Crispy Steak & Edamame Salad

Soo… today’s post was SUPPOSED to be super yummy Paleo Banana Bread! Ya know, the first time it was absolutely perfect, but I made it again last night and there was just something a liiiittle off this time, so bear with me as I make a few tweaks and find out what it is :)

However, I’ll make it up to you – because this salad I’m about to share is soo delicious, you won’t even know what to do with yourself! This is the first recipe I’ve done that is not solely my creation. I’ve had this one in a stack of recipes for years, and to be honest, I have no idea what magazine I even got it out of! So if you recognize it, please tell me so I can give credit where credit is due. I did adapt it and change a few things, which is the version I’ll be posting today!

Disclaimer: Before some of the hardcore peeps get their panties in a bunch, I do realize edamame (and soy sauce) are not “paleo-approved” foods. But like I’ve said before and I’ll say again, I still do cheat sometimes. And I like it ;)  So, you can either remove it from the recipe and sub lettuce or spinach (and coconut aminos) or you can follow me down the path of unrighteousness & indulge a little.

STEAK EDAMAME SALAD

The ingredients!

• 2 cups frozen shelled edamame
• 2 TBSP lower sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 TBSP minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 TBSP mayo
• 1 TBSP Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp dark sesame oil
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 medium sized avocado
• 1 cup chopped seeded English cucumber
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 10-12 oz flank steak (cut into small pieces)
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Pour the frozen edamame into a large bowl and fill it with hot water. Let the edamame soak for about 10 minutes or until completely thawed.

Little nuggets of deliciousness

Meanwhile, cut up your steak into small pieces and set aside for a minute. I used kitchen shears because it made it soo much easier to control the size of the pieces.

Flank steak

Wash and slice your tomatoes, cucumbers and onions, along with your ginger!

Carefully cut the seeds out of the middle

Next, drain your edamame and pat dry with a paper towel. Add the veggies you just cut to the bowl with the edamame.

So yum!

Next, add the olive oil to either a non-stick, stainless steel or cast iron pan. A cast iron is probably best, but you can work with what you have! Let the oil get hot (it will start looking really runny when it’s ready) and then add the steak, salt and pepper. There will be a little smoke, but don’t worry about it (unless it turns into a roaring fire… then you might want to worry). Add the minced ginger and cook the steak for about 5 minutes or until well browned and crisp.

The searing will create crispy edges!

Closer to being done!

Ahh yeah, that’s what we’re looking for.. so crispy!

Combine the soy sauce, mayo, Dijon mustard, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil in a small bowl & whisk until well combined.

So good!

Next, add the steak and dressing to the bowl with the veggies and stir!

Again, love the bright colors of REAL food!

Mix until the salad is coated with the dressing, top with some avocado and ENJOY!

The finished product!

The hubs & I each ate about 2 bowls of this – it was so, so good! I know summer has come to an end (depending on where you live), but this was so crisp, so refreshing, it would even be perfect at a BBQ or a picnic. Happy sigh. I love food. Let me know what you think!

Stuffed Flank Steak with Smashed Lemon Potatoes

You know those meals you dream up that you’re ridiculously excited to make because you just know it’s going to be delicious? Yeah, this was one of those for me. I could hardly wait to start cooking!

Now, before you hardcore Paleo-ites string me up by my toes in the town square, I do realize potatoes are one of those controversial items in the Paleo world. Some say eat them in moderation, every once in a while.. some say never, ever, ever – I was craving potatoes with this, so I went with it. To each his own!

STUFFED FLANK STEAK AND SMASHED POTATOES

The ingredients!

• 1.5-2 lbs flank steak
• 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup feta cheese (optional)
• 1 8oz container mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 2 roasted red peppers (I used the jarred kind)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 egg
• 2 TBSP almond meal
• 1 tsp garlic powder, divided
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil
• Cooking twine

POTATOES:

• 6 small red potatoes
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Olive oil
• 3 leaves fresh basil
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• Salt
• Pepper

First, preheat your oven to 425 and line a cookie sheet with foil. Set aside. Slice your mushrooms and chop your onion & garlic. Saute in a tsp or 2 of olive oil until JUST tender.

Be careful to not overcook the mushrooms, since you’ll be baking them inside of the steak for another 40 min!

Coarsely chop your spinach & red pepper into smaller pieces and add to a medium sized mixing bowl.

I tossed in a few chopped fresh basil leaves too, but that’s an optional step!

Add the cooked mushroom mix, feta cheese, egg & almond meal to the bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tsp salt & gently mix together.

You could use this filling for almost anything! Perfect blend of flavors!

Next, carefully slide your knife lengthwise through the flank steak. Go slowly to make sure you’re cutting it into 2 separate pieces.

I found it easiest to hold the steak tight with one hand and slowly move the knife through with the other.

It should look like this when you’re done:

Because I got a 2 lb flank steak, I ended up cutting it all the way through into 2 separate pieces.

Place 1/2 of the filling mixture on top of each piece of flank steak and spread it out. Carefully roll each piece up and secure with at least 4 lengths of cooking twine (it can be found at any grocery store).

Try to keep as much of the filling inside as possible!

