Feta Stuffed Steaks

It had been too long since the last time I remember having asparagus, so I was on a mission to create a recipe that included asparagus in the dish.

Looking through my refrigerator I was a little sad since it is close to food shopping day so I didn't have too much to work with. What I did have were 4 mighty tasty looking steaks and some leftover feta cheese from another dish. I didn't want to just cook and serve everything separately  so I decided to try to make a 'stuffed' steak. The best I could do with my steaks were roll them, so that was just what I did. If you love feta cheese, make sure to have extra on hand in order to top the dish off for extra flavor, and serve these either by themselves or with mashed potatoes like we did! Enjoy!

• 4 3 oz Steaks (I used Beef Chuck Arm Steak)
• 2 tsp Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Montreal Steak Seasoning
• 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
• 16 Asparagus Spears
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Pepper
• 4 Tbsp Feta Cheese
• 8 Toothpicks

Step 1: In a container, combine 1 tsp Olive Oil, 1 Tbsp Worcestershire, 1 Tbsp Montreal Seasoning (if you don't have this, a blend of black pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne will suffice  just make the combo equal 1 Tbsp), and 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce to create your marinade. Place the steaks in this marinade for at least 1 hour (the longer the better).

Step 2: When you are almost ready to cook your meat, combine the 2 Tbsp Balsamic, 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice, and 1 tsp Olive Oil and coat the asparagus with them. Place the asparagus and liquid mixture in a sauce pan and cook on medium heat until the asparagus are soft (the softness is all preference, so cook them as long as you'd like until you are happy with them. Once finished, toss the 1/2 tsp Lemon Pepper on top of the asparagus and set aside. 

Step 3: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Take out another sauce pan and lightly grease it. Turn it to medium-high heat and once it has warmed up, start cooking your steaks. Cook them for 2 minutes on each side to give them a nice brown color. Don't forget to toss in the marinade as well so that the steaks can cook in it.

Step 4: Once you have cooked the steaks, take out a cookie sheet and place some aluminium foil on top. Place each of the steaks on the cookie sheet and lay out 4 asparagus on each steak. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp Feta Cheese on top of each steak, and then carefully roll the steak around the cheese and asparagus. Use 2 toothpicks in each steak to keep it together. Place the steaks in the oven and cook for about 5 minutes. Then take them out of the oven and let set for 1 minute. Sprinkle with extra feta cheese if you'd like. Enjoy!


Yield: Serves 2-4.

Swiss Mushroom Twice Baked Steak Potatoes

The amazing Twice Baked potato; combining delicious mashed potatoes with the delicious skin of a baked potato! Amazing!

Although in all honesty, I've never really been good at making these as i always end up puncturing the skin and then just scrapping the whole idea to make potato skins and mashed potatoes. Not this time! I made sure to scoop out the insides very carefully as to not ruin them, and it worked!

But these aren't just any twice baked potatoes! Oh no! These potatoes are stuffed with swiss cheese, sauteed onions and mushrooms, mashed potatoes with gravy, and marinated steak. The perfect meal for any carnivore ! (and omnivore for that fact!)! Enjoy!

• 2 Potatoes
• 7 oz. Thin Cut Chuck Steak
• 1/3 cup Red Wine (I used a Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 3 Tbsp and 1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tsp Liquid Smoke
• 1/2 cup Onion (sliced thin or diced)
• 6 Mushrooms (sliced)
• 1/2 cup Beef Broth
• 1 Tbsp Flour
• 1 Tbsp and 1 tsp Butter
• 2 Tbsp Milk
• 1 Tbsp Sour Cream
• 3 slices Swiss Cheese

Step 1: First you will want to marinate your steaks. Combine the red wine, 2 Tbsp of the Worcestershire Sauce, and the liquid smoke in a container and place the meat in it. Let it marinate for at least 2 hours before cooking (I let mine sit over night).

Step 2: When the meat has almost finished marinating, poke a few holes with a knife into your potatoes and place them in the center of your oven. Bake them for an hour at 375 degrees Fahrenheit  When they finish, take them out of the oven and let them cool. Turn off oven.

Step 3: While the potatoes are cooling, saute your onions in 1 Tbsp of butter over medium heat. Once the onions start to turn translucent, add in the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are soft. Remove the veggies and without cleaning the pan, add the steak to the pan. Cook until the meat has finished and remove them, then turn the heat down to low.

