Lime Flank Steak Quesadillas

I'm not a huge leftovers person, so I get very excited when I find a way to use yesterday's dinner in a new way. Even more excited when the new meal takes 10 minutes.

Lime Flank Steak Quesadillas
Leftover flank steak and veggies from yesterday's fajitas, cut into small chunks
2 c shredded pepper jack cheese
Leftover lime fajita sauce and guacamole
Flour tortillas

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat with a dash of olive oil cooking spray to coat the pan.
Place one large tortilla in the pan, cover with half the remaining flank steak and veggies, and spread evenly. Sprinkle with 1 c of cheese. Cover with another tortilla, and spray the top with cooking spray.
Cook for about 3-5 minutes per side, until slightly browned. Remove from heat and place on a pizza pan or cookie sheet. Let rest for 2 minutes. 1/2 a pound of flank steak leftovers makes about 2 large quesadillas.

Cut into eight pieces and serve with leftover guacamole, lime sauce, and a little sour cream.

Lime Marinated Flank Steak Fajitas with Guacamole

Simple and fresh. What more could you ask for?

Lime Marinade
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 of a red onion, chopped
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1/2 a jalapeno, stemmed
1 T fresh thyme
1/2 c fresh cilantro
1/4 c + 1/8 c olive oil
1 T honey
1 tsp kosher salt
Puree all ingredients in a blender.
Reserve half of the marinade for fajita sauce.
In a large Ziploc bag, combine the remaining marinade with the flank steak (I used a little less than a pound).
Marinate the steak in the refrigerator for 45 minutes (or 3-4 hours if preparing in advance).

While the steaks are marinating, make guacamole. Family and friends tease me because of all the "one purpose" tools I have in my kitchen, but there are certain gadgets I couldn't live without. The avocado knife is one of them. I also have a potato masher that I use not for potatoes, but for guac making.

La Sarita's Guacamole
3 ripe avocados, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 a jalapeno, diced, with seeds
2 T fresh cilantro, chopped
1 T cream cheese, softened
A squeeze of lemon or lime juice
Dash of Cholula hot sauce
Lawry's Seasoned Salt, to taste
A little cumin and cayenne pepper (eyeball it)

Place all ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Mash and mix around with a potato masher until combined. Keep it slightly chunky. I'm a purist, so I don't add diced tomatoes or onion, but it would make a nice addition.
 
While the steak is still marinating, prepare the fajita veggies:
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1/2 a red onion, sliced

Heat the grill or a grill pan to medium high and grill the steak for about 5 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes.

While the flank steak is resting, heat about 2 tsp oil in a pan over medium heat. I used avocado oil from Vom Fass, but you could use olive oil. Saute the veggies about 5 minutes, until the onion is soft.

Heat a few flour tortillas in the microwave for 30 seconds or in a frying pan for a minute on each side. Thinly slice the flank steak against the grain. Serve the fajitas with the leftover lime marinade and guacamole.

Perhaps my favorite part of this meal was re-purposing it the next day...

Triple Pork Burgers with Spicy Mayo

Don't judge me when you read the word jowl.
 I discovered a new cut of pork, jowl bacon, on a trip to Paoli Local Foods a few months ago. While it makes a delicious addition to a Sunday breakfast, I was craving a bacon cheeseburger, and came across this recipe.











 Triple Pork Sliders with a few adjustments:

• 1 lb of ground pork and 1/2 lb of ground pork sausage (instead of chorizo)
• Added some cumin to the spicy mayo
• Made sandwich-sized burgers instead of sliders

 I popped the extra uncooked patties in the freezer to enjoy another day.