One of the many blessings of living on a sailboat is the lack of mirrors. You probably have a dinner plate-sized mirror in the head to brush your teeth. And most of the time, that’s all you really need. You might also have a full-length mirror on board, but you typically can’t back up far enough to get “the real picture.” And we know what that real picture is. The real picture is winter looking at spring; sweatshirts looking at shorts; yoga pants looking at swimsuits. And there is the curse. It’s time to look at ourselves, the real picture, and I suppose…start eating right.

I recently saw nutritionist Tina, from Living Forward Wellness in Annapolis, as part of my wellness package. I thought I’d been eating a solid, balanced, low fat diet (although you would never guess that with some of my recent recipes!) but she keyed me into some things that I wasn’t really addressing: a lack of adequate protein. I could certainly think of worse diagnoses so I embraced this welcome news! I asked her if this Grilled Steak Pasta Salad could be a winner and she said it was. It uses left over grilled steak, pasta, any array of vegetables, and some garlic and marinated artichoke hearts for a rich flavor. And it’s incredibly easy to throw together.

First off you need to grill a steak or better yet, have left over grilled steak. I do like my steak on the rare side, so when I have left over grilled steak I don’t really want to heat it through again so that it continues to cook. That’s why this salad is so perfect.

Grilled Steak Pasta Salad

1/2 lb Penne pasta
1 Grilled Ribeye, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 tablespoons EVOO
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped*
1 package (~8 oz) grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts
A couple pinches of Kosher salt or to taste

*any kind of vegetable can be used in this: asparagus, zucchini, cucumbers are all good options

Cook the pasta in salted water, drain and shock under cold water. Place into a large salad bowl. Drizzle some EVOO and press the garlic onto the pasta. Give it a good long stir and set aside.

Chop all the vegetables. Toss the vegetables and steak into the pasta and drizzle the entire jar of artichoke hearts on top. Blend all ingredients together along with a couple pinches of salt. Serve!

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Grilled Steak Pasta Salad

A nutritious and low calorie use of left over grilled steak.

Author: GalleyPirate

Ingredients

• ½ lb Penne pasta
• 1 Grilled Ribeye, thinly sliced
• 1 Garlic clove, pressed
• 2 tbsp EVOO
• ½ Large red onion, chopped
• 1 Green bell pepper,* chopped
• 1 pkg (~8 oz) Grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 Small jar of Marinated artichoke hearts
• A couple pinches of Kosher salt, or to taste
• *any kind of vegetable can be used in this: asparagus, zucchini, cucumbers are all good options

Instructions

• Thinly slice the steak.
• Cook the pasta in salted water, drain and shock under cold water. Place into a large salad bowl. Drizzle some EVOO and press the garlic onto the pasta. Give it a good long stir and set aside.
• Chop all the vegetables. Toss the vegetables and steak into the pasta and drizzle the entire jar of artichoke hearts on top. Blend all ingredients together along with a couple pinches of salt. Serve!

Notes