Food Therapy

And even Matt cooks dinner...sometimes....

That whole "work" thing that I keep mentioning continues to put a kink in my dinner regimen. I go down to my office/basement/pool table area (as Cheryl calls it) at around 8:30 and next thing you know it's 3PM! I'm way behind...I used to start planning dinner the second that I got hungry...usually at about 8:39 AM. But things have changed. And to add insult to injury, my poor little doggie Abby needed an emergency trip to the vet. The little bugger has an ulcer in her eye and has to wear a CONE on her head for the next week! Breaking my heart! I need to learn how to handle this. But today I came up with the perfect solution...come up with a meal and have someone else cook it! Genius! I can't afford a personal chef, so my husband was going to have to work.

So I look in the fridge and see the defrosted flank steak. Usually I make a batch of fajitas or marinate the steak for at least 8 hours, but I wanted something different. I am not Italian...in fact, I am the antithesis of Italian, but sometimes I can come up with a good one to represent for my hubs...tonight it was Brasciole. I have to say, with only a little direction, Matt whipped up a great meal, which only proves that anyone can do it.

Italian Brasciole
1 flank steak - pounded to 1/2 in. thin
1 bag frozen spinach - defrosted and drained (to drain spinach use either a cheese cloth or triple-layered paper towels and squeeze out all liquid)
1/4 c. grated Parmesan
Montreal Steak seasoning
Sea Salt
Fresh Cracked Peppers
Granulated Garlic
Fresh mozzarella
2 cans tomato sauce (or 1 jar of your fave sauce)
2 cans diced tomatoes
Olive Oil

Pound out flank steak (place on a cutting board between 2 pieces of Saran Wrap) until 1/2 in. thick. Sprinkle with Montreal, garlic powder, salt & pepper. Top with Parmesan cheese, fresh mozzarella and spinach. Roll up length-wise as tight as possible. Secure with either cooking twine or toothpicks.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with olive oil. Sear all sides of the steak until brown (about 1-2 mins/side). Meanwhile add sauce to a dutch oven. I seasoned my sauce with italian seasoning, parmesan, garlic powder, salt, sugar, pepper, crushed red pepper and diced onions...you can season to your taste. Once all sides are browned, place roll in sauce. Bring sauce to a boil over med-high heat. Reduce to low and let cook for 2-3 hours. This cooking process with make a tough cut of meat super tender and delicious.

In case you haven't noticed yet, I'm a huge fan of meals that are basic that can be totally changed to fit your taste or mood. For example, this brasciole can be stuffed with red peppers, ricotta, prosciutto, asparagus, Xanax....you name it, you can use it.

I served with a Caesar salad and buttered spiral noodles (butter, s&p, garlic powder & parm). It was an Italian meal that will make a true Italian or true WASP proud. And to make it even better, all I had to do was eat it! So yum!

Ahhhh...food therapy complete!