Foodie Friday

My friend Lizzy has a awesome blog that I love to read. She is a wonderful writer, photographer, and cook! She does what she calls "Foodie Fridays", and inspired by her, I am doing my own version as part of my 10 for 10 posts!!

Menu

Mom's Flank Steak
Roasted Potatoes
Grilled Vegetables
Salad with Rachel's famous vinaigrette : )

Strawberries with Key Lime Dip
&
Hungry Girl's chocolate cake

First I'll go over the menu items individually, and then give you the more detailed recipes you need at the end. You'll notice, I'm more of a method gal that an exact recipe type, but it is good to have some idea of ratios of ingredients.

Mom's Flank Steak:

My mom used to make this all the time, and it was always one of my favorite meals as a kid. She just marinated the steak, broiled or grilled it, then sliced it and served it. She said the marinade is one she's had for years, and trust me--it is seriously YUM-O. It adds soooo much flavor. (recipe below) My mom is a fab cook, and eating this the other night was such comfort food for me...I love you, Mom.

Roasted Potatoes:

I love to make these and they are so simple (and filling for a family of 7). Cube up some potatoes (I like red because you don't have to peel...I'm lazy), toss with EVOO, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and fresh chopped rosemary. Roast at 400, turning a couple of times, for about 40 minutes or so. Again: yum.

Grilled Vegetables:

Now, normally, I would think the first two things and a salad make for plenty of food, but since I'm doing Weight Watchers, I knew I couldn't have many potatoes,so I decided to throw some veggie on the grill, too. I did portobello mushrooms, small sweet peppers, onion, and asparagus. I just rubbed them down with a little EVOO and my favorite season salt. Done. And how many do I get to eat on WW?! STINKIN ALL OF 'EM IF I WANT!!!! : ) Oh, and you might notice the dipping sauce I have in the very first picture. I love to make that with grilled veggies. It's just fat free plain greek yogurt, a little tahini, a little cumin, salt, and pepper. YUM. (Good on grilled chicken too) (Oh and warm up the leftovers with the sauce on a tortilla for lunch the next day--DOUBLE YUMMMMMMMM!)

Salad with Rachel's famous vinaigrette : )

I am not a big fan of bottled salad dressing, so I make my own. It may not quite be famous (yet: )), but I'm working on it. ; ) I have several variations that I do when I want an Asian twist or southwest flair or more Americana flavor (I even have an easy-peasy fake-out low cal buttermilk ranch), but this is the basic vinaigrette recipe that I use most often. (recipe below) As for salad ingredients, I use whatever I have on hand, but I almost always use: romaine, baby spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, garbanzo beans, olives, and Parmesan. You can add the veggies you like best. Just toss with dressing right before you serve it.

I also like to have one of these while I cook:

Who am I kidding? While he cooks:

Seriously, I love this kind of meal because I do a little prep early in the day, and then I can just hang with Joe by the pool while he grills. Good stuff.

Oh yeah, and dessert:

Strawberries with Key Lime Dip
&
Hungry Girl's chocolate cake

The dip is just a key lime cheese ball mix, cream cheese, and cool whip. I use light cream cheese, and it is so good and low in points. The Hungry Girl cake is awesome and low fat: just a box cake mix, 1 cup of nonfat greek plain yogurt, and 1 cup of water. Bake for like 40 minutes at 350. It tastes like a cakey brownie, I just dust it with powdered sugar for prettiness.

RECIPES:

Flank Steak Marinade:

1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. soy sauce
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 T vinegar (I used red wine vinegar, but whatev)
1 T lemon juice (I used lime bc that's what I had)
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T paprika (I used smoked paprika, but again...whatev)

Mix in a blender (I use the magic bullet), and pour over steak in a ziploc bag. Marinate for at least 4 hours and up to overnight. You can baste with the marinade while you cook. After you cook the flank steak, be sure and let the meat rest for a bit, then slice it against the grain so it is most tender and juicy.

Rachel's famous vinaigrette:

In a bowl, put about 2T of vinegar, 1-2T of dijon mustard (I use two different kinds bc I like both the plain dijon and the whole grain together), about 2t. salt, 1 T garlic pepper (this stuff makes it), and a clove of grated garlic. For the garlic, I use my micro-plane and grate it into the dressing, so there are no big chunks:

Once all that is in there, I whisk it together and slowly add about 4-5T of oil. It should come together nicely. Taste it--it might need more salt, more pepper, more oil, more vinegar--you'll know. It should be strong in flavor, because remember, it is going to flavor the entire salad. Then right before you serve it, toss with the salad. DONE.

So that's my easy, healthy, family friendly meal.

By the way, the dessert would be AWESOME with some Ethiopian coffee. : ) Last chance to enter my giveaway!! Drawing a winner tomorrow!

Happy weekend!