Pan Seared Sirloin

Sorry for the lack of pictures on this one.. The steak disappeared very quickly.

I've always been curious as to how to cook a good steak, without drying it out and without using a grill. I did a quick good search and fell upon this site here . I modified my method just a bit and the results were amazing. It was tender, juicy and cooked to absolute perfection. I love a good medium-rare steak (red and hot in the center). I refuse to cook beef longer than about medium, you lose the flavor and it dries the cut of meat out. Here's how I cooked my steak tonight.

1. Set oven to Broil for about 10 minutes.

2. Heat olive oil in a metal skillet (MUST HAVE A METAL HANDLE!! NO PLASTIC HANDLES!) for about 2 minutes. Season steak with salt and pepper (any other seasoning will overwhelm the steak and not allow for the natural flavors to be prevalent). I promise, you won't need steak sauce for this piece of heaven.

3. Place meat into the skillet (should sizzle on contact) and allow to cook for around 30 seconds. Using tongs, turn meat over and let cook for another 30 seconds.

4. Place entire skillet into hot oven and allow to cook for around 2 minutes. Using your tongs, flip steak after 2 minutes and allow to cook for another 2 minutes.

5. Remove pan from the oven and serve immediately.

Be sure to use hot pads/oven mitts! I accidentally grabbed the pan after dinner was served and burnt the poops out of my hand.

**First Aid Tip** For a burn, run cool tap water over the affected area. If blistering occurs, it might be a good idea to seek medical attention. Burns that blister become infected very easily, so use caution.

Mixed Veggies!

Today was a small experiment in mixed veggies. I'm not typically a fan of mixed anything, except salad. Mixed fruit? Gag. Traditional mixed veggies? Gag. Mixed food in general? No thanks... I'll pass.

The fiance and I have been discussing the fact that we really don't eat enough vegetables. We eat meat (borderline carnivores here), we eat grains, we eat fruits, but we rarely eat veggies. We like veggies, don't get me wrong, but them same stuff gets awful boring.

In the spirit of needing more veggies, I decided to switch things up. James grilled some simply amazing pork chops on the George Foreman tonight, so I made my twist on mixed veggies. I was a touch hesitant at first, simply because I don't normally mix foods.

It wasn't as colorful as I wanted it to be, but that probably comes from the need to use frozen veggies instead of all fresh. **Side Note** We are (currently) a single income house, so most of the stuff I do will be economical, hence the usage of frozen veggies (read cheap and keeps longer) and garden grown (read Free) produce. It was pretty healthy, at least I think it was, and really quick to make! Dinner was done in less than 30 minutes!

This recipe made enough for a single serving for each of us (about 3/4 cup each). It can be changed, most of this I just "eye-balled" (my fancy way of measuring!).

Corn about 1/2 cup Frozen
Roma Tomatoes 2 medium Fresh
Squash 1/2 large Fresh
Broccoli 1/4 cup Frozen
1/2 c chicken stock
various spices to taste (I used salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic)

Mix everything in medium sauce pan and heat until veggies are tender and most of the liquid is gone. Season to taste.