So this guy at Mr. K’s work gave him the Omaha Steaks package as a gift. It came with four sirloin steaks, the first two of which were just OK, on account of I’m pretty much a Filet Mignon kinda gal.
So I’ve got the other two, and I’d like to do something other than “steak” with them, in hopes I might be semi-thrilled.
I have the following stuff laying around:
rice
pasta
potatoes
onions (green and yellow)
tomato sauce
frozen and canned veggies
artichoke hearts
garlic bread
various condiments
enchilada sauce
corn tortillas
canned pineapple
balsamic vinegar
jerk sauce
other stuff
What I don’t have laying around is a burning urge to get into a really complicated recipe. If I can prep and cook in 2 hours, I’ll be happy. Any ideas???
One of our staple meals growing up was steak, baked potatoes, and garlic bread, all cooked on the grill. To save time, parcook the potatoes in the microwave for 5-10 minutes. Save the leftover baked potatoes; when you get enough, peel & slice thin on a mandoline or other similar slicer & fry (preferably in bacon grease) the slices in a skillet with diced onions & the seasoning of your choice.
To this day, it’s still the basic homecooked meal at my parents’ house – whenever I go back there, we have it at least once a week.
Sounds delicious, (especially the potato-and-bacon-grease part) but as I said, the steaks don’t do much for me as steaks. I want to do something different with the meat.
Sirloin makes good fajitas! here is the first Google hit I could find, but you should look around and see if there’s anything else you can do with the ingredients you have.
Mexican food is known for being cheap to make. With a few 25cent veggies you can make killer taco salad or steak burritos or fajitas.
I’ve gotta go with the fajita idea. You are going to need a tomato but chop that sucker up add some onion and garlic it up. Marinate the steaks with the vinegar and jerk. Grill 'em until medium. Slice. Heat the torts and serve with the rice to which I would also add some of the picante.
If you can get an avacado make some guac (only a little of the garlic and some lime - no stinking 'maters).
After all that PM for when it will be ready. I’ll bring the cerveza or margarita makings.
Sirloin, but you don’t want steak… Do you have a meat grinder? Cuz that’s what I’d do, i.e. grind the meat, and make burgers or meat loaf or shepherd’s pie or something. (If you don’t have a dedicated grinder, you can cube the meat and chop it in a Cuisinart. Be careful to stop before it’s a paste.)
The top half of your ingredient list could go into a meat loaf; you could parcook the rice and mix it into the grind in place of bread crumbs as your binder starch, for example. Or partly crush the dry pasta and use it the same way. The tomato sauce could be turned into a glaze for the loaf.
Sorry, but no meat grinder or Cuisinart. Two awesome appliances that I don’t have space for in my little postage stamp-sized house. But the meatloaf sounds good!
I had a great schnitzel yesterday (jagerschnitzel) that is coloring my suggestion, but it would be a fairly easy matter to pound the sirloin very thin, dunk it in a wash of a couple of eggs and a touch of milk, dredge in flour, back into the wash, and finally coat with some seasoned *bread crumbs. Pan fry in some oil or butter for a few minutes a side. Maybe come up with an interesting salsa or pan sauce to go with it. Some of those pantry ingredients could lead to interesting possibilities (artichokes, enchilada sauce, pineapple, and balsamic). Maybe go fusion and try to come up with a mexican inspired potato salad to serve with it.
*Tip-- If you don’t have premade breadcrumbs on hand I always make mine by throwing a few pieces of bread in the blender and making my own… it’s quick and makes a very fine crumb.
Also, if you don’t have a meat hammer/pounder/tenderizer on hand. Simply lay the steak between two sheets of saran and use whatever heavy object that you have on hand to pound it thin. A heavy can of tomatoes, or even a hammer from the garage substitute fine. I once used a short handled sledgehammer…very therapeutic… but go easy.
I third the general “wrap” category. Yesterday, I made a tzatziki sauce, and combined it with some sirloin, poblano peppers, mushrooms, and feta cheese in a wrap, and it was truly incredible. If you don’t want to make tzatziki, mexican style fajitas are a can’t miss approach. I make fajitas about once a week at the restaurant where I work, to much fanfare. My recipe is just a LOT of fresh ground pepper, cayenne, cilantro and lime. Something as simple as sirloin, bell peppers, and onion go a long way.
f you’re going to be cutting up the sirloin for stir fry or fajitas, cut at a 45 degree angle and go against the grain of the meat. That exposes more surface area to your cooking surface, meaning you get a better texture.
You could do a simple greek style salad. Cut the steak into very thin strips (think stroganoff), cook with a simple salt+pepper seasoning, and serve over fresh spinnach with bell peppers, artichoke hearts, and feta or goat cheese. Squeeze a lemon over the salad and serve with olive oil dressing. Simple food is good food.
Another standby of mine is a steak sandwich with a wasabi cream sauce. Wasabi cream sauces are very, very flexible, although my favorite variations are with jalapenos or ginger.
I vote for stir fry…and do cut the steak as ForumBot mentions, it will be a bit more tender that way.
I like a sesame marinade for the meat. Cut it up, pop in the wok (or skillet) with a couple of tablespoons of oil, throw in the veggies and keep stirring until the vegetables are tender crisp. Serve over rice.
This also makes good leftovers to take to work or have for another meal.
