What’s For Dinner? Slow-Cooked Apple Steak

UPC’s Slow Cooked Apple Steak: A Post-Workout Favorite!

What you’ll need:

• 1 lb frozen Grass-Fed Steak (this cut is a rib-eye; but any cut will do)
• Spices: Fresh ground pepper and Turmeric
• 1 medium Organic Apple (this time I used a Fuji)
• 1/2 large Organic Sweet Potato, home-fry cut
• 4-6 Crimini Mushrooms, quartered
• 1 medium Organic Zucchini, home-fry cut
• 1 tablespoon Coconut Oil
• (optional) 1 large Carrot, home-fry cut
• Spices (choose 2): Oregano, Thyme, Marjoram, Rosemary, Garlic, Ginger

Serves: 2
Cook and Prep Time: 65 minutes

1. Add the steak and the coconut oil to a large pan (with a cover) and turn on to high.

2. Let the pan heat up completely so that the steak is sizzling, then turn the pan down to “Simmer”.

3. As soon as the steak is no longer sizzling, flip it, so that the still-frozen side is down in the pan.

4. Spice the seared side of the steak.

5. Lay the sliced apple out on top of the now-spiced steak, covering the top of the steak as completely as you can.

6. Add the home-fry cut vegetables around the outside of the pan, filling the remainder of the pan with the vegetables.

7. Spread the vegetable spices around on the home-fry vegetables, getting as good coverage as you can.

8. Cover the pan, and let cook for 60 minutes.

Notes and thoughts:

This is one of my favorite meals to make while I’m working out. It’s really easy to prep, taking all of about 5 minutes to sear the meat, spice it, chop and add the veggies to the pan, and cover it. The whole thing is quick, easy, and trouble free! Then I can leave it cooking, entirely ignored while I go hit the gym for an hour. And there’s a delicious Paleo meal, waiting for me cooked and ready as soon as I return! The most difficult part of this meal is not eating it the moment I walk in the door!

If you’re not going to be out for a full hour, there are a few variations that you can make that will increase the enjoyment of parts of this meal. If you follow the above instructions, the vegetables will be fully cooked. They’ll feel, taste, and eat more like stewed vegetables than a stir-fry. There are times when I really like the crisp but cooked flavor of a great stir-fry, but of course, if I’m working out while my food cooks, that’s not the kind of meal I am going to end up with. So, if you’re going to have some time left over after your workout, here is how I would suggest modifying this recipe:Cook the steak with the sweet potatoes and mushrooms spread around it. Take the sweet potatoes and mushrooms out of the pan after about 30 minutes of cooking (or whenever is convenient to you). You can leave them in a bowl to the side. About 15 minutes before meal time, add some carrots to the steak pan to start to soften up.
About 10 minutes before meal time, retrieve the carrots from the steak pan and add them to a new pan. In the fresh pan, add the zucchini, some coconut oil, and some fresh quartered Crimini mushrooms. Cook these on high for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn the heat off and let them sit in the pan. After turning the heat off, add the sweet potatoes and the other mushrooms in with the stir fry, give a good thorough mixing, so that all of the vegetables are mixed together, and leave this to sit until meal time – about 5 more minutes. When it’s meal time, serve all of the stir-fry and slow-cooked vegetables together.