Southwestern Chopped Steak Salad

We don’t have too many salad recipes. I could eat salad every day and never get sick of it but it’s hard to get Luke into eating veggies, let alone raw veggies. This salad has a perfect balance of veggies and cooked protein so he will actually eat it. You can adjust the veggies and ingredients for the dressing as you see fit. We like to prep meals in two-pound meat quantities so although this recipe serves two, we would normally quadruple it to make two pounds of steak; a total of 8 servings. If you follow the recipe as it is written, one serving has 38g protein, 24g fat, 30g of carbs, and a total of 491 calories per serving.

Southwestern Chopped Steak Salad

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

Steak

Flank Steak or Skirt Steak .5lbs/227g

Lime Juice (enough to submerge the steak in a Ziploc bag)

Salad

20 cups / 235g Romaine Lettuce

½ cup / 90g Cherry Tomatoes, halved

½ cup / 73g Corn, cooked, off the cob

½ cup / 120g Canned Black Beans, rinsed & drained

2 tbsp / 5g Cilantro, chopped

¼ of one fruit / 34g Avocado, cubed

Dressing

1 cup / 28g Cilantro

½ cup / 114g 0% Fage Greek Yogurt

2-3 / 10g Garlic Cloves

Juice from one lime / 30g

2 tbsp / 28g Apple Cider Vinegar

Salt, to taste

¼ cup / 28g Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Add steak and lime juice to a ziploc bag and marinate 4-8 hours, turning it over once so that both sides of the steak marinate evenly in the lime juice. You may want to set the bag in a baking pan in case any leaking occurs.

2. Prepare the salad. Layer ingredients on top of each other into separate bowls/Tupperware. For the dressing, combine cilantro, Greek yogurt, garlic, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, and salt in a food processor or a high-powered blender. Blend until smooth, adding a tablespoon of water if needed to assist with blending. With the motor running, add oil slowly to emulsify.

3. Grill steak on high for about 5 minutes per side or until desired doneness. Allow the steak to rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Layer on top of the salad with dressing.

*Recipe adapted from Damn Delicious

Thai Street Chicken

I had a party to go to on the 4^th of July and I was asked to bring a dish to share. I love to cook for people but I really can’t stand cooking for picky people and I am not one who is looking to “please a crowd” when I’m cooking. I am what you would call a “selfish chef.” I like to cook things that make me happy. I’m the one cooking, so damn right I should!

Anyway, I had to ask mom for advice because I really didn’t know what to make that would satisfy most of the people at the party. She suggested this recipe for Thai Street Chicken (Gai Yahng). It is SO good that the only people it wouldn’t please are those on a meatless diet. I was nervous to try it after looking at the ingredients but my mom is an expert (really, she used to be a chef!) and since when should a recipe with three ingredients intimidate me!?

The actual marinade for the chicken is three ingredients. The overall “dish” consists of grilled chicken marinated in a cilantro “pesto” and a sweet-hot garlic sauce to go with it. You can serve it over rice but I wanted it to be a simple finger food so I diced up the chicken for easy dipping into the sauce. I made a big batch to have for lunch the following week and ate it with some steamed green beans!

Cilantro Pesto

Yields about ½ cup

2 tsp whole white or black peppercorns (I used black)

4 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and stems

4 tbsp coarsely chopped garlic

Using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, crush or grind the peppercorns. The original recipe calls for them to be crushed into a fine powder but I left the pieces still a bit coarse. Add the cilantro and garlic and work the ingredients into a paste. At this point, you can put them in a food processor but I continued with the mortar and pestle. If you use a food processor, you might need to add a little vegetable oil or water to help with grinding.

Sweet-Hot Garlic Sauce

1 cup sugar

½ cup water

½ cup white vinegar

2 tbsp finely minced garlic (I used a garlic press)

1tsp salt

1 tbsp chili-garlic sauce

In a saucepan combine sugar, water, vinegar, garlic, and salt. Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar and salt and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer until liquid reduces slightly and thickens to a light syrup about 20 minutes. Remove from the stove and stir in garlic-chili sauce. Cool to room temp. Store at room temp for 2-3 days.

Thai Street Chicken

2.5 lbs chicken breasts, thawed (I bought a bag of frozen chicken from Target and thawed it out)

½ cup cilantro pesto

4 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt

Sweet-Hot Garlic Sauce

In a deep mixing bowl large enough to hold the chicken, combine the pesto, soy sauce, and salt. Add the chicken and coat well with the marinade. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours, turning occasionally to season each piece evenly.

Prepare your grill (I used a grill pan) on high heat. Arrange the chicken on the grill and cook 10 to 20 minutes (every grill or grill pan is different), turning occasionally to brown and cook evenly. When the chicken is done, allow it to rest for a few minutes before chopping into bite-sized pieces. Serve warm or at room temperature with the sauce.

*The original recipe uses a whole, small free-range chicken that is grilled for 45 minutes to an hour on high heat. I haven’t tried this but it’s the authentic way to do it and I’m sure it’s amazing!