Western Omelette To Go

So, now that I'm trying to follow a Paleo life-style; I'm having to eat more eggs. Yay. Eh, not really. I've never been an egg fan. Or, I should say a fan of egg yolks. Bleh. I don't like the texture or the flavor of egg yolks. However, I've realized that as long as the eggs are cooked, scrambled, etc then I can tolerate them a lot more. So, I've started looking for recipes that involve cooking such as quiches, omelettes, and scrambled. There's a cookbook I really want to buy from health-bent called Primal Cravings. Fortunately, good ol' amazon let's you look inside the book prior to purchasing. One of the recipes that's featured is this one for Western Omelette To Go. I thought it would be perfect for my lifestyle. I get up really early (5:45 am) and only give myself 45 minutes to get ready. So, I want to make something quick, or have something already made that I can pop in the microwave. Suffice it to say; these Omelettes fit the bill. I was able to make them on a Sunday, and since the serving size is about 6 "muffins" I have one for each day of the week, and one for the weekend. Plus, they turned out to be really delicious. One recommendation; do not microwave these little guys for more than 30 to 45 seconds. I think I microwaved mine for like a minute and a half and they ended up being pretty darn chewy. Bleh. Feel free to tweak the ingredients to your liking. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
6 slices of ham
6 eggs
2 tbsp bell pepper, finely chopped (I used yellow)
2 tbsp yellow onion, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
I threw in some cheese as well.

Set your oven to 350 degrees. Take out your muffin pan and grease with some butter. Line the muffin pan with the sliced ham. Set aside. Next, take out a medium sized bowl; and combine your eggs, chopped pepper, and chopped onion. Toss in some salt and pepper. Stir well. I used an ice cream scoop to scoop out the egg mixture and gently pour into the muffin cups. Bake until the eggs are set...about 15 to 20 minutes.

Beef Chow Mein

I think I may like noodle dishes a bit too much. Ok, not as much as tacos, but a lot. Sesame noodles, spicy noodles, Thai noodles, or cold noodle salad, I’ll take them all. And that’s what drew me to this Beef Chow Mein recipe on The Creative Pot. The noodles look so tasty, with great umami flavor coming through, plus tender meat and crunchy veggies for a whole meal in a bowl. I bumped up the recipe a bit by adding jalapeno, onion, sesame oil, and some chili oil. I think it could still be rounded out a little more but it’s definitely a good base to start from. I also used ramen noodles instead of chinese egg noodles because I didn’t like the egg noodles the last time I used them, but I think if I make this again I’ll give them a shot. The ramen noodles were fine too but might not have soaked up the flavor the same way the egg noodles would have.

1 package Chinese egg noodles
Vegetable oil
½ pound beef, cut into strips
1 medium carrots, peeled and cut into strips
1orange bell pepper, cut into strips 

½ white or yellow onion, cut into strips

1 jalapeno or Serrano, chopped small
4 spring onions, chopped
1/4 cup beansprouts
4 cloves minced garlic
3 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1-2 tsps chili oil (to taste)
1/4 cup water

Soak the egg noodles in hot water for 2-3 minutes, then drain and set aside. (Since we used ramen, we skipped this step and just made the noodles according to the package instructions). I also think if we make this again that we would add a little salt and pepper to the beef before browning. Heat your vegetable oil in a wok and add the beef in batches to brown. We used stir-fry beef from the store because the recipe didn’t specify what kind. Once your meat is browned remove it and set aside. Add a little more oil if necessary and cook the carrots for about 1-2 minutes before adding the bell pepper, onion, and jalapeno. Stir fry those for another 2 minutes or so. You don’t want them to get soft, but just a little more tender. Finally, add in the beansprouts and spring onions and cook for another minute before setting aside in a bowl.

