Herb Rubbed Flank Steak

Growing up a meat and potatoes girl, I LOVE steak. 

This is a dandy recipe for flank steak that you mix up a pretty herb rub and roast it in the oven.
How easy is that?

Here's how to make it: 

(Sorry about the lack of pics on this one...I got so excited over the food I forgot to take the different steps, but you'll see...it's easy I promise!)

You'll need a flank steak, beef broth, red wine, herbs such as oregano, thyme, parsley, garlic powder, olive oil and lemon zest.  Oh, and a heavy cast iron (or any oven safe) skillet.

Mix oregano, thyme, parsley, garlic powder, olive oil, and lemon zest in a small bowl and set aside. (I used fresh minced garlic in this one, cause that's what I had..)  (either is fine)

Season your steak with salt and pepper.  Add steak to a hot skillet on the stove over medium high heat and sear for about 2 min on each side.  Add the wine and beef broth and cook for about 1 min.

Using a brush, rub the herb mixture over the top of the steak.  Smother it will all of the mixture.

Put it in the oven, preheated to 400 degrees for about 10-15 min for rate to medium rare.  Take it out and let it rest. 

You want to cut this steak against the grain like this.

Serve with the pan sauce if you would like!!!  So Yummy!

Herb Rubbed Flank Steak



Serves:  4 - 6

Ingredients:

1 t dried thyme
1 t dried oregano
1 t dried parsley
¼ t lemon zest
1 t garlic powder or 1 clove of fresh minced garlic.
2 t olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste
1.5 lb flank steak
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup beef broth

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix thyme, oregano, parsley, zest, garlic powder, and olive oil in a small bowl and set aside.

Sprinkle salt and pepper over steak. Add steak to a large heavy ovenproof skillet. Cook 2 minutes on each side until browned. Add wine and broth; cook 1 minute. Spread herb mixture over steak with a brush.

Place in oven and cook for 10-15 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. Cut steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Serve with pan sauce.

Italian Scrambled Eggs

The other day MGG and myself spent all day looking for a used commuter car to buy.  You see, MGG is a car guy and has several cars...as he drives 50 miles a day round trip to LAX and back every day he needs a car that gets really good gas mileage.  

So off we went looking for a little commuter with a hatchback.  Third weekend in a row looking...and things are grim.  Too many miles, price to high, too old of a car....etc.  So we end up in Downtown LA (said Hi to the Staples Center!) looking for the perfect car we saw advertised.  Get to the lot and they don't have the car...don't know where the car is...or where the car went...but we have another beautiful car over here!

We left.
We ended up in Glendale going from car lot to car lot over there in the freezing cold...(anything below 70 degrees in CA is cold to me!) walking around and then we spotted it...
The one!
Yeah!

Long story short we got the car but we didn't get home until 10pm and I was starving.  So what to make when you need to eat light and cook something fast?  Eggs.

I call this meal a BLD (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) recipe that you can make and eat any time.  It's really good and has an Italian twist on the normal scrambled eggs.

It's a version of Melissa Clark's (NY Times food writer) recipe Soft Scrambled Eggs With Pesto and Fresh Ricotta.

Here's what you'll need:  Eggs, milk, butter, salt and pepper, ricotta cheese, pesto sauce.

Melt your butter in a skillet over med-high heat.  Beat your eggs with the milk and add to the hot skillet.  Turn down the heat to Med-Low.  Let eggs start to cook.

When eggs have set up a bit start to push the eggs from the side of the pan to the middle allowing the liquid run beneath the partially cooked eggs.  After these set scramble your eggs and cook until set.  You can do soft set or well done, which I like.

Add salt and pepper to taste.  Plate your eggs and add the pesto sauce.  (I used a jarred sauce and warmed a Tablespoon of it in the microwave to heat it slightly for about 15 seconds.)  You don't want cold sauce on hot eggs...

This would be excellent using a fresh summer pesto sauce!

Drizzle the pesto over the eggs.

Next, break the ricotta in to clumps and add it on top of the eggs.  Yum!

Quick, easy, yum!

Hope you enjoy this!  Here's the recipe.

Italian Scrambled Eggs

Variation of Melissa Clark’s Soft Scrambled Eggs With Pesto and Fresh Ricotta

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

2 eggs, slightly beaten

A splash of 2% milk

1 T butter

Salt and pepper to taste

3 T ricotta cheese, broken in to clumps

1 T pesto sauce

Directions:

Over medium-high heat, melt butter in a medium-size skillet.

Beat eggs with milk. Pour eggs into pan, turn heat to low.  Let eggs begin to cook and then  begin to push cooked egg to the middle and allow the liquid egg move below.  Stir and scramble eggs until completely cooked.  Salt and pepper eggs.  

Meanwhile, warm pesto sauce in the microwave for 15 sec. to take the chill off.

Plate eggs and then drizzle pesto on eggs.  Dot eggs with broken up ricotta.  Serve at once.

Basic Muffin Recipe - (Lower Carb Version included)

I grew up with my mom making these muffins.  They've been a family staple for a very long time.  Mom is a great cook and always treated us to a good hot breakfast with usually either biscuits or muffins on the menu.  hmmm...I can smell them now!

This is a basic muffin recipe that I've also created a lower carb version by replacing the sugar with Splenda.  It actually reduces the carbs from 46.5 to 24.4 per serving.  Every bit helps when you are counting carbs like I am!

(NOTE:  If you want to keep the recipe "original" substitute sugar for the splenda, equal amounts.)

This recipe can be used "as is" or you can fancy it up by adding dried cherries, cranberries, orange zest, nuts, raisins, cinnamon, lemon, poppy seeds, blueberries...you name it!  But I like them like this best...just a family habit I guess.

Here we go!

You will need:  1 egg, milk, canola oil, All purpose flour, sugar (or Splenda) , baking powder, and salt.  That's it!

First you crack and egg in to a large mixing bowl, and add the oil and milk. 

Whisk until light and frothy.

Then you add the dry ingredients to the bowl.  Flour, sugar or Splenda, baking powder and salt.  Now most people will want you to add the dry ingredients in another bowl, and stir it up.....but just go ahead and add them straight in, it doesn't hurt anything!  Less to clean up the better, I always say.

Mix until moist....now this is important.  Don't over mix.  You might even think you an under mixing...but you aren't.  Trust me!

Batter should be lumpy and kinda thick.  Like this.

Now spray a non-stick muffin pan with cooking spray.  Spread the batter among the 6 muffin tins almost all the way full.  That's how I like em!

Bake in a 425 degree preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
See how pretty!!!

Enjoy these...they truly are fabulous!

Basic Muffin Recipe – Lower Carb Version included

(Carb serving per muffin net 24.4 using Splenda)

Serves 6

Cook time 20-25 min

Ingredients:

1 egg

1/2 cup 2% milk

1/4 cup Canola Oil

1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour

1/2 Cup sugar (or Splenda)

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

Directions:

Place egg, milk, and oil in a large mixing bowl and whisk together until light.  Add flour, splenda, baking powder, and salt.

Stir until moist.  Don’t over mix…batter should be lumpy and a little thick.

Spray a non-stick muffin pan with cooking spray.  Divide batter among the 6 muffin cups filling most of the way full.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 min.