Steak Sandwiches

I've been posting about food a lot lately.  Apparently it's on my mind.  Perhaps because I've been trying to be healthier, I think more about what I eat.  I'm not sure this is the healthiest recipe in the world, but I paired it with a salad, so that helps, right?

Last week, I was watching The Chew.  It's become one of my favorite daytime shows and I have to admit, I'm going to miss it when school starts back up.  On this particular day, Mario Batali was making Skirt Steak sandwiches.  I have been thinking about them ever since and decided to create my own.

They. Were. Awesome.  Like, pat myself on the back, awesome.

First, I started with a one pound flank steak.  I seasoned it with the Adobo seasoning that I made last week and set aside to come up closer to room temperature.

In a small saucepan, I added a half tablespoon of butter and turned it to medium low.  In the meantime, I cut 2 slices out of a yellow onion, separated the rings, and added that to the pan.  You want to cook these low and slow so that they just turn golden and sweet.  Make sure to flip them every so often, but otherwise, leave 'em alone.

I was originally going to grill the flank steak but as it turns out, the grill grate was sitting on the counter waiting to be cleaned (my awesome husband does the cleaning since I do the cooking) so I got out my large skillet, drizzled some olive oil in the bottom and turned it to med-high (7 on my electric stove).

As soon as it was hot enough (the oil will run like water around the pan), I added the flank steak. It's important to get the temperature hot enough so that you get a good sear.  This locks in the juices as well as gives it a nice crust.  You'll know it's done when it has a little give to the touch, but isn't squishy (technical term), and has developed a nice black crust like so.....

Don't forget to turn the onions...

While the steak was cooking, I made a spread to go on the bread:

2 tbs mayo (I like Helmann's)

1/4 tsp garlic paste

1/2 tsp creamy horseradish

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

Mix together and set aside.  

In between flipping the steak and the onions, I cut some tomato and grabbed a couple of leaves of lettuce.

When the steak was done, I pulled it onto a cutting board to rest and turned the onions down to low.

While everything was hanging out, I got out my Foreman grill to preheat, then cut my big loaf of ciabatta into sandwich sized pieces and then cut each one in half.  Once the grill was preheated, I put the bread down to toast.

While it was toasting, I cut the meat.  When cutting flank steak, make sure to cut against the grain so that you get nice tender pieces.

At this point, I of course had to sample the meat to make sure it was perfect.  It took several samples to be sure....

And then I assembled the sandwiches.  The girls' got meat and swiss.  

Mine was meat, swiss, onions, and the horseradish/mayo spread.

And my husband had the granddaddy of them all - All the same ingreadients as mine, plus lettuce and tomato.

The verdict: SUCCESS!  This might be one of the best things I've made in quite a while.  The girls, who won't eat a regular ham and cheese, loved theirs, and Ryan and I were just sad when ours was gone.  I will definitely be making these again in the near future!!!!

Shrimp Noodle Bowls

One of my go-to meals is Stir Fry. Chicken, shrimp, or beef. They're easy to throw together and if you're careful, they can be fairly healthy too. Last week, I made Shrimp Noodle Bowls. For this recipe I used:
Wok oil
Onion
Red bell pepper
Shrimp
Kikkomann Green Onion and Garlic Teriyaki Sauce
Cashews
Pineapple
Stir Fry Noodles

Drizzle a small amount of wok oil into a hot wok. Add your onion and peppers. While they are cooking, peel and rinse your shrimp. When the veggies are soft and the onions are translucent, add your shrimp. Meanwhile, boil your noodles and prepare according to package directions. When the shrimp are just turning pink, add your pineapple. Then add your teriyaki sauce and cashews. Lastly, add your drained noodles and stir it altogether. Done! Easy, quick, and so yummy!

A couple of notes and hints: I didn't list amounts because it really depends on the size of your family and what you like. For this particular dinner, I used a half bell pepper and half an onion, cut into large chunks. Sometimes I cut into strips depending on my mood. I used approx 2 cups fresh pineapple. I really prefer fresh, but you could use canned as well. I used about a 1/4 cup of the sauce (I rarely measure anything, so it's a guess) and maybe 2 tbs of the cashews. I also used half the package of noodles and a pound of shrimp. You don't need to feel married to this recipe, either. Use chicken instead of shrimp. Add carrots or broccoli. It's really about making it work for you and your tastes. When I make this with chicken, I usually cook up the veggies and then take them out of the pan before adding the chicken. Then I add the veggies toward the end when I add all the other stuff to heat back through.

Sorry I don't have any pictures.  I'm still working on that part of this blog. :-)

Pollo Sabroso

I need a change of pace in the kitchen.  I'm in a rut.  So with a few weeks left before school starts and things getting crazy again, I resolved to try at least one new recipe a week.  

I don't like following recipes as a rule.  I much prefer to make things up as I go.  But with 80+ recipes pinned on pinterest and a great cookbook my Dad gave me, it seemed that there would be something in there to help me get out of my rut.  This week I headed to pinterest and found Pollo Sabroso from skinnytaste.com.  It looked quick and simple and since I've been trying to eat healthier, the 154 calories per serving didn't hurt either.  

There were a couple of unfamiliar ingredients to me (Sazon and Adobo).  The author of the blog gives a link with a picture of each one, so I had at least an idea in mind what they would like.  I headed to HyVee and was able to find the Sazon but not the Adobo.  At least not the kind that was dry. I went ahead and got everything else I needed and figured I just might have to try another store.  Before going out today, I googled Adobo and found out that it comes from the word "adobar" which means "to marinate".  It can come in both wet and dry form and can be used on all sorts of meats.  There was a recipe listed, of which I had all the ingredients except the turmeric.  So after dropping my daughter off at dance class, I headed back to a different HyVee. They had Adobo!  However, after looking at the ingredients, I decided that the recipe I had found would be more flavorful and it had the added advantage of allowing me to control the salt content.  Since the Sazon also has salt and we try to watch our salt intake, this pretty much sealed the deal.  

I came home and made the Adobo:

3 tsp salt

6 tsp garlic powder

4 tsp oregano

2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp onion powder

Mix together and voila!

(The only modifications I made from the original recipe were to cut everything into teaspoons instead of tablespoons and to use half the amount of salt)

After preparing the Adobo, I followed the Pollo Sabroso recipe without modification, choosing to broil rather than grill since it's so HOT here in the midwest. The result: PERFECTION!  Even the girls loved it.  It had tons of flavor and was so juicy.  To keep the meal healthy, I added a side salad and vegetable and it was a total hit.  Will definitely be making it again!

I'm not going to post the recipe here - instead, I encourage you to head over to skinnytaste.com and check out her blog!  She has a lot of yummy looking recipes and I've already pinned a few to try.  For the Pollo Sabroso recipe click HERE. 

Changes....

This blog originally started out as a way to keep family and friends posted about the happenings of our family.  With facebook becoming so ubiquitous, the blog sort of seemed unnecessary.  Lately, however, I have been thinking about starting it back up but with a different focus.  I find that I have thoughts, many of them, that I want to share and facebook just doesn't seem to be the avenue.  So here we are.  My thoughts.  Love 'em or hate 'em, here we go!