Bruschetta Steak Salad

Bruschetta Steak Salad

This recipe really needs no specific “amount” of anything. Its the ingredients that make it what it is so don't be particular about the measurements, just gather your ingredients, throw it together and enjoy!

Ingredients:

-1 bunch lettuce (any kind of lettuce works or mix and match, I prefer red leaf and butter lettuce for this recipe)

-2 to 3 oz. Goat cheese

For croutons

-1 small or ½ large baguette french bread cut into desired size pieces

-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

-olive oil and salt and pepper to coat

For steak (or any meat you see fitting for this recipe)

-one 1-2 lb steak (london broil or flank)

-1 tbsp steak seasoning (mccormick spicey montreal steak season)

-1 garlic clove minced

-2 tbsp red wine vinegar

-2 tbsp olive oil

-1-2 tsp kosher salt

-1/2 tsp crushed black pepper

-1 tbsp dried or fresh parsley (optional)

For Tomato mix

-4-6 tomatoes (sweetest, reddest, ripest you can find. Vine ripe or roma work great) seeded (optional) and chopped

-1/4 red onion (or ¼ cup) thinly sliced and chopped OR two shallots thinly sliced and chopped

-1 clove garlic minced (tip: roasted garlic is fantastic with this but raw is wonderful)

-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (or ½ cup reduced to honey consistency)

-1/4 cup olive oil

-1-2 tsp kosher salt

-1/2-1 tsp crushed black pepper

-1 tbsp honey

-1 tbsp dried or fresh basil

Directions:

For meat

Combine garlic, seasoning, red wine vinegar, oil, salt and pep, parsley and pour over meat. Let marinade for at least 15 minutes.

For tomato mix

Combine all ingredients and toss together

For croutons

Turn broiler on high. Cut bread into pieces, toss with olive oil (generously), salt and pepper and spread out on sheet pan. Sprinkle cayenne evenly over bread. Set under broiler and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Remove from oven, toss and set back under broiler for 1 to 2 more minutes. Remove and let cool.

For broiling meat (grilling works just as well)

Place meat on broiler pan and pour excess marinade onto meat. (tip: placing tin foil underneath the slotted layer to catch all drippings dramatically helps with clean up) Place under broiler for 7 to 10 minutes and flip meat. Cook for another 6 to 8 minutes or until desired doneness. Place on cutting board and let rest for few minutes before slicing against the grain.

NOW FOR THE FUN PART! PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

Layer the food onto your plate. Start with laying out the lettuce, place tomato mix on top (this is your dressing) then meat, croutons, and don't forget the goat cheese! EAT!

PANTRY ITEMS

Well not all pantry items but these two new meals were made during what I thought was a sparsely-filled cabinet time. Herb-marinated chicken, grilled veggies, and brown rice. Frozen chicken and herbs can go pretty far. I will post an actual recipe soon but wanted to get these pictures posted.
WHOLE GRAIN WAFFLES! Again, recipes will be posted soon. Somehow we've all been conned into thinking waffles/pancakes are a breakfast item, well with this recipe its actually more than cake and syrup. So if you're gonna poor butter and syrup on something consumed in the AM, start out with something with substance. Buckwheat, oatmeal, whole wheat flour, cornmeal, eggwhites, lowfat milk, and reconstituted dried blueberries, these have got it all. Much heartier than eggos!

Not the greatest picture quality I agree but its a great dish. Its a cell phone picture. Simple, easy, healthy. Whole grain cous cous, if you haven't made it, try it! Its so easy and fun. Simply baked salmon. I sprinkled it with some lemon zest, minced garlic, salt and lots of pepper. Made a simple vinaigrette of red wine vinegar, salt pep, and olive oil tossed with the lettuce I had and quick grilled some zuccini. Such a quick easy meal.

