Citrus Marinated Steak with Asparagus

I have been thinking about making this meal since Friday! However this weekend was my birthday so I was spoiled with new restaurants and great company and really wasn't able to make it until today. I started off my meal by marinating the flank steak in a mixture of fresh juice from 2 oranges and 1 lemon, the zest of the oranges and the lemon, chili powder, salt and pepper.  The steak was set in the fridge to marinate for a little over an hour.

After pulling out all of my lettuce and hoping that it was still good after having sat in the fridge for so long, I was relieved to see that it was still edible. I think if I would have waited until tomorrow to use it though, I might have been sorry! This blue apple thing works great on tougher vegetables, but not so much for the lettuce. Once my lettuce was chopped, rinsed and draining, I started on the creamy basil dressing. 

To a blender I added a small container of plain nonfat yogurt, a handful of chopped fresh basil, the juice from half a lemon, 3 chopped green garlic scapes, a few spoonfuls of white balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  I pureed until smooth and stirred in some more sliced fresh basil.  I tossed the lettuce with about half of the dressing to coat.

After preparing the salad and slicing some cucumber, zucchini and blood oranges, I prepared the asparagus. Since the asparagus was SO big, I sliced them all in half and added them to a large saute pan with some butter, olive oil, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar. This was cooked over medium heat until tender.

For the steak, I heated a grill pan on high and cooked for about 5 minutes per side and placed on a plate to rest. I had saved the marinating juices and decided to make a sauce out of it.  So, I added the juices to a sauce pan with a tablespoon of butter and simmered until reduced and slightly thickened.

To assemble, I put a bed of salad on the plate, added some of the cucumber, zucchini, blood oranges, a bit more dressing and topped with a few slices of the steak which was then drizzled with a bit of the citrus sauce. I added a few pieces of asparagus, sprinkled with shredded fontina cheese and served with some delicious mango slices and rosemary bread.

I think by now it's safe to say that we know I don't usually cook or even like to cook meat, but this time I surprised myself (even if I actually ended up cooking it twice because the first time it was way to rare in the middle for my liking) and it turned out really tasty! The sauce was even really good and went very well with the creamy dressing on the salad. This meal was also extremely filling and after eating out so much this weekend, I feel pretty good about getting back on track with a healthier meal today.  My daughter said to me that this was the best steak that she's ever had, but she also said that she likes everything that I make, so she may not be the best judge, haha!