Garlic Butter Steak Bites with Lemon Zucchini Noodles

I was pretty on the fence when trying this recipe. I had never had zucchini noodles before. I know that probably sounds crazy, but I’ve always been a “give me all the pasta” kind of girl. But this recipe was better than I could’ve imagined! Easy to make and filled me up fast with barely any carbs. Can’t beat that!

Ingredient

1 - 1.5 lbs sirloin steak cut into small cubes

4 medium zucchini, spiraled (or a 24 oz bag of store-bought zucchini noodles)

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 tablespoons butter, divided

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/4 cup beef, chicken or vegetable broth

1 tablespoon minced parsley

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes, optional

Juice of 1/2 lemon (or ¼ cup)

Marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon hot sauce (I used Sriracha)

Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Juice of 1/2 lemon 

Instructions

In a ziploc baggie, combine the ingredients for the steak marinade (soy sauce, olive oil, hot sauce, pepper, and lemon juice) and add the steak bites. Mix well and marinate for 15 to 20 minutes minimum, while preparing the other ingredients. I let this marinade for an hour, flipping halfway through.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Drain steak bites from the marinade. Keep the remaining marinade for later.  Place the steak bites in the skillet in a single layer.  Do not overcrowd the skillet or meat will steam, so you may have to work in batches depending on the size of your skillet. Cook steak bites for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally until steak bites are golden brown. Repeat with remaining steak bites if needed.

Once all the steak bites are golden brown, add 2 tablespoons butter and garlic to the skillet; cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring to coat the meat in the sauce. Remove the steak bites to a shallow plate and set aside, leaving the juice in the pan.

Add 1 tbsp butter, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, beef broth, and remaining marinade juices. Bring to a simmer and allow to reduce for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly.

If you spiral your own zucchini: add the noodles and toss for two to three minutes to cook it up. Stir in the fresh parsley and thyme, then allow the cooking juices to reduce for one minute if the zucchini noodles render too much water. If you use a steam and serve bag like I did, cook the zucchini as directed then drain. Add zucchini and coat in the sauce. Push the zucchini noodles on the side, add the steak bites back to the pan and reheat for another minute while mixing. Serve immediately your garlic butter steak bites and zucchini noodles. Enjoy!

Note: I didn’t have any parsley. And my thyme was the dried kind in a shaker, not fresh. I did add a couple extra shakes of red pepper flakes.

Egg Roll in a Bowl (low carb)

My coworker McKayla had this for lunch the other day and it smelled great! She was sweet enough to share the recipe and it did not disappoint! 

1 lb. ground meat (I used beef but pork or chicken would be great too) 

Onion (green/red/white)

3T sesame oil

¾ T garlic

3T low sodium soy sauce

2T Rice vinegar

2T Grated ginger

1T olive oil

1 bag cauliflower rice – cooked per bag directions

1 bag Asian salad kit - greens only (Hyvee also has a Dole brand. If you want added crunch, save the wontons to top your bowl once it’s cooked.) or a medium chopped head of cabbage

Brown meat & onion. Meanwhile mix all remaining ingredients together (except cabbage and rice). Once meat is cooked, add cabbage, cauliflower rice & sauce and sauté to desired doneness.

I added a tablespoon of siraracha and drizzled with sweet chili sauce.  Delicious! 

One Pan Cheesy Smoked Sausage & Pasta Skillet

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 lb Hillshire Farm Smoked Turkey Sausage, sliced

1 cup diced onion

1 Tbsp minced garlic (about two fresh cloves)

2 cups Chicken Broth

1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup milk or heavy cream

8 oz dry pasta (any small pasta will do)

1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, each

1 cup shredded Cheddar-Jack cheese

1/3 cup chopped scallions, for garnish

Add olive oil to a 4-5 quart sauté pan over medium high heat. Add onions and sausage and cook until lightly browned. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

Add chicken broth, tomatoes, milk, pasta, and seasonings. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until pasta is tender.

Turn off the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of cheese. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and cover for about five minutes to allow cheese to melt. Top with sliced scallions and serve.

Makes about 4 servings.

Italian dressing

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp red-wine vinegar

3 Tbsp water

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp honey

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp dried oregano

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

In small airtight container, combine vinegar, water, oil, parmesan, honey and spices.  Shake well and chill in refrigerator until serving.

This doesn’t make a huge batch so if you’re doing it for a family or wants to keep some on hand, I would double or triple the recipe.  The flavor is good and it’s comforting to know what exactly is in your dressing! 

Grilled Green Beans

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh green beans

4 slices of bacon, diced

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. minced garlic

¼ medium onion, diced

Salt & pepper

Wash and thoroughly dry green beans. Season with salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and shake to mix.  Place on foil that has been covered in non-stick spray.  Place on the top shelf of grill for 20 minutes, flipping half way through.  

Loaded potato chicken bacon casserole

Review by Audra:

Need a delicious warm casserole for the winter nights? That even your pickiest eaters will enjoy?  Look no further!