RANDOM RANDOM RANDOM. I'm so behind on food blogging but I try to take random pics of my quick and easy food. FRENCH TOAST: this is a blueberry puree with a bit of syrup and smidge of lemon zest added. Much healthier than butter and straight syrup, lets me honest, thats just eating cake for breakfast. (not that i haven't done that) SALMON SALAD: this is so simple it took two seconds, mainly leftovers and I was starving. Never underestimate the power of transformation in leftovers. I had an awesome sweet balsamic dressing for a salad from the day before and I used that to marinate the salmon for a bit and just sauteed it. Grilled some onions the day before with some roasted garlic (cut garlic head in tin foil with a bit of oil and salt, right on the grill til tender... magnificent!) and through those in there with some goat cheese. Spinach with a simple vinaigrette. I'm surprised I even stopped to take a picture I was so hungry but even then its good to make personal meals a little special. SIMPLE BAKED SALMON WITH PINEAPPLE JALAPENO SALSA (a la carte): I was trying something new and it was worth it... grilled pineapple, red pepper, red onion (grilled or raw would work), roasted jalapeno, cilantro, I had some kiwi so i threw some in, then I tossed it all together with a bit of honey, olive oil, lime juice, paprika, cumin, cayenne, and of course salt and pep. SO GOOD. Just quickly baked the salmon. (350 oven, 10-14 minutes) CHICKEN SALAD: too simple to explain but it was marvelous. CHICKEN PASTA WITH VEGGIES: also couldn't be simpler, you can do tons of variations of this and I do all the time cause its healthy and yummy. Whole grain pasta, grilled chicken, sauteed veggies, tossed in my balsamic vinaigrette. I use honey for sweet dressings so its tasty but natural. BISCUIT SOMETHING: So first day of baking class we made biscuits and I had a bunch. Well I'm obviously obsessed with balsamic vinegar and I love goat cheese. Sounds strange but I had some fruit and put it all together. I reduced the balsamic, mixed it with some honey and oil and it was a tart drizzly glaze for the fruit and it goes so well with the goat cheese. It was kinda like a fruit tart. I would so make it again if I was a biscuit lover.

Plan ahead... make soup!

A couple Sunday nights a month I make a few batches of healthy food for the week. This is my new awesome vegetarian kale and bean soup. I know that sounds like too much healthy but add a bit of cheese and it tastes like an enchilada. Saute a few veggies (red onions, carrots) in oil and then add some seasoning ( cumin, cayenne, white pepper, salt, bay leaf) and cook til you can really smell it. Then I add the stock or water and flavor it with some salt and add all the rest of the canned stuff. I used corn, kidney beans, and diced tomatoes (obviously if you can make any of this fresh, thats much better). Oh and don't forget a small can of spicey v8. Or just use tomato juice. (i once bought a 6 pack of spicey v8 and couldn't find any other use for them) Then once its all boiling I add zucchini and lots and lots of chopped up kale. Mmm so hearty! Let it boil a bit and its done. Soup is a great leftover, it keeps well and when you're crunched for time you have something healthy right there ready for you. These other prep-ahead meals are just my classic veggie and chicken stir fry, and something new I learned in school that is surprisingly good and simple as can be, gazpacho!

No time to describe but these are all thrown together in 15 minutes or less. Pitas and hummus, pitas and pesto, chicken, broiled bread and veggies and cheese. Its all there and its all yummy!

EASY AND LIGHT SNACKS

--HERB GRILLED CHIICKEN AND STUFF... I'm in the early weeks of culinary school and one night we recieved like 15 different fresh herbs to take home and smell and try and use. If you haven't done this, try it. I had so many I wanted to use them so I simply chopped up a bunch that smelled like they would work together and added some garlic, salt n pep and lots of olive oil with a bit of lemon zest and juice for acidity. This made one of the best marinades. Anyway grilled chicken is a great leftover and I love hummus and pita (set under broiler to crisp) and I had some tomato so this made a great quick afternoon meal. Nothing to it, just thought I'd share. This little cup of joy is also a quick go-to snack/breakfast/dessert. Seriously nothing new but if you haven't tried frozed blueberries with yogurt and granola you're missing out. I think fresh blueberries are kinda rubbery and hard to come by and expensive, so this obvioulsy helps with all that. I like to use vanilla lowfat yogurt and adding a bit of lemon zest wouldn't hurt either. Its quick and tasty and also satisfies a sweet tooth.