Steak au Poivre

Over dinner and drinks on Friday night, my husband declared that he was “disgusted with himself” and really wanted to make a more conscious effort to lose weight. We eat healthily for the most part, but we do tend to splurge on the weekends, and I mean ALL weekend! So, as I could also stand to lose a few, I figured now was as a good a time as any to RESOLVE to eating better and splurging less often.

Tonight I made a recipe from the South Beach Diet cookbook. I did this diet about 3 years ago after really “letting myself go” and lost close to 30 pounds. And although I am no longer on the diet, some of my eating habits have been forever changed, and I still make recipes from this cookbook from time to time. I followed the recipe almost exactly, but I included any changes I made below…

1 clove garlic, crushed
1 ½ teaspoons crushed black peppercorns
4 beef tenderloin steaks (4 ounces each), trimmed of all visible fat
¼ onion, chopped
2/3 cup green bell pepper
2/3 cup red bell pepper
2/3 cup yellow or orange bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon ground paprika
1/3 cup water
½ teaspoon beef-flavored bouillon granules (I used 1/3 cup low sodium beef broth rather than the water and bouillon)
1/3 cup fat free evaporated milk

In a small bowl, combine the crushed garlic and 1 teaspoon of the peppercorns. Press a small amount of the mixture onto each side of the steaks. (I also added salt to the mixture).

Heat a large, nonstick skillet coated with olive oil spray over medium heat. Arrange the steaks in the skillet and cook, turning frequently, for 10 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in the center of a steak registers 160 degrees F for medium. (I did more like 13-14 minutes and still had medium temp steaks). Remove the steaks, place on plate and cover to keep warm.

Clean the skillet, coat with cooking spray, and place over medium heat. Add the onion, peppers, and minced garlic (I also added salt and pepper), stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Pour over the steaks. (I actually poured these onto the plate first, then placed the steaks on top, so the pepper/onion mixture served as a bed for the meat).

In a small bowl, combine the bouillon granules and water (or the beef broth), paprika, milk, salt, and the remaining ½ teaspoon of the peppercorns. Pour into the skillet and cook, stirring often, until the mixture is reduced to ½ cup. Spoon the mixture over the steaks and serve immediately.

I served this with asparagus, which I roasted in the oven with a small amount of olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. I also cooked some brown rice in beef broth as well. I was satisfied with just the steak and the pepper/onion combo, but Matt was happy to have a nice full and balanced meal. Matt had 2 portions of the steak, but didn’t finish. I had one portion, and there are one and a half portions left over for dinner on Wednesday when I won’t be home.

For 4 servings:
204 calories
7 g fat
3 g saturated fat
21 g protein
8 g carbohdrates
1 g fiber
59 mg cholesterol
72 mg sodium