Beef! It's what's for dinner!

Get ready you guys! This blog is a double feature! Yep, you read that right, you're getting TWO recipes today!

I don't really eat a lot of beef, mostly because it's not a lean source of protein. But sometimes, you just need a little something different, you know what I mean? I had Wednesday off from work, so I went to good ole Walmart to find me some dinner. I ended up leaving with not one, but two packages of beef. One package of Chuck Eye Steaks and one Eye of Round Roast. I also got them each a few dollars off because they had to be sold by Thursday! I also made sure that the steaks were graded Prime. Not the highest grade by any means, but when you're buying a cut because of flavor like a steak, you want to know you're getting something good. 

A quick visual for those of you who still have no idea  what cuts I bought.

 I knew immediately what I was going to do with that roast: Pot Roast. I already had carrots and celery at home so all I had to do was grab some potatoes and I was set. The steaks however...I wasn't so sure. Once I got home I decided I would marinate them and set to work scouring the internet for a recipe that I liked. This was way more difficult than it should have been. It seemed like everyone either called for ingredients I didn't have or it just didn't sound good. Finally, I just made my own! Don't worry, the recipe will follow.


I let the steaks marinate for two hours before turning them and allowing another two hours. Once I was ready to cook the steaks I took them out and let them rest at room temperature. This is a very important step. You don't want to take your steaks straight from the fridge to the heat, it's no good! To cook my steaks I set my oven to broil and moved the top rack about 6 inches away from the heat. I placed my steaks on a foil-lined pan and cooked them for 5 minutes on one side and 3 on the other. After removing them from the oven I let them rest for 10 minutes, to allow all the juices to settle. This is crucial to the flavor! I did a pretty good job getting the bigger steak cooked to rare, but the smaller one could have used a little less time I think.

Lauren's Amazin' Steak Glazin'

That's pretty catchy huh? ; )

1/4 cup low sodium/light soy sauce

1/4 cup honey - I used imitation

1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp ground Ginger

Whisk together all wet ingredients. Once mixed, add in the ginger. All done! Pretty amazin' huh?! 

This morning I got up EVEN earlier than usual to get my pot roast going! In order to keep the juices locked in to the meat, I needed to sear it on each side in a frying pan before adding it to the crock pot.

Beef Pot Roast

Ingredients:

Roast of your choice

Veggies - I used carrots, celery and red potatoes but you could also use onions, mushrooms, whatever you like really. Chop them to your liking.

Can of Pepsi - I used Pepsi Max

Ranch Dressing Dry Mix Packet

            Salt, Pepper and Olive Oil

            Additional water - I used 1 cup

1. Rub your roast with salt and pepper and place into a hot frying pan coated with 1 Tbsp of Olive oil. Allow to sear for approximately 5 minutes on each side. 

2. While roast is searing, add all the veggies to your crock pot. 

3. Once roast is done, add to crock pot. Pour in ranch mix and can of Pepsi. If at this point, you feel there is not enough liquid in the pot, add some water. Ultimately, I think I could have done without the extra water. Set the crock pot on low and cook for 8 hours!    

This came out deliciously! I portioned the beef out first (by weight) to see how many meals it would make and then portioned my veggies from there. Thankfully, I had enough meat for four meals and I cut all my potatoes into fourths, so each meal has the same number of potatoes! I did put one meals worth in a freezer bag and in the freezer. I think it should hold up all right, but if not, I'll let you know!

I hope by reading this, I made your mouth water because I know mine did! Let me know if you try them for yourself!

Until next time,

Lauren