What's at Steak?

Whenever I dine out and see pasta with steak or salad with steak I turn my nose up. I just don't think it sounds good and they don't seem to belong together. Steak goes with potatoes, period. Steak and potatoes are like cookies and milk - hard to say one without the other.

Since I feel so strongly about that pairing I am not exactly sure what intrigued me about this dish. But the second I saw it in this month's Cooking Light I was sure I would make it. And I am so glad I did - this dish was hearty and mouth watering. The mushroom sauce was the perfect compliment to the succulent steak! Another great benefit of this dish was the short cooking time. For such an elegant dish, it came together in no time flat.

Steak Tips with Peppered Mushroom Sauce
Adapted from Cooking Light January 2010

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 3 cups uncooked egg noodles
• Cooking spray
• 1 pound top sirloin steak, cut into 3/4-inch pieces, fat trimmed
  
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
• 1 (10-ounce) package presliced baby bella mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (optional)

Preparation

1. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

2. While noodles cook, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add steak; sauté 5 minutes, browning on all sides.

Remove from pan; cover.

3. Melt butter in pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots

and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes.

Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Stir in Worcestershire Sauce. Sprinkle flour over mushroom mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Gradually add broth, stirring constantly with a whisk.

Add pepper, salt, and thyme sprigs.

Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thickened. Return beef to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated.

Discard thyme sprigs. Garnish with thyme leaves, if desired.

What's at Steak ?

So I took a little blogging hiatus, hopefully you noticed ;-)  If you did, I hope you are glad that I am back!  Life has gotten in the way and unfortunately this blog here got the back burner.  I can remember a time when this little blog was always front and center.  It was a time in my life when I was newly married, living far away from family, itching to test my skills in the kitchen and impress my new husband.  I worked my day job, and then I came home to cook and then blog.  I spent hours researching recipes, photography tips and blogging how-tos.  I used to blog almost every night and it was most often the dish I had cooked only and few hours prior.  It was my biggest hobby and occupied a lot of my time when I first started. In fact, two days ago marked the five year anniversary of my blog Elizabeth's Edible Experience.  Amazing!  Five years of cooking, photographing, composing stories and blogging. April 15, 2008 was my first post and I had no idea what I was doing - both in the kitchen and on blogger. I can honestly say I never thought my blog would endure the way it has.  Even when I take a two month break like I just did, there are still visitors checking out my recipes while I am away and to this day that is still a very exciting feeling. 

Now my life is filled with so many other things that take precedent.  We are living back in my hometown with family where we always have so many things to do.  We built our first home and I am obsessed with decorating it and making it perfect.  I still work full time in a very fulfilling job.  And most importantly we have a precious little 2 1/2 year old son that occupies all of my time and energy.  And it is so worth it.  Life is super good right now!  But luckily, all of the hard work and time I put into my blog before those new developments afforded me a readership that makes coming back here worth it.  And the good news is, we always have to eat, so as long as I keep my camera close and find a few minutes to steal away to the computer to document it all I think Elizabeth's Edible Experience will remain. 

So how many of you have been around since the beginning?  Please let me know in the comments, I would love to hear from my oldest most loyal readers!

 

Hamburger Steak with Onion Gravy
Adapted from Cooking Light April 2013

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground sirloin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
• 1 1/2 cups vertically sliced onion
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsalted beef stock
• Smoky Haricots Verts and Mushrooms

 

Preparation

1. Divide beef into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Sprinkle patties evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

2.  Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; swirl to coat. Add patties; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned; remove from pan.



3. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add vertically sliced onion; sauté 3 minutes or until lightly browned and tender.



Sprinkle onion with flour; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add stock and remaining salt and pepper; bring to a boil.



4.  Return patties to pan; reduce heat to medium, partially cover, and cook 5 minutes or until gravy is slightly thickened.  Remove from pan and server or vegetables and mashed potatoes.  Top with gravy.



Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe