Steak Fajitas

One of the worst times of year for a teacher is the two weeks before school starts. It’s not because we are dreading it, but the anticipation of the work load, and wanting to enjoy every last drop of summer–those two things form a dichotomy that keeps many a teacher up with insomnia at night and cranky during the day. I am starting to have stress school dreams and I am starting to get on my husband’s nerves. Buckle up, sweetie, we’ve only just begun.

We didn’t get the best news today either. Henry got hired at a new job and they originally wanted him to start next Wednesday. Sweet. We made camping plans for this weekend. They called today and said, actually, can you start Friday. He wasn’t in the position to say no–so I am going camping by myself. Well, not all by myself, but without Henry.  Bummer. This was our last hurrah for the summer.

Our consolation prize? Fajitas for dinner. It’s not camping, but it’s something.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound steak, sliced
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp chili powder (I used california)
• 2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
• half of an onion, sliced
• 2 tsp cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• juice from half of an extremely juicy lime
• zest of half of a lime
• half of a large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• large drizzle of garlic olive oil

Marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.

Fry it up. Serve it up. Try to not pout about not camping with your sweetie.

I separated out the peppers and fried them first. It’s super important that you don’t overcook your steak, and if you separate out ingredients that cook at different rates, you can make sure that doesn’t happen.

I love my new old cast iron pan!

 

 

Mexican Steak Sandwiches

• 1 steak
• half of an onion, sliced
• 1 Roma tomato, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• cumin (some)
• mexican oregano (enough…don’t you love how exact I am?)
• juice of half a lime, juiced
• one chipotle, minced and deseeded
• s and p
• baguette
• pepper jack cheese
• beer (some Widmer Dark Saison Brewmasters’ Release)
• garlic, minced

Marinate the steak in the lime juice, salt and pepper, cumin, and Mexican oregano.

While it’s doing it’s thing, saute the onions, garlic, and red pepper.  Add the chipotle pepper, minced, but make sure to scrape out the inner seeds and membrane so your final dish isn’t ridiculously spicy.

After the veggies are nice and caramelized, take them out of the pan and set them aside in a bowl.

Fry the steak in some butter in the pan you sauteed the veggies in.

When the steak is done, let it rest.

Add the peppers and such back to the pan and pour in some beer. Throw in a sliced Roma tomato. Let it simmer and reduce.

Slice the steak.

Cut the bagette in half and open it up. Butter both sides and broil it, cut side up.  Add the cheese slices to the bread after a minute or so. Watch it carefully–broilers can take some from toasty to charred beyond recognition in seconds.

Assemble the sandwiches once the bread is ready to come out. Layer the peppers and onions with the steak.

Delicious sandwiches. Would be good with chicken, shrimp–any protein, really. That marinade lends itself well to whatever you slather it on. If you decide to try it, you may want to marinate your meat longer than the 45 minutes I did. Overall, I’m really pleased with how the meal turned out. Perfect for a night watching Battlestar Galatica, curled up on the couch.

Friday Afternoon Musings: Corned Beef and Steak Sandwiches

The boyfriend and I spent the greater part of the afternoon running errands. Now, I’m home, drinking a beer, listening to the Bob Dylan station on Pandora, and googling recipes. We went to Market of Choice before coming home and we got a steak (for dinner tonight) and a slab of corned beef for dinner tomorrow. We’ve been talking about corned beef all week–and believe it or not I will be a corned beef virgin tomorrow. I’m pretty excited to try it. I’ve been doing some research, inspired by this post at Serious Eats. Even though corned beef is a ubiquitous St. Patrick’s Day recipe, it’s hardly an Irish national dish. Most people in Ireland don’t even eat the stuff. But–Irish Americans and everyone else (who seems to think they are Irish on St. Patrick’s day) swears by the stuff, so I will be preparing it tomorrow.

But what to make tonight? I bought the steak because it was on sale. Quickly, the boyfriend suggested steak sandwiches, so look for that post later tonight.

What are all of you doing for St. Patrick’s Day? Any special recipes, traditions, or plans? Any tried and true Irish or “Irish” recipes you’re fond of?

Valentine’s Day Dinner

Sauteed asparagus

Chili and brown sugar roasted acorn squash

Steak with caramelized onions, mushrooms, and gorgonzola

Five Years: A List

• Two pounds of king crab legs
• One pound of butter
• One bunch of parsley
• One and a third pounds of sirloin steak
• Twelve ounces of mushrooms
• Eight to ten red potatoes
• One pound of rosemary bread (fresh from the oven)
• Twelve ounces of mezclun mix

Five years of marriage.

Going out to eat is over-rated.