Cajun Steak Sandwiches with Sweet Potato Fries and Creamy Spinach

I've been making lots of recipes from Better Homes and Gardens lately. The reason: I recently went through the recipes accumulating in my BHG recipe folder. You see, rather than keep stacks of old magazines around to clutter the house or my cabinets, every few months I go through the magazines that are fanned out on the bottom shelf of our coffee table. I tear out the pages that interest me. Decorating ideas, party tips, gardening, and of course, recipes all find a home in labelled file folders that I keep on my cookbook shelf. Once you've gleaned the content that appeals to you, you can recycle the magazines, donate them to a school (ask a teacher if they need magazines for projects), or just throw them out. I love clutter busting! I pulled the recipe file when making my last meal plan and as a result, I've been making more recipes from the past year of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

This one caught my eye because it appeared to be quick, easy, and flavorful. It was!

You just toss sweet potato fries in the oven, then give your steak a healthy sprinkle of Cajun seasoning. Sear them on a hot skillet for 3-5 minutes on one side.



Then flip and sear on the other side until the steaks reach the desired amount of doneness.



While the steaks cook, stir together the sauce. I was a little skeptical about this sauce, but I decided to give it a try. It's just mayo, ketchup, and a little molasses.



Slap the steaks on a split, toasted, ciabatta roll. Top with the sauce and some chopped green onions. The ketchup/mayo/molasses sauce on top was surprisingly complementary. The recipe called for sliced tomato too...but the tomato I planned to use seemed a tad on the slimy side. Ewww. Even without the tomato, this was a delicious sandwich and made for a yummy dinner served with sweet potato fries and creamy spinach.



About that spinach, I had baby spinach leftover from the Spinach, Bacon, and Tomato Salsa Wraps that I needed to use. I found a recipe for creamed spinach and then opted to lighten it up by using fat free half and half rather than heavy cream. I have to admit that I was the biggest fan of this side dish. The rest of the family just tried it and went back to the steak and fries. I'll let them off the hook. I don't recall the desire to shovel down spinach when I was a young un'. More likely, I wrinkled my nose and took the required taste just as my children did. Maybe cooked spinach is an acquired taste, because these days I love the stuff. This was really good, even with the fat free half and half.

A quickie side dish, just drop fresh spinach into boiling water and cook for a minute. Then drain, squeezing excess water from the leaves. Coarsely chop.



In a skillet, melt a tablespoon of butter. Add minced garlic and saute until golden.



Stir in spinach. Add fat free half and half.



Bring to a boil and cook for a couple of minutes until the half and half is slightly thickened.



Enjoy!



Cajun Steak Sandwich with Sweet Potato Fries from Better Homes and Gardens
Start to Finish: 25 minutes

Ingredients
1 20-oz. pkg. frozen french-fried sweet potatoes
2 8-oz. trimmed rib-eye steaks or boneless beef top steak, cut 1/2 inch thick
3 tsp. Cajun or blackening seasoning
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. ketchup
1 tsp. molasses
2 ciabatta rolls, split and toasted
1 tomato, sliced
Sliced green onion (optional)
Directions
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread sweet potatoes in 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Bake 18 to 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cut steaks in half crosswise. Coat both sides of steaks with 1-1/2 tsp. seasoning. Heat a cast-iron or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Cook steaks in hot skillet for 3 to 5 minutes on each side.

3. In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, ketchup, molasses and remaining seasoning.

4. Place one steak on each roll half. Top with some of the sauce tomato slice, and green onion. Serve remaining sauce with fries. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 583, Total Fat (g) 29, Saturated Fat (g) 6, Monounsaturated Fat (g) 3, Polyunsaturated Fat (g) 7, Cholesterol (mg) 55, Sodium (mg) 856, Carbohydrate (g) 59, Total Sugar (g) 10, Fiber (g) 6, Protein (g) 24, Vitamin C (DV%) 24, Calcium (DV%) 10, Iron (DV%) 24, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Low Fat Creamed Spinach

Ingredients
1 10-oz. bag spinach
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup fat free half and half
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large pot of rapidly boiling salted water cook spinach for 1 minute. Drain well, squeezing out excess liquid. Pat dry with paper towels. Coarsely chop; set aside.

2. In a large skillet cook garlic in hot butter until golden. Stir in spinach. Add fat free half and half, salt, and pepper. Bring mixture to boiling; cook, uncovered, until cream begins to thicken. Add spinach. Simmer, uncovered, about 2 minutes or until cream is slightly thickened. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Makes 4 servings.

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