Saturday, February 14, 2009

Poor Man's Steak Dinner


Why go out for a steak on Valentine's day? By the time you pay the babysitter, you could be out over 75 bucks. Find a good price on ribeyes and make these in about 20 minutes. Two of these steaks cost me about $10. Add a baked potato and a salad and you have steak dinner for two for less than $15. What about the kids, you say? Give them a stack of disney movies and a $5 Little Caesar's pizza and lock them in the basement.

Ribeyes with Mushrooms
Heat a heavy-bottomed pan to medium-high heat and add 1 T. unsalted butter and 1 T. olive oil. (If you have large pan and are cooking two steaks, add more butter and oil. I like to use my cast iron pan or my heavy aluminum pan.

Pat dry steaks and season well with salt, pepper, and your favorite seasonings.

Add to hot pan and cook 5-8 minutes. Don't move steaks until you get a really good sear. Flip steaks over and cook other side 3-5 minutes, depending on thickness. If your steaks are really thick, you may want to finish cooking them in a low oven.

Remove steaks to plate, cover them with foil and let rest for at least 10 minutes.

Now don't waste all that flavor left in the pan. Make a pan sauce or a mushroom topping like I did.

If you want a mushroom topping add 2 c. sliced mushrooms to same pan. Add a little more butter and/or oil, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up all of the brown bits. Season mushrooms with salt and pepper. Cook until well-browned. If you need to add a little liquid to help deglaze the pan, add some water or chicken stock.

Dump mushrooms over steak and serve. These were as good or better than anything we could have bought in a restaurant. 


1 comment:

Carrie said...

that looks so good! Happy Valentines Day you Iron Homemaker!