Coffee Crusted Sirloin

i spend my days running around as if i have my head cut off from work, to school, and finally i’m home.  but don’t forget i also have the holidays to prepare for.  how do i possibly keep going?  i take a little dose of this coffee crusted steak. 

Coffee Crusted Sirloin 
2 7-ounce sirloin steaks
½ tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground decaffeinated coffee
1 tablespoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon mustard powder
¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoons Lowry’s season salt

mix all ingredients together then rub on steaks. Cook steaks on medium high heat for 7 minutes on each side for medium rare.

tips

• the combination of spices might sound strange when you see the sweet (brown sugar) with the hot (chili powder) in the same rub, but that combination has been bobby flay’s staple.
• you could also use instant coffee or espresso and get a similar flavor.
• although you could use whole garlic, it’s not as effective in meat rubs.  so even though the granulated is better for this recipe it does take longer for the flavor to be released.

Take Two on Fajitas

i hate leftovers.  no let me rephrase that, i hate eating the same thing twice in a row.  if i have leftover chicken i’ll make quesadillas, chicken pot pie, soup, etc.  i will not eat the chicken in the same way i did the first time.  chicken is the easiest protein to change into a different dish.  but what do you do with steak?  last night i made steak sandwiches on a baguette roll with a blue cheese, sour cream, and maynnaise spread (another ina garten recipe).  that was pretty good, but my favorite thing to do with left over steak is to make steak faijita pasta.  it’s a recipe that i refer to as my rachael ray special because i combined two of my favorites (steak and faijitas) like she commonly does (buffalo chicken calzones anyone?).  all favorites aren’t primed to be put together, like bacon and peanut butter, but most are worth a try.

Steak Faijita Pasta
1 serving of pasta, recommended farfalle (bow tie)
1 serving of leftover steak, sliced thin into bite size pieces
1 tbs oil
1/4 c green bell pepper, sliced
2 baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1/4 c onion, sliced
1/4 c corn
a few shakes of taco seasoning
reserved pasta water
1/4 c monterray jack cheese

cook the pasta according to package instructions.  while the pasta cooking heat the oil in a saute pan (choose one big enough for all the veggies and pasta combined).  once the oil starts to smoke/ripple add the peppers, mushrooms and onions and season the veggies with salt and pepper.  once the veggies have started to soften, 5 minutes, add the corn then add the taco seasoning and a laddle full of the pasta water.  once the pasta has finished cooking, add the pasta to the veggies and toss together.  finally top the pasta with some monterray jack cheese.

tips:

• most pasta works, but lean towards ones that say “rigate” on the box.  this means it has lines that will allow the sauce to stick to the pasta.  or in my case i just love farfalle, so that’s what i used.
• any colored sweet pepper would work.  they give slightly different flavors (red being the most sweet).
• the directions call for pasta water because, once the pasta starts to cook it releases starches.  we’re using those same starches to thicken the pasta sauce. so don’t use tap water!