STEAK AND SPINACH PINWHEELS

If you like beef but are cutting back on portion size, here's the recipe for you!  Stuffed with lots of healthy and delicious spinach filling, less beef is needed.  This makes an attractive dish.  Great served with fresh green beans or asparagus.

1 12-oz beef top round steak, cut 1/2" to 3/4" thick,
  trimmed of all visible fat
2 10-oz packages frozen chopped spinach,
  thawed & well-drained
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup scallions, chopped (both green and white parts)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 350°, or heat grill to medium heat.  Score both sides of round steak by making shallow cuts in a diamond pattern.  Use a meat mallet if necessary to pound meat into a 12" by 8" rectangle.
Squeeze as much moisture as possible out of spinach.  Spread spinach on top of steak.  (You may have extra spinach to reserve for another use.)  On long sides, spread spinach to the edges.  On short sides, spread to within 1/2" of edges.  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese evenly over spinach.  Sprinkle scallions over Parmesan.  In small bowl, combine garlic, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Sprinkle this mixture evenly over top of the scallion layer.  
Roll the steak, jelly-roll fashion, beginning at a short side.  Keep roll snugly, but try not to squeeze any of the spinach mixture out.  Once rolled, secure edge with 8 wooden toothpicks, piercing steak roll at 1" intervals, beginning 1/2" from edge.  Cut rolls halfway between each toothpick, forming eight 1" thick pinwheel slices.  
Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. If grilling, spray a sheet of foil.  Place the pinwheels flat on sheet, so that spinach spirals are visible from above.  Bake 12-15 minutes for medium doneness.  If grilling, pinwheels will cook much faster--After 4 minutes, very carefully flip pinwheels, and check every minute thereafter to prevent overcooking.        
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

SLIMMED-DOWN POT ROAST

This recipe is from Healthy Homestyle Cooking, by Evelyn Tribole. It makes a great Fall or Winter dinner, & it's so easy to make. The original recipe called for baby carrots, and those are simpler (no peeling or chopping), but I like regular carrots better for cooking, so I'm using them in this recipe. It does need some time to cook, so allow at least 21/2 hours from start to finish. It's great for leftovers, and you can easily double the ingredients to ensure that you have some. If you have a "meat & potatoes" person in your house, they'll love this.

12 oz. Yukon Gold (or other) potatoes, halved
11/2 lb. beef top round roast, trimmed of all visible fat
11/2 cups vegetable juice cocktail (such as V-8 juice)
2 tbls Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried basil
6 to 8 large carrots, peeled & cut into 2" chunks
2 small onions, quartered
3 stalks celery, sliced diagonally into 1" pieces

Preheat oven to 325˚. Brown roast: I prefer to grill (no cleanup & nice grilled flavor), but you can also do this in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Preheat grill or pan over med-high heat. Spray w/nonstick cooking spray & brown meat for 2-3 minutes per side, or until browned but not cooked through. Drain and discard drippings if using pan. Place meat in large covered casserole. Cover with onion, celery, potatoes & carrots. (If using large potatoes, cut them into quarters instead of halves.) In small bowl, combine vegetable juice cocktail, Worcestershire sauce, & basil. Stir well. Pour over meat & veggies. Cover casserole & bake 11/2 to 2 hours (maybe even more) until meat is fork-tender.

6 servings
Per serving:
392 cals
11 g fat
108 mg chol

BEEF AND NOODLE STIR-FRY

This recipe uses the 2nd half of the Lemony Flank Steak recipe (below).

4 oz. fettucine
1 cup beef broth
2 Tbls. soy sauce
1 Tbls. cornstarch
1 tsp. grated ginger root
Pepper, to taste
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 medium summer (yellow) squash, halved lengthwise & sliced
1/8" thick
1 small green pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup sliced green onion
1 clove garlic, minced
Half of Lemony Flank Steak recipe, sliced thinly across grain
1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
snipped fresh cilantro or parsley

Cook fettucine, drain, and set aside. Meanwhile, for sauce, stir together beef broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, ginger root, & pepper. Set aside. In large nonstick skillet, heat 1/2 tsp sesame oil til hot. Stir-fry the squash, green pepper, onion & garlic about 3 minutes til tender-crisp (cook longer if you like your veggies more tender). Remove veggies from skillet. Add remaining oil to skillet. Stir-fry meat just til heated through. Push meat away from center of skillet. Stir soy sauce mixture & add to center of skillet. Cook & stir til thickened and bubbly. Cook & stir 1 minute more. Add cooked pasta, veggies, & tomatoes to skillet. Toss to coat w/sauce, & heat through. Sprinkle w/cilantro or parsley, if desired.

GRILLED LEMONY FLANK STEAK

This recipe is a 2-parter. Once you cook the steak, save half for the Beef and Noodle Stir Fry recipe, which I will post soon. The meat needs to marinate at least 2 hours. You can even make it a day ahead.
Also, you can broil this if you do not grill.
The Lemony Flank Steak recipe serves 3, but the Beef & Noodle Stir-Fry recipe easily serves 4. You can choose a larger cut of flank steak to serve more, but you'll still only need 3/4 lbs saved for the Beef & Noodle Stir Fry recipe.

11/2 lbs. beef flank steak or sirloin steak
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
2 Tbls. sugar
2 Tbls. low-sodium soy sauce
11/2 tsp. snipped fresh oregano, or 1/2 tsp. dried
1/8 tsp. black pepper

Score meat by making very shallow cuts at 1" intervals diagonally across steak in 1 direction & then the other, forming a diamond pattern. Repeat on other side. Place meat in large plastic bag. For marinade: Stir together all remaining ingredients until sugar dissolves. Pour over meat, and seal bag shut. Place bag on a plate, and refrigerate. Turn bag over occasionally. Marinate 2 hours minimum. Drain meat, reserving marinade. Heat marinade in microwave on high for 1-2 minutes until just boiling, then allow to cool somewhat. Grill steak on open grill over medium heat 12-14 minutes for medium doneness. Brush occasionally with marinade, and turn once during cooking. Discard any remaining marinade. Cool, then wrap & refrigerate (or freeze) half of steak for Beef & Noodle Stir-Fry recipe. To serve Lemony Flank Steak, thinly slice meat across grain.

Calories: 235 per serving