Roasted Butternut Squash with Sage Leaves & Pancetta

Annie sent over this recipe as a suggestion for a great side dish that was sure to be a family pleaser... and it certainly was!!! I will definitely be making this often. We served this with some grilled steaks and grilled onion (BBQ season is in full force after all). In fact the roasted garlic made an excellent spread for the grilled steaks! So delicious... thank you Annie!

Keep up the great work, Annie... we're headed to the Games! :-)

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 bulb garlic, separated but not peeled

2 oz. pancetta, thinly sliced and chopped

Fresh sage leaves, about 16, whole

2-1/2 T olive oil

2-1/2 T 100% maple syrup, organic

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel, seed and cube butternut squash (about 3/4 inch cubes). Place in a baking dish or roasting pan with the whole head of garlic (separated, but not peeled). Toss with olive oil, maple syrup and salt and pepper. Bake for 20-30 minutes (until squash begins to brown... turning once). Sprinkle chopped pancetta and scatter the sage leaves evenly over the squash. Continue to bake for another 20-30 minutes (until squash and garlic is tender and caramelized). Enjoy the roasted garlic cloves by themselves or spread over your steak or vegetable. Yummy.

~recipe from The Barefoot Contessa

Blackened Flank Steak

Simple, but delicious! Easy, but tasty. Quick, but rewarding! Flank steak is one of my favorite cuts of meat as it packs such huge flavor and versatility in the kitchen! It can be fixed up as a quick stand-by dinner or prepared as an elegant gourmet feast! ... Tonight I opted for "quick" ... and yet I felt like I ate like a queen! Hope you enjoy!

Recipe:

Flank Steak, about 2 lbs.

1 T black pepper

1 T garlic powder

2 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

olive oil

Mix together all spice ingredients. Coat both sides of steak with dry mixture. Let meat sit for about 10 minutes with spices. Coat a cast iron skillet with olive oil, and heat until oil is hot. Sear meat in pan, and cook for about 5-7 minutes on each side. Slice diagonally in thin strips.

Quick & Easy Paleo Broiled Flank Steak

It was a busy day and an even busier evening. Days like these require quick fixes! But that is NO reason we have to sacrifice flavor, quality, or our Paleo diligence. Hope you enjoy this QUICK & easy Paleo feast! :-)

This would be great grilled... but it is SO cold outside, I decide to try the broiler... It worked great!

Ingredients:

~2 lbs. Flank steak

1/4 C lime juice

Spices:

2 tsp. each: sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder

2 T dried parsley

Season flank steak with spices (1 tsp. each side) and parsley (1 T each side). Really rub the spices into the meat. Put seasoned flank steak in a ziplock bag or tupperware-type container. Pour lime juice over the steak. Let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Heat broiler. Place flank steak on a broiler pan and broil for about 5 minutes on each side. Thats it! Let it sit for about 5 minutes on the cutting board. Slice across the grain and serve! It had a GREAT flavor for a quick fix! We served this with steamed broccoli and baked sliced sweet potatoes (our typical standby side).

Hope you enjoy... we did!

Flank Steak with Bacon Balsamic Sauce & Sauteed Kale

This was a totally Google inspired meal. I had very limited ingredients in my refrigerator as I'm in dyer need for a trip to the grocery store. I pretty much google searched available ingredients and chose my recipe accordingly! I found this great bacon balsamic glaze on the Food Network (Robin Miller) and the sauteed kale recipe from Bobby Flay (also Food Network). It was delicious! With very minimal ingredients I had a spectacular feast! Yum... hope you enjoy.

Flank Steak Recipe:

2 lbs. flank steak

fresh ground pepper

sea salt

4 slices bacon, chopped

1/2 C balsamic vinegar

1/2 C beef broth

2 T parsley flakes

1 tsp. arrowroot powder

Preheat grill pan or grill. Season flank steak with pepper and sea salt. Grill steak for about 5 minutes on each side. While steak is cooking, add bacon to skillet over medium heat and cook until crisp. Add balsamic vinegar and cook for about 5 minutes, until liquid reduces. Mix arrowroot powder with beef broth and add to skillet. Add parsley flakes. Slowly bring to a boil and then reduce heat for about 2-4 minute, until sauce thickens. Pour over sliced flank steak and enjoy!

Sauteed Kale:

About 1 lb kale, coarsely chopped

1 T olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 small shallot, minced

2 T balsamic vinegar

1/2 c beef broth

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and saute garlic and shallots until soft (careful not to burn). Add broth and kale and toss really well. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes, until liquid evaporates. Add balsamic vinegar. Toss well and serve!

Festive Rolled Flank Steak with Spinach

Tonight's dinner was fun and even a bit festive! We always buy flank steak when we go to Costco. It guarantees at least two dinners, and it has become one of my favorite cuts of meat! It's incredibly versatile and always so delicious!

Recipe:

about 2 lbs. Flank steak

1- 10 oz. box frozen spinach, chopped

1 large shallot, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

3-4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped, reserve fat

1 tsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. sea salt (optional)

3 pieces baking string

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a cast-iron or heavy skillet, cook bacon slices. When bacon is done, remove and set aside to cool. Set the skillet aside, reserving the bacon fat. Follow instructions on package to thaw & steam frozen spinach. Set aside. In a separate skillet, saute shallots and garlic in olive oil. Add spinach. Chop bacon and add to skillet. Mix all ingredients well and set aside. Rub some salt, pepper, and garlic powder on flank steak. Spread spinach mixture over flank steak. Roll steak lengthwise, and secure with string. Heat bacon fat back up in skillet over med-hi heat and brown flank steak on all sides. Put browned flank steak in a baking dish and bake for 35-45 minutes (until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees). Cut the flank roll into pretty pinwheel steak slices!

It turned out festive looking and was very tasty... hope you enjoy!

Grilled Flank Steak Salad

It's hard to decide what to cook when it's so hot out! There was no doubt the oven needed to be avoided at all costs, so a quick grilled meat and a refreshing salad was all I could think of. I hope you're staying cool in this hot September!?

Recipe

2 lbs. Flank Steak

2 T Spicy Brown Mustard

1 T lemon juice

2 T Balsamic vinegar

3 T Olive oil

1 tsp. black pepper

1 T dried oregano

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

pinch sea salt

Trim all visible fat off flank steak. Place in a ziploc bag. Combine all remaining ingredients and add to ziploc bag with meat. Seal well, and mix up all the flavors. Let marinate for at least 2 hours (preferably longer if you can). Heat grill to medium temperature and grill flank steak about 5-7 minutes on each side. Let cool... slice in slender strips... and place on top of your green salad!