Balsamic Glazed Sirloin

This is another recipe that I found in my latest Clean Eating Magazine.  They have a lovely picture that some food stylist spent hours on I'm sure.  The picture did it's job though because I couldn't wait to make the recipe at home.

I didn't follow the recipe exactly (like I ever do) because I didn't want to buy things like safflower oil, which I would only ever use for this recipe.  I was a little disappointed with this.  The vinegar taste was a little overwhelming but I did like the way the steak came out.  I feel like a spoon of brown sugar would go a long way with this dish.

Balsamic Glazed Sirloin:
(adapted from Clean Eating Magazine, March 2012)
4 servings, 7 WW+

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup thinly sliced sweet onions
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 pound sirloin steak, trimmed of any fat
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/3 cup skim milk
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Ground black pepper to taste
1 carton sliced mushrooms

In a small bowl combine the vinegar, onions, Worcestershire sauce, and chili powder.  In a large pan add the sirloin and top with 2 tablespoons or the vinegar mixture, turning to coat.  Marinate for 15 minutes, turning occasionally.

Meanwhile, fill a pot with 2 inches or water and insert a steamer basket.  Steam the potatoes  until tender, about 13 minutes.

Carefully remove the potatoes and dump out the water.  Transfer the potatoes back into the pot and beat with an electric mixer.  Add the milk, salt, brown sugar, and ground ginger.

In a large non-stick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Remove the sirloin from the marinade and add to the skillet.  Cook for 3-4 minutes per side, transfer to a cutting board, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Add the remaining vinegar mixture and the mushrooms to the skillet, bring to a boil and let cook for 1-2 minutes until reduced, scraping and stirring with a wooden spoon constantly.  Remove from the heat and add the remaining salt and pepper.  Slice the sirloin against the grain.  Serve with the mashed potatoes and reduced vinegar sauce.

Honey Barbecue Meatloaf

Mr T. and I have been really working hard on losing weight.  Instead of giving up all of the foods that we enjoy I've been looking around for better options for those same foods.  This is one of those better options.

The flavor of this meatloaf was really good.  I had trouble getting my meatloaf to stay in loaf form.  It's very possible that it was user error.  The next day everything had come together a bit more and its shape a little more.

Honey Barbecue Meatloaf:
(Can You Stay for Dinner)

1 lb 90% lean ground beef
1 slice white bread, ground to crumbs in food processor -or- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
3/4 cup smoky barbecue sauce, divided
2 tablespoons honey, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Toss one slice of soft white bread in your food processor and grind it into crumbs.
In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together the ground beef, fresh bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce, the spicy brown mustard, 1/2 cup of the barbecue sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, salt, and black pepper.

Shape the mixture into a long, thick log and place in an oiled baking dish. Be careful not to pack the meat too tightly or you’ll end up with a very dense, tough loaf.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, and 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce. Spread half of this mixture evenly all over the meatloaf. Reserve the other half for serving.

Bake for 45 minutes. Slice and drizzle with reserved honey barbecue sauce.

Rib Roast with Blue Cheese Chipolte Sauce

In our house Turkey is served on Thanksgiving and a beef roast is served on Christmas.  This year we found rib roasts for a really good deal and decided to try something a little different.

Our weekly Publix advertisement had this recipe and a picture of the finished product on the front page and it just looked/sounded amazing.  It turned out really well.

Rib Roast with Blue Cheese Chipotle Sauce:
(Publix Apron Meals)

Ingredients:
8 celery ribs
1 standing rib roast (4–5 lb)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper
5 oz Deli soft-ripened blue cheese, cubed
1/2 stick herb garlic butter, cubed
1 cup yogurt blue cheese dressing
2 teaspoons chipotle pepper sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat medium-size roasting pan with spray. Cut celery into 7-inch ribs; lay across center of pan. Place roast on top of celery; sprinkle salt and pepper over roast.

Bake 20 minutes or until roast has browned.

