our Grand Prize.

A bonus, says this busy nurse and mother of high schooler Justin and college student Cameron, is just how easy and versatile her recipe is. “You can pour everything in a resealable bag, let it marinate overnight or all day while you’re at work, then throw it on the grill when you get home. You can even put it in the slow cooker for 6 to 8 hours if the weather is bad.

Sometimes, I add more honey to make it sweeter or cayenne pepper—powder or fresh minced—for a little kick!”

Shawn has five slow cookers and relies on them, as well as convenience foods, for many meals. In fact, she says, “I think frozen mashed potatoes are so good, I may never peel another potato!”

When not at work or busy cooking, Shawn enjoys gardening in the raised beds husband David built for her flowers and vegetables. “He loves to cook and always follows a recipe,” she says. “My sons tend to experiment like me.”