Menu Plan – Spicy Flank and Jicama Fries

Now that summer and grilling season is upon us, instead of just going with burgers or brauts, how bout a little bit fancier for your work week meal?? A little bit of prep, pop a beer while the grill does all the work, add a salad for those veggies and whala, dinner is served!

Menu:

• Spicy Flank Steak
• Jicama Fries
• Spinach Salad

Shopping:

• 1 Flank steak 2-3 lbs (depends on how much you want as left overs)
• 1 jicama
• 1 bag of spinach
• 1 tomato
• 1 cucumber

Pantry:

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons Seasoned Salt
• 1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder with Parsley
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup veg oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sherry
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Coconut Oil/EVOO
• Spices (for jicama fries)
• Dressing for salad – or EVOO and Balsamic Vinegar
• Other items you enjoy in your salad – for example
  • Candied Walnuts
  • Cranberries
  • Cheese (feta, cheddar)
  • Croutons

Pre-Prep

1. Start with the jicama to get it going in the crock pot, and set it and forget it!
   • Peel and slices or dice the jicama (if you want french fries, go with the long slices, if you want hashbrowns, dice them up!
   • Put them into the crockpot (i use a 4 quart), cover with water to near the top, set it on low.
   • 
2. Flank Steak prep
   • Make the marinade:
     • Combine all the ingredients:
       • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
       • 2 teaspoons Seasoned Salt
       • 1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
       • 1 teaspoon paprika
       • 1 teaspoon chili powder
       • 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder with Parsley
       • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
       • 1/4 cup veg oil
       • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
       • 2 tablespoons sherry
       • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
   • Place flank into marination container (plastic ware, glass ware, or a plastic bag!)
     • Score the meat – both sides
     • Seperate the marinade
       • • 1/4 cup for basting
         • 1/2 of the rest for marinating (pour this over the meat)
         • the rest for dipping the cooked meat
         • 
3. Salad (if having the salad within a day or 2 you can prep your veggies ahead of time and store them in containers to be combined day of)
   • Dice cucumber, store in a container
   • Slice/dice/quarter tomatoes, store in a container
   • Any other items, store separately for easy combining
4. 24-36 hours later, drain jicama and store until day of.

Day-Of

1. Heat the grill
2. To make your day of even easier, we are going to use foil packets to cook the jicama
   • Prepare foil with coconut spray oil.
   • Season jicama with coconut oil and spices
   • Place jicama on foil. Better to be a flat row, so it can be easily flipped on the grill
   • Place on one side of the grill – cook for 60 minutes or so – flipping after 30 min
3. At the 45-50 minute mark, remove flank from marinade and place on the grill (discard marinade)
4. Grill steak until desired doneness, about 10-12 minutes (that leaves it pink in the middle and more done on the ends), turning once and basting often.
5. Prep the salad – place all salad ingredients in bowl(s), remember to drain chopped tomatoes/cucumbers first, before adding to the salad. Add dressing.
6. Separate dipping sauce into individual bowls (no fighting), or add a ladle for easy pouring over the meat!
7. Eat!

Options:

Broccoli salad could also go nicely

Cook the jicama and flank in the oven if grilling is not your thing! (cook the jicama till done, take out, cook the flank, in the last 5 minutes, put the jicama on the bottom shelf to heat them up again)

Salad in a jar could also be an option for your salad, or make it a steak salad and forget the fries. This is a very versatile, quick, weeknight meal if you get in a little pre-prep time!

Leftovers:

make tacos with the left over flank. Chop into little pieces, fry up on the stove. Your left over salad fixins can make it complete!

Add to your lunch salad (hot or cold), use the dipping sauce as the dressing (omg, amazing)