Steak Salad with Blue Cheese Crumbles

My daughter and her husband are on a we-need-to-loose-10-pounds-so-we-look-good-in-our-swimsuits-on-our-upcoming-Caribbean-vacation health kick. They are the epitome of “work hard-play hard,” and I admire that in them. She’s finishing her last semester of law school and working 20 hours a week. He landed his ideal job (financial analyst for a large golf community – yes, there’s lots of golf involved), and works long, intellectual hours. But boy do they know how to play! And sometimes what goes along with a few years of music festivals, BBQ festivals, and beer festivals is an extra (and unwanted) ten pounds. It takes dedication and hard work to reverse that unfortunate side effect of having so much fun. So to help them out, I changed last night’s menu to salad when I heard they’d be joining us for dinner. Not just any old salad… Steak Salad with Blue Cheese Crumbles to be exact (everyone needs protein!)

I had originally planned a cheesy, bacon-y, sour creamy, potato-y, chicken dish (SO delicious! Find the recipe here.), but I realized that one bowlful (spoonful?) of that could potentially counteract a week’s worth of eating like a rabbit and exercising to the point of exhaustion, and I just couldn’t do that to them. (Don’t worry, I’ll still make it and put it up here in the very near future, but for now, we all get to enjoy this very satisfying, flavorful, and healthy Steak Salad. (The blue cheese crumbles are a bit of an extra indulgence, but nothing complements great steak quite like blue cheese! Am I right?)

Steak Salad with Blue Cheese Crumbles…. aahhhh!

Steak Salad is a bit of an enigma. On the one hand, you’ve got this amazing piece of beef – seasoned and seared to a perfect medium-rare. Normally, this would be accompanied by a massive baked potato stuffed full of butter, bacon, and sour cream. And it would all be paired with rich green beans, dripping in butter (or maybe some bacon grease). Everyone would eat until they were moaning and groaning in pain from being so stuffed. On the other hand you’ve got… well… salad. Not much particularly exciting about that. But something amazing happens when you combine them – you get flavorful strips of decadent beef topped with rich blue cheese, surrounded by mouthfuls of crisp, light, healthy salad. And everyone feels good in the end (except maybe my hubby who was really looking forward to that cheesy, potato-y, chicken dinner!) In fact, it’s even possible to head out to the gym for a quick workout after this meal. Hint hint… This Steak Salad brings the perfect balance of work hard-play hard to the food world. 

(Well, as a brief follow up… While my daughter and son in law were enjoying their healthy Steak Salad, they confessed that the night before, each one of them “surprised” the other and ordered take out pizza. Not one, but TWO pizzas EACH (apparently, there was a buy one get one free special going on)! She picked hers up on her way home from work and he ordered home delivery. So they ended up with 4 pizzas! So there you have it… Kids will be kids! 

If you’re looking for some more salads, check these out!

• Quinoa Salad
• Roasted Beet Salad (one of my faves!)
• Healthy Green Salad 
• Watermelon and Feta  (for something fruity and refreshing!)

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Steak Salad with Blue Cheese Crumbles

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

This Steak Salad with Blue Cheese Crumbles is the perfect combination of decadent and healthy for those of you on a health kick, but still want something delicious and interesting. And it's an easy way to feed a crowd!

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Ingredients

• 2 Pounds Steak, Sirloin or Flank Steak work well
• 1 Tablespoon season salt
• 1 Teaspoon Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Head Romaine Lettuce, Chopped
• 4 Cups Fresh Baby Arugula
• 1 Bunch Radishes, Sliced
• 1 Pint Grape Tomatoes, Sliced in half
• 1 Cucumber, Halved lengthwise and sliced
• 1/2 Red Onion, Sliced very thin
• 1/4 Cup olive oil
• 1/4 Cup White Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 Teaspoon salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• 4 ounces Crumbled Blue Cheese

Instructions

1. Salt and Pepper both sides of steak and set aside to come to room temperature. Heat a large heavy pan or cast iron skillet to medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sear steaks for approximately 4 minutes on each side for medium rare steak. Remove and set aside to rest.
2. In a large bowl combine lettuce, arugula, radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onion. Mix well. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Drizzle oil and vinegar mixture over salad mixture toss until well-coated.
3. Slice steak against the grain into 1/4" thick strips. Place on top of salad and sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles. Serve with crusty bread and enjoy your healthy dinner.