Reduce oven to 350°F; cook 2 more hours or until roast is 145°F (medium-rare). Use a meat thermometer to accurately ensure doneness. Transfer roast to cutting board; let stand 10–15 minutes before slicing.

Cut cheese and butter into small cubes. Place both in medium saucepan on medium heat; cook and stir 2–3 minutes or until melted. Stir in dressing and pepper sauce; remove from heat when sauce is bubbly. Serve roast with sauce.

Beef Tenderloin Steaks with Red Wine Sauce

I tried a new recipe tonight!!  (YAY me!)  I found the recipe online on the Cooking Light webpage and I will definitely be making this again.  It took almost no time and only used 5 ingredients.

Beef Tenderloin Steaks with Red Wine Sauce:
(Cooking Light)

4 (4-ounce) beef tenderloin steaks, trimmed (about 1/2 inch thick)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1 package baby portobello mushrooms (sliced or just cut in half)
1 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

Directions:
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper; coat with cooking spray. Add steaks to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Transfer steaks to a serving platter; keep warm.

Add mushrooms to pan. Coat mushrooms with cooking spray; sauté 3 minutes or until browned. Stir in wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until liquid almost evaporates. Remove pan from heat; add butter and rosemary, stirring until butter melts. Pour sauce over steaks.

Chicken Fried Steak

Chicken fried steak is a staple in the south.  It can always be found on a buffet.  I love it, and while it's not something that should be eaten all the time, it is tasty and always makes me think of good times with friends and family.

Chicken Fried Steak:
(Alton Brown- Food Network)

Ingredients:
2-4 pieces of cubed steak
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 whole eggs, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Cut the meat with the grain into 1/2-inch thick slices. Season each piece on both sides with the salt and pepper. Place the flour into a pie pan. Place the eggs into a separate pie pan. Dredge the meat on both sides in the flour, followed by the egg and finally in the flour again. Repeat with all the pieces of meat. Place the meat onto a plate and allow it to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking.

Place enough of the vegetable oil to cover the bottom of a 12-inch slope-sided skillet and set over medium-high heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the meat in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan.

















Cook each piece on both sides until golden brown, approximately 4 minutes per side.

Remove the steaks to a wire rack set in a half sheet pan and place into the oven. Repeat until all of the meat is browned.

Chipotle-Rubbed Flank Steak with Garlic Gorgonzola Sauce:

Mr. T loves steak and chipotle.  Thanks to Devon over at Confections of a Food Bitch I found this recipe that combines them both (along with my love of gorgonzola cheese)!

I made a couple of changes to the recipe tonight because I wanted to use things that we already had in the house.  I used fajita steak instead of flank steak, regular smoked paprika, and skim milk... along with some other things.

Chipotle-Rubbed Flank Steak with Garlic Gorgonzola Sauce:
(Queen of Points)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon ground chipotle chile pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 lb. flank steak
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
2/3 cup 2% milk
1 oz. (1/4 cup) gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1 teaspoon unsalted butter


Directions:

Make sure you’ve got all the ingredients for the sauce prepared before you start. The steak only takes 15 minutes, and you’ll want to make the sauce while it’s broiling.

Preheat your broiler on high

The steak: Combine the chile pepper, paprika, and salt. Rub the mixture on both sides of the flank steak. Place the steak on a broiler pan and broil for 5 minutes on each side, then let it stand for 5 minutes.

The sauce: Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute for a minute. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Add the flour and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the milk and bring to a low boil. Cook until reduced by half. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese and butter. Keep warm, but don’t let it boil.

Pour the sauce over your steak and enjoy!

Beef and Spinach Lasagna

So, I had a cooking flop last night.  I was going to make spaghetti and meatballs last night but got kinda impatient and they ended up getting all smooshed and I gave up.  It ended up being some hard core meat sauce.  So today I used it to make some meat lasagna. It worked out pretty well.  If at first your don't succeed, try try again.

I made this with beef because that's what we had but a lot of times I'll make lasagna with turkey.  This makes fantastic leftovers, by the way.

