Beef, it’s what’s for dinner!  I pulled out a 1 pound sirloin steak that I got off the meat bin for . . . $1.70.  I know!  I told my Mom when she comes over for Christmas that she can shop out of my freezer – you know, because I am generous like that, and also, that will give me an excuse to buy more meat.

This was a super quick weeknight dinner.  Lately when I get home Hannah and Jacob are busy in the kitchen, and last night that worked out perfect because beef has to be at room temperature before cooking.  I defrosted the beef in my fridge overnight, then it sat out for about 45 minutes before I started cooking.

I’m not minding this arrangement because you know what?  Eating that late, I have no temptation to raid the pantry!

Here are some beef tips from me to you:

  1.  Room Temperature Beef.  For steaks I usually allow 30 minutes, for roasts, its usually an hour.
  2. Salt your beef within 2 minutes of cooking, or after 40 minutes.  After two minutes, the salt starts absorbing into the meat, pulling out the juices. If you try to cook beef after the first two minutes, you’ll end up steam cooking your beef instead of getting that nice crust.  For most crock pot recipes, I season with salt at the very end.
  3. Cook your beef on the rare side the first time out, especially if you are going to be using leftovers for other dishes.
  4. Let your meat rest – for a steak this thick, it only rested 10 minutes before cutting – for roasts I allow at least 30 minutes.

I took this photo to show how smokey my kitchen gets – not realizing it probably should have been cleaned before I started cooking – but you know what?  That’s real life.  I love this cast iron handle thingy – not sure what to call it, but I normally use it on my grill.  It was perfect to weigh down the beef to get a nice crispy crust in my cast iron skillet.

I’ll put the pan sauce in the printable recipe below – so quick and easy!  The bottom is just 1/2 cup of prepared mashed potatoes, I just spread them out to make it look like a lot – dinner came in at 8 points.

[sp_recipe]

I could probably eat the breakfast below every day and not get sick of it.  My cinnamon rolls I posted yesterday?  Tasted just like a packaged honey bun after I microwaved it for 20 seconds.  On the side was a shower omelette, and the juiciest pear.  4 points for breakfast.

My sister and I met at the Christmas Market at the plaza next to my office.  It was 45 degrees!  

My Mom collects angels, but I think she said that she has plenty, although I was tempted to buy her one of these – Mom, it’s not too late – let me know!

We both didn’t have a taste for the food we brought, so we made our way to Corner Bakery for their pick two.  We both scanned our apps – Jenn actually had a taste for mac n cheese – but guess how many points that is?? 37!!  We each got the Asian Chicken Wonton Salad and a cup of the tomato soup.  I loved the soup – didn’t mind the chunks at all, but it was a tad on the sweet side, so I doctored it up with hot sauce – Jenn hated the soup, but loved the salad.  10 points for both!

But it took me a while to eat it, and when that happens, the insulin works faster than the food that’s meeting the insulin, so my blood sugar was dropping like a stone – it was 57 and falling.  I grabbed an orange juice and drank that.  After I was feeling better, I scanned the container to track it – 9 fucking points!  But it’s only 160 calories, so I am not going to count it.  Well, maybe I’ll track it as 3 points.  But I’m alive, so I guess that’s all that matters!

If you ever come to Chicago, you should check out the Odyssey – it’s a glass boat that provides dinner cruises up and down the Chicago River and Lake Michigan – as I was walking to the train one was on the river as I was passing by.

We are in the home stretch – two more work days until Christmas!  And I’ve only bought two gifts so far.  It’s all good – it will get done one way or another.

Happy Thursday friends – make it a great day!