Steak with Argentine Herb Sauce Recipe

Courtesy of Good Housekeeping Magazine

Yummy! :-)

Ingredients

1 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
1 clove garlic
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano (I used basil... I am out of oregano!)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Kosher salt
Pepper
4 (2 1/2 pounds total, each 1 inch thick) New York beef strip steaks (I used 1.5 lbs of good, lean steak to make 4 servings)

Directions

1.Prepare outdoor (or indoor if you live in a teeny apt like me!) grill for direct grilling on medium-high. Fit wire rack into jelly-roll pan.

2.Prepare herb sauce: In food processor with knife blade attached, combine parsley, cilantro, and garlic; pulse until finely chopped. Add oil, vinegar, oregano, red pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon each salt and black pepper; pulse to blend.

3.Pat steaks dry. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper all over steaks. Immediately place on grill; cook 7 to 8 minutes for medium-rare or until desired doneness, turning over every 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to wire rack. Let stand 5 minutes.

4.Stir any meat juices into herb sauce. Slice steak; serve with sauce.

The Verdict: We liked the bite the sauce had, but it just didn't hit it off with our taste buds. I liked it in a thiiiin layer on top, but I wasn't eating chunks of it on top of the steak. I'm glad I plated it the way I did. I don't think this one will grace our plates again, but it wasn't awful.

I served it with purple cauliflower and Annie's Low Sodium Mac 'n Cheese for a nice, colourful plate. I think that was accomplished, though the cauliflower was a little bitter. Oh well. Another meal bites the dust!

I'm headed to the gym soon for a good working out. Tomorrow we are headed to an amusement park with college friends- I am SO excited!!

Two-thirds!

We are two-thirds of the way through this year, already! That is SO hard to believe.

I spend the "summer" (who really considers September summer?) doing my own little challenge. It was called the Sans Soda Summer. I went three months without soda. This was one of my 101 in 1001, though according to the list, I was not required to make the three months consecutive, so I feel even cooler that I did make them consecutive. So... this was a good challenge. Most of the time, I didn't really feel the desire to have soda, but there were a few times when I could have really enjoyed a good ol' Boylan Black Cherry soda. I mean, I like soda, it's good, but I've never been "addicted" to it. Before I did this, I had a soda maybe every 10 days or so. I plan on keeping the habit up, but I will probably indulge in sodas like Boylan or Curiosity Cola, not Coke or Barq's.

So... the eats.

Flank Steak Rollup, Clean Eating Magazine

Ingredients:

• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1/4 cups whole-wheat panko
• 1 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes
• 1 flank steak about a pound, trimmed of visible fat
• 3 oz spinach leaves
• kitchen string or skewers

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange a rack in a baking dish and coat with cooking spray
2. In a small bowl, combine panko, nuts, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper flakes. Set aside.
3.  Place steak on a work surface. Holding a sharp knife, parallel to the work surface and positioned along 1 of the longer sides, cut the steak almost in half horizontally so it opens like a book. Spread steak open with “spine of book” parallel to you.
4. Sprinkle panko mixture over steak leaving a one inch border along the farthest edge. Arrange spinach on top. Beginning with the closest edge roll steak up, gently pressing down on the spinach. Tie up with kitchen string at 1-inch intervals. Place steak in prepared pan and bake unto the meat thermometer reads 150 for medium and 130 for rare. Remove from oven, transfer to a cutting board and cover loosely with foil to rest 10 mins.
5. Remove foil and string and carefully cut steak crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Serve drizzled with any juices that accumulated on the cutting board.

 

Homemade Pizza

I used my normal pizza dough recipe, and then I added red and green peppers, onions, mozzarella and parmesan cheese, and some Jennie-O's Hot Italian Turkey Sausage that I removed from the casings and then cooked in my cast iron skillet.

Chicken Parmesan Burgers, Elly Says Opa

Ingredients:

Burgers:

• 1 lb. ground chicken
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/4 cup chopped flatleaf parsley
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced or pressed
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• salt and pepper

Accouterments:

• 1/2 cup pasta sauce
• 4 slices mozzarella or provolone (or 1/2 cup shredded)
• sauteed mushrooms (optional)
• 4 buns (brushed with a little garlic butter, they are even better)

Directions:

1. Lightly mix together all the ingredients for the burgers. Form into 4 patties. I like to make them about 30-40 minutes ahead of time, to let the flavors meld a little bit.
2. Preheat & spray the broiler with a little oil (or use the grill, or a pan). Broil the burgers for about 4 minutes on the first side, then flip and broil for 3 minutes. Top each chicken burger with 2 Tbsp. pasta sauce and a slice (or about 2T) of cheese. Place back under the broiler for 30-60 seconds, until cheese in melted and burger is cooked through. Top with mushrooms, if desired. Place the buns in the broiler for about 10 seconds, just until toasted.

