Cranberries are on sale now, so it seemed a good time to re-up this recipe.  You can use sirloin steak, or ribeye or NY strip. Works well on chicken breasts, too.

My love of cranberries has been well documented here. So no wonder this is one of my favorite dinners. The potatoes are very creamy – you can make them more calorie friendly by reducing the amount of butter, you probably won’t miss it with the creamy dressing.

1. Cranberry Pepper Steak
2. Bleu Cheese Mashed Potatoes
3. Sliced Carrots
4. Grapes

Cranberry Pepper Steak

• 1/2 cup canned whole cranberries*
• ¼ tsp chili pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 lb sirloin steak
• ½ tsp crushed garlic
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper

saucepan, broiler pan

In saucepan, combine cranberries, pepper flakes, & vinegar.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, cook until thickened and reduced by half. Rub sirloin on both sides with garlic, chili, salt & pepper (use more of each if desired).  Cut into 4 pieces, broil (or grill) 5 minutes on each side for rare.  Spoon sauce over cooked steaks & serve.

Bleu Cheese Mashed Potatoes

• 4 large russet potatoes
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• ½ cup blue cheese dressing

saucepan

Wash and cube potatoes (peeling optional – I never peel mine, just scrub really, really well), add to saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are fork tender (about 20 minutes).  Drain well.  Add butter, salt, pepper and dressing.  Mash potatoes until fluffy (I find a hand mixer works best)

*I keep fresh cranberries in the freezer. If you want to use fresh, add 1/4 cup of sugar and dash of orange juice as a substitute for canned.