Drizzle olive oil over the top and sprinkle each with 1/2 tsp garlic powder, salt and pepper.

The twine will help hold everything together while it cooks!

Roast in the oven for 40 minutes or until desired color. The bigger of the 2 rolls was still a little pink when it came out, which, of course, my husband loved. So the cooking time will really just depend on your preference!

While the steak is cooking, boil your potatoes in a pot of water until very tender.

You can add a little bit of salt to help the water boil faster!

Line another cookie sheet with foil and drizzle olive oil over the potatoes

We purposely made extra potatoes for leftovers the next day

Using a fork or some other kind of spatula etc, smash the potatoes until they look like this. It usually took just one good smash.

Who doesn’t love potatoes?? ;)

Drizzle more olive oil on top of the potatoes and sprinkle with salt, pepper, rosemary & basil. Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes or until they start to get crispy edges. Squeeze the lemon juice over the potatoes once you pull them out of the oven.

The smell was unbelievable at this point!! Soo yummy

Remove the pieces of twine from around the steak and using a sharp or serrated knife, slice into 1in slices.

The finished product!

Mmmm….

My husband took one bite of this and said, “Is your name Babe Ruth, cuz you just hit a hooooooome run… AND you’re a babe.” Uhh, have I mentioned lately how much I love that man? You really, truly do. not. even. know!

Okay, sappiness overload done, back to the recipe! Seriously though – this was the PERFECT blend of flavors. The combination of the filling was so full of flavor, but not overwhelming – it went so well with the potatoes! I can’t wait for y’all to try this one – you have let me know how it turns out for ya!

Grilled Steak, Mashed Sweet Potatoes & Pan-Seared Brussel Sprouts

Okay, y’all.. sorry I haven’t posted in a few days! It’s been pretty crazy over here lately- I had surgery to remove a lymph node from my neck 2 weeks ago (diagnosis should come in this week! Cancer has been ruled out, so hooray for that!!), so I’ve been trying to recover while working long hours. On top of all that, my husband (who’s a teacher) started back AND has been forced to coach this year as well as teach, so we’ve just been trying to survive lately! And not fall asleep at our desks in a puddle of drool. TMI?

Anywhoo… this whole grilling-steaks-in-a-pan thing is new for me. We didn’t have time to marinate the meat and fire up the grill, so ya gotta do whatcha gotta do sometimes! I was pretty worried that these would end up charred and inedible… BUT, alas, the food gods were smiling down on me this night, and these actually turned out to be amazingly good! Whew. Dodged that bullet ;)

GRILLED STEAK, SWEET POTATOES & BRUSSELS

The ingredients!

• 2 steaks (I used sirloin!)
• 2 small/medium sweet potatoes (I used 3 so that I could take some to work the next day!)
• 1 bag brussel sprouts
• 2 TBSP olive oil, divided
• 1/2 TBSP Montreal Steak seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic powder, divided
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

First, heat 1 TBSP oil in either a nonstick pan or grilling pan. Sprinkle the Montreal Steak Seasoning on both sides of the steaks, along with 1/2 tsp of garlic powder (the other 1/2 tsp will be for the brussel sprouts). Once the oil is hot (it will become very thinned out when it’s ready), sear both steaks by placing them in the pan for about 2 minutes, or until a nice, crispy outer covering has formed. At that point, turn the heat down to medium-low, and cook until desired color (I cooked ours about 20-25 minutes and they were medium-well done, leaning more towards well done).

What the steaks will look like after searing them.

While your steaks are cooking, start boiling water in a medium/large pot. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes into large pieces.

The easiest way to cut the sweet potatoes!

Boil on high until the potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Drain and set aside in a large mixing bowl once they’re done!

While the potatoes are boiling, cut up your brussel sprouts. The best way to do this is to slice the ends off, pull off any loose leaves and then cut them in half.

Brussel sprouts might just be one of my most favorite veggies ever.. soo good.

Heat the other TBSP of olive oil in a nonstick pan on high for about 1-2 minutes and then toss in your brussels. Add 1/2 tsp garlic powder and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Once the sprouts are browned, turn the heat to low and cook an additional 7-10 minutes or until just tender.

Be careful not to overcook them – mushy brussel sprouts taste pretty terrible!

The final step is to mash up your sweet potatoes! I used a manual potato masher, but I would suggest using a food processor to get a better texture. Mine were not as smooth as I would’ve liked! So learn from my mistakes ;)

Add 1 TBSP coconut (or grass-fed) butter and salt and pepper to taste.

Brussel sprouts always get such a bad rap, but if you cook them correctly, they are DELICIOUS. When Matt found out we were having brussels for dinner, he made a riiidiculous face, but luckily, he’s willing to try just about anything, so he gave it a shot… and found out that he actually loves them!! So boom shaka laka.

The final product!!

This is a meal that definitely takes a little more time to prepare than most of the other ones I post… but it’s worth it in my opinion. Even though I was super stressed out in the beginning, it all came together in the end. My husband always says I get way too emotionally invested in the food I cook… haha! I hate to admit it, but he’s probably right. Anyone else out there get attached to your recipes?? I’d love to hear about it!!