Quick Dinner and Why I Almost Ate Donut Holes Instead

It was after dark when I got home this evening (commute+errands+grocery store), so I had to fix a quick dinner to keep us from eating too late. I made a bourbon-honey-mustard glazed shoulder tender steak for Ken and trimmed a little of the end of the steak off to cube up for stir fry meat for my dinner. No real recipes, but here are some rough guidelines:

Steak:
Combine equal parts bourbon, honey, chicken stock, and spicy brown mustard (I used about 2 tbsp. each); cook in a saucepan until well combined (allow to reduce if you have time). Brush over both sides of steak; season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a skillet (or grill pan) over medium-high heat. Sear each side of the steak (this was grass-fed, so I gave it a little less than 2 minutes per side). Remove steak from skillet; transfer to oven-safe baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over steak and bake in a 350 degree oven to desired doneness (I didn't check the time - maybe 10-15 minutes).

Super green (and yellow) (and brown) stir fry:
I cooked the small cubes of beef (seasoned with salt and pepper) in the grill pan with the steak (above), then set the meat aside. In another skillet, sauté asparagus and bell pepper (chopped pieces of both; I used a yellow pepper) in olive oil. Meanwhile, steam green beans (using your favorite steaming method). When tender, add equal parts soy sauce and rice wine vinegar, and spinach, green onions, fresh basil, cooked beef, and steamed green beans. Add toasted sesame ginger seasoning to taste (1-2 tsp.). Cook until sauce and seasoning have coated vegetables (about 1 minute). Serve immediately.

I got the inspiration for adding fresh herbs to my stir fry from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking (she also has a good healthy cooking blog - 101 Cookbooks). It was so good, it almost made me think I could eat low-carb! However, I used a little too much sesame seasoning and by the time I got to the last couple of bites, I was wishing for rice!

Stir Fry

Honey-Bourbon-Mustard Shoulder Tender Steak

About the donut holes . . . I went to a decent-sized grocery store in Hannibal to shop for ingredients for my recipes for the rest of the week and weekend (normally I like to go to Quincy for groceries, but I had to run errands in Hannibal, so I thought it would be more efficient to get groceries there) . . . since it has been rainy and cloudy, I wanted to make a quick Mediterranean soup. However, [this particular grocery store] didn't have HALF of the ingredients I needed - and they weren't all that exotic! I was also unable to find a couple crucial items for the risotto I'm making this week . . . and to top it all off, the liquor dept. didn't even have champagne, which I need for cupcakes this weekend! By the time I made it to the checkout, I felt pretty defeated and really wanted to pick up the strategically-placed sugared donut holes for dinner . . . sometimes it is hard to attempt to eat well in the rural Midwest! However, I did get gas for less than $3/gallon, so that made me feel a little better about living in a place with no eggplant, shallots, or champagne.