The original recipe called for me to heat the garlic separately, but I forgot and added it into the sauce when I was gathering ingredients. Not sure it made much difference, but if you want to take that step, go for it. Heat a little more oil and fry the garlic for just under 30 seconds until fragrant but not burnt. Then pour in your oyster sauce, soy, sesame oil, chili oil, and water and stir. I actually premixed all of these to make it easier. Add in the noodles and turn the heat down to low as you mix them. You want to make sure that the noodles get fully cooked and that they soak up the flavors. Then add the beef and veggies back into the wok and toss everything together. Make sure everything is warmed through and you’re all set to serve!

Garlic Mushroom Cream Sauce

Garlic. Mushroom. Cream. Three amazingly delicious words. It’s not hard to see why I was drawn to this recipe when I found it on Sweet Paul. The recipe itself is incredibly simple, almost frighteningly so. I always worry with a really simple recipe that it’s going to end up bland. But when you have ingredients like garlic, mushrooms, and cream, it has to be good. And this was good. It was fine. I had two helpings. However, I feel like if something is going to be this bad for me (a cup and a half of cream! Yikes!) then it can’t just be good. It has to be so good. I want to marry it good. Rub it in my beard good. (Don’t worry, I don’t have a beard. It’s just an expression of mine.) It really has to blow me away. And this didn’t. But it was good, and worth a shot. It might just be a personal preference. Maybe you will want to rub it in your beard, and I’m not going to stop you!

2 Tbsps olive oil

½ pound mushrooms of choice (I used portobellos)

1 small onion

4 cloves garlic

1 ½ cup heavy cream

½ cup chicken stock

2 Tbsps fresh dill, chopped

Pasta of choice

Salt & Pepper

To start, roughly chop your mushrooms and then finely chop the onion and garlic. Heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté the mushrooms, onion and garlic until the mushrooms turn a golden brown, about five minutes. Next, pour in the cream and chicken stock, and add in the dill, stirring well. Let it simmer for about five minutes and then add salt and pepper to taste. We added a good amount of salt, and also felt like we wanted to invite our friend cayenne pepper to the meal so we added about a half-teaspoon of that as well. Pour the sauce over your cooked pasta and stir to combine, then serve topped with some parmesan cheese. I was hoping that the sauce might be a little thicker, but it never really seemed to thicken up. Not sure if maybe simmering for a bit longer, or cutting the amount of liquid might help.

Restaurant Style Hummus with Smoked Paprika

Here's my hummus post, and, man, is this a deeelicious recipe. I first tried making a jalapeno hummus, and it turned out quite awful. It wasn't a smooth consistency and lacked flavor. So, I decided to scope out my favorite cookbook Cook's Illustrated to see if they had any hummus recipes. Sure enough they did...and a scrumptious one at that. Now, making your own hummus can seem daunting, but it is really quite easy. One of the major steps to getting a smooth consistency is to peel the outer shell from the chickpeas. For me that is the most annoying part. So, what I do is park myself in front of the tv and gather two bowls. One for the empty shells and one for the shell-less chickpeas. It will help make the process go a lot quicker, and you'll end up with restaurant quality hummus. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup water (or juice from the chickpea can)
3 tbsp lemon juice (Fresh)
6 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste you can find at your local grocery store)
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil plus extra for drizzling
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and de-shelled
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp smoked parika
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts (optional)
1 tbsp thinly sliced scallion greens (optional)

Take out a small bowl and combine chickpea juice (or water) and lemon juice. Set aside. Next, whisk together the tahini and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium-small bowl. Set aside. Now, take out your food processor and process the chickpeas, garlic, salt, cayenne, and smoked paprika for about 15 seconds. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Then, with the machine running (and lid attached), add lemon juice mixture in stead stream. Again, scrape down bowl with rubber spatula. Then process for an additional minute. With machine running, add in the tahini mixture in steady stream, continue to process until hummus is smooth and creamy, about 15 seconds. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Transfer hummus to a large serving bowl and garnish with 1 tbsp thinly sliced scallion greens (optional), 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts and olive oil. As you can tell in the picture I went a little overboard on the pine nuts. Oh well. Enjoy.

