For our part of the world, school starts back today. And now that we’re back in the swing of things, nighttime gets a little hectic with homework, soccer practice, dinner and bedtime.

So here’s a great time-saving school night dinner to keep you going. Enjoy!

Steak with Garlic Sauce Dinner

Steak with garlic sauce is paired with sesame pea pods and rosemary bread for a memorable dinner. Great for any night of the week since it’s ready in 15 minutes.

How to Do it in 15 Minutes:
Put up water for the pea pods
Broil the steak
Make the garlic sauce while the steak’s cooking
Make the pea pods
Prep the bread
When the steak is finished, toast the bread

Four ingredients never tasted so good (not including oil, salt, and pepper.) You’ll find yourself using the garlic sauce for just about anything – short of drinking it straight from the pan.
Ingredients
1½ pound flank steak
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
pinch of ground black pepper
½ teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
Cooking Instructions
Heat broiler. Season steak with salt and pepper.
Broil steak about 6-inches from heating element, turning once, about 8 to 10 mintues, or until medium rare.

Sauce: In small saucepan over medium heat melt butter. Add garlic, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and any accumulated steak juices.
Make it Faster
Two teaspoons bottled crushed garlic can be used in place of 2 minced garlic cloves
Tips & Tricks
Smash garlic cloves with the flat side of a large knife to easily remove the cloves’ skin
Nutrition Facts
Servings per Recipe: 4
Amount Per Serving: 6 ounces Flank Steak and 1 tablespoon Garlic Sauce
Preparation Time: 2 minutes
Cooking Time: About 10 minutes
Ready In: 12 minutes
Servings: 4

Photo courtesy of recipes.kaboose.com.

Check out the entire article here.

This recipe will make you look like a fancy-Dan chef. So make sure you do it while your guests are mingling in the kitchen. They always do, don’t they?

But follow the instructions about the bourbon carefully or you won’t look so fancy-Dan anymore.

Enjoy!

Bourbon Butter Pecan Strip

4 10 oz. K.C. Strip Steaks
1 Cup Bourbon
½ Cup Pecans, shelled
3 Tbsp. Butter
1 Tbsp. Shallot
Salt and Pepper

Season both sides of each steak and cook over high heat in a heavy bottom pan, preferably cast iron, usually about six minutes per side for medium. While the steaks are cooking, toast the pecans in a hot oven, about 4 minutes at 400 degrees F. Remove steaks from pan and take the pan away from the flame and add the bourbon. Return the pan to the flame (see note) and reduce the bourbon to ¼ cup (at this point the bourbon may flame up, that is okay, it will cook itself out shortly, just ensure you are not leaning over the pan and there is nothing hanging over the pan). Add the shallots and cook about 1 minute. Add the pecans and remove from the heat. Add the butter in six pieces and swirl the pan until melted. Divide the sauce evenly over the steaks and serve. 

Note:  Never add liquor to a hot pan over a flame as it may ignite and never add liquor straight from the bottle. The flame may travel up the pouring liquid.

It’s Friday and it’s steak night at my house.  I’m going to savor every moment of it.  

After a week of rushing around and gnawing Lean Cuisine meals periodically, I deserve it.

Jaden at www.steamykitchen.com gives us this yummy recipe for adding a punch of incredible flavor to any steak.

Garlic-Herb Butter

1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
handful of fresh herbs (any combination is fine, try basil and parsley)
1-3 cloves of garlic, smushed in garlic press

To make the Garlic-Herb Butter, combine all ingredients. Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap. Spoon butter mixture on wrap. Roll and shape butter into a log. Refrigerate to firm up for 30 minutes. Slice into 1/4” disks to top the grilled steaks. You can make butter up to 3 days in advance. Make sure you use unsalted butter.

You can try this garlicky idea after using Jaden’s suggestion for coating your steak with sea salt for 15 minutes to an hour to tenderize it. She says to wash off the salt after that time and then pat it dry.

Don’t worry, you’re not really eating all that salt. It’s just a great way to break down the proteins in the steak before you grill it to make it nice and soft.

That’s all it takes to create really luscious, flavor-filled steaks.