Marinated London Broil with Merlot Mushrooms

You are not going to believe how easy, inexpensive and delicious this recipe is! It's wonderful for entertaining, because a little goes a long way. London broil is often on sale for as low as $2.99 a pound. It needs to be marinated and sliced against the grain, but, when cooked properly, it satisfies even the most demanding palate. My husband and I are big meat eaters and love a good steak. London broil is one of my tricks; it allows us to eat steak once or twice a week without breaking the bank. It's also a very versatile meat ~ the marinating options are endless! I make sandwiches, shish-kebab and Italian beef out of it (recipes coming soon). Enjoy!
London Broil: Serves 2

Marinade:
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup merlot
1 tbsp. double concentrate tomato paste
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
2 mashed cloves of garlic
salt
pepper


1 lb. london broil (you can also use hangar or flank steak)

Merlot Mushrooms:
1 package of button or baby bella mushrooms
1/2 cup merlot
1 mashed clove of garlic
salt
pepper
1 tbsp. butter or oil

Assembly:
Combine marinade ingredients. Pour into a resealable bag and add london broil. Refrigerate 1-4 hours. Allow meat to sit for 15 minutes on the counter before grilling. Grill over medium-high heat for 4-6 minutes then flip. Reduce heat to medium-low and grill for another 3-4 minutes for medium rare steak. While meat is cooking, add butter, olive oil or a combination of the two to a saute pan on medium high heat. Add mushrooms and saute until golden (2-3 minutes). Add garlic, salt, pepper and merlot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow the mushrooms to soak up the wine. Once wine is nearly gone, remove from heat (approximately 8-10 minute). Allow meat to rest for 10 minutes before slicing against the grain. Top with mushroom-wine mixture and serve.

Save-a-Buck Marinated Steak Sandwich

This is a great sandwich for a casual get-together with friends! It seems more complicated than it actually is and really maximizes the amount of steak you need. The other ingredients are pretty basic and are most likely items you already have on hand in your kitchen. The only extras are a good baguette or hoagie roll and some sliced provalone cheese.

You can make this sandwich completely on the grill, using a heat-proof pan to cook the onions and mushrooms or you can use an indoor grill pan and your oven.

The finished sandwich (with aioli):

The Veggies:

The Steak:

Marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cabernet
1 clove minced garlic
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
1 tbsp. tomato paste

Other ingredients (makes two large sandwiches):
1 3/4 lb. steak (I recommend strip)
6 white or baby bella mushrooms, quartered
1 small yellow onion, sliced
1 head of roasted garlic (opt.)
salt, pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
4 slices of mozzarella or provalone
2 pieces of baguette or 2 hoagie rolls
basic aioli (use search function to find this recipe)

Assembly:
Marinate meat up to 2 hours (15 minutes is sufficient for a strip or T-bone; longer for flank or London broil). Pat dry and allow meat to come down to near-room temperature. Grill over med-high heat for 4-5 minutes; flip and grill 3-4 additional minutes. Remove from grill and allow meat to rest for approximately 5-10 minutes. While the steak is on the grill, saute mushrooms and onions over medium-high heat until golden. Add salt and pepper, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Stir in roasted garlic. Cube steak into bite sized pieces and stir into mushroom/onion mixture. Slice baguette or hoagie roll and add a generous amount of the steak/vegetable mixture. Top with slices of provalone or mozzarella and bake for 5-10 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven and drizzle aioli over the top of each sandwich. Serve with a knife and fork!