Mushroom Steak Sauce

Somehow (maybe because I watch a lot of Food Network?!) Jacob asked me the other day who my favorite chef is on the network.  I’d have to say food wise, it would be Bobby Flay.  A:  Because I love spicy stuff!  B.  I love meat and he’s a grill master and C. I like his throw down show where he cooks with regular home cooks.

The last time Hannah and I went to Goodwill, I picked up his cookbook Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill Cookbook for $1.25.  And as much as I don’t read fiction books all that often, I do read a cookbook like a book!  Jacob and I have brought back Meat Monday, even though Hannah is home on Monday nights.  Which is one less night for me to meal plan – now I have Meat Monday, Leftover Thursday and Party Pizza Friday – makes it so much easier to plan!

He makes a steak sauce at his restaurant, and while he says there are purists out there who think a good steak only needs a dusting of salt and pepper, he feels that a great steak sauce can elevate any cut to perfection.  And while I will make his steak sauce one day for myself, I realized after looking at the ingredient list that Jacob may not like a couple of the ingredients – namely the horseradish, honey and maple syrup.   But I did like the idea of having Dijon mustard and ancho chile powder, so below is my cheaters weeknight version of a steak sauce.

Now I had an old cast iron skillet that covered two burners and was flat on one side to make pancakes or grates on the other side to grill.  The only problem was that it would smoke out the house whenever I used it, and it weighed a lot and was kind of hard to clean.  I had some money left on a gift card from Christmas and with my 20% Bed Bath and Beyond coupon, I only paid $10 for this one.   It’s cast iron aluminum and I was hoping that it wouldn’t smoke up the house.  Um, guess again!

That was just after the first flip!  Jacob and I are both so ready for grilling season, although tomorrow starting at 9:00 a.m. there is a winter storm warning and we could get from 1 – 7 inches depending on where you live in the Chicago area.  But with temps back in the 50s by the weekend, it won’t last long.  But I am really ready for spring!  Also note that not all beef are the same points.  Typically lean beef is 1 point per ounce, but since this is a T-bone, and thus more fatty (that’s where all the flavor is!) my 4 ounce portion was 8 points, and my dinner with the potato and sauce was 15 points, but so totally worth it.  It worked within my points, although I think I may start eating bigger meals for breakfast and lunch and a lighter dinner.  We’ll see how that plays out once I am not working.

So what are some other things I’ve been eating this week?

1. Tostadas from Sunday night turned into breakfast tostadas on Monday.  Two corn tostadas (2) topped with two ounces of beef (2) an ounce of light Cabot cheese (2) and half a cup scrambled egg white (1) for 7 smart points.

2.  Cranberry apple parfait.  The picture was taken on my desk.  My THIRD TO LAST BREAKFAST at that desk – whoop!  I made a cranberry apple sauce before work – 1/2 cup frozen cranberries cooked down with 1 chopped Fuji apple, 2 tablespoons of water, 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon cornstarch (1 point) mixed with plain Chobani (2) and 1/3 cup Kashi cranberry granola (4) for a 7 smart point breakfast.

3.  Saturday night’s dinner of teriyaki beef and vegetables, turned into that beef and veggie stir fry, and that still didn’t use all of my leftovers!   I mixed 1 tablespoon of stir fry sauce with 1 teaspoon of sriracha (1) and had 4 ounces of beef (4) with two cups of veggies, which I am calling 1 point because even though they were “steamed” veggies, I think there might have been a touch of oil, still not bad for that giant bowl of food for 6 smart points!  It actually should have been a 10 point lunch, but I forgot my rice at home.

4.  Lasagna soup is back!!  I figured out the points and my 1.5 cup serving is 6 smart points, I do leave out the cheesy goodness in the original recipe, and I added 1/2 ounce of light Cabot cheese to the top of mine.  I also measured out 1/2 cup cooked pasta for my bowl.  Still so good – I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of that soup.

Last night the other two secretaries took me out for happy hour.  Wok n Fire near our office has 1/2 price apps from 5-7 – nice!  When the server came to the table and asked what I wanted to drink, I almost instinctively said “I’ll have a glass of Pinot Grigio”, but my mouth actually said “I’ll have unsweetened iced tea with lemon!”  We split three appetizers, and as I had 16 points going into dinner, I am calling it a wash.  Nothing was remotely close on the WW app to enter anyway, so I am not too worried about it.  Thanks ladies!!

Since it was only 7 when we went our separate ways, I decided to hit up the gym on my way home.  I did 10 minutes of upper body, then a 2 mile job and then 25 flights on the stair master before my blood sugar started to drop.  When I got home it was 71 – not too bad!  I ate a banana and it was all good.

So now only TWO days left of work!  I did my last Sam’s Club run for the office yesterday and I’ll just say it out loud, I won’t miss that task at all.   I was asked to “stock up” so that it will be a while before anyone else has to do another run, and it’s up for debate who will get the task because basically no one wants it.

I have Cooking Club tomorrow night at Courtney’s house and I am the head chef!   I decided to show everyone how to make Chicago deep dish pizza at home, except I am making my dough gluten free because one of our members has a gluten allergy.  I’ll post the recap with pics on Friday.  I’ve had several people tell me that they were so happy to make a gluten free pizza at home that didn’t taste like cardboard – and I’ll have to say that I really love how this pizza crust tastes – and I don’t even think I could tell it was gluten free if I didn’t make it myself.  The secret is using Bob’s Red mill Gluten 1 to 1 Baking Flour and like my deep dish pizza dough, I add a bit of butter.  Um, pretty sure butter makes everything better.  Like bacon!

Next time you read this blog I’ll be self-employed!  That’s what I am calling my work hiatus, because I do make $50 a month on this blog, and that is income, right?!

Make it a great day!