Beef and Spinach Lasagna:


Meat Sauce:
1 pound of ground beef
1 jar tomato sauce
1 onion, chopped into small pieces
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Salt & pepper

In a skillet on high, heat up the olive oil.  Add the onion, let cook for a minute then add the garlic.  After another minute add the ground beef.  When the beef is brown add the jar of tomato sauce and Italian seasoning.

Reduce the heat to medium and let cook for 10 minutes.  When finished use for lasagna or store in the refrigerator to use for another pasta dish.

Lasagna:
1/2 box lasagna noodle, cooked per package directions
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 package frozen spinach
Prepared meat sauce

Spoon some of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the lasagna pan.  Top with 3 noodles.  Spoon on more sauce, shredded cheese, spinach, and ricotta cheese.  Repeat until your lasagna pan is full of wonderful goodness.  Sprinkle some more cheese on top and bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes or until everything is bubbly.

Fried Cube Steak

I grew up eating cube steak, as I've mentioned before.  Mr. T and I also eat a decent amount of it.  It's cheap and a little bit can go a pretty long way.  I hate to make something the exact same way each time we have it so the other night I decided to play around with it and came came up with this.

This is one of the great things about cooking.  I dug around in the pantry and used what we had.  Sometimes it works (like today) sometimes it's a giant failure.  The worst thing that can happen is that the food taste bad, if that happens, order a pizza.  Life goes on and you can say that you learned something.

Fried Cube Steak:

4 cube steaks
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon steak seasoning (I used Montreal Steak seasoning)
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 sweet onion, sliced

In a skillet on medium high heat, heat up the butter and olive oil.  Let the butter melt.  Add the onion and garlic.

Mix together the corn starch, pepper, garlic powder, and steak seasoning.  Coat both sides of the steaks with the corn starch mixture and shake off the extra.

When the onion starts to get soft add the steaks to the pan.  Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side.

Crock Pot BBQ Beef

I had a day of vacation recently but didn't have the luxury to sit around all day and plan a fantastic dinner.  I decided to put my effort into my sides and use my crock pot for the main dish.

Crock Pot BBQ Beef:

1 beef roast
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon steak seasoning
1/2 cup favorite BBQ sauce

Sprinkle ginger, pepper, garlic powder, and steak seasoning on a non-frozen beef roast.  Put the roast in a crock pot on low for 5-7 hours. (I put it in before work and take it out when I get home).

Drain the fat and juices that cooked out of the roast.  Add the BBQ sauce and continue cooking for 20-30 minuets.

This also makes great left overs.

Stove Top Steaks

We don't have a grill.  3rd story apartments don't tend to be big fans of grills.  I had to learn how to cook a steak on the stove top.  It's really pretty easy and the steaks taste pretty good!

Stove Top Steak:

2 New York Strip Steaks (or whatever steak you want)

2 tablespoons of steak seasoning (I use Montreal Steak)

2 tablespoons of butter

1 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce

1 large cast iron skillet

Take the steak out of the refrigerator about 15 minutes before you're ready to cook it. Sprinkle your favorite steak seasoning on both sides of the steak.

Heat a large cast iron skillet until its very hot, it must be cast iron.  Melt the butter in the pan and add the worcestershire sauce.  Once the butter is melted add the steaks.  They should sizzle when they touch the pan.  Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side form medium-ish and longer if that's what you want.

Chipotle Steak Quesadillas

I love meals that I can use left overs to make.  We made skirt steak fajitas the other night and had some left over tortillas, vegetables, and steak.  We picked up some cheese and changed the seasonings a little bit and had a brand new dinner.

Chipotle Steak Quesadillas:

1 skirt steak

3 tablespoons Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning

2 tablespoons chipotle sauce  (Mr. T's favorite)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 garlic clove, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

soft tortillas

shredded cheese (I buy the Mexican blend)

bell pepper, sliced

sweet white onion, sliced

In a bowl, mix the Mrs. Dash, Chipotle sauce, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil together.  Put the steak in the bowl and cover with the spice mix.  Sit in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to over night.

