Cooking Light Night #13

Here's a well balanced meal like my mother used to make - Chile-Spiced Tenderloin Steaks with Creamy Mashed Potatoes and Garlicky Green Beans. Of all the nutrition advice out there - food pyramids, low carb, low calorie, this, that, and the other - when it comes to creating a balanced meal, I think we were better off when we just had the four food groups. Every night for dinner growing up, my mom always did her best to make sure that the four food groups were well represented. Although I'm not sure my mom would have picked out these exact recipes, tonights Cooking Light Dinner #13 is still a tribute to her.

This is a very easy weeknight meal for four. I had a fun time putting the rub together and brushing it on the steaks. We did decide though that while not offensive, the lime juice was a little too acidic for the ideal flavouring of this tender beefy cut. I would like to try this rub again with just an olive oil base or something else in place of the lime. Also, it's getting dark out earlier now so it becomes more difficult to grill this time of year. Instead of grilling, I cooked the steaks in a hot cast iron skillet, four minutes on each side for a nice sear. Then, since a couple of the steaks were almost two inches thick in the middle, I also baked them for an additional 4 to 6 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees to get the middle cooked through to a nice medium /medium-rare. One way to know if a steak is done on a thick cut like this is to press into the steak with your finger, if the indentation stays, you need to cook it longer. If it bounces back up firmly then you are good to go. Other modifications to the recipes included leaving the skins on the Yukon Gold Potatoes for a little extra rustic texture (great idea Katy!) , and adding a splash of lemon juice to the Garlicky Green Beans to brighten up the flavor. Serve this with a tall glass of cold milk to complete your four food groups!

Chile-Spiced Tenderloin Steaks
Fire up the grill for juicy, flavor-packed steaks coated in a quick and easy marinade. Serve with baked fries and sliced ripe tomatoes for a complete meal. Time: 35 minutes.

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
4 (4-ounce) beef tenderloin steaks (about 1 inch thick)
Cooking spray

Prepare grill.
Combine first 9 ingredients in a small bowl, and rub marinade mixture evenly over both sides of steaks. Let steaks stand at room temperature 15 minutes. Remove steaks from marinade, and discard remaining marinade. Place steaks on a grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from grill, and let stand 5 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 steak)CALORIES 173 (35% from fat); FAT 6.8g (sat 2.6g,mono 2.7g,poly 0.3g); IRON 1.9mg; CHOLESTEROL 67mg; CALCIUM 29mg; CARBOHYDRATE 2g; SODIUM 424mg; PROTEIN 24.5g; FIBER 0.4g Cooking Light, JUNE 2007

Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Horseradish adds a peppery kick, but the potatoes are also good without it. Or add the horseradish last, just to the portion of potatoes reserved for the adults.

2 1/4 pounds cubed peeled Yukon gold potato
2/3 cup 2% reduced-fat milk, warmed
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Place potatoes in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until tender. Drain. Return potatoes to pan. Add milk and remaining ingredients; mash to desired consistency. Cook over low heat until warm.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 2/3 cup)CALORIES 174 (28% from fat); FAT 5.5g (sat 3.4g,mono 1.4g,poly 0.2g); IRON 0.5mg; CHOLESTEROL 15mg; CALCIUM 29mg; CARBOHYDRATE 28.6g; SODIUM 315mg; PROTEIN 3.2g; FIBER 1.9g Cooking Light, JANUARY 2004

Garlicky Green Beans
If you can find them, use haricots verts, thin and tender green beans. Because this recipe is so simple, coarse freshly ground sea salt and black peppercorns really count.

2 cups green beans, trimmed
1 teaspoon butter
Cooking spray
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

Cook beans in boiling water 2 minutes. Drain and plunge beans into ice water; drain.
Melt butter in a small nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add beans, salt, pepper, and garlic; cook 2 minutes or until heated.

Yield: 2 servings (serving size: 1 cup)CALORIES 54 (35% from fat); FAT 2.1g (sat 1.2g,mono 0.6g,poly 0.1g); IRON 1.2mg; CHOLESTEROL 5mg; CALCIUM 45mg; CARBOHYDRATE 8.4g; SODIUM 170mg; PROTEIN 2.1g; FIBER 3.8g Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2003