Mustard Crusted Steak with Lemon Asparagus and Brown Rice

This is another South Beach recipe that I like. Similar to a brisket, round steak is a relatively inexpensive cut of meat that when marinated, cooked and cut properly really has all the appeal as an expensive filet or strip steak.

Mustard Crusted Steak

Here's what I used:

1.5 lb round steak/london broil
2 tbsp whole-seed dijon mustard
2 tsp dry mustard powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp worchestershire sauce

Here's what I did:

Mix all wet/dry ingredients together to make a sauce. Place meat on a foil-lined cookie sheet and cover meat surface with a thin, even layer of mustard sauce. Broil steak for 4 minutes per side on 2nd to highest oven rack, then allow to rest for 5 minutes, loosely tented with foil.

After allowing to rest, move steak to a cutting board, and cut into thin (1/8"ish) slices, widthwise. Once sliced, scoop remaining mustard sauce off of the cookie sheet, and spread among the tops of all slices of meat and serve.

Lemon Asparagus & Brown Rice

Here's what I used:

1 bunch asparagus spears, ends snapped off & rinsed
1/2 lemon, juice
1 tbsp butter
S&P

2 cups quick-cook brown rice
1 3/4 cups water
1 tbsp butter
S, P & Garlic Powder

Here's what I did:

Following ratio for rice/water on quick cook brown rice box, brought water to a boil and then added rice. Simmered 5 minutes (or as directed) and then added butter and seasoning then fluffed with a fork and allowed to sit away from heat for another 5. *I had to add a little bit more water at the end and let cook another few minutes to get a softer consistency.

While cooking the rice, I added my asparagus and enough water for all spears to float and brought to a simmer. I cooked asparagus spears until barely fork tender, as we like them with a little bite to them. Drained off water and seasoned with S, P, butter and lemon juice.

For plating, I added the brown rice first, then laid 1/2 asparagus spears overtop the rice and drizzled a little bit of the butter/lemon juice over top. Then I added several slices of meat to the other side of the plate.

Reviews. Meat was good, sauce is a little zippy. Asparagus were really yummy. Hubbs went to bed early, but despite feeling sick and tired, I don't think that it had ANYTHING to do with my cooking!! ;)

Stuffed Acorn Squash

My mom picked up the October Martha Stewart Living magazine for me the other day. I thumbed through all the cute project ideas for fall, and happened on a recipe towards the back. Beautiful acorn squash, stuffed with a mixture of bulgar wheat, ground beef, acorn squash and other hearty, yummy ingredients. Lo and behold, I had actually picked up an acorn squash at the store. I always love when gourds show up at the store, so I sometimes buy a few...and figure out what to do with them later. So I modified it a bit, but here's my version of Martha's stuffed acorn squash.

Stuffed Acorn Squash (for 2)

Here's what I used:

1 acorn squash
3/4 lb ground beef (calls for 90% lean, but I used what I had, 80/20)
1 cup quick-cook brown rice
1 3/4 cups water
1 medium onion chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp good olive oil
2 tsp salt
pinch cinnamon
pinch nutmeg

Here's what I did:

Set the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the acorn in half width-wise, and then cut a small amount off of each end so that when flipped over, they will sit flat. Turned upside down onto a baking sheet, and baked for 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, heated oil in a stock pot, and added ground beef, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/2 of the salt. Browned, and then reserved ground beef on a plate, using slotted spoon to keep juices in the pot.

Then, I added the onion and allowed it to soften for about 5 minutes. Added in garlic, and let cook for another minute. Finally, I added the rest of the salt, the uncooked brown rice and the water, brought to a boil, and allowed to simmer for 25 minutes (or as directions for your rice state).

By the time the rice mixture is cooked, the squash should be ready to come out of the oven. I did not remove the seeds from the inside prior to cooking, so I used an ice cream scoop (think of it as a giant melon baller) and gently scooped out the seeds and discarded. Then I scooped out most of the inside of each squash (leaving about 1/16" so that the sides don't fall in). This creates our "bowl" for the squash/rice/meat mixture.

