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Sesame Beef Lettuce Wraps

April 24, 2012 in beef

Two things I’m obsessed with these days: lettuce wraps and flank steak.

(Now, to be fair… I used skirt steak in these lettuce wraps. But only because my store didn’t have flank steak. They’re both awesome in lettuce wraps.)

I love, love, love these lettuce wraps. I made a massive batch and had them for lunch and dinner for 5 days straight and I’m still not tired of them. They’re light despite being made with a massive piece of beef which makes them perfect for this time of year. The sesame oil and seeds add so much flavor without being overpowering and I love the slight zing the rice wine vinegar gives the sauce.

This was another recipe I saved for deployment because I wasn’t sure my husband would love it but I was totally wrong and it will be made when he comes home!

One year ago: Buttermilk Pecan Pie

Sesame Beef Lettuce Wraps
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adapted from For the Love of Cooking
Ingredients
  • For the beef:
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pound flank steak or skirt steak, cut into thin slices
  • For the Korean Barbecue Dipping Sauce:
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 3 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1/2 – 1 teaspoon sriracha chile sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoons chopped green onion
  • 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • For assembly:
  • lettuce, washed and leaves separated
  • shredded carrot
  • chopped green onion
Instructions
To prepare the beef:
  1. Whisk together all marinade ingredients but olive oil and steak. Place the sliced steak into the marinade and mix until the meat is evenly coated. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Flank steak can be marinated for up to 3 hours. Skirt steak will only need about 30 minutes.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Once the pan is HOT add half of the beef and cook for 1-2 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside. Continue with the rest of the beef.
To make the dipping sauce:
  1. Whisk together all ingredients.
To assemble:
  1. Place beef pieces into a lettuce leaf. Top with shredded carrots and green onions. Drizzle a bit of the dipping sauce on top. Serve the remaining sauce alongside the lettuce wraps.

 

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Orange Beef and Broccoli

April 17, 2012 in beef

I cooked with flank steak for the first time a couple months ago and since then I have become obsessed with it. It’s easy, delicious, and so versatile!

I suppose this Orange Beef and Broccoli is a take-off of Chinese food but this is so much tastier than any orange dish I’ve had from a Chinese place. The sauce is exploding with orange flavor without the goopyness that take-out orange sauce has.  It coats the beef and broccoli perfectly!

This had been on my “Make When the Husband Leaves” list but I am officially transferring it to the “Make When the Husband Comes Home” list! I absolutely adored it and had no problem eating it for lunch 3 days in a row.

One year ago: Caramel-Filled Brownies

Orange Beef & Broccoli
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Yield: about 4
adapted from Pinch of Yum
Ingredients
  • juice of 1 orange
  • 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup orange marmalade
  • 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon oil
  • 1 pound flank steak, very thinly sliced
  • 1 head broccoli, washed and cut into bite-sized pieces
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, whisk the orange juice, orange zest, soy sauce, orange marmalade, rice wine vinegar, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and cornstarch until the cornstarch has dissolved. Set aside.
  2. Boil or steam the broccoli for just a few minutes, until tender crisp.
  3. Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat. Add the flank steak and stir-fry it until the pieces of nice and browned.
  4. Give the sauce one more stir and add it to the pan with the steak; stir until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in broccoli. Serve over rice.

 

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Flank Steak Sandwiches with Blue Cheese

March 19, 2012 in beef

My husband finally deployed a few weeks back. I say “finally” because I swear the dang thing was pushed back 15 times. There came a time where he would come home, announce that it was pushed back again, and I would burst into tears. I was so ready for him to leave  so that we could knock out the 9 (or 12) months and be done for now.

It’s been a weird couple weeks since he left. We’ve had zero communication since he got to where he’s supposed to be. We weren’t sure if he would have internet and it’s looking like he doesn’t. But hey, I knew they didn’t have showers there so I don’t know why I set my hopes high on the internet front! They need to come up with a “I’m alive” button that soldiers can just press and have a message transmitted directly back to their families. Until then, I’ll be spending most of my days staring at the Facebook homepage, willing that little green dot to pop up by his name. (That doesn’t work, btw.)

I made him these sandwiches before he left. The man loves steak and he loves sandwiches so I knew I couldn’t really go wrong here, even if I did include his least favorite cheese. He LOVED these! I turned mine into a salad and it was delicious!

