Black and Blue Steak Salad with Roasted Vegetables

No one knows what to do with leftover steak.  It's not really great heated up and eaten like steak the next day because it gets overcooked. Therefore, most people either throw it out, let it sit in their refrigerator until they can justify throwing it out, or eat themselves into a food coma so that there is no leftover steak.  Well, I'm sick of it. It's a waste of perfectly good steak.

Here's how you can use leftover steak in order to create a hearty and delicious salad. Thinly sliced steak, grilled veggies, blue cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette.  YUM.  Enjoy :)

Black and Blue Steak Salad with Asparagus and Red Peppers (4 servings)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 red pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 yellow onion, cut into wedges
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
• 4 portabella mushroom caps
• 1 zucchini sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
• 1 pound leftover steak such as rib eye, flank, etc., room temperature
• 1 (6 ounce) bag mixed greens
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
• 1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled

1. Brush the grill with the olive oil and heat it up to medium.
2. Add the red pepper, onion, asparagus, zucchini, and mushrooms and grill until tender, about 5-8 minutes and set aside.
3. Slice leftover steak thinly.
4. Top greens with steak and grilled vegetables.
5. Serve salad topped blue cheese and balsamic vinaigrette.

Grilled Strip Steak with Onion Blue Cheese Sauce

About a year ago Tom and I tried to grill steaks.  We called my dad and asked him how to do it.  Tom insisted that I back off and let him do the grilling so, as per his request, I left him and the steaks alone. We didn't know that Tom's dad's grill is really high quality and gets RIDICULOUSLY hot.  Tom put the steaks on, didn't watch them, came back in like 8 minutes, and they were completely charred.  He threw a temper tantrum and refused to eat or talk to me for the rest of the evening.  Needless to say, we have not attempted to make steaks since that fiasco.

We decided to give it another shot. I was terrified. 

Yet again, I promised to leave him alone with his steaks. He decided (after I sweetly suggested it) to first cook a steak that we would use for a salad the next day, so he could adjust the grilling time/temperature as necessary.  It came out a little rare for our tastes so he threw it back on for a couple minutes and it came out great!

 Look at the grill master himself, totally absorbed in the task at hand.

Then it was time for the true test of the two main steaks.  In order to distract myself from bothering him and looking over his shoulder the whole time, I decided to make some sort of sauce. As soon as I saw Pioneer Woman's onion blue cheese sauce, I knew I had to make it. Plus it would be potent enough to disguise less-than-perfect steaks (just in case).

EVERYTHING CAME OUT AMAZING! Tom cooked the steaks perfectly.  Deep pink on the inside, grill marks on the outside, so juicy.  The sauce was absolutely decadent.  It was rich and creamy and... just heaven in a sauce.  Just one small note: the recipe makes a TON of sauce. You could definitely cut it in half and still have way more than enough. Neither Tom nor I react well when we try to make something and it's an utter failure so thank God for the complete success :)

There's not much time left in grilling season so go make this now! I promise, you won't be disappointed.  Skip the steakhouse, pop open a bottle of wine, and enjoy!

Grilled Strip Steak with Onion Blue Cheese Sauce (2 servings)

• 2 whole strip steaks
• salt and pepper or steak seasoning
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 whole very large yellow onion, sliced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

1.       Salt and pepper both sides of the steaks. Grill until medium rare or however you like them.

2.       Sauté onions in 4 tablespoons butter over high heat. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until dark and caramelized. Reduce heat to simmer and pour in cream. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until reduced by half. Stir in blue cheese until melted. Serve steaks with sauce on top.