Beef Dijon and Bruschetta

I just got home and I should be writing a paper for U.S. History.
But on Sunday night I made dinner for everybody. If anyone has seen Julie and Julia, you had to have noticed the extremely delicious bruschetta that Julie makes before she decides to create a blog.

from Sony Pictures

and the recipe can be found here.
I don't think the bruschetta would be too fattening or bad for a part of dinner...
After that I made a Beef Dijon from the LA Weight Loss cook book. This recipe serves one, but I multiplied everything by four for me, my mom, my dad and my sister.

Beef Dijon
4 or 6 oz beef flank steak
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
5 green onions, thinly sliced (I don't think that many is necessary)
1/4 cup water
1/4 packet Herb-Ox very low sodium beef bouillon
1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 Tbsp flour
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 cup fresh asparagus spears

1. Rub black pepper on both sides of the steak
2. Broil steak, 3 inches from heat, for 6 minutes. Turn steak over and brown for 6 to 8 minutes more. Keep warm, allowing to rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
3. Coat skillet with nonfat cooking spray. Combine mushrooms, green onions, water, and beef bouillon; cook until mushrooms are tender.
4. Mix together yogurt, flour, and mustard. Stir into mushroom mixture. Cool and stir until thickened.
5. Cook asparagus by microwaving or steaming.
6. Thinly slice steak against the grain. Arrange steak slices and asparagus on dinner plate. Serve with sauce.

It came out pretty well and everyone seemed to like it.
Yesterday I spent all day writing an American Lit paper, so I did nothing but sit in front of my laptop. And for dinner, my dad made tofu and beef in black bean sauce, using the leftover flank steak from Sunday night.

This week is going to be extremely stressful with the end of the first semester... my teachers really like to pile things up at the end of each quarter.

Genevieve

Stress: Aunt Sue

I've been feeling stressed about work lately, so I know what you mean. It has been hard for me to make changes in my diet when I'm feeling pressured. That's why it's going to be important for us to find changes that we can stick with through all the ups and downs of life. Because there's always going to be some kind of stress coming around the bend. My favorite way to deal with that has always been food. But I'd like to change that.

I used to joke that I'd like to be kidnapped by a band of sprout-eating gypsies and returned six months later and 60 pounds lighter. But I don't know many people who eat sprouts and I don't think I've even met a gypsy. So that particular weight-loss plan is as realistic as my desire to become the next Mrs. Paul McCartney, or Lady McCartney to be more accurate.

I'm going to try the recipes you wrote about this weekend and I haven't kept up my end of the bargain as far as exercise goes, but I'll go to the gym tonight and tomorrow. Progress, not perfection - right?

In the meantime, if you should happen across a fit-looking gypsy........

1/13/10

You know, surprisingly, that wasn't the first pee story you've told me before. I just finished watching Modern Family with Daddy and Kelly.... and Mommy just got home from a dinner party. I made a pasta dish for dinner, which was a little bland, but with a little salt and pepper, it wasn't too bad. It was better than frozen Lean Cuisines for sure. This is also from the Camp Shane cook book:

Penne with Mozzarella, Cherry Tomatoes and Basil

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 cups (1 medium) red onion, thinly sliced
2 cups (1 pint) cherry tomatoes cut in halves
16 oz Penne Pasta, uncooked
8 oz fresh mozzarella, died
8 leaves fresh basil, thinly sliced
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Heat half of the olive oil in a large skillet. Add onions and saute over medium hear until soft. Add tomatoes to skillet and cook five minutes or until tomatoes are heated through. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and toss with sauce. Add mozzarella cheese, basil and black pepper. Drizzle with remaining oil. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.


Now, this uses a whole thing of pasta, so it's more than one serving... so portion size is important. Today,  I snacked on Chex Mix without portioning it out first. so I don't even know how much I had, but I don't think it was that much. School was the usual, and I also had a corn muffin and the last of the smoothie for breakfast this morning-- my meals during the day are never extremely varied.

And now I have to memorize a script for Spanish class.

Adios,

Genevieve