Chicken Citrus Salad

I've decided to try a new lifestyle. The reason for this new lifestyle is because I've had certain things pop up in my body that has caused irritation, pain, etc. I've been doing quite a bit of research on this "new" way of eating. Well, it's not really new; it's been around for thousands of years. I'm going back to how our ancestors ate: vegetables, protein, fat, fruit, etc. Now, I'll be the first one to admit that I don't have the healthiest of eating habits. I mean come on; look at how many pasta, dessert, and bread recipes I've posted on this blog. A. Lot. After reading about Paleo; I've decided to give it a shot for thirty days. If you're interested in it you can read about it here. It's quite fascinating and a lot of it makes sense. People think it's a modified Atkins diet. It is; sort of. This isn't a diet; it's a lifestyle change. You're allowed carbs, but you get it in the form of fruits and vegetables. And, Paleo really stresses no grains, legumes, or anything that comes in a package (man-made). I'm actually pretty excited about this; and I really hope it helps some of my body aches and irritations. So, aside for one post I have coming concerning hummus; I'll be posting a lot of Paleo recipes. Including this one from Against All Grain. This salad was very delicious. Normally, I'm starving after eating a salad, but the nuts, chicken, avocados, and fruit really helped to keep me satisfied. If you don't like fruit in your salad then feel free to skip the orange, but it really helps to make the salad. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
For the Chicken:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 orange, juiced
1 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon chile powder
salt and pepper

For the dressing:
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup olive oil

For the Salad:
2 oranges, segmented
1 avocado, cubed
1 heirloom tomato, diced
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds, toasted on the stove over medium heat until browned
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
2 cups arugula
2 cups butter lettuce
salt and pepper

First, combine the juice from the orange, lime juice, olive oil, cumin, coriander, and salt and pepper into a small bowl. Stir well and then pour into a large zip-lock bag. Toss your chicken into the bag and let marinate for several hours or overnight. I only had time to marinate my chicken for an hour and a half and I thought that it came out just fine. Get your grill ready; and once the chicken is ready grill on medium-high heat (350 degrees) until the chicken reaches a temperature of 170 degrees or the juices run clear. Remove from grill and set aside to rest.
Next, gather a large bowl and add in all the salad ingredients. Then, take out a small bowl and combine all the ingredients for the salad dressing save the olive oil. Stir well and slowly pour in the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired. Now, dice up your chicken and add to the salad and pour the dressing over the salad making sure not to over-dress the salad. Toss well and serve. Enjoy.

Summer Squash Saute

As I mentioned in the previous post; I love to peruse Bon Appetit's Magazine on the weekends to find new recipes. The June issue of Bon Appetit was a good one. I pulled out several recipes including this one for Summer Squash Sautee. I love when squash is in season. There's so much you can do with it; saute, grill, fry, etc. You can spice it up by adding red pepper flakes, create a sauce for dipping, or add a little melted butter and eat it grilled. Well, I have to say this was awesome. It was spicy, crunchy, and just plain good. It was very simple to make and I highly recommend this as a side dish. Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 lb. summer squash and/or zucchini, cut into matchsticks
1 tsp kosher salt plus more
1/4 cup sliced almonds
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced (I minced mine)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or a half teaspoon more if you like spicy)
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper

Cut your squash into matchsticks, and place in a colander. Toss with a teaspoon of salt. Let stand for 10 minutes, then squeeze well to remove as much excess water as possible (do not rinse). Next, toast almonds in a skillet over medium heat. Toss occasionally until lightly browned. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate. Then, heat oil in the same skillet. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring often, until fragrant but not browned. About a minute or two. Add squash and cook, tossing occasionally, until crisp and tender, about 5 minutes. Fold in Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Fold in almonds. Serve and enjoy!

Sesame Noodles with Chili Oil and Scallions

One of my favorite things to do on my weekends is to peruse magazines while eating my breakfast. I subscribe to many magazines. Granted, most of them are fashion, but I also subscribe to Entertainment Weekly and Bon Appetit. I love Bon Appetit. If I come across a recipe that sounds interesting I'll rip out the page and tuck it in one of my notebooks. In the June issue of Bon Appetit; I came across this recipe for Sesame Noodles. Now, I know Wormfood already posted this recipe, but to me Bon Appetit's version is completely different. Sure, it has sesame oil but that's really where the similarities end. Okay, fine. It also has soy sauce, but what asian recipe doesn't? Ha. Anyway, I thought this recipe was pretty darn good. It wasn't as spicy as I would have thought, but it had a lot of flavor. Also, I wish I had waited till the noodles had cooled down, because I feel like it made the sauce kind of weird. It's hard to explain, but I think if I had let the noodles cool the sauce would have been silkier. I used an Habanero pepper as I didn't have a sichuan pepper handy. And, I was kind of confused as to what to do with the oil mixture, but if I had followed the directions I would have realized that I was making my own chili oil. Instead, when I made the dressing I used chili oil I had in the cabinet. Whoops. Anyway, it still turned out great. I can't wait for my next copy of Bon Appetit. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
4 scallions, whites and greens separated, thinly sliced
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp sesame seeds
2 tsp Sichuan pepper, coarsely chopped (I used an Habanero from my garden)
12 oz. think ramen noodles or spaghettini (I used spaghetti)
Kosher salt
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
3 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp sugar

Take out a small sauce pan, and cook the scallion whites, vegetable oil, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, and pepper in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir occasionally. Once oil is sizzling and scallions are golden brown (12 to 15 minutes) remove from heat and let cool. Don't forget to turn off the stove. Next, cook your noodles in a large pot of salted, boiling water until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water. Now, take out a large bowl and whisk in the tahini, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and 2 to 3 tablespoons of the chili oil you had set aside earlier. Season with salt. Add noodles and toss to coat. Top with scallion greens and drizzle with more chili oil if you so desire. Enjoy.

Garlic Herb Marinated Pork Chops

Don’t you just hate it when a recipe looks really good, it sounds really good, and it looks delicious when it’s marinating, and even after it’s cooked it looks mouthwatering and then, after all that… it kinda sucks? Yeah, I hate that too. Unfortunately that’s the story with these pork chops. I mean, look at these puppies in the marinade.

I mean, that looks fantastic, doesn’t it? I was looking at this all day, just imagining how good it was going to taste. And then we grilled it and it looked unbelievable! I was all ready for some garlicky, herby goodness. But sadly the only flavor I really got was burnt garlic. No herb flavor came through at all. I don’t blame the grill master, because these are thick chops that need a lot of time on the grill, so I’m not sure there is any way around getting a little char from the bits of garlic. I have to assume that the problem is the marinade itself. We let it sit for a good eight hours, so there’s no reason why no flavor should have gotten into the pork. Maybe we left too much marinade on the pork when we grilled it, but I think scraping it away would have just gotten rid of what little taste it did have. Anyway, here’s the recipe if you’d like to try it yourself. I found it on a blog called Everyday Maven. Maybe you’ll have better luck.

2 Thick cut pork chops

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

10 medium cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 Tablespoon finely chopped sage leaves (about 8 leaves)

¾ teaspoon finely chopped thyme

¾ teaspoon finely chopped rosemary

1½ teaspoons kosher salt

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

1½ teaspoons whole black peppercorns, crushed

Start by mixing up your marinade in a small bowl. Combine olive oil, garlic, all the herbs, salt and red pepper. I crushed my peppercorns with a meat hammer (which was fun!) but you can also use the bottom of a saucepan. Just be careful not to send peppercorns flying all over your kitchen! Add the crushed peppercorns into the marinade as well and mix. Then spoon your marinade on top of each chop, rubbing it in. Then flip and repeat on the other side.

To grill, start with two minutes with the lid open and eight closed, then flip and do another two minutes open, eight closed. Finish it off with another few minutes open until the meat is cooked through, then remove from the grill and let it rest for around ten minutes before serving.

Iron Chef Corn: Corn and Poblano Lasagna

I was pretty excited for Iron Chef Corn. There are a lot of great recipes out there featuring that ingredient. One of my favorite recipes is this one for Corn Chowder. I absolutely love it. It's spicy and cheesy and just plain delicious. But, since it's a recipe I posted on this blog I figured that was kind of cheating. Well, not really cheating but not very original. So, I went on the hunt for some main course recipes. I tried several before settling on this one for Corn and Poblano Lasagna. I loved the corn sauce that replaces the typical ricotta cheese mixture. Plus, the squash and poblano in place of the meat was a nice change. I loved how cheesy and spicy it was, too. I knew that if I didn't win at least it would taste pretty darn good. And, coming in second is not bad at all. I hope you like it as much as I did. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced, divided
2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 2 ears), or frozen and thawed
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon fresh thyme (I used Coriander instead of thyme)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced white onion
2 large zucchini or yellow squash, thinly sliced lengthwise
4 poblano chiles, charred, peeled, stemmed, seeded and cut into 1-inch strips

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (optional)

2 cups corn kernels (from about 2 ears), or frozen and thawed
12 (7 by 3-inch) no-boil lasagna sheets (I used regular lasagna sheets about 10)
2 cups shredded Oaxaca cheese, or mozzarella (I ended up using 4 cups cheese)

First pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Next, take out a heavy saucepan and melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat. Add 2/3 the garlic and cook until fragrant. I also added the chopped jalapeno at this point. Mix in the corn and sautee for a couple minutes. Add in the heavy cream and the coriander (or thyme). Season with salt and pepper. I also added about a teaspoon of red hot pepper flakes. Pour the mixture into a blender or use an immersion blender to puree the mixture until smooth. Set aside. 

In the same heavy saucepan, add the remaining butter and melt over medium heat. Add the onions and sautee until translucent. Add the remaining garlic and cook until fragrant. Then, add the squash, poblano peppers and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes. Add in the corn kernels and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. If you are using lasagna sheets that require boiling; go ahead and take out a heavy pot. Add the water and some salt and a little oil to help keep the sheets from sticking together. Add the lasagna sheets and boil for about 8 to 12 minutes. Drain. 

Next, take out a 9x13 baking dish and pour some of the corn sauce on the bottom. Cover with a layer of 3 lasagna sheets. Pour the vegetables on top of the lasagna sheets and the sprinkle with the cheese. Repeat layers by adding the corn sauce next then the lasagna sheets and then the veggie mixture and the cheese. Repeat 2 more times. Cover with foil and bake for about 50 minutes. Then, remove the foil and and turn the oven temperature to broil and broil for a couple minutes until the cheese turns a light golden brown color. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy.

Korean Chili Shrimp

I know, I know, I make way too many recipes with shrimp. But I can’t help it. Shrimp is just such a great alternative to the typical beef/chicken/pork dinner options and it’s healthier. And just because I’ve already posted some really good shrimp recipes that I love (like this one, or this one), doesn’t mean that I can’t find even more to love. My heart can take it. And it turns out, this one was pretty darn fantastic, definitely a keeper. I found it on Heart, Mind & Seoul (see what they did there?) and I’m not exactly sure what makes it Korean but let’s go with it. The recipe was incredibly simple, and I didn’t have to buy any of the ingredients except the shrimp, so bonus for my checkbook! I cut down on the amount of Asian chili sauce (reflected below) and it still was incredibly spicy, so if you don’t like spicy food… this isn’t the shrimp recipe for you. We served it with Soba noodles and I think they added more than regular pasta would have. They soaked up the sauce really well, plus they have a slight sweetness and a tiny hint of peanut buttery-ness that was perfect for this dish. You can also serve it with crushed peanuts on top, but we opted not to and I didn’t miss them.

24 prawns or shrimp, peeled and deveined

Salt & pepper

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon crushed garlic

1 tablespoon chili oil

2 tablespoons Asian chili sauce (original called for 3)

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoons water

Soba noodles

The Asian Chili Sauce is kind of vague since there are tons of chili sauces and some are sweet, some aren’t. We went with a chili garlic sauce like sambal oelek. Start by patting your shrimp dry and then seasoning them with salt and pepper, and tossing them in corn starch. Then mix up your sauce using the chili oil, Asian chili sauce, ketchup, sugar, and water. I accidentally threw the garlic in there too which turned out ok but you’re actually supposed to cook it. Oops. At this point you want to get your water ready for the noodles. They only take about four minutes to cook, and shrimp cooks fairly quickly as well.

In a wok, heat up some olive oil and add your garlic. Cook for just a minute or so and then add in the shrimp. Cook the shrimp for just about 3 minutes, flipping midway, and then add in your sauce. Stir it in to coat the shrimp. Cook for a few more minutes until the shrimp is cooked through and the sauce thickens. Then drain your soba noodles and toss them into the wok. Stir for one minute and then serve. We kept the tails on our shrimp and I think in the future we would take them off to make them easier to eat with the noodles. But if you are making the shrimp alone for an app, I would leave the tails on. Hope you enjoy and add this shrimp recipe to your dinner rotation, too!

Balsamic Glazed Steak Rolls

I save a lot of steak recipes. Mostly because steak just looks so darn good. So I have a bookmark folder full of recipes like “steak with burgundy mushrooms,” “steak with chimichurri,” “sugar steak,” “garlic steak” or “steak with stout pan sauce.” YUM. But here’s the rub. I never make any of those recipes. Why? Because the Hubs has a secret weapon for awesome steak. It’s some sort of magical steak seasoning that he gets in Wisconsin at a local shop, and it turns a ribeye into something worthy of worship. I LOVE this seasoning. It may have been a big factor in my decision to marry the Hubs. Just saying. Anyway, I digress. All this to say, I don’t often make steak recipes, but I’m really glad I tried this one that I found on Picture the Recipe. It was truly excellent and a nice way to get your meat and veggies all rolled up into one. Plus, balsamic glaze. I mean, you can’t go wrong. I think this could make a great appetizer, but we ate it as our main course and that works too! 

Ingredients

1 1/2 – 2 lb skirt steak/ 8-10 thin sliced sirloin

Salt & Pepper

3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Steak seasoning (Whichever kind you like)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 carrot

1 bell pepper (I prefer yellow or orange)

½ a zucchini

5 green onions

2 cloves of garlic

1 tsp italian herb seasoning

2 tsp butter

2 tbsp finely chopped shallots

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp brown sugar

¼ cup beef broth

Ok, full disclosure here… I totally cheated this recipe and went super lazy by buying a bag of broccoli slaw instead of slicing all those veggies. Don’t judge me. But I will probably try the non-lazy route next time just to see if it’s worth the trouble. We also used sliced tri-tip because we couldn’t find skirt steak or a sirloin thick enough. Use whatever you can get.

Start by marinating your steak for at least a half hour or up to a couple hours. Simply slice it fairly thinly, season with salt and pepper, and pour the Worcestershire over the slices. I’m guessing we used more than just 3 tablespoons because we didn’t measure. So you can totally eyeball it. While the steak is marinating you should prep your veggies (even if that’s just opening a bag) and start on the sauce.

Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat and then sauté your shallots for just a few minutes. Then add in the balsamic, beef broth, and brown sugar and bring to a boil. Boil it until the sauce is reduced by half and turns into a sort of syrup. This only took about 5-7 minutes for us. Pour the sauce in a bowl and set aside.

Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to the same pan and add the crushed garlic cloves. You cook for a few minutes to get the garlic flavor in the oil, then add your veggies (except the green onion). Salt them and also add in the Italian seasoning. You only want to sauté them for a few minutes so they still retain their crunch.

Now it’s assembly time! Lay out the strip of steak and place the veggies on it (including the green onion). Then roll the steak over the veggies tightly and secure it with a toothpick. In your skillet, coat the bottom lightly with oil over medium high heat and add the rolls with the seam down. Don’t move them for a couple minutes to get that nice brown crust. Repeat this on all sides of the steak if you can. Ours was so thin that we could only do two sides or else we would have overcooked it. Here’s where you add some of your steak seasoning. To serve, remove the toothpick (it should stay together pretty well) and drizzle some of the balsamic sauce over the top. It’ll be a great addition to your steak recipe repertoire!