Rusty's

I joined my crazy animal loving freinds from Paws for a great going away lunch at one of our favorite locations, Rusty's Riverfront Bar and Grill. This was my first visit since their recent remodel. The good news: The food is still great (I enjoyed the signature green beans and blacked grouper). The great news: The outdoor seating looks great, and the new room has a great bar and is a little more quiet and doubled the availbe seating! Wishing I could enjoy some more great meals with great people here :(

Yummy Cheeseburgh-er

While scouting out housing options in Pittsburgh, I had an amazing cheeseburger at the Union Grill on Craig St. It was made with a custom ground beef and the artisinal cheese of the week was Kerry Gold Dubliner. Loved the yummy ground sirloin mix and the creamy cheese. Nothing fancy, but definitely a great eat!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchilladas

In preparation for my upcoming move, I've been doing a lot of housework and not so much cooking; however, I decided to give it a try since its Lost night and not a work night. I found this recipe back during the meatless phase.. but didn't have time to try it before I returned to being a carnivore. I've been looking forward to making this since that time. It brings together three things i love: cheese, black beans, and sweet potatoes

Sweet potato and Black Bean Enchiladas from Closet Cooking

Materials

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 sweet potatoes, cooked

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

canola oil

1/2 cup water

1 tbl chili powder

2 tsp cumin

2 tbl soy sauce

4 tortillas

1 cup cheddar cheese

Methods

In a bowl mash the sweet potatoes. The original recipe called for adding cilantro and chipotles here. Since I didn't have any cilantro left and i had a crazy fear come over me about the chipotles, I just used mashed sweet potatoes.

Next, heat up oil and cook onions until translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Yay!. Next add water, beans, cumin, chili powder, and soy sauce. Cook down until most of the water is gone. Once again, the original recipe called for cilantro here, and I was lacking in that department. Spread 1/4 of the bean mixture and 1/4 of the potato on a tortilla. Wrap it up burrito style and place in a baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and mixtures. Cover with cheese and bake for about 15 minutes at 350F.

Verdict

Wow! These hit the spot! I mentioned the missing cilantro above because they definitely could use a little something more (I totally could have upped the chili powder to 2 tbl too.. but I'm a yankee chicken). Either way, they were good and exactly what I wanted to much on for a late LOST dinner. I definitely plan to enjoy these again! If I had leftover yogurt I would have slathered some of it on.... Plus, they are fairly filling and nutritious (as usual). I use the low carb/high fiber tortillas and this worked out to 6.5 pts per enchilada :)

026/027 -- Chili Lime Steak Salad

I decided to return to carnivorous cooking in a rather simplistic way. During my vegetarian phase I found a yummy sounding recipe over at Our Best Bites that called for a little bit of beef. I'm cheating and considering this two recipes -- the Chili Lime Rubbed Steak and the Creamy Lime Cilantro Dressing. I made a few modifications to the OBB recipe. My version (which is 97% their version) is below. I used a flat iron steak for this recipe. Let me wax on about how I enjoy the flat iron steak. It is fairly affordable so far as beef goes, and it is not too fatty and gross, AND it cooks up pretty quickly/easily on the grill or under the broiler. For the longest time I hadn't tried the flat iron as I'm a patron of the NY strip, however, Lulu convinced me to give the flat iron a try. I'm sold. I'm still a NY strip girl when going out to restaurants, but I'm sold the flat iron for my own cooking purposes.

I started out making the rub for the steak

Materials

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 lime, juiced

1 tbl olive oil

Steak, (I used a flatiron cut)

Methods

Mix all ingredients together. Pour mixture over steak and press into sit. Allow to sit for about 15 minutes. I cooked my steak on my George Foreman :) Cut into thin slices against the grain.

While the steak was marinating I made the salad dressing

Materials

1 cup plain fat free greek yogurt (I like fage or oiknos best)

1 packet ranch dressing mix

about 1/2 cup milk

about 1/2 cup cilantro

4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

juice of 1 lime

Methods

Combine ingredients in food processor and process until smooth! Keep cool and enjoy!

Finally, I used the dressing, slices of the steak, romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, avocado, and black beans to make an awesomely yummy meal. The steak was really good -- and totally easy. This rub was definitely worth repeating. The salad itself was really yum-tastic. The original dressing recipe called for a green salsa and hot sauce -- which i totally forgot while at the store. The recipe was pretty good as it was, although it wasn't quite so green. definitely a good score -- fairly lightweight, filling, easy, and yummy.