Insomnia Inspiration

Times have changed a bit.

In graduate school, I was often up all hours of the night with insomnia.

I usually baked.

Breads, cakes, muffins, scones...

Once, Brent woke up to the warm smell of freshly made bagels--in 6 different varieties.

No joke. Ask him.

These days, when I'm stressed, I cook.

Lucky for you.

What am I so stressed about? 

Come over for a glass of wine and we'll talk.

Now, Let's get right to the recipes.

First, I made a FANTASTIC-out-of-the world-marinated Flat Iron Steak

Super easy.

But wait!! What's the difference between Flank , Skirt, and Flat Iron you ask?

Flank and Skirt Steak = can usually be interchanged in recipes.

    Both have a very obvious grain, are very flavorful, but somewhat tough and definitely require a cutting across the grain.  They come from muscles that get a lot of work. They are often braised but frequently marinated and grilled.

Now, Flat Iron, on the other hand is the 2nd most tender steak, only behind the filet. It comes from the top blade roast, which sits inside of the seven bone in the chuck. 

??Too much info??

Bottom Line:

If I'm making steak tacos, I'll go ahead and use flank or skirt, but when I want to showcase the meat in a recipe...

FLAT IRON ALL THE WAY.

Here's an EASY recipe that was delish.

It's a nice one to prepare the night before...

makes it for an easy-come-home-from-work-to-craziness-with kids-kind of recipe

Lemon-Shallot Flat Iron Steak

2-3 pound flat iron steak

1 1/2 cup Meyer Lemon Juice  

    -side note: Meyer lemons are sweet...if not available, you can use 1 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/4 cup fresh orange juice to sweeten it up,..or 1 TBS agave to the lemon juice.

1/2 cup soy sauce

6 medium shallots, coarsely chopped

2 TBS toasted sesame oil 

1) Pierce steak all over with fork. Place the meat in a 1 gallon resealable bag.

2) Pour lemon juice in bowl and whisk in soy sauce. 

3) Add the shallots and whisk in the sesame oil

4) Pour about 2/3 of the marinade over the steak and save the remaining in a safe container and refrigerate it until its time to use it as a sauce.

5) Refrigerate overnight.

Do you have a cast iron skillet?
Get one.

Do it.

Love it.

Heat a cast iron skillet with 2-3 TBS of olive oil until hot.

Cook Flat iron steak about 10-12 minutes on each side or until however you like it.

Now, this is the 2nd recipe I've shared for Flat Iron Steak. Have you tried the first one yet??

I served this with a side of Mediterranean Quinoa:

Hmm?? What's That?

I can't hear you?

Oh, you LOVED the first Quinoa recipe! 

Fantastic!

Do you want this recipe too??

Mediterranean Quinoa

2 cups Quinoa

4 cups chicken broth

Cook Quinoa until all liquid absorbs

Place in large bowl and add:

1/2 can sun dried tomatoes, in oil

fresh basil--a lot!!

feta cheese

cooked fresh broccoli (NOT MUSH PEOPLE!--Nice and crisp!)

1 caramelized onion (this means cut 1 yellow onion thin, cook in about 2TBS butter until nice and yummy)

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix and serve!

Pour wine in hopes of getting a better nights sleep.