Ingredients:

8 medium potatoes, cubed

1/3 C. olive oil

Pepper, garlic powder, onion, salt

3 chicken breast

Stir potato, oil and seasonings in bowl.  Once coated spoon out into pan.  Bake for 45 min at 500°.  While potatoes are cooking, cook chicken in skillet with remaining oil.  Cut up chicken and mix with potatoes.  Top with cheese, bacon and green onions.  Bake at 400 for 20 min.  

So freaking good. Amazing. All the kids loved it.

Smashed baby potatoes

Ingredients

8 whole new potatoes (I used baby reds)

3 Tbsp olive oil

Kosher salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Dash of garlic

Rosemary (or other herbs of choice)

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.  On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato. With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil. Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

I topped these with shredded Colby jack, sour cream and some diced green onions. They were great.  Thanks, Pioneer Woman for the recipe. 

Kickin’ Chicken

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients

2-3 lbs of Chicken (I used boneless, skinless breasts)

1 c. Frank's RedHot Original

1/4 c. olive oil

1/4 c. lime juice (fresh is best, but bottle is good too)

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed (you can use garlic powder)

In a medium size bowl, mix RedHot, olive oil, lime juice and garlic.  Place chicken in a ziploc bag and pour marinade over top, making sure the chicken is submerged.  Marinade for four hours in the fridge. Remove chicken from marinade and grill.  The chicken is great with fresh lime juice squeezed on top! 

I grilled this chicken last night after a 3 mile walk and it was perfect.  Just the right amount of heat and it couldn't be easier to make.  This is definitely going in the winner, winner chicken dinner rotation. 

Baked margarita spaghetti squash

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large roma tomato (chopped)

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil (I used dried)

¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Using a large knife, slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise.  Use a spoon to remove the seeds and center strings.  Drizzle the two halves with olive oil and sprinkle with the salt, pepper and garlic.  Place the squash, open side down on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes.   Remove from the oven.  Check to see if the squash is soft and easily comes up with a fork into a spaghetti like texture.  If it’s too hard, bake for another 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven, scrape and fluff the stringy squash with a fork.  Leave the squash in the skin. Turn the oven to broil.  Add the tomatoes and basil into the squash.  Stir and top with mozzarella cheese.  Broil for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

This was really good.  Easy to make.  Healthy and gluten free.  I’m a big fan of spaghetti squash so it was fun to find a new way to enjoy it.  

Parmesan & garlic green bean fries

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

French Green Beans (I used fresh green beans. Wash and snap off the ends)

2 teaspoons Olive Oil

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 tbsp parmesan cheese

pinch of Pepper

Salt to taste

Pre-heat oven to 425°.  Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and add green beans.

Drizzle oil, parmesan, and garlic powder over the green beans. Toss the beans in the mixture.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until crispy. I like to mix them up about half way through. Sprinkle with salt when done. Serve them with Cajun Aioli (mayonnaise mixed with Cajun seasoning). Enjoy!

I’ve been trying to come up with new sides that are low carb and when I found these, I was excited.  I love green beans and I had a bag of fresh ones, so it seemed like the perfect fit. Simple to make and a fun twist on your conventional veggies.  I thought they tasted excellent.  So good, I didn’t even bother making the aioli because I just ate them as is.  I’m a big fan of these and will definitely make them again.  

Olive oil bread dip

Review by Lyndee:

I’m pretty much a carb addict and I love me a nice baguette or rolls dipped in olive oil “stuff” like you get at nice Italian restaurants.  When my hubby brought me home some fresh bread I decided to give this a try, because let’s be honest, a girl can only eat so much toast. 

Ingredients:

1 tbsp minced basil

1 tbsp chopped parsley

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground black pepper

½ tsp salt

½ tsp rosemary

¼  tsp crushed red pepper flakes

½ tsp olive oil

Squeeze of fresh lemon juice about 1/8^th of a tsp

Combine all ingredients except olive oil and lemon juice.  Mix in food processor or with a fork.  Stir in lemon juice and olive oil. 

To serve: combine about 1 ½ tsps of spice blend to 3-4 tbsp olive oil in a small dish.  Dip bread of choice. 

This didn’t come out perfect.  I realized while typing this that I didn’t add the lemon juice and olive oil to the spice prior to adding the larger amount of olive oil.  That may be why it tasted much better once it sat and melded together for a few minutes.  It was a lot of measuring but pretty easy to make and something fun to do with bread.  

Parsley potatoes

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

Potatoes peeled

Olive oil

Butter

Parsley

Garlic

Salt

Pepper

Preheat oven to 350.  Peel potatoes and makes slices ¾ of the way through.  Place on cookie sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and melted butter.  Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt & pepper.  Top with parsley.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Insides will be soft and the outsides will get crispy.  Remove from oven and brush with butter and add some more parsley.  Delicious!