Skillet Beef Tenderloin

I could get used to this

Alert: It’s not tough to cook steak during winter. Either brave the cold – depending on where you live – and grill outside, or use a cast iron skillet. Last night, we did the latter.

The meal, which allowed us to indulge in steak, also kept us aligned with our healthy-eating resolution (we calculated this entire meal to be around 450 calories). The key? Lean beef tenderloin and fresh vegetables. The tenderloin was 4.5 lb originally, but for last night’s meal I cut off three filets that were around 6 ounces each. The rest we froze for later , which I’ll be honest, may be tomorrow given how good everything turned out. The beef I seasoned with a dry rub that I altered just a bit from Weber’s Real Grilling book. And for the vegetables, we kept it simple – sauteed onions and mushrooms, and in a separate pan, green and yellow beans. Definitely alter the rub or vegetable sides to your choosing. And dress the steak however you wish – H likes blue cheese and A1, I like mine as-is. Happy fooding! – C

Um. Yeah. Steak. Delicious, delicious steak.

Ingredients:

• 3 beef tenderloin filets, trimmed of any visible fat, 6 ounces each
• 2 cups of fresh green beans
• 1.5 cups of fresh yellow beans
• 1 medium sweet yellow onion
• 1 cup of sliced white mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Palm-full of fresh thyme

For the dry rub (again, slightly altered from Weber’s Real Grilling book):

• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1/2 tablespoon pure chile powder
• 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon minced, dried garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions for the beef:

1. Let the beef stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes prior to cooking.
2. Prepare the dry rub, and lightly coat each side of the beef with olive oil.
3. Apply the dry rub and then follow The Kitchn’s directions on how to cook steak in the oven (skip to step 4 if you are using our dry rub recipe – and be sure to alter the cooking time depending on the type and thickness of your steaks). Nice and easy.

Directions for onions and mushrooms:

1. Dice the onion and slice the mushrooms (or buy pre-sliced mushrooms)
2. Put 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat
3. Add the onions and mushrooms
4. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper
5. Once onions begin to turn translucent, add the fresh thyme

Directions for beans:

1. Wash the beans and remove any stems
2. Over medium heat, add the beans to a non-stick skillet
3. Season with kosher salt and pepper
4. Add the lemon juice
5. Cook until desired tenderness – we prefer our beans more on the crispy / crunchy side