Flank Steak Fajitas Adobo on Black Bean and Goat Cheese Tostadas

We celebrated my dad's 63rd birthday last weekend.  My dad is from south Texas, so Tex-Mex food is in his blood.  What better way to celebrate than to make everyone some healthy, super yummy Fajita Tostadas??

Flank Steak Fajitas Adobo

1 large flank or skirt steak (1.5 - 2 lbs)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 cup lime juice (3-4 limes)

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp ancho or new mexico chili powder

6 cloves garlic, peeled

2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

ground black pepper

Blend all ingredients but steak in a blender until a smooth paste.  Coat all sides of steak, cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight, turning 1-2 times.

Place flank steak on direct high heat, searing for 3 minutes per side.  Spoon 1-2 tbsp of leftover marinade on meat when flipping over.  Grill one more minute for rare or 2 minutes per side for medium rare.  Let steak rest under foil for at least 5 minutes on a cutting board or in a baking dish.

Thinly slice steak across the grain in thin strips (about 1/8"), and place in warmed serving dish.

Black Bean and Goat Cheese Tostadas

I think I have covered these before, but the final product was dressed more for this occasion, so I'll repost and add what changed.  This served 7 adults, so I will put in the quantities that fed our number of people.  Generally, 1 to 2 tostadas per person is a good estimate.

12 8" whole wheat tortillas

2 tsp olive oil

1 large clove garlic, minced

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

8 oz plain goat cheese, crumbled

1/2 head romaine lettuce, thin chopped

4 roma tomatoes, diced

6 scallions, thin sliced

2 limes, cut in wedges

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cover oven rack with foil, to provide optimal area for tortillas to cook quickly.  If you're only making a few, you can use a baking sheet, but this is a great idea for larger quantities.

Spray both sides of tortillas lightly with cooking spray, and place in oven.  Bake until lightly puffed and brown, about 10 minutes.

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook 1 minute.  Stir in beans, and heat until warmed through.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, and turn off heat.

Top tortillas with beans and cheese crumbles; bake until cheese is melty, about 5 minutes.  Remove from oven, and set out for guests.  Make lettuce, tomatoes, scallions, lime wedges and Fajitas Adobo available for each person to create their own tostada.

Enjoy!

Steak Fiorientina with Sauteed Spinach

This week my local grocery store was running a special on Ribeye Steaks. Usually I would marinate the steaks in soy sauce and coat them with Montreal Steak Seasoning - but 1. I was out of seasoning and 2. We ALWAYS do that, and Nick and I wanted to try something new. Enter our new Mario Batali cookbook - thanks Mom!

I have adapted this recipe in several ways because it calls for 3" T-Bone steaks and fresh herbs. My steaks were barely 1" by comparison, and I only had dried herbs. But you know what, this recipe was very, very good with a much subtler flavor than our usual marinade. I highly recommend this as an alternate to your everyday marinade.

Steak Fiorientina with Sauteed Spinach

Here's what I used:

2 1" thick Ribeye Steaks
3-4 tbsp olive oil, in small bowl

1 tbsp dried sage
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tbsp dried thyme
2 tbsp kosher salt
2 tbsp ground black pepper

1 large bag baby spinach
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic. chopped
3 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
S&P to taste

Here's what I did:

Allow steak to sit at room temperature while preparing the rub. Combine rosemary, thyme, sage, salt and pepper in a bowl. Coat steaks evenly with seasoning rub (I did not use all seasoning, had about 1 tbsp remaining, which I saved). Drizzle with olive oil, and use a cooking brush or the back of a spoon to evenly distribute olive oil over meat.

Meanwhile, I set my ridged cast iron pot to med-high and drizzled surface with olive oil. Once this was hot, about 4-5 minutes later, I added my steaks and cooked for 4 minutes per side.

While the steaks were cooking, I started my spinach. In a high-sided skillet I added my olive oil and garlic. Cook the garlic about 30 seconds before adding spinach. Allow spinach to wilt, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste and drizzle in lemon juice. Cover and set aside while finishing steaks.

Once steak is finished, allow to rest about 5 minutes. This will seal in the juices. Plate steak with spinach. I also had some long grain basmati rice at hand from another dish. I plated the rice and spinach, with the steaks on top. The juice from the steak and spinach was plenty to add character to the rice.

I will definitely be using this recipe/rub again in the future. Go Mario!

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!! ;)

Ribeye Steaks with Sauteed Onions and Red Potatoes

Nick found a great deal at our local grocery store the other day. One ribeye steak was half off, and the other was .16. Yea, someone made a boo boo, but we reaped the rewards. Sweet. This is like every coupon mom's midsummer night's dream.



Ribeye Steaks with Sauteed Onions and Red Potatoes

Here's what I used:

2 ribeye steaks
1 cup soy sauce
2-3 tbsp Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp butter

2 medium onions, cut into rings
3 tbsp olive oil
S&P

12 small red potatoes, skinned
3-4 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese
2 scallions, chopped
1 tbsp butter
S&P

I marinated the steak in the soy sauce and steak seasoning for about 20 minutes, flipping once to get both sides. Also threw skinned potatoes in stock pot of water, and set to high (added salt to water).

Meanwhile, I added olive oil to a saute pan at medium heat and added the onions. Sauteed onions until they were browning on the edges and limp/translucent, about 15 minutes. Sprinkled with S&P.

Removed onions from pan and put them on a plate to rest, and inverted another plate over top to keep them hot. In same pan as used for onions, I added another tbsp of olive oil and and 2 tsp butter. Immediately added my steaks and let cook for 3 minutes per side. I pulled them off and allowed them to rest for another 10 minutes.

Once my potatoes were done (check by piercing a potato with a fork, it should split the potato easily) I drained them into a colander and added them back to the stock pot. Added butter, cheese, scallions & S&P. Then I covered the stock pot, and gave the mixture a few good shakes. I find this an easy way to incorporate ingredients w/ cooked potatoes, it gives the dish a "beaten" texture/quality which keeps it more rustic but still really good.

I don't think there were any complaints from this meal. My steak was a little overcooked, but my piece was thinner (I suspect it was also the .16 piece. Hmph.) The potatoes and onions were delish.