Steak with Red Wine Reduction

Oh what a week it has been already...I first want to say Thank You to all Veterans and their families who have or are serving for our military.  It is because of you I am free today...My husband is was a marine and I married into a family of military and my niece and her husband are in the Navy.  I am blessed and honored to know so many military people...God Bless You All!!!

Yesterday was cross fit...let me tell you I am feeling it today...my abs hurt and boy do I love it.  My arms and legs are screaming and I dead-lifted 55 lbs, it may not be a lot but it's 20 lbs heavier than last week and it's progress...I am loving it!  Oh and if you need a good abs move, grab someone's ankles and do let lifts while they push your feet down in all directions...YIKES!

Tonight's dinner special was delish...I have been craving steak so that's what we had.  I made a nice sirloin with a rich red wine reduction (amazing what a little butter can do for a sauce), roasted potatoes (I didn't eat those) and roasted asparagus...MMMMM who needs to go out and pay a fortune when you can have this super simple meals.

Steak with Red Wine Reduction Sauce
Serves 4
21 DF Containers: 1R, 1tsp, 1/4Y

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil (3tsp)

2 (8-ounce) top sirloin steaks, trimmed (4R)

3/8 teaspoon sea salt, divided 

3/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided 

3 tablespoons minced shallots

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1/2 cup full-bodied red wine (I used a red blend) (1Y treat)

1/2 cup unsalted beef stock 

1 1/2 teaspoons organic butter (1 1/2tsp)

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Directions

1. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Sprinkle steaks evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add steaks to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until desired temp (we like a nice medium rare and remember it will still cook while it rests). Remove steaks from pan. Let stand 5 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add shallots and thyme to pan; sauté 1 minute or until lightly browned. Add wine; cook 2 1/2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Add stock; cook 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half and mixture is slightly thickened. Remove pan from heat. Add remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, butter, and mustard; stir with a whisk.

3. Cut steak across the grain into thin slices; serve with sauce. 

I served this with potatoes that I seasoned with a little olive oil and garlic herb and roasted and also some roasted asparagus.  This came out perfect and tasted so yummy.  Make sure to trim your steaks of all visible fat to keep it healthy.  My family ate this up as usual when I serve steak and potatoes (we will do it a few times a month but that's it usually)...never any leftovers at this house.

So until tomorrow...make sure you thank a vet if you haven't today and if you can thank one every day...they deserve more than 1 day a  year!

Balsamic Fig Pork Tenderloin

Do you ever get antsy?  I am at that point, I feel I do the same thing day in and day out.  I love being a SAHM mom it gets boring and I need a change every now and then. I need to get out and away from my house and my normal every day life...trying to figure out what that will be but I am not coming up with any ideas.

So tonight's dinner is complements of Skinnytaste.com and saying that I really didn't have to do any changing of the recipe except for how many it served.  

Fig Balsamic Pork Tenderloin 
Servings: 8 
21 Day Fix Containers: 1R

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 lb pork tenderloins (9R)
• sea salt, to taste
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup Trader Joe's fig butter
• parsley for garnish

 Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375

Season the pork with salt and garlic powder and put on a baking sheet.

Mix the balsamic vinegar and the fig butter in a bowl.  Nicely brush the pork with all the mixture.

Roast in the oven for about 25 - 30 minutes or until the internal temp is 145.

Let it rest for 10 - 15 minutes before slicing (don't want to lose any of that wonderful juices now do you...)

Sprinkle with parsley if desired

Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole

So today was a good day, I went for a long walk with the dog and then to the dog park, I went to my son's football game, cooked dinner and then it was off to cross fit and boy did that kick my butt...

When I was a kid, my mom use to make stuffed cabbage rolls but man was that a lot of work, boiling the cabbage leaves, gently stuffing them with meat and rice, folding them so they didn't break and then baking them...that is just too much work for this mama so I found this recipe at diaryofarecipecollector.com and slightly adapted it to make it 21 Day Fix friendly.  I have rounded these containers up (or down) to make make it an even nice containers to count to make life a little easier.


Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole

 
Serves 6
21 Day Fix Containers: 1 1/2R, 1Y, 1/2G, 1/2P, 1/2B

Ingredients

• 1 lbs. extra lean ground beef (4R)
• 1.25 lb of lean ground turkey (5R)
• Sea salt and pepper
• 1 cup whole grain brown rice, uncooked (6Y)
• 4 cups roughly chopped cabbage (4G)
• 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce (1P)
• 2 cups of water
• 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained (1.5P)
• 1 cup shredded cheese of choice (4B)

Instructions

1. Season and brown ground beef and turkey. Drain off any grease you may have (I usually rinse under warm water to get all the fat off).
2. Add rice, cabbage, tomato sauce, 2 cups of water and diced tomatoes with all the juices. Stir.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and cover to simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes or until rice is done and cabbage is soft (please do not lift lid before 20 minutes is up or else you let all the steam out and the rice needs it to cook properly)
4. Once cooked, top with cheese and cover with lid to melt a few minutes.

The Verdict: everyone but my daughter liked this, it was filling, large portions and hey only 1 pot to clean up...If you want more of a cheesy yummy goodness and want to use a full B container then up the cheese to 1 1/2 cups...SCORE

 

 

 

So enjoy a healthy dinner with the family

Chicken & Asparagus Lemon Stir Fry

So I love to cook and don't repeat meals much but I am not that creative to just throw something together usually.  I love finding new recipes on Pinterest, the many cookbooks I own and other websites.  I usually adapt recipes to fit my families likes and needs.  I will always, when possible (I might have found a recipe YEARS ago and not know it's source) give credit where credit is due.   
 
So tonight for dinner is Chicken & Asparagus Lemon Stir Fry.  I have adapted this to make it more 21 Day Fix friendly from Skinnytaste.com.  With a few simple changes in ingredients this has become a fix friendly meal that everyone will love.

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Chicken & Asparagus Lemon Stir Fry
Serves 5
Fix containers (1R, 1/2G, 1/2tsp) 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes (6R)
• Sea Salt, to taste
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce or Tamar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tbsp olive oil, divided (3tsp)
• 30 asparagus spears, cut into 2-inch pieces (3G)
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• fresh black pepper, to taste

Directions: 

Season chopped up chicken with salt.  In a small bowl combine chicken broth & soy sauce.  In another small bowl combine cornstarch and water and mix well.

Heat a large wok or pan to medium high heat, add 1 tsp of olive oil, saute asparagus until tender crisp.  Add in the garlic and ginger and saute until golden brown.  Set aside.

In the same pan, increase the heat to high and add in the remaining olive oil.  Add in chicken and cook until it's golden brown and cooked all the way through.  Set aside.

Add the soy sauce mixture; bring to a boil and cook about 1-1/2 minutes. Add lemon juice and cornstarch mixture (you will have to stir this in the small bowl again to mix up the cornstarch again) and stir well, when it simmers return the chicken and asparagus to the wok and mix well, remove from heat and serve.
 
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This really was an easy meal to cook and came together fast (and if you are a busy mom like me you need fast meals). The lemon taste was strong so if you don't like lemon don't put it in or put less in. Next time I will add in another 20 asparagus spears to make it a full green container and bulk up my stir fry. I served this simple stir fry with some brown rice & a salad on the side and my total meal was 1R, 2 1/2G, 1/2Y (I didn't eat all my rice), 1O & 1/2tsp!

Verdict: everyone loved it and asked for me to make it again...SCORE! 

So enjoy your dinner and some good family time!