Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

This is another recipe from Real Simple Magazine. Like my Cuban Braised Beef from the other night, this was also one of the 10 Ideas for Flank Steak. Again, really easy to make and takes only about 20 minutes. I served my meal with potatoes (of course) and corn. Serve it alongside your favorite veggies and a nice Malbec.

Steak with Chimichurri Sauce (Real Simple Magazine July 2010)
serves 4
Season 1 1/2 pounds of flank steak with salt and pepper
Cook in olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium rare; slice
Serve with a mixture of 1/2 cup chopped parsley, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 1 clove chopped garlic (I used 3 cloves!), salt and crushed red pepper

Cuban Braised Beef

For dinner I decided to test out a recipe from Real Simple Magazine. I love this magazine for many reasons, but what I particularly appreciate about their recipe ideas is how simple they are and that they use very few and basic ingredients, so you don't always need to run to the store just to make a meal. I buy my meat at Costco, which means I get huge quantities at a time. This was quite serendipitous as the July issue of Real Simple Magazine had a spread on 10 ideas for: flank steak.

This recipe for Cuban braised beef was so simple it literally took me 5 minutes to prepare. Because of it's simplicity, I wasn't expecting much out of it, but I was very very pleasantly surprised by how it turned out. Husband was literally swooning over it! After dinner he requested that I put it into the regular rotation.

I highly recommend this magazine to any housewife, homemaker or cook, newbie or seasoned. I know I have overused this word in this post, but everything in there is Really that Simple!

Cuban Braised Beef (adapted from Real Simple Magazine - July 2010)
(serves 4)
1. In a large saucepan (I used a Le Creuset), combine 1 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes, 1 1/2 pounds of flank steak (cut in half), 1 large onion (cut into wedges), and 1 1/2 teaspoons of chili powder
2. Season with salt and pepper
3. Cover and simmer until fork-tender (about 1.5-2 hours)
4. Shred and serve with rice and cilantro leaves.

The original recipe suggests serving with cut-up mango slices on top, but I'm not a fan of fruit in my warm entrees. Instead I added slices of red bell pepper in step 1.