Fall is in the air...

Beef Stew
Recipe is my own

Today was the kids first day back at school and although it was in the 90's today it felt like fall was around the corner. So I decided it was the perfect day to make beef stew. It also didn't help that the rotisserie chicken I bought yesterday to use in recipes this week had a fly in the container and dead stuck to the chicken. AWESOME!  So beef stew it was! I also made it in the crock pot so that it wouldn't heat up the house on this hot day. 

 Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1 lb of stew beef
1/2 of an 8oz container of sliced mushrooms
2 pieces of celery chopped
3 medium potatoes diced
1 medium onion diced
5 cloves of garlic chopped
1/2 large leek (diced)
1/2 bag of baby carrots chopped
1 cup red wine
1 cup veggie broth or water
3 tablespoons of flour and 1/4 cup red wine

 I like to cut the beef up into bite sized pieces.

 Add oil to a pan and get it hot. Add beef to the oil and brown well.

 Chop garlic and add to the crock pot.

 Dice the onion and add to the crockpot

 Once the meat browns add it to the crockpot

Chop celery and add to the crockpot

Chop the carrots and add to the crockpot

 add 1/2 the container of mushrooms (i chopped them a little bit)

 Chop 1/2 the leek and add to the crockpot

 Cut the potato into bite sized pieces

Give everything a stir and add in the broth or water.

Next add in the wine. Allow to cook for 8 to 10 hours on low.

5 minutes before serving mix the 3 Tablespoons of flour with the 1/3 cup of wine and mix well so the flour doesn't clump. Add it to the beef stew and mix it well. Add in some salt and pepper for taste and let it sit for 5 minutes. 

 So how does Beef Stew fit into the 21 day fix?

1 Red for meat, 1 yellow for potatoes, 1 green for carrots, onions, leeks, and mushrooms (its probably not quite a full green) and I also counted it as 1 orange (because of the sauce, when things have a sauce to them, I sometimes think of them like a dressing. This could be completely off, but sometimes you have to take a guess at it) I also would count it as 1 teaspoon because of the olive oil in it.

1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Green, 1 Orange, 1 Teaspoon

Oh My Delicious!

Let me just tell you that you will LOVE this meal! It is a WINNER. If you are a meat and potatoes person, or your husband or significant other is, this is a meal for them.
My littles love this meal for a few reasons. 1. It is called cowboy steak and the first time I made it, we told them that real cowboys ate it. They ate every bit of it because they were eating like cowboys! 2. Its just delicious and even kids love it.
This is a fairly quick meal! It was not quick for me due to taking pictures etc., but overall it can be made within 30 minutes including prep time.

Cowboy Steak, Garlic Cheddar Potatoes and Asparagus with a Lemon Vinaigrette

Recipes courtesy of Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast Weeknight Meals, and Food Network's Ten Dollar Dinners 

Ingredients: 

1 london broil or flank steak (I prefer london broil for this) 

Asparagus (1 bunch)

1 lemon

salt

pepper

1 clove garlic

1-2 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp cumin

2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp instant coffee (I use the pre-packaged servings, which are exactly 1 tsp)

fingerling potatoes or any small potato

Cheddar cheese

garlic powder

olive oil

chopped chives for garnish

(butter is pictured, but i didn't use it and don't feel that you need it) 

 Making the Spice Rub.  Mix 2 tsp. of chili powder, 1/2 tsp of cumin, 1/2 tsp of brown sugar, and 1 tsp of instant coffee. Wisk together so it is well mixed. 

Once your spice rub is mixed salt and pepper one side of your meat. 

Spread 1/2 of the spice rub on the meat, and pat it into the meat, making sure to cover it well with the spice rub. 

Flip it over and repeat with salt, pepper and spice rub. At this point get your grill heated to high while you get the rest of your meal prepped. Go ahead and heat your oven to 400 degrees as well. Set the meat aside until ready to cook it. 

Trim your asparagus and spread out over half of a sheet pan. 

Drizzle with approximately 1/2 tsp. of olive oil and toss so the oil covers the asparagus. Lightly salt and pepper the asparagus. Set aside until ready to cook.  

Now you want to slice your potatoes in half and place into a microwave safe bowl. Put into the microwave for 6 minutes. This is going to precook the potatoes to allow everything to cook evenly and finish at the same time. 

While the potatoes are cooking you will start your vinaigrette that will go over the asparagus. Start by adding 1 to 2 tsp of dijon mustard to a small bowl.

use a garlic press to press 1 clove of garlic and add it to the mustard. 

Next you want to add in the juice from 1/2 a lemon. 

Add in a touch of salt and a generous amount of pepper. This will disperse over all of the asparagus, so it is ok to add a lot of pepper. 

Wisk all the ingredients together while adding in approximately 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. The mixture will become smooth. 

Set the vinaigrette aside so flavors combine.

Once the potatoes are done, place them on the other half of the sheet pan. Spray with PAM spray, lightly salt and pepper the potatoes then lightly sprinkle with garlic powder. 

You are now ready to start cooking! Place the pan into the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes. Once the pan is in the oven immediately put the london broil onto the grill. You only want to cook the london broil for 4 to 5 minutes per side. DO NOT COOK ANY LONGER!! I promise it will be perfectly cooked. Once the meat is done, put it on a plate and cover it with foil until ready to slice. This allows the meat to rest and the juices to redistribute throughout the meat. It also will give you some great juice to pour over the meat when you plate it. 

