fast & easy Steak Salad

 If you are anything like me, you often need quick & easy dinner ideas.

This  one is healthy, easy and a crowd pleaser at our house. Finding a meal that everyone likes and is also a healthy option is a double win here and does not happen often enough!

I  love recipe and cooking blogs but one thing I don't like is having to scroll through all the paragraphs  and pictures to get to the actual recipe.

The bare bones: ingredients list  & instructions are what I am really after. So I will get right to it.

Disclaimer - I am NOT a professional cook or a food blogger. I am just your average midlife mom who needs constant fast, easy kitchen  and meal help! So when I find something that works you will find it here on the SOSblog!

Fast & Easy Steak Salad
by Heidi Suydam

Total Time: 30 min "ish"                           
Servings: 4

Ingredients

• Steak - I usually use some type of top round steak, sometimes sirloin. I avoid skirt steak for this recipe because it is so fatty. For my family of 4 (2 adults and 2 teens) I get 2 pounds of steak and this will give us some left overs.
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil* or cooking spray (if you don't have that use butter...anything to grease the pan)
• Salad fixings - anything you like I usually use these ingredients or whatever I have on hand which honestly may just be lettuce sometimes (truth...):
  • hearts of romain
  • purple cabbage
  • small peppers
  • celery
  • cucumber
    
  • carrots
• salad dressing of your choice - we like either of these, whatever your family likes will work with this recipe:
  
  • Ranch and/or
    
  •  make at home recipe  included in the "Big Italian Salad" instructions from Once Upon A Chef.

*if marinating the steak you will need olive oil and seasonings from your pantry, whatever you have on hand will be fine.

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Directions
If you want to get a little fancier and have more time or if you remember (I am always forgetting to prep the meat), at least an hour before cooking (or longer or shorter I have done a 30 minute marinade before) open up the steak and put it in a zip lock bag with olive oil and seasonings such as garlic powder, salt, pepper, Italian seasonings....any seasoning you like that is in your cabinet and goes with red meat. Remember I am not a professional cook this is a slap it together kind of deal and you can do it too!

Heat up cast iron skillet or frying pan to cook the steak, I use cast iron. Preheat the pan on medium heat. As that heats up (if you haven't prepared the steak yet as stated above and really its FINE if you haven't. It will still be good.) open up the steak and have it ready on the side to put in the pan when it is ready.

When the pan is ready (how do you know? I usually just hoover my hand over the pan and if I can feel the warmth then I know, I am sure there is a much more technical, professional way to know but again, just your average mom here) put the steak in the pan, it should sizzle a bit, I sprinkle with salt and pepper as its cooking. Cook for about 3-4 minutes then turn the steak over, sprinkle this side with salt and pepper now. Cook for about 3-4 minutes.

**cooking time will vary depending on how big your steak is. I usually get a steak that is about 1 pound in total weight. If you like your steak very well done you may want to cook longer. One of the great things abut cooking steak is, unlike chicken, you don't have to worry too much about under cooking it!**

When the steak is finished cooking, move it to a platter or cutting board to rest a few minutes before slicing into strips.

If you have children old enough to help in the kitchen, making the salad can be their job for sure! Have them start chopping and assembling a salad big enough for your entire family to have dinner portion sizes! 

If you don't have children old enough to help then prepare your salad when it works for you. Before, during or after the steak is cooked.

Our girls like to keep all the chopped veggies separate, with the exception of purple cabbage?  We have a big bowl of the Romain Lettuce and all the other veggies in little bowls on the side. Salad bar style (high maintenance girls...my fault, I know.)

​That's it, slicing the steak into strips is easy, it is just exactly that slice into strips whatever size you want. I prefer small strips to make it easier to cut up in my salad. If you would rather cut it all up into bite size pieces then do that! It's your kitchen, your food, your family! You make the rules here.

I hope you enjoy and if you try this recipe let me know in the comments and /or like and share on Facebook! 

Happy Cooking, from one regular mom to another, meals are not my strength but together we can!

If you have a favorite easy recipe you would like to share please, please let me know. I may try it then feature it here on the #sosblog! If I do I will of course give you all the credit and if you have a website or social media I will link right to it! If you don't, you will get the credit anyway. I'd love to hear from you!