Flat-Iron Steak Tips & Veggies

 

I really enjoy eating out for a change of pace and it has become a welcome luxury.  Since it’s not something I do a lot given today’s economy, I’ve become pretty choosey.  Normally, I like to order something I would not fix at home.  Recently though, I ordered steak tips at a local restaurant.  I have to admit the entire dish was delicious, but it had one major flaw.  It was too salty.  I have to wonder when we began to rely on salt to flavor everything.  As you know from my recipes, I don’t use it a lot.  Once you make this choice, the salt content in food becomes very noticeable.  Of course, I decided to revamp the restaurant dish into my on version.  You’ll notice that I do not have salt listed as an ingredient.  This is because there’s plenty of sodium in the other ingredients.  When all was said and done, it could have used  a dash, but I definitely felt healthier.  At the end of the day, I’d rather add some salt at the table than to serve a salty dish!

Flat-Iron Steak Tips & Veggies

1 – 2 lb flat iron steak (or sirloin) cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce

1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon Mrs.. Dash original flavor

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 large onion, sliced

2 cups fresh Monterey mushrooms, sliced

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pkg (16 oz) frozen broccoli, carrot, cauliflower mix (cooked to package directions)

Combine steak, garlic, teriyaki sauce, Worchestershire sauce, olive oil, Mrs.. Dash, and vinegar in a zip lock bag.  Marinate for 1 hour. 

In a large sauce pan, heat butter and remaining olive oil over medium high heat.  Add mushrooms & cook until slightly browned.  Remove mushrooms from pan and set aside.  Add onions to pan and cook until tender.  Remove from pan.  Add a bit more oil to the pan, if necessary.  Remove steak from marinade & add to pan.  Cook over medium high heat until medium rare (or to own taste).  Add onions, mushrooms, and vegetables to pan along with 1/2 cup water.  Continue to cook, scraping bottom of pan to make your ‘gravy’.  Add salt & pepper to taste.  Serve over rice, if desired.

Check out more great recipes at The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

Brats & Cabbage

 

This is a remake of a Bangers & Mash recipe I saw recently.  I wanted to re-make this recipe without using mashed potatoes.  I love turnips and thought they would add some distinct flavor.  As an added benefit, I took made the leftovers into a hearty soup the next night!

Simple Cookery Brats & Cabbage

1 pkg brats – 5 links

1 large red onion, sliced in rings

1 head cabbage, chopped

6-8 turnips, peeled and diced

2 cups chicken broth or stock plus water

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard

1/4 cup water

In large pot, combine cabbage, turnips, chicken broth and enough water to cover all.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer and cover.  Continue to simmer for 45 minutes or until cabbage reaches desired texture and turnips are fork tender.  If you like your veggies a little firmer, reduce cooking time.  Meanwhile, cook brats according to package directions and remove from skillet.  Cover with foil to keep warm.  In same skillet, add olive oil.  Add onions, and cook over medium low heat until slightly browned.  Add water and mustard, scraping the bottom of the pan to make your ‘gravy’.  Remove cabbage mixture with slotted spoon to reserve cooking liquid.  Layer in a casserole or serving dish.  Top with onion mixture and brats. 

Bonus recipe for leftovers:

By reserving the cooking liquid, you have a delicious start to a hearty soup.  Dice any leftover brats and store overnight in cooking liquid.

Brat & Cabbage Soup

4 cups leftover cabbage, turnip, onion, brat mixture

1 small onion, chopped

1 tomato chopped

1 teaspoon olive oil

to taste – red pepper flakes, salt, pepper

1-2 cups chicken broth

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and tomato.  Cook until tender.  Combine all ingredients in medium sauce pan – adding the desired amount of chicken broth depending on how thick you like your soup.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and continue to cook another 15 minutes. 

Pillsbury® Grands!® Giveway Winner....

Thanks everyone for the great comments and ideas for using Pillsbury® Grands!® Biscuits.

And, the winner is....


barbara.montyj said...
I like to use the biscuits with my chicken and gravy.
barbara dot montyj at gmail dot com

October 19, 2010 6:59 PM

Congrats!!! barbara.montyj please e-mail me at simplecookery@aol.com

Thanks to MyBlogSpark and Pillsbury for the Pillsbury Grands! Mini Biscuits prize pack that includes a coupon for a free package of biscuits, a $15 gift card, a biscuit basket, a butter dish and spreader.