Pull the pan out of the oven flip your heat to broil and move the rack to the top slot in the oven. Remove the asparagus to a plate to cool slightly. Now you can top each potato with cheddar cheese. 

Place back in the oven on the top rack under the broiler for 2 minutes. This will melt the cheese and slightly brown the top. 

While the potatoes are cooking for the last few minutes, remove the meat from the plate and place on a cutting board to slice.  (you can see the remaining juice) 

The meat is nicely browned and there is a wonderful crust that has formed on the outside from the rub. 

To slice you want to slice diagonally and slice thinly. As you can see below the meat is perfectly cooked. It is still a little pink, but cooked through. If you cook this longer, the meat will be really tough. London broil and flank steak are a tougher cut of meat anyway. 

Sprinkle potatoes with some chopped chives before serving. 

To serve, slice the meat and add potatoes to the plate. Pour the vinaigrette over the asparagus and toss before putting it on the plate. ENJOY!! 

Now lets talk about the containers... 

For this recipe here is how I would count it. 

1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Green, 2 tsp, 1 Blue 

I debated on counting the dressing for the asparagus as an orange. There is such a small amount of it on the asparagus I didn't feel like it should count as an entire orange container. You could count it as orange, or just as a teaspoon. 

Enjoy this meal, it is truly wonderful! 

Goat Cheese Burgers

Goat Cheese Burger

This was my own recipe. 

Some days you just need a burger. This was one of those days. I got lean ground beef and herb goat cheese. I measured out my blue container of cheese and weighed my burger before it was cooked (this one was 8 oz because I needed 2 reds)

I made my burger patty and then sliced it in half. I put the cheese in the middle and then pinched the edges together to seal all that good yummy cheese inside. I didn't have any yellows left for the day so I picked some lettuce from the garden and didn't even miss my bun. While my husband grilled burgers I made fries and sauteed kale. 

The kale was just a little olive oil, garlic and Kale and I sauteed it until it wilted down. 

For the fries, I did something new. I cut the potatoes and soaked them for about 30 minutes in cold water. This draws the starch out of them and lets them crisp up. I used a raised baking rack on a cookie sheet and lined my potatoes on the rack. I sprayed them lightly with olive oil spray and lightly salted them. I cooked them for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees. The rack allows them to crisp all the way around without having to flip them. 

This counted as 2 Reds, 1 Yellow, 1 Green, 1 Blue  1 Purple

London Broil with Coconut Curry Peanut Sauce

London Broil with Coconut Curry Peanut Sauce

recipe was found online at food.com

I used to make this recipe a long time ago and then I realized I could make it fit into the 21 day fix! I was so excited to make it work. This is DELICIOUS. I know it sounds weird, but it is so good! 

So I started with my side dish (which is not the prettiest looking dish) but it is sauteed squash.This dish usually uses a lot of butter and sugar. I adapted it to fit into 21 DF.  Start by putting a little olive oil in a pan. (about 2 tsp) Add a sliced onion (about softball size) cooking it down until the onions start to brown a little.  Next add your diced squash (I usually use about 4 medium squash) , 2 tsp. of honey, salt and pepper.  I will saute this until it starts to get brown. You don't want it to burn. I will add water 1/3 of a cup at a time to the pan and let it slowly cook down. The water will absorb/evaporate, so just make sure it doesn't burn. 

 onions cooking down. 

Squash slowly cooking down. 

Now onto the main dish. 

You will need:

1 london broil

brown rice

lite coconut milk

olive oil

honey

natural peanut butter

unsweet coconut flakes 

green onions

not pictured : lime, curry powder

(the recipe calls for brown sugar and I used honey instead) 

 Heat your grill to high heat (between 450 and 500) 

Get your rice cooking on the stove or in a rice cooker (this takes about 20 minutes) 

salt and pepper your london broil. 

Place it on the grill and cook for 4 minutes on each side (DO NOT COOK MORE THAN 5 MINUTES) This is something I learned the hard way. This cooks PERFECTLY in 4 minutes on each side. London broil is a tougher piece of meat and leaving it slightly pink in the middle is the best way to eat it. Trust the time! 

 While the london broil is cooking toast the coconut in a pan until light brown on the edges.

To make the sauce you want to combine: 

1 can of coconut milk

1/4 cup peanut butter

2 tsp curry powder

juice from 1 lime 

1/4 cup honey

Bring to a boil on medium heat. Stirring occasionally. Once it boils turn it down to keep it warm. This sauce will get thick as it cooks. 

 Once the steak is beautifully cooked cover it in tin foil and let it sit for about 10 minutes. 

To serve add 1 yellow of rice. Slice meat against the grain diagonally. Use 1-2 Tablespoons of sauce, sprinkle with toasted coconut and scallions. Serve with a side of squash or a salad etc. 

Now how in the world does this count on 21 day fix?

Rice 1 Yellow (not quite filled all the way up)
Meat: 1 Red (2 if you need more protein)
Sauce: 2 Tsp, The rest of the yellow container
Squash: 1 Green, 1 tsp