Choosing Recipes- Steak with Hot Sauce Butter and Corn Spinach Salad Meal Test

I love looking through magazines.  The rooms and recipes always look so amazing, I want to try them all! Unfortunately, I am just one woman, and a middle class working mom.  I only have the means to try one new recipe a week, if that.  I usually choose ones with a relatively small ingredient list, less than 15 items, and quick.  My favorites are usually billed as "Weeknight Meal" or something similar.  Such was the case for Real Simple's Steak with Hot Sauce Butter, Corn and Spinach Salad.  Recipe HERE.

I "field tested" this meal earlier in the week.   Now please realize, just because I tore the recipe out of a magazine, or printed it, does not mean it gets a permanent place in my recipe binder.  In order to achieve this lofty goal a recipe or meal must be an all-round family pleaser AND be amazing to me personally. Alternatively it can be special occasion worthy.  Our Steak with Hot Sauce Butter, Corn and Spinach Salad was a big hit.   The hot sauce butter (be sure to use Frank's hot sauce!) added just the right touch of interest to the steak.  Also the corn salad had a bit of scallion and a simple vinaigrette that agreed with everyone. The kids didn't even ask for ranch.  For convenience, I did both the steak and the corn on the stovetop instead of a grill.  I just sauteed the steak on both sides in a skillet.  I boiled the corn.  Be sure to use fresh summer corn!  Overall, both kids and the infinitely more particular DH loved it.  It was a yes for the whole family, it was quick, it was easy-breezy summer, it made the binder!  I will definitely make this meal again.


Overall - 5 Stars
Family Pleaser - 4 stars
Company Food - 2 stars (Unless everyone is outside and you make it on the grill.)
Keeper - YES