Bleu Cheese Steak with Croutons

While watching Food Network at the gym one day (and yes, I am fully aware of the irony behind that statement), I watched Bobby Flay grill a steak with bleu cheese on top. Bleu cheese is not my favorite of the cheeses (no one can replace you in my heart, goat cheese!), but my husband really enjoys it. So, I decided to give the idea a go. I actually used a recipe from allrecipes.com, since it received higher ratings: topped with bleu cheese and homemade croutons, this recipe is a perfect meal for date night--or a weekday dinner that will take your steak to a whole new level!

You will need:
2 (6 ounce) beef tenderloin filets, 1 1/2 inches thick
2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 slices white bread, crusts removed and cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

First, set your steaks on your broiler pan and turn on your broiler. Broil about 6 inches from the broiler for 5-8 minutes per side, or until desired level of doneness is achieved.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine butter and bleu cheese. Set aside.

Saute bread cubes in olive oil until lightly browned. Set aside.

Finally, when steaks are cooked, remove from the oven. Top them with the bleu cheese butter and place back under the broiler for a minute or two, until the cheese melts. Before serving, top with croutons and sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top. The steak will be incredibly moist and flavorful!

Serve with mashed potatoes (or, since the cheese makes this a slightly heavier main course, a salad). Enjoy!

Swedish Meatballs and Noodles

After three weeks of placing our life in boxes, my husband and I have finally moved into a new place--with a beautiful new kitchen! So of course, I needed a homemade meal to break in the new place and settled on one of my favorites from childhood: Swedish meatballs and noodles. I'd say this recipe is most similar in taste to the Stouffer's boxed dinner...but it's also thicker, fresher, meatier, and more flavorful (and actually fairly healthy--just watch your portion size)! The recipe was inspired by a combination of a random card I found in a recipe box, some stroganoff ingredients, and my own imaginings. Here are the ingredients (note that I ended up swiping paprika for parsley at the last minute at the end of the recipe):

For the meatballs:

3/4 pd. of lean ground beef

3/4 to 1 cup of breadcrumbs

2 egg whites

1/4 chopped yellow onion

1/2 tsp allspice

1/3 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup beef broth (prepared or made from bouillon)

For sauce:

1 can cream of mushroom soup (healthy fat/sodium version)

1 packet Lipton onion soup mix

1/2 cup sour cream (I used light)

And finally, a bag of egg noodles (brand of your choice--I used whole wheat ones for the health benefits)

To begin, preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Combine all ingredients for your meatballs in a bowl except for the beef broth (i.e. ground beef, onion, egg whites, spices, breadcrumbs). When finished, form 1 inch balls of meat out of the mixture (ice cream scoopers help to keep your meatballs a uniform size for even cooking). Warm a skillet, put in a few tsp of oil to prevent sticking, and brown the meatballs over medium-high heat. When browned, transfer the meatballs to a baking dish, pour the beef broth on top, cover with aluminum foil, and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. This will help them to complete the cooking process, and they will be finished when they are no longer pink on the inside.

While the meatballs cook, prepare your sauce and noodles. To prepare the sauce, combine the mushroom soup and packet of dry onion soup mix in a large skillet on the stove (over medium heat). Depending on how thick you like your sauce, you can add a little milk to thin your sauce out, but be sure to add it a tsp at a time to keep it from getting too runny. Cook your egg noodles in a large pot according to the package's directions.

When the meatballs are close to being finished, take your sauce mixture off the stove and stir in the sour cream until thoroughly blended (you do not want to do this over the heat in case the sour cream curdles).

To serve, place a heap of egg noodles on a plate, add a few meatballs, cover with sauce, and sprinkle with parsley! And there you have it: tasty, healthy, and simple--enjoy!