Taco Tuesday: Weeknight Steak Street Tacos

How many of us have googled “quick weeknight meals” for those nights we’re exhausted but need to eat? I have more than I would like to admit. Taco Tuesday is the perfect excuse to make a QUICK but delicious dinner that will be ready in NO time. These steak tacos were the creation of my cravings for both tacos and fajitas; because sometimes you just don’t want to have to choose!

Credit: Stay at Home Chef

I’ve found myself stuck between wanting to do all parts of a meal from scratch and not having the energy to do so. So for those of you who are like me, I will give you both versions of this steak street taco recipe so you can decide how much effort you can put into this meal (the time saving hack is my personal fav).

Weeknight Steak Street Tacos (Time Saving Hack)

Ingredients:

One package Trader Joe’s Peppered Hanger Steak

One red bell pepper

One yellow or orange bell pepper

One yellow onion

One tablespoon butter

Three tablespoon of your favorite oil (I personally use avocado oil)

One teaspoon salt

One teaspoon pepper

One teaspoon smoked paprika

One teaspoon cumin

One teaspoon garlic powder

One package Mission Street Taco Tortillas

One bag of your favorite shredded cheddar cheese

Optional: One avocado, sliced

Instructions:

Take the steak package and cheese out of the fridge to come to room temperature. I find when the steak is at room temperature before it hits the hot pan, it creates the yummiest caramelized crust. As for the cheese….well who really wants cold cheese on a hot taco?!

Cut both the bell peppers and onion into ¼ inch slices. In a small bowl add the salt, pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, and garlic powder. Heat a medium sized pan on medium to medium high heat (for electric stoves: medium heat, for gas stoves: medium high heat). Add one tablespoon of your oil and all the butter butter to the pan. Once the butter is melted and bubbling, add the peppers and onions to the pan. Add your seasonings you measured out earlier. Cook the peppers and onions for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once peppers and onions are tender enough for your liking (because my family has made me realize we all have different preferences on this), remove peppers and onions into a heat safe bowl (I use Pyrex glass bowls with lids to keep my food warm). Keep this pan handy and by NO MEANS clean it.

Take your steak out of the packaging and dab with a paper towel to get rid of any moisture. This helps with the caramelizing. Heat the same pan used for the peppers and onions on medium high heat. Add the remaining oil to the pan. Once the oil is HOT, add 2-3 of the steak pieces (do not overcrowd the pan). Let the steak cook without disturbing it for 3 minutes and flip. You should see a deliciously brown and crispy piece of steak when you flip it. Cook the second side of the steak for 3 minutes and remove to a cutting board. Continue this with the remaining steak.

Once all the steak is cooked, let rest for 4-5 minutes. While you impatiently wait for the steak to rest, put all of your tortillas between two LIGHTLY damp paper towels on a microwave safe plate and microwave for 20-30 seconds in the microwave.

Once the steak has rested, cut into bite sized pieces. Now all that is left is the assembly of your perfect taco. Mine is: Tortilla, steak, cheese, peppers/onions, and sliced avocado.

Credit: Campbells

Enjoy!!

For those of you who either don’t have a Trader Joe's or want to rub the steak yourselves...

Ingredients:

One pound of your favorite cut of beef (I prefer hanger or skirt steak)

1.5 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon pepper

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1/2 tablespoon cumin

1/2 tablespoon onion powder

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

Combine all seasonings in a small bowl. Dab steak with a paper towel to remove any moisture. Rub all sides of the steak with the rub, making sure to massage the seasoning blend into the meat. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Follow the above instructions with your pre-rubbed steak.