Easy Marinade Flank Steak With Grilled Veggies

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Sitting in marinade all day, the flank steak is ready to hit the grill. Oh, the sausage is ready too -- that's for later this week!

Sitting in marinade all day, the flank steak is ready to hit the grill. Oh, the sausage is ready too — that’s for later this week!

I’ve run around a lot today, so I decided to keep dinner simple. I’m going with an easy marinade with just 3 ingredients – extra virgin olive oil, low-carb soy sauce and garlic.   I started the marinade at 10:00 a.m. this morning.

I used to make this with 1/3 cup of olive oil and soy sauce. I needed to cut back drastically since the olive oil killed me on points. I find that adding 2 tablespoons of each gives me the flavor I want without eating up so many points.

Our sides -- and where we get our carbs! Just add 1 tsp of olive oil and toss them on the grill!

Our sides — and where we get our carbs! Just add 1 tsp of olive oil and toss them on the grill!

For the sides, we’re grilling asparagus, white onion and yellow peppers. I’m also steaming Brussels sprouts.  We’ll have enough for leftovers.  The veggies provide about 6 g of carbs for dinner. For those of you tracking your points, veggies are free, but you need to count the olive oil. I’m only using 1 teaspoon — not for flavor but for the grill. So this is a very low point, satisfying meal.

Marinated Flank Steak
Net Carbs: 0
Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 6
Serving Size: 4 ounces/person
Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 Tbsp. Low Carb Soy Sauce
  • 5 Garlic bulbs, diced or minced
  • 1 Flank Steak

Directions

  • Score the surface of the steak with 1/4 inch deep knife cuts, about an inch apart, across the grain of the meat.
  • Combine the marinade ingredients. Place steak and marinade ingredients in a large freezer bag. Coat the steak well with the marinade. Seal the bag.
  • Chill and marinate for at least 2 hours.
  • *Take the steak out of the marinade bag and place on the hot grill. Grill for 4-6 minutes on each side. Be sure to turn the steak over half way through.
  • **Remove from grill and place on a cutting board. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before carving. Recommend wrapping in foil to keep it warm.
  • Make very thin slices, against the grain, and at a slight diagonal so that the slices are wide.

*When you take the steak out, you can season it with black pepper if you like.
**Flank steak is best medium rare. Cook it too much and it gets tough to chew.

Chili Chicken & Mexican Avocado Salad Tonight

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Cajun RubI love my rubs. I made a batch of chili seasoning back in February. I decided to use it as a rub on some chicken breasts. The result: spicy and tasty.

Rather than the old standbys of steamed broccoli or grilled zucchini, I decided I wanted veggies that had a little more kick. So I’m making a salad I found in a low carb recipe book. Like the chili chicken, it too looks spicy and tasty.

Chili Seasoning/Rub
Serving Size: 4
Carb Count: 0
Weight Watchers Points: 3-6 (depending on size of chicken breasts)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions: Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Using your hands, rub seasoning into chicken breasts. Place into a Ziplock bag, and add 1.5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Let chicken marinate for up to 1 hour then its ready for grilling.

Mexican Avocado Salad
Serving Size: 8 1-cup servings
Carb Count: 3g
Weight Watchers Points: 3 Points

Ingredients
24 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 medium head iceberg lettuce cut into 1/2 inch ribbons
2 ripe Hass avocados, seeded, peeled and chopped

Directions
1. Combine tomatoes, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in a medium bowl; let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Add onion, jalapeño and cilantro; toss well.
2. Arrange lettuce on a platter and top with avocado. Spoon tomato mixture on top and serve.

I’m thinking of substituting the red leaf lettuce I’m growing on my deck for the iceberg lettuce. Either way, tasty goodness on the menu tonight!

Lime Chili Grilled Wings

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Wow. Just wow.

I made Lime-Chili Wings yesterday. A very easy to make Atkins recipe. Also pretty damn tasty. If I had one change to it, I would limit the lime juice. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup. However, I think that makes the marinade too thin. I think I would prefer more of a paste that really clings to the wings. But that is just me. I ended up baking these instead of grilling due to the weather. Nonetheless these are delicious.