This was my first time using flank steak (it’s expensive around here!) and I was really impressed with it. It took no time at all and it was really easy to tell when it was done, which it something I struggle with when cooking meat. If you don’t want to fire up the grill, you can do this on the stove but the onions won’t have those lovely grill marks. :)

(Thanks for allowing me a whiny post today – I promise I won’t whine often. Once a month sound good? Okay.)

Flank Steak Sandwiches with Blue Cheese
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Yield: 6 sandwiches
adapted from Southern Living
Ingredients
  • For the flank steak:
  • 1 1/2 pounds flank steak
  • 1 small onion, finely diced
  • 3 gloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1 lemon
  • For the sandwiches
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 2 large onions, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 6 ciabatta rolls
  • 5 ounces blue cheese
  • lettuce, tomato, mayo, etc.
Instructions
For the steak:
  1. Place steak in a large dish. Set aside while you make the marinade.
  2. Whisk together the onion, garlic, olive oil, basil, thyme, rosemary, salt, and crushed red pepper. Pour over steak. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes but not more than 1 hour, 30 minutes.
  3. Preheat grill to 400F to 450F (high) heat. Grill steak 9 minutes on each side or to desired degree of doneness. Remove from the grill and squeeze lemon juice over top. Allow to stand for about 10 minutes before thinly slicing. (Leave the grill on to grill the onions!)
For the sandwiches:
  1. Brush the sliced onions with 1 tablespoon of olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill on the preheated grill for about 7 minutes or until tender. Set aside.
  2. Split the ciabatta rolls; brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Place cut side down on the hot grill and cook for just a minute or 2, until golden.
  3. Spread hot rolls with mayo (if desired) and then sprinkle with blue cheese. Layer on lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, and the thinly sliced steak. Serve hot!

 

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Cranberry Meatballs

December 21, 2011 in appetizer, beef

My husband and I have had an argument going for at least 4 years now. About grape jelly meatballs.

You know the ones. The meatballs with grape jelly and Heinz chili sauce. He swears he’s never tried them and I have trouble believing it because every potluck, every family gathering, every church picnic… I’m pretty sure they all include grape jelly meatballs.

That’s not the argument though. I want to make the meatballs! Every few months I ask if he wants me to make them and he always makes a disgusted face and tells me to shut my mouth.

So I tricked him. I made these which are pretty much those meatballs but with cranberry sauce instead of the jelly. And he went nuts over them! He ate them on toothpicks, he made sandwiches with them (gag me), and he eventually just shoveled them in his mouth.

They’re delicious – not as sweet as the jelly ones but every bit as amazing! They would be perfect for a holiday get together!

Cranberry Meatballs
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Ingredients
  • 1 bag frozen meatballs
  • 1 cup cranberry sauce
  • 1 (12-ounce) bottle Heinz chili sauce
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cook on low for 3 – 4 hours until the meatballs are hot and the sauce has thickened slightly.

from Pillsbury

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Honey BBQ Meatloaf

November 3, 2011 in beef

Can I confess something?

I have a deep love for meatloaf.

Still here?

I know, I know… no one likes to talk about meatloaf. First of all, the word meatloaf is horrible. Beyond horrible even. It just sounds unappetizing. Second, the idea of a big log of ground meat? Also unappetizing.

But I love it. Looooove it. I would make it weekly if I thought my husband wouldn’t complain. I have a favorite recipe (the one my mom made when I was growing up, of course) but I’ve been trying to shake things up lately. I made this recipe awhile ago (delicious!) and this time around, I made a Honey BBQ version.

This is a pretty normal meatloaf but it has BBQ sauce mixed right into the meat and then it’s topped with BBQ sauce and honey. I can’t even talk about how good that smelled in the oven. Ridiculous.

The only problem here? It was too small! Definitely double the recipe if you’re feeding more than a couple people. You’ll want leftovers, I promise.

Honey BBQ Meatloaf
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Yield: about 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 pound 90% lean ground beef
  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce, divided
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 3/4 cup smoky barbecue sauce, divided
  • 2 tablespoons honey, divided
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together the ground beef, panko bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce, the dijon mustard, 1/2 cup of the barbecue sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, salt, and black pepper.
  3. Shape the mixture into a long, thick log and place in an oiled baking dish. Be careful not to pack the meat too tightly or you’ll end up with a very dense, tough loaf.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, and 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce. Spread half of this mixture evenly all over the meatloaf. Reserve the other half for serving.
  5. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Slice and drizzle with reserved honey barbecue sauce.


from Can You Stay for Dinner

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