I actually sauteed the mushrooms, then melted the cheese over them, then topped the burgers with the mushroom/cheese mixture, then added heated sauce to the tops of the burgers.


In other news, I tried my first green monster. It looked gross (thus no photos), but tasted delicious.

The recipe I used:

• 2 tbsp cocoa
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• Two handfuls of spinach
• Ice to make smoothie of good consistency (10 for me)

 I enjoyed it thoroughly! :-) Well, I think I am going to go off to the gym... time to get some running done. It's September and it's time to run!

Weekend/Monday Update

Good day to all!

This weekend was Youth Weekend at our church, and I lead a small group of 6th grade girls. It was a blast!

For lunch yesterday, we had...

Steak Tacos with Avocado Cream Sauce

The taco, assembled!

The avocado cream sauce... with toppings behind. :-)

These were easy, easy, easy. I just seasoned the steak with some mexican spices, cooked it up in my cast iron, put it in corn tortillas, and served them with lettuce, tomatoes, red bell pepper, and cilantro and of course... the avocado cream sauce:

Ingredients:

1 avocado, pitted, peeled
6 oz greek yogurt
1 jalapeno pepper
1/4 cup cilantro

Directions:

Put all ingredients in food processor with standard blade and pulse until well combined.

And... for dinner tonight...

Chicken Breasts with Caramelized Onions, Cranberries, and Balsamic-Glazed Asparagus

Caramelize 1 medium yellow onion over low heat in nonstick or cast iron pan for 20 minutes, add 2 tbsp dried unsweetened cranberries, cook for 2 minutes. Remove from pan.

When the cranberries hit the pan, put ~1 lb asparagus (trimmed, on cookie sheet covered in aluminum foil, drizzled with balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper), in a 350* oven for 15 minutes.

Heat pan over med-high, add four 4oz chicken breasts (pounded to same thickness) and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. Add onions and cranberries and cook for 2 minutes.


Tomorrow night, we are headed to Charlottesville for an Iron and Wine concert- CAN'T WAIT!! :-) Everybody have a lovely night!

As Promised Part Deux

I promised you awesome recipes this week and I am delivering numero dos to you. This was Tuesday's meal.

Sirloin Steak with Grainy Mustard Sauce and Parmesan Steak "Fries"
Adapted from Ellie Krieger's So Easy

Sorry for the bad plating, but DH was running late for a music rehearsal.

Ingredients for Steak:
2 tbsp EVOO
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp whole wheat flour
2 cups dry white wine
1 boneless sirloin steak, about 1 1/4 lbs
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
3 tbsp whole-grain mustard

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tbsp of oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the wine, bring to a boil, and cook until reduced to 1 cup, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the steak. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook the steak, turning once, for 6-8 minutes total for medium rare, or to desired doneness. Transfer to a cutting board and cover with foil to keep warm.
Add any juices from the steak on the grill pan to the sauce and bring to a simmer. Stir in the mustard and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in any juice from the cutting board into the sauce. Thinly slice the steak and divide among 4 plates. Spoon the sauce over the steak and serve the fries (recipe to follow) alongside.

Parmesan Steak Fries
Adapted from Ellie Krieger's So Easy

(no picture available)

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
2-3 russet potatoes (about 1.5 lbs total) peeled or unpeeled
1 tbsp EVOO
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly chopped basil
Salt to taste

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450* and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
Cut each of the potatoes into even "fry-sized" slices. Make sure they can lie flat on the cooking sheet. Put the potatoes in a medium-sized bowl and toss with the oil.
Place the potatoes on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle the potatoes with cheese and basil and continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes, until they are crisp and golden brown; there is no need to turn them. Season with salt and serve immediately.

THESE ARE DELICIOUS. DH could NOT stop talking about them. I used shredded Parm instead of grated, which in the end, I would not recommend because it doesn't really stick to the fries, but it did make nice little cheese crisps on the baking sheet. :-) Yum.

SO... I went to the gym yesterday and asked the fitness specialist about my knee and she gave me some stability exercises to do to strengthen my knee. She also stretched me out really well. I ran a quick mile on the treadmill, but my Zune died and the TV sound plug in kept shocking me, so I gave up. :-/ Oh well. At least I did something. Tuesday, I did a Billy Blanks (don't hate) Bootcamp DVD and I am soooore. I'm glad it works at least! :-) I might have to go out to Target today and get some stability balls and stuff to help my knees!