Lime Chili Grilled Wings
Serving Size: 3 wings
Net Carbs/serving: 1g

Ingredients
1/4 C Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
1 Tbsp Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tsp Chili Powder
2 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Ground Cumin
3 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Cilantro
12 Chicken Wings

Directions
Combine lime juice, oil, chili powder, ground cumin, salt and cilantro in a large bowl. Add wings and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours, turning occasionally. Heat grill to medium-high. Grill wings until browned and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Serve hot.

If baking in oven, preheat oven to 375 and back wings until browned and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

BBQ Rub for Pork Chops

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Tonight’s Dinner: grilled pork chops with a BBQ rub, grilled zucchini and a side of greens.

Below is the rub recipe for the pork chops.

Grilled Pork Chops
Ingredients
2 Pork Chops
1/4C of BBQ Rub
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Cajun RubRub Ingredients
2 Tbsp Ground Cumin
2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
2 Tbsp Xylitol (natural sugar substitute; found in health food sections of grocery stores)
1-1/2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1-1/2 Tbsp Pepper
1 Tbsp Salt
1 Tsp Powdered Mustard
1 Tsp Ground Allspice

Directions
Mix the rub ingredients together. Take a portion of rub to use on pork chops and store the rest in a air tight container. Use your fingers to cover the pork chops with the rub. Place the pork chops in a ziplock bag and add the olive oil. Ensure the oil coats both chops. Let the chops sit for 1 hour, flipping half way through.

For thick chops: Set the heat to high to sear the meat first. Put the chops on the grill and close the lid. After one minute open the grill and flip the chops. Close the lid for one minute. Now turn down the heat on your grill to medium. Rotate the chops about 45 degrees to get your crosshatch marks and let them cook for about 3 more minutes with the lid down. After this time flip the chops over and continue cooking for about 4 more minutes. It is best at this point to turn your grill down to its lowest setting.

Your pork chops should be done when the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. Place the chops on a plate and cover with aluminum foil for 5-10 minutes. This recovery period lets the meat loosen up and the juices flow through the pork chop. After 10 minutes, serve.

Kicking Chicken Up a Notch: Rubs!

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Image courtesy of Dan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Dan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I tend to use Sunday to cook for the week. Just makes it easier as I plan out my weekly menu. This week’s main staple: Chicken! Excited? Yeah, me neither. Since chicken can get a bit dull, and I’m making about 12 breasts, I have 2 rubs and a marinade I’ll be using on the chicken – 4 breasts per concoction. I find that I’m more likely to eat the chicken during the week if there is a bit of zip to the tasty goodness. Below are recipes for a blackened cajun rub and a moroccan rub that I discovered on the Atkins site. The amounts for each ingredient is what I use to make each rub in large batches. I started making the rubs in bulk so that I don’t have to constantly pull out all of the ingredients each time I want a rub. The batches can usually last about a month.

Rub 1: Blackened Cajun Rub
Good with beef, chicken or fish

1/2 C Paprika + 2 tbsp
1/2 C Dried Oregano
1/4 C Salt
1/4 C Garlic Powder
4 tsp Dried Thyme
4 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Place ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside a small portion of the rub, enough for 4 chicken breasts.

Rub 2: Moroccan Rub
Good with chicken, lamb or shrimp

1/2 C Cumin + 2 tbsp
1/3 C Ground Coriander
1/3 C Salt
2 Tbsp Black Pepper + 2tsp
2 Tbsp Ground Ginger + 2 tsp
2 Tbsp No Calorie Sweetener (granular is better than powder)
4 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

Place ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside a small portion of the rub, enough for 4 chicken breasts.

Applying The Rub
After you’ve cleaned your meat, pat it dry. Take the rub in your hands and being rubbing it onto the meat, making sure to coat all sides. Some of you might be inclined to drop the rub in a baggie add the meat and shake the bag a la Shake n’ Bake. You could, but I like to physically rub the seasoning on the meat. Its the best way to ensure the meat is fully coated and that you have enough rub mix actually on the meat and not just a dusting.

Once you have rubbed the mix onto the chicken breasts, place it in a large resealable baggie and add 1-2 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil. Let the bag ‘o meat sit for about 30 minutes, flipping half way through. You want the olive oil to coat the chicken. After 30 it’s ready for grilling or baking.