Tasty Steak Tacos

I've recently been inspired by some friends to try and be a little healthier, and I've found the perfect diet. It's called the slow carb diet, and the main components are lean protein and legumes.

So why is this the perfect diet? Simple, I can have meat and refried beans all the time, which works out great because I'm completely addicted to Mexican food. I'm not going full out yet, since that would mean cutting out milk (not possible, also addicted), but I figure if I follow the guidelines a little, plus not eat as much, plus exercise, it will be effective.

I think it's already working a little, which is encouraging, and I feel motivated, also a good thing.

This is a quasi-slow carb meal, if you cut out the corn tortillas, sour cream and cheese it would be full-on slow carb.

Thinly cut steak - I found some top sirloin, although I wish I could find somewhere that has skirt steak
2-3 Roma tomatoes
Lemon
Onion
Can of beans (pinto or black, refried or otherwise)

I marinated the steak in the juice of half the lemon, some salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic salt, and cumin. I would have added some fresh cilantro, but the grocery was sold out. While it was marinating I chopped my tomatoes and a few tablespoons of onion, then added the other half of the lemon juice and some salt and pepper.

During this I was also heating a skillet over medium-high heat and heating the beans in a sauce pan. After my skillet was nice and hot I got the steak out of the marinade and cooked it for about 2 minutes per side, really depends on how the thickness of your steak.

When it was done, I sliced it into strips and served it with warm corn tortillas, sour cream, shredded cheese, hot sauce, and the tomato and onion salsa. Of course you can put the beans on the taco, too, or eat them on the side. The lemon juice on the tomato and onion salsa really gave it a fresh taste, and made the taco extra tasty.

Pretty Good Chicken w/ Roasted Vegetables

I can't believe I haven't posted anything since this summer. What a slacker. What's worse is that this recipe isn't even the best ever, I just needed something quick.

I cut some chicken breasts into pieces and cooked them with half of a red onion, sliced. I threw in some random Indian spices, cayenne pepper, and seasoned salt.

The vegetables I roasted were sweet potatoes, carrots, and parsnips, went with a root vegetable theme. I peeled and chopped the veggies into almost bite sized pieces so they would cook more quickly. I put them on a baking sheet with some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and turned them a couple of times during cooking. Next time I'll know to cut the carrots and parsnips a little smaller, they were cooked, but being from the South I like my vegetables a little softer.

Hopefully now that the ice storm is over I'll be inspired to cook a little more. Having electricity is always a must-have ingredient.

Donut Bread Pudding

I finally got around to making something worth of note. I had heard about making bread pudding from Krispy Kreme donuts, but had never tried it for myself.

I had some leftover donuts from a local bakery and decided to give it a try. I found a great recipe and the results were quite delicious.

I followed the recipe exactly, and only made one small mistake. I was thinking that the dish should be firm when the baking time was done, but when you let it cool for 15 minutes it sets up quite nicely. I let it go for a few minutes longer than the recipe called for, and a couple of pieces sticking up on top got burned.

Warning: you only need one serving, trust me.

Quick Greek Chicken Wraps

Needed something quick and easy last night, so I decided to make some Greek-inspired chicken wraps.

Ingredients:
Spinach flatbread
Deli rotisserie chicken
Artichoke garlic hummus
Tomato

I simply sliced the tomato, shredded the chicken, spread some hummus on the flatbread and assembled the wraps. You'll probably want a little salt and pepper in there, and some Tzatziki sauce would have been a good addition as well.

I've made a similar dish before by cooking chicken breasts or thinly cut steak with onions and peppers, also a good variation.

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