Cinnamon Butter & Giveaway

One of my favorite memories as a child is watching Mom make buttermilk biscuits.  Almost every Sunday morning, Mom would scoop up the flour and start from scratch.  They were perfect.  Of all the things that I learned from Mom, I never have mastered the art of a perfect biscuit.  Oh, Mom used canned biscuits too and we considered them a treat.  She’d flatten them out, fill them with home-made apple pie filling and make the best fried apple pies.  Add a some ice cream, and you’re in heaven.

When Pillsbury first began making frozen biscuits to bake at home, I jumped on the bandwagon.  At last, I could get the taste of home-made biscuits without the fuss.  And the best part?  I could cook as many as I wanted.  If I only needed two biscuits, then that’s all I needed to pull out of the freezer.  Anyone knows, there’s no such thing as making a ‘small’ batch of homemade biscuits!

As you can imagine, I was very excited to hear about the new Pillsbury® Grands!® Mini Biscuits.  These little biscuits are just the right size for little appetites or big appetizers! Love coupons? Click here so you can save $1.00 on the purchase of any Frozen Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits.
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Through MyBlogSpark, Pillsbury sent me information and a Pillsbury Grands! Mini Biscuits prize pack that included a coupon for a free package of biscuits, a $15 gift card, a biscuit basket, a butter dish and spreader. The best part? Pillsbury, through MyBlogSpark, is providing me with an additional prize pack for one of you!

What’s your favorite use for Pillsbury® Grands!®?  Do you use them in a recipe?  I love cooking home-made pot pies topped with a biscuit instead of pie crust.  Topping a biscuit with a little cinnamon, sugar, and butter before baking makes a wonderful dessert. Or, try this yummy recipe for cinnamon butter. The maple syrup adds just a taste of Fall! 

CINNAMON BUTTER
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1 cup butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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Allow butter to soften at room temperature. Beat butter, sugar, syrup and cinnamon together until well blended. Store in air-tight container and refrigerate for at least an hour before using.

MyBlogSpark and Pillsbury want you to enjoy the new Pillsbury® Grands!® Mini Biscuits too.  To enter, just leave a comment on this blog & tell me your favorite use for Pillsbury biscuits.  If you’re a follower of this blog, you are automatically entered, but you’ll get an extra entry if you leave a comment.  Hurry though, this giveaway ends October 20, 2010 at midnight. 

THIS CONTEST HAS ENDED - THE WINNER WAS: barbara.montyj

Is it really cheaper?

I'm all about saving money and taking short cuts. I also know it can be easy to make healthier versions of convenience items you find in the grocery store. However, I have to wonder about the following recipe. I haven't tried it, but wanted to get your thoughts on it. Considering the cost of ingredients and time involved, I think I'll stick with the easy route of buying it. I also know that I'd probably end up scorching the milk! But, if you decide to try this one, let me know how it turns out.
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Sweetened Condensed Milk
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3/4 cup sugar
1 and 1/4 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup water
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Mix ingredients well and bring to a boil in a heavy sauce pan. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often, or until it reaches the desired thickness.

Movies, Books & Food

I love old movies just about as much as I love food. Sometimes I just want to curl up with an good book. Have you ever noticed how food is somehow involved in almost all parts of a novel? A book about San Francisco wedding caterers would no doubt involve a lot of cooking. Think about the latest suspense novel you read over the summer. How many recipes could you cook up from just that one book?

How many of those books have a happy ending involving a wedding? Destination weddings are very popular these days, and I'm sure it can take a lot of time to hire local wedding caterers. A little extra time and research can pay off in the long run resulting in the perfect wedding dinner.

I won't mention the name of the movie, but if you're a fan of fast cars that transport unusual items, you can probably guess it. The female lead in this movie spends a great deal of time describing delicious meals in nearby restaurants while speeding through Europe. Just like in a book, movies sometimes leave me wondering about the characters afterward. I can see this couple hiring a wedding caterer soon. Don't we all love happy endings?