flank steak | cookingonthebrightside

One of my absolute favorite “inspirational” quotes is something one of the basketball coaches at my high school always used to say (I think it’s attributed to Vince Lombardi) is “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

There are so many examples of this in my daily life, and yet I still find myself almost waiting for positive things to happen. That would be like an athlete just hanging out between games without watching tape or working out or meeting with his team and just showing up expecting to win.

Take this blog for instance…I’ve gotten a few questions lately on how I come up with recipes, test them, etc. One of the questions I found funny was “Do you put everything you cook up on your blog?” I wish. But honestly, it takes a little more work than what you might see on here.

If I’m trying something new, I do go ahead and photograph it in case it turns out awesome – but I don’t put anything on my blog that I don’t like. Unfortunately, I’ve made a few meals lately that haven’t turned out so hot.

One item I found on Pinterest was a stuffed flank steak. It’s stuffed with spinach, roasted red peppers, blue cheese, and a lot of other goodies. It sounded delicious. It looked delicious. But when I bit into it, I was completely underwhelmed. I don’t know if I didn’t pound the steak enough or it was roasted instead of grilled, but the flavor just wasn’t there for me.

Another recipe I tried came as a recommendation from a co-worker from a blog she found. I’m terrified of my crockpot when I’m not at home to check on it, so when she assured me that this chicken curry recipe didn’t turn into a pot of black lava in her home, I figured I’d give it a try. My kitchen smelled awesome – but I don’t know if it’s my dislike for coconut or if I just don’t like curry, but I was not at all a fan. I actually didn’t even eat it!

So, just a testament that it’s not as simple as throwing together a meal and calling it a day! I try new things and make sure they are tasty before sharing them with y’all, so if it doesn’t pass my test, then I don’t pass it on to you! It’s disappointing because I get my hopes up for meals and put a lot into them, but obviously, it’s a learning process on what works and what doesn’t – so I just try to learn from my mistakes and improve upon them down the road!

On the other hand, a surprising success in my sad little world of “I can’t keep green things alive” – my babies I planted on April 7th are still here and are looking beautiful! See…not dead! The rain has definitely helped me, but it’s so much fun seeing what a little TLC and work will do…

Well, now I’m off to cheer on the Memphis Grizzlies as they take on the LA Clippers in Game 6 of the playoff series. My Grizz are up 3-2 and are coming home tonight to hopefully pull off a W for the home crowd, so I’m super pumped to be there with my husband! My Biffer and I attended Game 4 last Saturday (thanks to our wonderful hubbies) to see the Grizz tie up the series, so tonight is going to be even more intense.

I ~~may~~ have listened to Phil Collins “In the Air Tonight” a few times this afternoon just to get myself in the spirit…and I’m only slightly embarrassed to admit that.

Hope everybody has a great weekend…and GO GRIZZ!

So lately I feel like we’ve been so busy that I’ve had no time to go the store. Which means we’ve gone out to eat or ordered take-out a bit too frequently for my taste. It’s just hard for me to be “good” when I go out – I’m like, oh, that salad sounds lovely but I’ll have the bacon-cheeseburger with crispy onions and a side of fries please.

Well, I FINALLY made it to the store the other night and just needed a little something light but filling for a good dinner! I had been craving some Chinese food – so I whipped something up with a lil Asian flair and boy was it delicious! I had never used bok choy before, but it actually wasn’t so scary!

Try this for light dinner or a fabulous lunch!

Asian Steak and Bok Choy Salad (serves 2 / 10 WW pts. per serving)

8 oz. trimmed flank steak

1 bunch bok choy

2 tsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. peanut oil

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 Tbsp. pickled ginger, minced

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. sesame oil

2 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 Tbsp. sesame seeds

1 medium green onion, chopped

Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat.

Salt and pepper your steak on both sides and add to skillet. Cook 7 minutes on each side (ended up about medium in the center – reduce time 2 minutes for medium-rare) and remove from heat. Cover with foil to keep warm.

In the same skillet, heat 1/2 Tbsp. peanut oil. Add bok choy – I ended up only using about 3/4 of the bunch. I layered mine in the skillet and played the rotation game, cooking each piece for about 5 minutes. The leaves should be wilted and the lighter part should soften slightly. It has the same texture of celery – so you want it to stay slightly firm and crunchy!

Remove bok choy and add to your plate.

Now, heat the other 1/2 Tbsp. peanut oil. Add your ginger and garlic and saute for 30-45 seconds.

Reduce heat to medium and add soy sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil and sugar. Whisk to dissolve sugar and bring to a low simmer until slightly thickened. Remove from heat.