Steak Au Poivre

I made this last night and it's definitely a keeper.  This was delicious and so easy to make.  This is usually made with filet mignon but the sirloin yields richer flavor and definitely at a lower cost.  I got this from The Chew and they have great recipes. 

3# Sirloin Steak.  Bought thin strips by mistake but I think it was better.
Coarse black pepper
Butter
2 Shallots - chopped.  I actually had 3 so chopped all of them. 
Minced garlic
Olive Oil - I actually used more butter instead of the olive oil.
1/4 cup Bourbon
1 tbs Dijon Mustard
1/2 cup Half & Half

Aggressively season steak with salt & pepper on both sides.  Melt a tbs or so of butter in your pan over a medium-high heat. I used my cast iron skillet for this. Pan fry steak for 5-6 minutes or until medium rare.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Add the chopped shallots to the pan and sauté for a couple of minutes.  Add more butter or olive oil as needed.  Add the garlic and cook until soft and fragrant - about 1 minute.  Deglaze the pan with bourbon scraping up brown bits in pan.  Stir in mustard and more black pepper.  Reduce heat and add half & half.

Return steak to pan and baste with sauce.  Slice steak and top with sauce to serve.  I made some white rice or you could use brown rice seasoned with Tarragon & some Mrs. Dash All Seasoning. 

Crescent Sloppy Joes

Oh my goodness.  These are so good especially if you like sloppy joes.  The hardest part for me was wrapping them with the crescent rolls.  I used ground beef but you could use ground turkey if you wanted to make them a little healthier but why bother?  They're sloppy joes!!! lol 

1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (1oz)
1 can (8oz) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8oz) Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations refrigerated seamless dough sheet. 
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp sesame seed - I didn't have any so I just sprinkled with olive oil instead

Heat oven to 375.  In 10-inch skillet, cook beef over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thoroughly cooked; drain.  Replace into skillet, stir in barbecue sauce; cook 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally until hot.  Stir in cheese.

If using crescent rolls, unroll dough, separate into 4 rectangles.  Press each into 8x4 inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal.  If using dough sheet, unroll dough, cut into 4 rectangles.  Press each into 8x4 inch rectangle.  Cut each in half crosswise, making 8 squares.

Place about 2 rounded tablespoons beef mixture on center of each square.  Fold dough over filling, forming triangles; press edges with fork to seal.  With knife, cut small slits in tops for steam to escape.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Brush with with egg, sprinkle with sesame seed. 

Bake 11 to 18 minutes or until golden brown.  Immediately remove from cookie sheet.  Serve warm. 

Taco Soup

I made this last night cause it was chilly outside.  It really warms you up and it makes a big batch so you can eat it more than once a week.  This also freezes really well so you can pull it out anytime during cold nights if you don't feel like cooking. 

1 lb ground beef
1 diced medium onion
16 oz whole corn, pinto beans, kidney beans or veg-all - I had a can of veg-all so I used that.
2 can stewed diced tomatoes
Chopped green chili
1 pkg Ranch Style dressing
Ground Cumin - to taste
Red Chili powder - to taste

Brown the ground beef and diced onion.  I used a white onion but red or yellow would be fine, whatever you have in your fridge.
Add all of the other ingredients, stir and bring to a boil and then turn down and simmer for at least 30 minutes.  I simmered for about 45 minutes cause I feel it tastes better the longer it cooks. 

This would be great with cornbread but didn't have a mix so I sliced up some french bread and was great to use to mop up the juices.