Paleo Steak Roll Ups

mr d and i went to the crossfit regionals competition this weekend.  it was all you would expect it to be.  here is the one blurry picture i took while we there.  this is the crew setting up for the second team WOD (workout of the day).  it consisted of 21 deadlifts, followed by 21 box jumps, then repeated by 15 reps of each, then 9.  one team set a world record.  i guess it was a pretty big deal.

 

because this is a blog about food, you must be wondering why i'm mentioning the cxfit games.  well, it just so happens that i had lunch there on saturday.  at a food truck called "the paleo wagon."   now, this food truck had two lines, each line had about 20 people in it, at all times.  it was ridiculous.  the other food vendor there sold soft pretzels, soda, and pizza.  i think they had 5 customers, all weekend.  as you can probably gather from their name, the paleo wagon was selling meals that complied with the paleo diet.  if you aren't familiar with the paleo diet, google it, my friends.  but the short version is this:  eat like a caveman, i.e., meat and vegetables with limited fruits, no grains, no dairy, and obviously, no processed foods.  i wish i had a taken a picture of our lunches.  i got the scaled plate, meaning one meat, and mr d got the prescribed plate, meaning two meats.  our plates consisted of a hearty scoop of carne asada, 1/2 an avacado, 1/2 of a cucumber, 2 sweet peppers and a strawberry.  and mr d's second meat was a chicken sausage link.  mr d was really excited about his paleo lunch, and long story short, it inspired me to make a paleo approved dinner.  enter the steak roll up. 

 

the recipe came from here, which includes a balsamic glaze to serve over the steak.  the glaze looks and sounds delicious, but i was hungry by the time i'd gotten the steak in the pan and decided to forego the sauce and eat the roll ups as is.  they were really good.  i would definitely make them again, either with steak or with chicken.  and i'll have to try the sauce out.

 

 

Steak Roll Ups

1 1/2-2 lb sirloin or flank steak

salt and pepper

worcestershire sauce

olive oil

1 glove garlic, minced

2 carrots, matchsticked

1 red bell pepper, matchsticked

4 green onions, sliced

4 asparagus spears, matchsticked

 

Prepare the steak by slicing into thin strips. (i butterflied mine, then cut into 8 strips.)  Season steak with salt, pepper, and worcestershire and let marinate for 30 mins.  While the steak is marinating, heat olive oil in a medium pan and cook the garlic for 1 min.  Add the remaining veggies and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Set the veggies aside.  When the steak is done marinating, place a handful of veggies on each strip of steak and roll them up.  Secure with a toothpick.  Cook the steak roll ups in the same pan you cooked the veggies in until the desired doneness.  (i cooked them about 7 mins on each side.  they probably didn't need to be cooked that long, but raw meat makes me nervous.)  Serve with more veggies, or with rice if you're not into the whole paleo thing.



Sloppy Phil

what happens when a sloppy joe and a philly cheesesteak have a baby?  the sloppy phil.  what a delicious concept i came across on foodgawker, which linked me over here, to the dainty chef.  as you can see, there isn't anything dainty about this meal.  it was spilling off the bun in all its glory.  i thought these were yummy.  mr d was not that impressed.  but i think he was judging them unfairly based on my "misrepresentation."  when he asked what we were having for dinner, i said "sloppy philly cheesesteaks."  he took a couple of bites and then asked, with a puzzled look on his face, if it was ground beef.  i replied in the affirmative, to which, he disappointedly said, "but you said they were cheesesteaks."  so he was under the impression the meat was steak, rather than ground beef, so i don't think the sloppy phil got a fair shake.  hey, it's not my fault sloppy phil got his meat from his father's side.

 

Sloppy Philly Cheesesteak

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 Tbsp steak sauce

1 c beef broth

buns

provolone cheese, sliced

 

Heat oil in a medium skillet.  Add beef and cook 5-6 minutes until brown.  Add onions and peppers and cook 3-4 minutes, until veggies are tender.  Stir in steak sauce and broth.  Bring to a boil, and cook an additional 5 minutes, until sauce thickens.  Serve on a toasted bun with a slice of provolone cheese.

 



i served the sloppy phil with some roasted new potatoes and leeks.  i chopped up the potatoes and leeks and tossed with some olive oil and a dry onion soup mix.  baked in the oven for 40 mins, stirring and rotating every 10.  with the exception of the potatoes, this was a quick meal that would be perfect to repeat on a busy weeknight. 

Pizza Casserole

i kept seeing this recipe popping up all over the facebook and the pinterest for a pizza casserole that looked delicious and nutritionally wasn't that bad.  but when i'd click on the links, it would just pull up the picture and the recipe on a page, not on any particular website, if that makes sense.  so i have no idea where to attribute this most fabulous dinner to.  did you catch that?  fabulous!  it was so good!  mr d helped himself to seconds.  seriously, the flavor on this pizza casserole was so amazing.  the original recipe i saw calls for olives and mushrooms, but i don't like mushrooms, and mr d doesn't like olives.  so i decided to switch out those ingredients for the ingredients we like on our pizza:  green peppers, jalapenos, and red onion.

