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.

Zucchini Cheesy Bread

Ingredients:

3 medium zucchini, or about 4 cups grated zucchini

2 large eggs

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

3 c. shredded mozzarella, divided

1/2 c. freshly grated parmesan

1/4 c. cornstarch

kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

2 tsp. freshly chopped parsley

Marinara, for dipping

Preheat oven to 425º and line a baking sheet with parchment. On a box grater or in a food processor, grate zucchini. Using cheesecloth or a dish towel, wring excess moisture out of zucchini.

Transfer zucchini to a large bowl with eggs, garlic, oregano, 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan, and cornstarch and season with salt and pepper. Stir until completely combined. Transfer “dough” to prepared baking sheet and pat into a crust. Bake until golden and dried out, 25 minutes.

Sprinkle with remaining 2 cups mozzarella, crushed red pepper flakes, and parsley and bake until cheese is melted, 8 to 10 minutes more.  Slice and serve with marinara.

Baked zucchini crisps

Review by Lyndee:

My friend Kara has gotten me totally addicted to the baked zucchini from Crunchtables.  Not kidding, I probably eat it 3 times a week or more.  My mother-in-law brought over some zucchini from the garden the other day so I decided I would attempt to make my own version of this delicious dinner side. 

Ingredients

3 large zucchinis, cut into rounds ¼ inch thick

3 large eggs

½ cup flour

½ tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1½ cup bread crumbs

½ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated

1 tsp. dried oregano

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line two baking sheets with foil.  Arrange 3 shallow, wide bowls or pie plates in a row. In the first bowl, stir together flour, ½ tsp. salt, and ½ tsp. pepper. In the second bowl, whisk together eggs, ½ tsp. salt, and ¼ tsp. pepper. In the third bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, oregano, and ½ tsp. salt.  Working in batches, first dip zucchini in flour mixture, then transfer to egg mixture and toss until coated. Finally, coat zucchini in breadcrumb mixture. Arrange zucchini in a single layer on the baking sheets. Bake 15 minutes then using tongs, flip the coins over and cook for another 7 to 12 minutes more.

These were ok.  Not quite as good as the ones I buy but definitely healthier. I think I should’ve cooked them a few minutes longer to get that desired crispiness.