May 2, 2012

Steak and Quinoa Salad (Plus a guest post!)

Today, I'm sharing some baking over at Adventures of E.  E is a fellow Army wife.  She's stationed in Hawaii.....

.....

Yeah.  I'll let you think a minute on about how I feel about that.


SO, anyway.  Go check out her blogI know you want to know more about our secret army wife world...
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Sometimes I think that I'm the laziest person in the world.  It always hits me on Sundays.  Oh, and Monday and Tuesday nights.

Last Sunday was sunny and bright.  I got up early, crawled out of bed and over the pile of clean clothes that inhabits every inch of my bedroom floor, took a shower, went to Kohl's, went to the grocery store, went to church, went to meet creepy egg guy, and then I proceeded to sit on the couch.

I contemplated trying out a run around the neighborhood.  ....then I didn't.  The only thing that allows me to live with myself on Sundays is that I work out every OTHER day of the week. (And seriously, if I could find a class on Sunday, a lot of this laziness would go away.)

Scott and I tend to fall into this laziness pattern on Sundays once in awhile every week.  What happens is that the other person is there to kick the lazy person in the butt and drag him or her off the couch.  When you don't have anyone there to tell you to GET OFF THE COUCH JOIN THE WORLD OF THE LIVING AND, FOR THE LOVE OF *BLEEP*BLEEP*BLEEP*, YOU'VE SEEN THIS EPISODE OF MAD MEN 12 TIMES, it's really hard to get yourself moving.

So then I made fudge and ate it.

The thing worse than laziness on a Sunday, when you have like 12 hours of awake time to procrastinate, is laziness on a school night.  That's when, after the gym, I've got roughly 2 hours til bedtime.  Some nights I don't make dinner at all.  Some nights I eat candy, drink margaritas, and call it a day.  (Wednesday nights are special.  They are my "comb-the-sales-racks-at-Target-after-Turbokick" evenings.)

Other nights, I make a healthy dinner.  This was a healthy weeknight dinner.

Where the ambition came from, I have no idea.


Flank Steak and Quinoa Salad
 makes 4 servings

2 cups dry quinoa
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups water

1 lb. flank steak, marinated as your prefer (This is my favorite.)

Tomatoes, bell peppers, sweet onions, cucumber, or whatever veggies you have on hand

Cook the quinoa according to the package instructions.  This means, boil the water/stock, add in the dry quinoa, cover, and cook on low for 15-20 minutes (or until all the water has absorbed).

Under broiler (or on the grill if you know how to work it, as I do not), cook the flank steak for 5-8 minutes on each side until it reaches the done-ness you prefer.  Let it rest on the countertop before slicing, thinly, against the grain.

Rinse, chop, and combine your veggies.  Put your quinoa on a plate, top with slices of steak, and a spoonful of the veggies.  I season this by sprinkling garlic salt and onion powder over the top.  You could use your favorite salad dressing though.  Enjoy!