When ready to make the quesadillas, remove the meat and place in a hot skillet with a little bit of oil and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.  Let rest for a couple of minutes before cutting.

I used leftover veggies that I had sauteed, but this is where you would want to saute your veggies.

Now to assemble!  In a dry skillet on low heat place the tortilla.  Add a layer of cheese.  When the cheese just starts to melt add the veggies and steak. 

I'm one of those people that tends to over stuff quesadillas so try to hold yourself back, I understand.  Top with a little more cheese and as soon as the bottom layer of cheese has melted fold it in half!

** Disclaimer- Mrs. Dash and Cholula have no idea who I am and did not compensate me in any way.  I just like their products. **

Beef & Broccoli

In my quest to take advantage of the skirt steak that we stocked up on when Publix had it on sale Mr. T found a recipe for Beef & Broccoli online.  This was really easy and super delicious and I will definitely be making it again!

Beef and Broccoli:

(food.com)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons cornstarch, divided

1/2 cup water, plus

2 tablespoons water, divided

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 lb boneless round steak or 1 lb charcoal chuck steak, cut into thin 3-inch strips

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

4 cups broccoli florets

1 small onion, cut into wedges

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

hot cooked rice

Directions:

In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water and garlic powder until smooth.  Add beef and toss.

In a large skillet or wok over medium high heat, stir-fry beef in 1 tablespoon oil until beef reaches desired doneness; remove and keep warm.  Stir-fry broccoli and onion in remaining oil for 4-5 minutes.  Return beef to pan.

Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, red pepper flakes, remaining cornstarch, and water until smooth; add to the pan.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Beef Ribs

It's Summertime which means it's time for lovely things like ribs.  Most people eat pork ribs, they're easily available and are on sale quite a bit (at least in the summer).  Mr. T found some beef ribs on sale at Publix and I cooked them up for a wonderful weekend dinner.


















BBQ Beef Ribs:

6 beef ribs (or however much you want to eat)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
favorite BBQ sauce

Beef ribs have a thick skin like membrane located on the bone side of the ribs.  The butcher had already removed it from our ribs but all you have to do it stick a knife under it and peel it away.  Not a necessity but it makes a difference, depending on who you ask.

Preheat oven to 250.  Mix all of the spices together and rub all over the ribs.  Make sure to cover both sides of the ribs.  Cover in foil and bake in the oven for 2 hours.

Remove the ribs, uncover and baste with your favorite BBQ sauce.  Continue doing this every 30-45 minutes for another 2 hours.  When the ribs are done cover with more sauce and enjoy.

Skirt Steak Fajitas

We tried something new tonight.  Publix had skirt steak on sale, and since neither one of us had ever had it we decided to try it out.  My good friend Google led me to a search result for "Skirt Steak Fajitas"... so we made that.  (We're easy to please)

This would be a perfect week night meal.  The steak can be put in the marinade the night before and the vegetables can be cut up so that when dinner time rolls around all that needs to be done is cooking the meat and veggies.


Skirt Steak Fajitas:
(got the idea from about.com)

1 package of skirt steak
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 large garlic clove, minced
4 shakes of Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Chipotle Sauce
1 large bell pepper
1 large, sweet onion
1 package of mushrooms

In a bowl add the lemon juice, pepper, salt, garlic, worcestershire sauce, olive oil, and chipotle sauce.  Mix everything together.  Take the flank steak and put it in the bowl, making sure it's covered on both sides with the marinade.  Put in the refrigerator and let marinate for at least an hour.

Slice the bell pepper and onion into strips.  Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet and heat on medium high heat.  Add the pepper, onion, and mushrooms.  Heat until everything until hot, but still crisp.

When the skirt steak is finished marinating add a tablespoon of oil to another skillet and heat on medium high heat.  Add the skirt steak to the hot pan.









 





Cook for four minutes on each side.  Then take the steak off the heat, cover with foil, and let rest for about 4 more minutes.

Slice the steak against the grain.

Serve in a tortilla shell with the vegetables and some sour cream.

I know that cheese isn't a traditional fajita topping, but I don't care.

