I really do love ooey, gooey, cheesy casseroles and side dishes, especially on special occasions or when company is joining us for dinner. But, I really don’t miss heavy side dishes as part of my “normal” daily eating. Honestly, my favorite meals consist of some type of protein (preferably marinated and grilled) along with a great salad filled with lots of little goodies and tossed with a vinaigrette dressing. I love to eat the protein with the salad so the dressing flavors the meat. Basically, I am a vinegar girl. I love vinegar so much I have been known to do shots! (OK – only with the good aged stuff.)
This salad combines my favorite flavors and lets me really enjoy my meal while satisfying Nick’s taste for steak and baked potato. I slice half of my steak into strips and layer over my salad (saving the other half for the next day – depending on the size of the steak and the size of my appetite that day), and Nick eats his steak (drenched in A1 Sauce, of course), a baked potato, salad and a roll. He’s a growing 17-year-old boy! This is kind of my general daily eating plan. I make the same protein and veggies for both of us but I add a starch or two for Nick. Then we are both happy and I’m not making two separate meals.
Trust me… you will feel very satisfied after eating this hearty salad!
Steak Salad
Ingredients:
- Baby lettuce greens, romaine, or lettuce of your choosing (not iceburg)
- Cucumbers
- carrots
- celery
- tomatoes
- Any raw veggies you like
- Steak, trimmed of fat and broiled to your liking (I drizzle mine with a little Worchestershire sauce and sprinkle with garlic, sea salt and black pepper before grilling or broiling.)
- Mustard Vinaigrette (see below)
Mustard Vinaigrette:
- 4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 heaping teaspoon grainy or country mustard, or Dijon
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped shallot (if you don’t like onions, use half a teaspoon or omit)
- 1/2 clove garlic, minced (use less if you don’t want to offend anyone later)
- salt and pepper to taste
Mix all vinaigrette ingredients and set aside.
Arrange lettuce and veggies on dinner plate. Slice steak and arrange over salad. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Dig in.
It’s hardy.
It’s yummy.
It’ll fill your belly.
It’ll make you smile.
Sweetest Blessings,
LeAnn
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, I’m with you LeeAnn, I love to put any kind of protein on a salad. I especially love when I’ve got some kind of protein left over from dinner, it goes on my salad for lunch the next day.
ooops! sorry spelled your name wrong.
This reminds me of the a conversation with my daughter and her boyfriend (they are college-age). BF: “I made myself a steak last night for dinner on my George Foreman grill. It was great.” Me: “That sounds wonderful. What did you have with it?” BF: “A-1.” Daughter: “No, she means, what else did you eat with it, like a side dish – you know, baked potato, green beans….” BF: “Yes, I know what you mean. A-1. That’s it.” At which point, my daughter, my little apple who didn’t fall far from the tree, lectured said boyfriend on the importance of balanced nutrition, as well as what would happen to his GI system if he did not eat enough fiber. LOL
LeAnn, I have to admit that I don’t eat salads very ofen in the winter time, it is too cold and dreary out here in Kansas but I do eat them like this in the summer. I will even have my grilled chicken breast or crumble up my grilled hamburger ontop of my salads. I may have to give it a shot as a winter meal, although just the thought gives me the shivers. I pretty much have been living on healthy home made soups and stews, you know anything that will warm the belly and the house.
My husband would even love this. I gotta try this!