London Broil with Asparagus and Spinach Salad

After a long day at work and only an apple all day, boy was I ready for a good, easy, FAST dinner! We grilled London Broil that I had started marinating on Sunday. Cooked it to medium rare and sliced it across the grain. Joining the steak on the grill was some nice fresh asparagus which I brushed with some honey mustard. And to finish it all up, a spinach and blueberry salad tossed in a very simple vinaigrette. Yum!

Easy Make Ahead Meals- Sirloin and Mushrooms in Gravy

As we head into the last few weeks before the holiday, it seems it is especially crazed around here. I have a TON of deadlines at work, along with client parties and other things that will have me away from home more often. So as I gear up for the next couple of weeks of shopping, baking, and all of the aforementioned work stuff, I want to have dinners ready to go as much as possible.

I will be sharing some of the recipes along with my menu plans as I go. I like to use fresh unprocessed ingredients as much as possible, but in times like this you will see me use a few convenience items to help cut the prep time down. This is one of those recipes. It uses a jar of beef gravy. I'm the first person to tell you to make your own gravy, but in this case, it helps me put this recipe together much faster, and right now, I'll take the time!

I made this dish in about 20 minutes this morning. It will go into the freezer, and then later this week, all I have to do is thaw, heat, and serve over egg noodles. Mashed potatoes work too.

Sirloin and Mushrooms in Gravy

3/4lb. sirloin, cut into small bite size pieces ($2.50)
10 oz. container white button mushrooms, sliced ($1.00)
1/2 onion, chopped (.15)
2T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced (.10)
salt and pepper
1T worcestershire sauce
1T sherry
1 jar beef gravy (.50 after coupons and holiday sales- I stocked up)
3T chopped fresh parsley (optional but adds a lot) (.15)

In large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, mushroom and garlic, and saute, about 4 minutes, until onions are translucent. Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper here. Add sirloin, and continue cooking until beef is no longer pink. Add gravy, worcestershire, sherry and parsley, and heat through. Serve over egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

With egg noodles, this dish comes in right around $5.00 for me. Easy and economical for a beef dinner!

****This post is linked to Simple Saturday

Mexican beef and rice

Last night we had originally planned to have leftovers from the week's "non Thanksgiving" meals. I apparently underestimated the impact my inlaws would have, though, because we ended up with just a few odds and ends, and really not much to speak of. Still plenty of Thanksgiving stuff, but I knew hubby would balk if he had to eat stuffing again.

I did have half a can of black beans leftover from a nacho lunch we enjoyed Tuesday, along with half a bag of leftover steamed corn, so I kicked into action and started pulling things together that I could make a skillet dish out of. I used sliced sirloin steak that I had already prepped in the freezer. You could use ground beef or even chicken, I think. This would be very flexible for what you have on hand. If my family liked olives I think I would have put sliced black olives on top. Heaven.

• 3/4lb. sirloin steak, or whatever meat you have, chopped into small bite size

• 1 cup rice ( I used white basmati, normally we would use brown)

• 1 can diced tomatoes (I used Muir Glen's new petite diced adobo tomatoes and that was perfect. You could use Rotel or any other tomatoes you have)
• 2 cups chicken broth (I used the turkey stock I just made)
• 1 cup diced onion
• 2T olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2t salt
• 1 cup black beans
• 1 cup corn
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In small saucepan, bring rice, broth, tomatoes and salt to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer according to the cooking time on your directions.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in skillet on medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until onion is translucent. Add steak and continue to cook until beef is browned. Add corn and beans. Once rice is completed, add to skillet, and stir to combine. Add 1/2 cup of sour cream and stir in thouroughly. Turn off heat, sprinkle cheese, cover, and let sit 5 minutes until cheese is melted. Eat. Then eat seconds (I did, anyway!)