Black and Pinto Bean Chili

Chili is a staple in our household.  I tend to stick with my normal recipe but I had a bag of black beans in the house and decided to try something different.

Black and Pinto Bean Chili:

1 cup black beans, soaked over night

2 cups pinto beans, soaked over night

2 pounds ground beef

2 cans tomatoes with chilies

2 tablespoons dried onion
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

In a pot brown the ground beef.  Add spices as the beef is cooking and mix together.  Add tomatoes and beans to the beef.  Simmer on the stove for 30-45 minutes.  Or longer depending on how smokey you want it to be.

Cubed Steak Sandwhich

I grew up eating cubed steak quite a bit.  My mom would always toss them in a little bit of flour, cook them in a cast-iron skillet, and serve them with rice and veggies.  I found this recipe from The Pioneer Woman and I decided to make it for my mom's workshop.  I tweaked it a little bit.

Cubed Steak Sandwich:
(adapted from Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:

1 whole Large (or 2 Small) Onions
1 container of mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 sticks Butter
2 pounds (to 3 Pounds) Cube Steak
Lawry's Seasoned Salt (I used store brand, because I'm cheap)
½ cup (approximately) Worcestershire Sauce
Tabasco Sauce, To Taste
4 whole French/deli Rolls

Instructions:

Slice onions and cook in 1/4 stick butter until soft and light brown. Remove and set aside.

 

Slice cube steak against the grain. Season with seasoning salt.  

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter over high heat (in same skillet) until melted and beginning to brown. 

 

Add meat in single layer. Cook one side until brown, then flip and cook until brown, about a minute on both sides.

Add 1/2 cup of Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and 2 tablespoons butter. Add cooked mushrooms and onions. Stir to combine.

Slice the deli rolls in half and toast in the oven. Place the meat, onions, and mushrooms on top of the rolls.  Make sure that you pour the gravy on top of the meat.  

These really are good.  Mr. T is looking forward to eating these again.  I feel like there would be a lot of ways to change this up depending on what your family likes.  I added the mushrooms but I also think bell peppers would make a good addition.

Someone try it out and let me know.

Crock-Pot Chili

I love chili, Mr. T loves it more.  To me nothing says fall more than chili.  It's the perfect thing to eat when the air starts to get cold.  (of course cold is relative depending on where you are)

There are different styles of chili depending on the part of the country you are.  I was raised on chili with tomatoes, ground meat, and beans.  Topped with sour cream, cheese, and red onion if you like.  It's a little thicker.  Everyone likes eating their chili a different way, because of this I tend to set up a "Chili Bar" so everyone can just go through the line and pick the toppings that they want.

Crock Pot Chili:
(Inspired from the Publix Chili Seasoning packet)

1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes with chilies
2 cans pinto beans (or kidney beans)
1 seasoning mix packet
2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce

Brown ground beef or turkey in a skillet.  Add worchestershire sauce and seasoning packet and mix, making sure that all of the meat is covered in spice.














In the crock pot add the cans of beans and tomatoes (undrained).

Add the meat to the pot, stir to combine, and let cook for a couple of hours.


As I said I love to set up a chili bar so everyone can make their chili how they like it.

Here's what I add:
red onion
bell peppers
cheese
sour cream
corn chips
fresh tomatoes
chopped jalapenos

Meatloaf

My grandmother made the best meatloaf ever.  It's just one of those dishes that make me think of her.  Now it's my turn to make it for her.

Grandma's Meatloaf:

2 pounds of ground beef

1/4 cup ketchup, minus some for the top of the meatloaf

1 egg
1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon Italian seasonings

1/3 red onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed.
salt and pepper to taste

Dump everything into the meat and mix well.  I form my meatloaf in less of a "loaf" shape and more of a large patty.  I do it because everyone likes to get the end piece of meatloaf and this way there's more crunchy bits for everyone to get.  After the meatloaf is formed and in the baking pan top with some of the remaining ketchup.

Bake at 350* for 40-45 minutes.  Drain grease from the pan before serving.