Quick & Light Steak Dinner

It was late in the day and I had just left the dentist, after receiving the wonderful news that  I needed a filling repaired and a wisdom tooth extracted.  YEAH!  I zoomed across town and made my way to the grocery store to grab something to make for dinner.  As to what I was making, I had not clue.  I knew I didn’t have time for roasting, pureeing or peeling.  It needed to be simple stupid and satisfying.

That is when I thought of a steak dinner.   First of all I can’t go wrong feeding the husband a steak dinner.  Also, I hadn’t had a steak dinner in a long time and it sounded good to me.  A piece of well-seasoned beef, smothered with mushrooms and a side of creamed spinach.  Mmmmm..sign me up.    To save myself some time I grab a tub of mash potatoes and I am ok with that.

I ran into the store, grabbed a shopping cart and dash down the aisles.  In my hurried furry I may have run over a small child or a ham but I can’t be sure.  I had not time to look back and check.  I needed to pick up my items and get them home to get dinner started. Once I had all my items I rounded the corner, knocked over an old lady and cut off a mother with her three kids to get to the self-checkout line.  From there is was a hop, skip and a step out the front door and to my car.

Okay, okay….I didn’t run over a small child, knock over an old lady or cut off a frazzled mother trying to get to the checkout line.  Or did I?  No really I didn’t.

But just as quickly as I ran though the grocery store collecting my needed items you can toss together this delicious meal.

I started with some creamed spinach on the lighter side.

Remove large stems from spinach, and rinse with cold water; drain and set aside

Thinly slice the base of a leek.  You need 1 cup.

In a small bowl wisk together 1/2 cup of fat free half & half with 2 tsp of flour, set aside.

In a large skillet melt 1 tbs of light butter over medium heat.

Add the leeks and cook for about 5 minutes, until soft and tender.

Add the spinach to the pan.  Spinach will need to be tightly packed into the pan to cook all of it in one batch. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until spinach wilts; stir spinach after 2 minutes.

Add flour mixture to pot and stirring well. Cook 30 seconds.

Add fat-free cream cheese, stirring to melt, cook 1 minute or until thick and creamy

Season to taste with some salt, pepper and a dash of garlic powder.

There you have delicious creamed spinach on the lighter side and I promise you can’t even tell the difference.

Cover and set the creamed spinach on low heat until ready to serve.

Season your steak with your choice of steak seasoning or just some salt and pepper.  I like to use Adobo seasoning or Emeril Lagasse’s Essence.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium.

Add steaks to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until desired doneness. Remove from pan; tent with foil and keep warm.

In a small bowl combine wine, 1/2 cup water, flour and a dash of salt and pepper; stir well with a whisk.

Add mushrooms to the same pan adding more olive oil if necessary; cook 5 minutes or until tender and beginning to brown, stirring frequently.

Add wine mixture to pan and bring to a boil.

Cook 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Top each with 1 steak and about 1/4 cup mushroom sauce and serve with creamed spinach and mash potatoes.

There you have a easy and delicious meal that you can toss together any night of the week.

Also if you have any left over creamed spinach add some artichokes and parm cheese you have a quick spinach artichoke dip.

Who’s having a steak dinner tonight?

Print Recipe

Creamed Spinach

• 2 (10-ounce) bags fresh spinach
• 1 tbs of light butter
• 1 cup thinly sliced leeks
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup fat-free milk
• 1/2 cup tub-style light cream cheese, softened

Remove large stems from spinach, and rinse with cold water; drain and set aside. Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, and add leeks.  Cook for about 5 minutes until soft and tender.

In a small bowl whisk together, milk, flour, salt and nutmeg, set aside.

Add the spinach to the dutch oven.  (Spinach will need to be tightly packed into the pan to cook all of it in one batch). Cover and cook 5 minutes or until spinach wilts; stir spinach well after 2 minutes.  Add flour mixture to pot and stirring well. Cook 30 seconds. Add cheese, stirring with to melt, cook 1 minute or until thick and creamy.

Sirlon Steak with Mushroom Sauce (C0oking Light Sept 08)

I had thin sirloin steaks at the time I prepared this dish. Really you can us any steak cut that you prefer and cook it to your desired doneness. My preference is medium rare.  (Med Rare 135°F, Med 145°F, Med Well 155°F & Well 165°F)  Also if you don’t like steak u can easily sub it with chicken.

• 4 (4-ounce) boneless sirloin steaks, trimmed (about 1 inch thick or thinner)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 ounces baby portabello mushrooms
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

Sprinkle steaks evenly with your choice of steak seasoning. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add steaks to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from pan; tent with foil and keep warm.

In a small bowl combine wine, 1/2 cup water, flour and a dash of salt and pepper; stir well with a whisk.  Add mushrooms to the same pan adding more olive oil if necessary; cook 5 minutes or until tender and beginning to brown, stirring frequently.  Add wine mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until thick; stir constantly. Remove from heat.  Top each with 1 steak and about 1/4 cup mushroom sauce.