Southwestern Peppered Steak Salad

Southwestern Peppered Steak Salad

Personal kitchen creation.

Serving Size: 2

Nutrition Info:
450 Calories
38 Carbs
18g Fat 
35g Protein

*[Main culprits of fat and calories are the Sirloin Steaks (11g Fat, 212 Calories) and Chipolte-Cheddar Dressing (5.5g Fat, 55 Calories ). Therefore for a lighter version, use all salsa and/or use grilled chicken instead of steak]

Ingredients:

Coarse Ground Pepper
1/2 Cup Frozen Whole Kernel Corn

1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Yellow Bell Pepper
1/4 Cup Red Onion
3/4 Cup Canned Pinto Beans
4 Cups of Salad Mix or Spinach (I used the 50/50 Mix Bag with Baby Spinach)
6 oz (0.375lb) of Lean Sirloin Steaks
4 Tbs Salsa
2 Tbs "Brianna's Home-style Chipolte Cheddar" Salad Dressing

Directions:

Step (1) Cook the Steaks:

Heat skillet at medium heat- I would recommend using a cast-iron skillet if you have one. Another option would be to BBQ or cook the steaks on a George Foreman Grill.  

Seasoned the steaks generously with coarse ground pepper on both sides.

Cook to desired "pink-ness". Note- if you select a very thin slice of meat (as seen to the left) the steaks will cook very quick (approximately 5-8 min.) which limits the ability to multi-task.

 Step (2) Veggies Preparation:   

 

Once the steaks are cooked- chop or slice the red and yellow bell peppers and red onion.

Defrost the corn- follow the directions on the bag.

Drain the pinto beans and rise using a colander.

 

Rinse salad mix and towel dry if necessary.

Step (3) Mix Salad Dressing:

Combine and mix the salsa and chipolte cheddar salad dressing, until uniformly blended. 

Step (4) MAKE YOUR SALAD

Start with approximately 2 cups (or hand-fulls) of salad.

Next add pinto beans, red and yellow bell peppers, and red onion. Top with corn and steak. 

I keep the salad dressing on the side, and just dip my fork in it to minimize calories but maximize flavor!

Cooking Note:

Once the steaks are cooked, let them sit for a couple minutes to let them rest. I am not an experience cooker of red-meat but this is something I DO know-

When you cook meat, or anything for that matter it breaks downs the cell walls which contain a lot of moisture. For red meat- that moisture is in the form of blood. As the meat cooks the muscle fibers constrict and therefore cannot hold as much moisture. Since the outside of the steak is hotter than the inside, more moisture can be retained in the inside of the steak. However liquid is constantly escaping from the surface as well (which explains the sizzling noise in the pan).

Once the steak is removed from the heat, the cooling process enables those muscle fibers to open back up; allowing for more moisture to stay within the meat rather than escaping once cut. A great illustration of this was done at Seriouseats.com . They cooked 6 steaks, cut one steak every 2.5 minutes and documented how much each steak "bleed". As you can see from the picture below, the longer the steak sat, the less moisture/liquid bled from the steak.

 

Comparing the first plate (after zero resting) and the second to last plate (after 10min resting)- all those liquids that would normally escape by a premature cut were contained! Simply by letting those muscle fibers open back up- all those delicious flavors are conveniently stored, making for a delicious steak!