Steak Salad Bowl

I don't really eat red meats very often. Growing up it was a challenge for my parents to get me to eat about 2oz of steak at one meal. I remember hiding quite a bit of steak in my napkin on a few occasions. Sorry Mom and Dad! I still don't gravitate towards it regularly, but every now and then a steak just sounds good. One of my favorite flavors actually is red meat with blue cheese. The paring is tangy, salty and savory all at once. In Mexico on our honeymoon, Aaron and I had the most delicious blue cheese sauce with steak (we had it twice in one week actually it was so good) that I still dream about. Last week I had a blue cheese Juicy Lucy which was quite tasty as well. Another of my favorites is steak on salad. Usually a salad with steak strips has tomatoes, red onion, and blue cheese with some type of vinaigrette. All of the those flavors combined is so satisfying and feels like so much more than a lettuce salad. 

This meal didn't start as a salad, and it definitely is not your traditional salad- no lettuce to be found. As I was cooking the vegetables, I decided that all of these things combined in a bowl with blue cheese and dijon vinaigrette would be amazing. It was. I loved all of the different textures and flavors together in one bite. Aaron missed out because he had everything separated on his plate and he didn't have any blue cheese- salad is a little bit of a bad word in his vocabulary. So, you can do what you like but especially do not forget the blue cheese sprinkled over your steak! Enjoy!

Steak Salad Bowl

Serves 2-3

Steak

1 lb flank steak

1 large clove garlic, chopped

1 sm shallot, shopped

1/8 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

salt & pepper

Place steak in a shallow dish. Season steak with salt and pepper. Add garlic, shallot and sauces. Marinate for several hours or overnight. 

Bring to room temperature for about 1 hour before grilling. Heat grill and cook on each side for about 3-5 minutes or until medium rare. Allow to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing. 

Brussels Sprouts

Use this recipe

Green Beans

1 lb fresh green beans, ends trimmed

salt & pepper

grill seasoning

Cover beans with water and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for about 1-2 minutes until beans are cooked but still slightly crunchy. Drain water and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and grill seasoning. 

Roasted Potatoes

3 small, red potatoes, diced

olive oil

salt & pepper

grill seasoning (I use Mrs. Dash)

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Spread potatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and grill seasoning. Roast for about 15 minutes and then redistribute potatoes on baking sheet. Roast for another 10-15 minutes until potatoes are browned and crispy on the outside. 

Dijon Vinaigrette

2-3 tbsp Dijon mustard

1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp honey

1/4 cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients and whisk together. Season with course salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add more mustard and/or vinegar to taste. 

Salad Bowl

3-4oz steak

1/2 cup green beans

1/2 cup Brussels sprouts

1/4-1/3 cup roasted potatoes

1/2 large tomato or 1 small, diced

Dijon vinaigrette

blue cheese crumbles

Combine vegetables, potatoes and steak in your bowl. Top with blue cheese and drizzle with vinaigrette. 

Steak Fajitas

A few weeks ago we visited Aaron's grandparents in Houston, Texas. I had not been to Texas since I was five years old and I really didn't realize how strong the Mexican influence is there. Of course it makes sense that there would be great Mexican food and fresh avocados, peppers, limes, etc., being so close to Mexico, but it just hadn't occurred to me before. I was picturing more barbecue, huge steaks, and cowboy food I guess. At the wedding we attended while we were there, the food was a fajita bar with tortillas, chicken, beef, vegetables, guacamole, queso, chips and pico. Yum! Aaron's mom said food like this was common in Texas and weddings or parties. Hmmm. Quite a bit different from the traditional ham and butter sandwiches that I have been told are common to have at North Dakota weddings!

 I could live off of tomatoes, avocados, black beans, and peppers, so this food was no problem for me! Aaron's grandmother made us migas one morning for breakfast. Reading on Wikipedia, I discovered that migas is a traditional Tex-Mex food that is Spanish for "crumbs." Her's was eggs mixed with strips of tortillas, bacon, peppers, onions, and cheese. Others meats, vegetables, etc could be used in it as well.  Something like this probably would not have sounded very good to me if someone described it to me- being used to pancakes and plain old scrambled eggs! But, we had our migas with fresh avocado slices, fresh tomatoes, salsa, and warm corn tortillas and it was delicious! It is a filling meal and I think it will become a regular on the Russell weekend breakfast menu or as a breakfast-for-dinner item. 

Before we left Houston, we visited a Fiesta Mart grocery store. It was liking walking into Mexico with food trucks in the parking lot, vendors selling hats, dresses and other trinkets in the doorway, and Latin products in the store. There were bags of key limes for $2.50, bell peppers and avocados for less than $1.00, live talipia swimming in tanks, every part of a pig, and fresh tortillas. We bought a bag of still warm corn tortillas for $1.00. I just wished I could have bought and bags and bags of food back! We will be using some of these tortillas for fish tacos this week, but when we got back from Houston, we had them with steak and beans and rice. Enjoy!

 

 Steak Fajitas with Beans & Rice
8 corn tortillas
8oz grilled steak, sliced
Optional ingredients:
grilled peppers and onions
shredded cheese
sliced avocados
diced tomatoes
chopped cilantro
salsa
light sour cream

1 cup brown rice
16oz canned pinto beans, not rinsed
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1. Combine rice, beans (do not rinse), tomato paste, cumin, coriander, and chicken broth. Cook according to package directions or in a rice cooker, about 40 minutes.
2. Heat tortillas until warm in griddle or microwave. Fill with 2oz steak and favorite toppings.

Serves 4 (2 tortillas each)