Step 4: Add the remaining marinade to the pan and let cook with the meat juices for a minute, stirring frequently. After a minute, add in the beef broth, 1 Tbsp Worcestershire, and the flour and stir until flour has fully dissolved. Let sit at the lowest heat possible. Go back to your steaks and cut them into small strips.

Step 5: Turn the oven back on to 375 degrees Fahrenheit  Go back to your potatoes and carefully cut out an oval on one of the sides (pretend you are making a canoe out of your potato). Once you have the oval carefully and slowly scrape out the insides and place in a bowl, but be careful not to puncture a hole in the skin. After you have removed the insides for both potatoes, scooping out as much as you can, return to the bowl you placed them in and add in 1 tsp of butter, the milk, the sour cream, and 1/2 tsp Worcestershire. Mash the potato until you have a consistency you like (some people like lumpy while others like creamy; this is all your preference right now).

Step 6: Go back to your pan and stir the gravy, making sure it is fully mixed and warm. Then take 2 slice of Swiss cheese and carefully place a slice in each potato, lining the bottom and sides. After the cheese is in, add in a layer of steak, followed by a layer of mashed potatoes and gravy, and then another layer of steak. By this time your potato should be almost full, so carefully place some of the vegetables (onion and mushrooms) on the top with a little bit of gravy. Grab a baking sheet and place the potatoes carefully on it without tipping them over. Once they are on the baking sheet, take the last piece of Swiss cheese, tear it in half, and place each half on one of the potatoes. Bake in the oven for 15 more minutes. When finished, place each potato on a plate, add more gravy and vegetables to the top, and then serve with the remaining mashed potatoes, sauteed vegetables, and gravy. Enjoy!


Yield: Makes 2 servings.

Country Fried Onion and Mushroom Steak

Me: 'What do you want for dinner tonight?'
Him: 'Tacos!'
Me: 'We don't have tacos. :('
Him: 'What do we have?'
Me: 'Pork, chicken, steaks... I could do a Salisbury with the mushrooms I bought?'
Him: 'That could be cool...'
Me: 'OH I KNOW! It will be waiting for you when you get home! :D'

And that is usually how our meal planning works half of the time. Thankfully I came up with the brilliant idea (using him for inspiration because hey, I don't want to surprise anyone unless I know they are going to love my food experiment) to try to make some Country Fried Steaks with an onion and mushroom gravy; one of his all-time faves when we go out to eat. After deciding what should go in it, I just had to figure out whether or not to pan-fry them or use the deep fryer. After a few minutes of no decisions, he suggested to try both out, so we did! 

We both thought that the deep-fryer would be the winner, hands down. But to our surprise, the pan-fried steaks came out much better than the deep fried ones! Cooking in the pan allowed the breading to soak up all the delicious flavored that were being released by the pan, giving it a fuller taste than the deep fried one. Because of that I opted to only give directions for the pan-fried recipe, however if you really want to deep fry them please do so for 4 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Enjoy!

• 4 3-ounce Steaks
• 3/4 cup Breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated)
• 1 Tbsp Green Onion (was 1 stalk for me)
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 Milk
• 2 Tbsp Butter
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup Onion
• 1/4 cup Mushroom
• 1/2 cup Beef Broth
• 2 Tbsp Flour
• 1 Tbsp Cornstarch
• Salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and green onion in a container. Beat egg until fluffy and then add 1/4 cup Milk and whisk. Once combined, dip steak in egg batter and then press in the flour concoction until coated. Do this for all 4 steaks.

Step 2: In a sauce pan, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat. Once butter melts, turn heat to medium-high and place steaks in the pan. Cook for about 3-4 minutes each, or until golden brown. Be sure not to move them for at least the first two minutes to help the breaking stick to the steak or else it might fall off.

Step 3: Once steaks are down, remove them from the pan and turn the stove to medium heat. Add onions and mushrooms to the pan and cook in the pan until soft. Slowly add in the milk, broth, flour, and cornstarch to the onions and mushrooms. Make sure to stir while adding in the ingredients in order to mix them properly. 

Step 4: After gravy has been mixed, turn heat to low temperature and let sit for a minute. Stir again, and then turn off heat and let sit for another 1-2 minutes. Gravy will thicken up as it cools a bit.

Step 4: Cover steaks with gravy and enjoy!

Yield: 4 servings.