 

Pizza Casserole

16 oz package rotini noodles

1 lb ground italian sausage

24 oz jar spaghetti sauce

1 green pepper, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1 jalapeno, diced

16 oz container cottage cheese

1 1/2 c mozzarella cheese, shredded

pepperoni slices

 

Preheat oven to 350.  Cook the noodles al dente according to package directions.  In a skillet, cook sausage until evenly browned, add cooked noodles and spaghetti sauce.  Put meat mixture into a 9 x 13 casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray.  In a small bowl, combine green pepper, onion, jalapeno, cottage cheese and mozzarella cheese.  Layer on top of meat mixture.  Top casserole with pepperoni slices.  Bake for 25 mins, until bubbly and lightly browned.

 

of course i used whole wheat noodles, non-fat cottage cheese and low-fat mozzarella cheese, and it was so good.  when i make it again, i'd like to try making it even more healthy by using chicken sausage or maybe just ground turkey, with some additional spices to add some of the flavor i'd be missing from the spicy italian sausage.

 

Denver-ish Omelette

you know those nights when you didn't plan on making dinner and you're not really in the mood to cook, but you also want to make a better choice than eating out?  on nights like that, our go to meal is a denver-ish omelette.  denver-ish, because i'm not really sure what the ingredients have to be for an omelette to be considered denver, and because this is generally cooked as an uplanned meal, i just use what we have on hand.  sometimes we have green pepper.  sometimes we have jalapeno.  sometimes we have ham.  sometimes we miraculously have all 3 at the same time.  and we always have cheese and onion.  and of course we always eggs.  the first time i ever made an omelette, i watched a couple of youtube videos on how to make the perfect omelette.  it's all about tipping the pan and lifting the cooked part of the egg up and letting the uncooked egg run underneath so that it can cook.  if that doens't make sense, jump on over to youtube.

 

Denver-ish Omelette

 3 egg whites

1 whole egg

splash of milk

cheese

veggies and meats of your choice, chopped

 

sautee veggies in a small skillet until tender.  (for this omelette, i used 1/2 a green pepper and 1/2 an onion).  in a small bowl, whisk together eggs and milk until frothy.  pour the egg mixture in a medium pan sprayed with cooking spray.  as the omelette cooks, push the cooked edges into the middle, and tilt the pan so the uncooked egg runs underneath.  repeat until the egg is cooked thru.  add cheese to entire omelette, then place veggies and meats on 1/2.  fold over and serve.

 

 

it never looks that appetizing, but as a quick and healthy meal, it tastes amazing!

 

Tuna Burger

While going through the pantry last week end, I found two cans of salmon,  I knew they had been kicking around for a while, but when I checked the date, and saw "best by July 2011" I thought it might be better to chuck the fish, than to risk eating it.

All is not lost because the cans of salmon inspired me to try a recipe that I found on a similar can of salmon, salmon burgers.  As the title of this post already spoiled, I made burgers with tuna.  It was really easy.  Just drained a can of tuna, mixed in mayonaise, then bread crumbs until the concoction was a good consistency to shape into a patty.  Fry it, serve it on a bun, SUCCESS!

Give it a try, loyal bloggists.  And check in tomorrow for Rula's, Part II.

Meatballs

I have been, most recently, making one of my old standbys; meatballs.  Take a:
                pound of lean ground beef
                1 large egg
                1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
                3 Tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
                1/4 teaspoon salt
                1/4 teaspoon black pepper

In a medium bowl mix the beef, egg, crumbs, cheese, salt and pepper and then form into 16 meatballs.
Cook in a skillet.  When they are done, add in a can of tomatoes, some garlic, what ever sounds good.
Serve with egg noodles.

Quick and easy and best of all, delicious.

A Product We Love

after a workout, or for a quick lunch when the work day doesn't really offer any time for lunch, premier chocolate protein shakes are a product we love.  they come packed full of 30 grams of protein, which is just what your body needs after a workout (remember, 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes for optimal recovery) and they taste good!  i've tried other premade protein shakes, as well as many different powdered proteins added to milk, and these are definitely at the top of the list for flavor.  they don't have a chemical aftertaste that some of the others have.  i started following Happy Being Healthy, and she thinks premier products are great too.  in fact, she's going to be giving some away, keep reading...

here is a snapshot of some of their other products.  i look forward to trying the vanilla shakes.  i'm not huge into protein bars, but the reviews on these are pretty good.  and again, 30 grams of protein per bar would make them filling and a great on-the-go meal.  if you'd like to win everything in the picture above (2 chocolate shakes, 2 vanilla shakes, and 6 protein bars), check out Happy Being Healthy's wesite here and enter the giveaway!