Flank Steak + Twice Baked Potatoes

I'm going to give out a reallllllly easy one that is still pretty impressive. The marinade I use for this flank steak is 100% store bought but so good on the meat. I can't believe I'm giving away my secret, but it's Kraft Zesty Italian Salad Dressing. I think it might cost less than $2 on sale. If you want to get ambitious, buy the Good Seasons Italian Salad dressing kit and make it yourself, but honestly this has all the same spices etc. so I think it's a great shortcut. This is a great dinner if you, again, want something that is easily prepared in advance but incredibly tasty. The potatoes are just basic baked potatoes (potato: wash, dry, poke holes in with fork, 350 degree oven for 1 hour until soft) but mixed with cheese and all sorts of flavorful additions. I have made this meal on several occasions, but most notably a long time ago for a rather large dinner party I was cooking for a boyfriend's birthday (+/-20 people: 2 flank steaks, 2 packages chicken breasts, 10 potatoes, this awesome zucchini for another post, and a big salad). It was a really fun night and all of our friends were so happy to be at a house, together, eating a homemade meal instead of spending tons of money at a restaurant where they won't let you have a dance party in the kitchen after dinner. Everyone was super impressed and asked for the recipes, so here they are (several years later). It is a meal you can make very easily for 2 people or for 20 people, which I love. Coupled with a green salad it is tasty, quick, and simple. The potatoes, once stuffed (before you bake them the 2nd time) can be frozen in tin foil and reheated in the oven which is really great if you want to make them for just a couple of people. It is also fine to just do regular baked potatoes, but if you have the time then these are worth it. Tonight when I made everything, I threw some asparagus into the marinade with the meat and grilled it, so that was the vegetable. I also found some burrata at the grocery store which I love, so I made an arugula, tomato and burrata salad for us (my friends Kara and Mykaella who I love to have for dinner). I went one step further and made a chocolate chip cookie pie, but I'll save that post for later in the week because my friends are over here carving pumpkins and I am being incredibly unhelpful.

Flank Steak- serves 4-6 people
-1 flank steak (I cut mine in half- against the grain- and froze the other half to use a different time. Flank steak is inexpensive and can be stretched quite far if you are smart about it. Great way to serve steak to a group without breaking the bank)
-1 bottle of Kraft Zesty Italian Salad Dressing

Spread steak out in a pan, cover with the salad dressing. I mess around with it and turn it over a bunch of times to make sure it's all coated in the marinade, but it really isn't necessary. You can marinate it the day/evening before you are going to cook it, or you can do it as late as 30 minutes before you put it on the grill.

Grill on medium high for about 3-4 minutes on each side, or until the meat is 120-125 degrees (for medium rare). Let rest for 5 minutes so the juices can redistribute throughout the meat and then slice against the grain, on the diagonal, VERY thinly. This is a pretty tough cut of meat so the more thinly you slice it, and the more perfectly medium rare it is, the better. Other note: you can substitute or add chicken breasts if you have a non-red-meat eater. I usually budget about 1/2 chix breast per person and then slice it into about 1 in thick slices.

Twice Baked Potatoes (makes 4 servings)- I have put these on my blog before but here is the recipe again

Ingredients:
-2 baking potatoes
-1/2 cup of sour cream
-3/4-1 cup of grated cheddar cheese (I ended up grating my own because it was significantly less expensive than buying pre-grated in a bag. Either is fine.)
-1/4 cup grated white onion (slightly less than 1/2 small onion)
-1 tbs butter
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp pepper
-1 tsp paprika

Directions:
-Wash the potatoes and poke holes in them with a fork. Bake in a 350 degree oven for an hour, or until they are soft. You can also microwave them to speed up the process if you are short on time.
-Slice the potatoes in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the white part of the potato halves and put it into a mixing bowl with all of the other ingredients except the paprika. Mix together so that it looks kind of like mashed potatoes.
-Spoon the mashed potato mixture back into the potato skins and sprinkle each one with paprika.
-Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown on top.

Burrata with Tomatoes and Arugula
(Burrata is a really delicious cheese that is fresh mozz filled with cream. It is amazing spread on a piece of toast or cracker with the salad, or just by itself with the salad.)

-Spread arugula or any lettuce you like onto a plate.
-Slice a tomato and arrange it on the plate.
-Top with the burrata cheese, or regular mozzarella if you can't find burrata. If you prefer to leave the cheese off entirely, I won't be heartbroken either.
-Sprinkle with fresh basil (this is not mandatory but it is tasty)
-Drizzle with either a combination of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or use the balsamic vinaigrette that I always keep in the fridge. The recipe is under the Great Summer Meal post.