Cooking Light Night

Trying to eat better. Planned a bunch of evening meals from Cooking Light and I'll be reviewing them here. Don cooked this one up to perfection. It's hard to believe it's a light recipe it was so good. We ommitted the frozen mashed potatoes and substituded the roasted potato recipe below. The mushroom sauce on the steak was incredible. Even so, it was the chile, garlic, and parmesan flavoring of the potatoes that really stole the spotlight. Be sure to give enough roasting time to let the potatoes get nice and crispy and make sure you don't add the asparagus too soon or it will get mushy. Serve with a tall glass of ice cold milk.



Sirloin Steaks with Mushroom Sauce and Chive-Garlic Potatoes


Serve with sautéed haricots verts.


4 (4-ounce) boneless sirloin steaks, trimmed (about 1 inch thick)
3/8 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (8-ounce) package sliced cremini mushrooms
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 (24-ounce) package refrigerated mashed potatoes
1/3 cup chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Sprinkle steaks evenly with 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add steaks to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from pan; keep warm.

2. Add mushrooms to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender and beginning to brown, stirring frequently. Combine wine, 1/2 cup water, flour, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon salt; stir well with a whisk. Add wine mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until thick; stir constantly. Remove from heat.

3. Prepare potatoes according to package directions. Stir in chives and garlic powder. Place 3/4 cup potatoes on each of 4 plates. Top each with 1 steak and about 1/4 cup mushroom sauce.

Yield: 4 servings

CALORIES 326 (29% from fat); FAT 10.4g (sat 3.4g,mono 4.9g,poly 0.7g); IRON 4.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 69mg; CALCIUM 46mg; CARBOHYDRATE 29.8g; SODIUM 682mg; PROTEIN 28.4g; FIBER 3.6g

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2008

Spicy Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus


Move the potatoes to one side of the dish before you add the asparagus so the spears can cook in a single, even layer.


2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
6 small red potatoes (about 3/4 pound), quartered
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic, divided
1/2 pound asparagus spears

Preheat oven to 450°.

Combine 1 teaspoon oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt, thyme, peppers, and potatoes in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450º for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cheese and 1/2 teaspoon garlic.

Snap off tough ends of asparagus. Combine 1 teaspoon oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic, and asparagus. Add asparagus mixture to dish. Bake for 10 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender.

Yield: 2 servings

CALORIES 223 (27% from fat); FAT 6.8g (sat 1.9g,mono 3.9g,poly 0.6g); IRON 3.6mg; CHOLESTEROL 5mg; CALCIUM 136mg; CARBOHYDRATE 34.2g; SODIUM 419mg; PROTEIN 9.1g; FIBER 4.6g

Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2003