Cook: FJ Steak Dinner #1

We like eating steak, and tend to have it 1-2x a month for dinner. J is the grillmaster and in charge of the steaks, and I am in charge of the sides. Many people think that steak = fancy dinner with lots of preparation, but we whipped up this delicious dinner in less than 30 min! (15 min for prep, another 15 for cooking/grilling). It was so easy that I am going to put all the recipes into this one post! It was economically too - we got our Ribeye steaks from costco (we had 1/2 the package = $10) and all the sides from trader joe's (approx $15)

Making the Steak:

J is learning how to become an even better chef with our online cooking classes from Rouxbe. He tried a whole bunch of new tricks on our steaks including a) took them of package and let them set on a rack on a plate in the refridgerator x 12 hours b) took them out of fridge and let them come to room temperature x 2 hours, c) seasoned them with salt, pepper and a little olive oil, d) grilled them at high heat until they were rare (J)/ medium rare (F). He knew when they were done because we used our nifty new meat thermometer!

Garlicky Green Beans:

I used the "Pre-washed, Ready to Eat, Microwavable Green Beans" from Trader Joe's. Microwave the package for 3 minutes. Then in a small skillet, heat up approximately 1 tablespoon of olive oil, saute 3 garlic cloves (crushed), add salt and pepper to taste, and stir-fry the green beans until tender.

Mini-Tomato, Mini Mozzarella Salad and Basil Salad:

TJ had some cute hierloom mini tomatoes this week. To make this salad, slice the tomatoes in half, then slice small mozzarella balls in half to match. Drizzle olive oil lightly over the tomato/cheese and then salt and pepper (freshly ground) to taste. Sprinkle some hand torn basil over the top.

Roasted Red Peppers:

These were on sale for 60 cents a piece this week! J threw two of these on the grill whole and turned them until they were fully roasted. Let cool and slice! That's as easy as it gets!

The rice was microwavable brown rice (also from TJ) - 3 minutes and then it's done! We enjoyed our steak dinner iwth a bottle of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 2006 Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon!