Fajitas

One of my husband's favorite meals is tacos so most Tuesday we do something with them or at least something Mexican. I had flank steak left over in the freezer from making beef and broccoli so I decided on fajitas. And like beef and broccoli it cooks fast because everything in thinly sliced and cooked over high heat.

Ingredients

• 12 oz flank steak (you can use chicken or whatever meat you prefer)
• 1 tbls purchased or homemade Fajitas seasoning (given below)
• 4-6 tortillas
• 2 tbls cooking oil
• 1 cup thinly sliced red or green peppers
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
• 3/4 cup chopped tomato
• 1 tbls lime juice

1. Slice steak across the grain into bite-size strips. Place meat strips in a deep bowl and sprinkle with 2 tsp of the fajita seasoning. Cover and chill 30 minutes (I did much longer as I prepared this during my daughter's afternoon nap)

2. Heat 1 tbls of oil over medium-high heat. Add sweet peppers, onion and remaining seasoning. Cook and stir about 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove onion mixture from skillet.

3. Add the other 1 tbls of oil and the meat to the skillet. Cook and stir about 2-3 minutes until desired doneness for steak is reached. Drain Well. Return onion mixture to skillet. Stir in tomatoes. Cook until heated thought. Remove from skillet; stir in lime juice

4. To serve, fill warmed tortilla with meat mixture. Top meat with anything you want. We did some sour cream and guacamole.

Homemade Fajita Seasoning 

Two things are great about this. One - all of it is used in this one recipe. Two - if you don't have one of the spices just leave it out. I did and I didn't know the difference.

• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp red pepper
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp onion powder

Beef and Broccoli

I saw this recipe in Cooking Light and knew it'd be one for our family to try. It seems like there are a lot of steps but when one step is "cook for 30 seconds" it goes quickly. Also this is not a recipe to be holding a baby on your hip or even around the stove as it sizzles and pops juices at you.

Stir-Fried Beef with Broccoli & Bell Peppers
- 1 pound flank steak, trimmed
- 2 tbls soy sauce
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 3 1/2 tbls water, divided
- 2 tbls oyster sauce
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1/4 pound broccoli (I used more)
- 2 tbls canola oil, divided
- 1 large red bell pepper, halved, seeded, andcut into 1-inch pieces

Directions

1. Cut steak in half lengthwise. Cut each half across the grain into 1/8-inch thick slices. Combine beef, soy sauce, garlic, and black pepper; toss well. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes
2. Combine 1 1/2 tbls water, oyster sauce, and crushed red pepper in small bowl; set aside.
3. Cut broccoli into florets. Peel broccoli stems; cut stems diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
4. Heat 1 tbls oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef mixture to skillet; cook 3 minutes or until beef is browned, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Transfer beef mixture to a bowl.
5. Heat the remaining 1 tbls of oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add broccoli; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the remaining 2 tbls of water; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add bell pepper; cook 30 second, stirring constantly. Return beef mixture to pan. Stir in oyster sauce mixture; cook until thoroughly heated. Serve over rice. 

Grilled Flank Steak with a Red Wine Sauce

Normally when we marinade/season meat for the grill, I can faintly taste it's flavor. Well, not with this recipe. I love the taste of this marinade and the herbs really (surprisingly) stuck through the grilling process. And the sauce is amazing! It compliments the steak perfectly. It's pretty simple as well - we only had to buy 2 of the ingredients and the meat!

One of the great things about this recipe is you could buy a large about of flank steak or a little. It works great for any family.

Source: cooks.com

Ingredients
Flank steak
Soy sauce
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme

SAUCE:
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 1/4 cup red wine
1 stick butter
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Directions
1. Brush flank steak with soy sauce and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper to taste, and the thyme. Let stand for 1 hour.
2. Brush again with soy sauce; grill for 3 - 4 minutes per side. Carve thin slices on the diagonal.

Sauce: Combine green onions and wine. Bring just to a boiling. Add butter; stir until melted. Add parsley. Spoon sauce over steak slices.

Chicken Fried Steak

I was given a Fannie Farmer Cookbook for Christmas of 1990 from my Grandma Kress. It has seen it's time and was a wonderful help for me learning to cook when I was first married. It started to show its age a few years ago, so I put it in "storage". A few weeks back, while at Goodwill, I found a copy like mine and picked it up, so now I am back to using my favorite cookbook. Here is a recipe I found and used last night:

Chicken Fried Steak

1 lbs top round steak (I used cubbed steak)

1 C plus 3 T flour

Salt and freshly ground pepper

3 T vegetable shortening

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1- C milk

Cut the steak into 4 to 6 serving pieces. Pound 1/4 C flour into the steaks using a meat pounder or the rim of a sturdy plate. Pound in as much flour as you can until the steaks are saturated and quite thin. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Heat the shortening in a large skillet over high heat. Cook the steaks very quickly, about 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove to a platter and keep warm.

Remove all but 2 T of fat. Add the onion and saute, over medium heat, for about 2 minutes, or until soft. Stir the remaining flour into the onion, continuing to stir, and let it cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Slowly add the milk, constantly stirring, and cook until the gravy is thickened. Serve with mashed potatoes.

This recipe served our little family of 4.