Now that the rice was done, I added the ground beef back in, as well as the squash. Mixed well to incorporate all ingredients and then piled them into each "squash bowl". Here's where I deviated. This recipe is pretty sweet, and we tend to go with more savory meals. I sprinkled some shaved parmesan on top.

Then I popped the stuffed squash back in the oven for another 10 minutes so that the cheese would melt, and the mixture would get a little browned on top.

On to reviews. The only complaint I heard, and it was prefaced with "this is not a complaint", was that this was too sweet. Nick went back and added more parmesan to get a little more salt into his mix. I really liked it as it was, very subtle, and a little sweet. And the cinnamon and nutmeg add a really festive, fall-like vibe to the meal. I also did not serve this with anything else. I think it would have been nice with maybe some grilled asparagus or brussel sprouts, but I just ran out of time. Also, having a toddler attached to both legs while I hobble around the kitchen to produce something "gourmet-like", repeatedly saying "Mommy UP! Mommy UP!" tends to wittle down the variety that I can cook up.

Salmon Chermoula with Nutty Brown Rice

I discovered "Chermoula" in my South Beach Cookbook. Its a primarily Moroccan marinade, but if I didn't know better, I would say mexican or southwest due to the cilantro. If you love cilantro, you'll DIE when you try this sauce. (***If you HATE cilantro, you can make this same recipe with Parsley instead). You can pair it with any fish, though the recipe suggests Sea Bass, Trout or Salmon. I also make extra (double the chermoula recipe below) so I can dip my starch in it. Its zesty, tangy, zippy and YUM!

The nutty brown rice is also a South Beach Cookbook recipe, Phase 2. Toasted almonds, onion and brown rice. Seriously, what else could you ask for?? And guiltless carbs? Be still my belly!

Salmon Chermoula

Here's what I used:

2 6 oz salmon filets
S&P

1 bunch fresh cilantro (stems and leaves)
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp cumin
4 cloves (peeled) garlic
1/4 tsp red pepper flake
1/2 cup olive oil

Here's what I did:

Preheated oven to 450 F. Rinsed and patted salmon filets dry. Sprinkled both filets (both sides) with S&P and set aside. Set aside. In a food processor (or blender - both work fine) add cilantro, lemon juice, garlic, cumin and red pepper flake. Begin to pulse mixture, and slowly add olive oil until the ingredients bind into a liquid. Continue until chermoula reaches consistency of a thick salad dressing. It smells FANTASTIC. I think I could wear it as a perfume. I digress....

Place small amount of chermoula in bottom of a glass baking dish, and add salmon on top, skinside down. Cover salmon with remaining chermoula.

Bake 12-15 minutes, until fish is opaque and tender.

~

Nutty Brown Rice

Here's what I used:

3/4 cup slivered almonds
2 cups med-grain brown rice
4 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp dried onion flakes
2 tsp butter
S&P

Here's what I did:

Heated oven (you could also use a toaster oven) to 350 F and toasted almonds for 5 minutes. Brought chicken broth, onion flakes, butter and S&P to a boil in a medium stock pot, and added brown rice. Reduced heat to a simmer and cooked 50 minutes (check instructions for your rice, cook times can vary due to grain types). Once cooked, added in toasted almonds and served immediately.

***The original recipe called for sauteed onions and quick-cook brown rice. So I cheated on the onions, but opted for better rice. You can easily substitute those two out.

On to the reviews. I discovered the Chermoula recipe a few weeks ago, and it was a major hit then...and its still one now. We mixed it up this time by placing the salmon on a soaked cedar plank and putting it on the grill. I like it either way. The nutty brown rice was also very good, and the quantity that I posted above could really feed 6 easily. I'm having some for lunch today, as a matter of fact.