Quick Steak Fajitas - It's What's For Dinner

PRE-STORY:

We had one leftover NY Strip, darn economy packs, so I had to come up with something.  When all else fails, go Mexican!

DISH: Fajita

SOURCE/ADAPTED FROM: Voices in my head

ACTIVE TIME: ~15 minutes TOTAL TIME: ~30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• Juice of two limes
• Juice of one orange (go to Wegman's, get their juicing oranges!)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 packet Sauzon
• 1 garlic cloves, diced
• 1 jalepeno, diced
• 1/4 red onion
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 NY Strip (or whatever steak you have on hand, we had an extra)
• 1 can black beans
• EVOO
• 1/2 C fat-free Mexican cheese blend
• 1/4 C fat-free plain greek yogurt (I use this instead of sour cream)
• 1/2 Avocado (or the whole darn thing, whoever heard of leftover avocado)
• Whole Wheat Tortillas

Juice the limes and orange into a bowl.  Add the cumin, garlic cloves, jalepeno, red onion to the bowl.  Slice beef into bite size pieces - add to bowl.  Let sit 10-30 minutes.  Heat 1 Tbs EVOO  in a large skillet, add beef.  When it starts browning, add some of the marinade to the pan.  Heat for ~ 3 minutes.  When you flip the meat, add the bell pepper and black beans to the pot.  Add rmainder of the sauce.  Simmer for ~10 minutes.


While that is cooking, smoosh the avocado and yogurt together.  Smear on heated tortillas, top with meat/bean mixture and Mexican cheese blend.  Roll burrito style.

SERVES / NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:

Two

RATING/DIFFICULTY:

Really Good / Easy Peasy

SERVED WITH:

The joy of Mexican food - it's all in there!

FINAL NOTES:

Nice easy weekday meal - any meat will do, or veggies for that matter.  Add salsa to spice it up if desired. 

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

PRE-STORY: The week after Christmas, I decided to make comfort food. I’ve made beef stew once before using a braising method but decided to try a crock pot recipe. Thing is, picking one is difficult so I just combined a few together.

DISH: Beef
SOURCE/ADAPTED FROM: A mix of Beef Stew recipes from allrecipe.com
ACTIVE TIME: ~30 minutes TOTAL TIME: ~7 Hours

• 1 pound Stew Meat

• 1 Tablespoon Flour, plus 1 teaspoon
• Salt

• 1 Tablespoon EVOO
• ~ 4 Baby Carrots cut into bite size pieces
• ¼ pound Fresh Green Beans (only because I had them)
• 2 small potatoes, cubed
• 1 teaspoon Dried Parsley
• Pepper, to taste
• 2/3 C Boiling Water
• 1 Package Dry Onion Mushroom Soup Mix
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• 1 Onion, diced
• ~ 5 Button Mushrooms, cut into 4ths
½ C Red Wine (original recipe called for a Tablespoon…I laughed)
• 1 Cup Beef Broth

• 2 teaspoons Flour mixed with water

Mix flour and Salt. Dredge meat in flour mixture. Heat EVOO in large skillet over medium high heat. Add stew meat and cook until evenly browned on the outside (do this in batches). Transfer to slow cooker along with carrots, potatoes, parsley and pepper. In a small bowl, stir together boiling water and soup mix. Pour into slow cooker.

In same skillet melt butter, add onion and cook until softened. Add to slow cooker. Pour red wine into skillet and break up brown bits. Pour into slow cooker. Add beef broth. Add water to cover food in slow cooker.
Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes. Reduce to low and cook for 6 hours.

SERVES / NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Serves 4 (Leftovers were even better)

RATING/DIFFICULTY:
3 - Good but Need Tweaking - I would rate it higher for taste, but there is just so much you can do with this recipe.

Easy Peasy

SERVED WITH:
Wegman’s Clover Rolls.

FINAL NOTES:
As comfort food goes, beef stew hits the spot. You can mix/match recipes, add/subtract ingredients, play with seasonings, etc. It is a great item for the new cooks out there! Here’s a helpful hint my mom has passed on to me: too salty, throw in more cubed potatoes (can also be used to thicken broth).

Flank Steak Roll with Spinach and Garlic

PRE-STORY: Right now I'm barely training so there are some nights when Dude has jiu-jitsu practice and I have time to cook. Tonight was one of them.

DISH: Beef

SOURCE/ADAPTED FROM: Clean Eating magazine, March/April 2010, Volume 3, Issue 2

ACTIVE TIME: 25 min TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 15 min

INGREDIENTS: Italics Font items are my adaptations
• Olive Oil Cooking Spray - used regular PAM
• 1/4 C Whole Wheat Panko - Couldn't find that, used regular Panko, and needed more because I rolled the steak roll in Panko before baking
• 1 Tbs Pine Nuts, toasted - whoops, forgot the toasting part - note to self - read and reread the recipe
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar - added 1 tsp+ red wine
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt - used gray sea salt from Napa Style
• 2 Clove Garlic, Coarsely Chopped - used 3 cloves
• 1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes - dang it, missed this one to - see note to self above
• 1 Flank Steak, trimmed of visible fat - mine was 1.4 lbs
• 3 oz Spinach Leaves, about 6 cups - I chopped mine
• Added chopped Cremini Mushrooms, about 1/2 Cup

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400. Arrange a rack in a baking pan and coat with cooking spray. (Cover the bottom of the baking rack with aluminum for easy clean up).

In a small bowl, combine panko, nuts, vinegar, wine, garlic, salt and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

Place steak on a work surface. Holding a sharp knife (ideally a carving knife with a thinner blade than a chef's knife) parallel to the work surface and positioned along 1 of the longer sides, cut steak almost in half horizontally, so it opens like a book. Spread steak open with "spine of book" parallel to you.

Sprinkle panko mixture evenly over steak, leaving a 1 inch border along the farthest edge. Arrange mushrooms and spinach on top of panko mixture. Beginning with the closest edge, roll steak up, gently pressing down on spinach. Rotate steak roll so it's vertical to you and tie crosswise at 1 inch intervals with kitchen string. Roll in extra panko. Place steak on rack in prepared baking pan and bake until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of steak registers 150F . for medium doneness, about 35 minutes, or 130F for medium rare, about 30 minutes. Transfer steak roll to a cutting board, loosely cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes (internal temperature will continue to rise to about 160F for medium, 140F for medium rare).

Remove foil and string and carefully cut steak crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Serve drizzled with any juices accumulated on cutting board.

SERVES / NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Serves 4

Original recipe Per serving: Calories 230; Fat 11 g (Saturated 3.5 g); Cholesterol 40 mg; Sodium 220 mg; Carbohydrate 8 g; Fiber 2 g; Protein 26 g

RATING/DIFFICULTY:
Taste Rating: Three Fat Running Chefs - Needs Tweaking

Difficulty Rating: Just TRI! - Takes Time but you can do it!!

SERVED WITH:
Steamed New Potatoes - I could post the recipe and all, but basically steam some new potatoes, add a little olive oil and spices of choice and serve.

FINAL NOTES:
This was good but there are so many things I would do different. First I'd saute some onions and add to the mix. I'd also eliminate the red wine vinegar and just use red wine. You could play with the spices. And add more salt!