Sirloin Steaks with Button Mushrooms and Baked Potato

Monday's are always a tough day to get through, but this Monday was made even worse by the freezing temperatures that came after a relatively "springish" weekend...what a disappointment. ANYWAYS I decided to up the Monday ante and take out the beautiful sirloin steaks we purchased from our butcher and cook them up with some veggies. This dinner incorporated ingredients that many people have in the fridge, and for those ingredients you don't have, it would be easy to substitute with similar items.

• 2 Sirloin Steaks
• 2 Red Potatoes
• Button Mushrooms
• Dried Thyme
• Lemon Juice
• White Wine
• S & P
• Blue Cheese
• Butter
• Shallots
• Garlic

The first thing I did was preheat my oven to 400 degrees to roast my potatoes. I poked holes in the potatoes, seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil (to get the skin crispy) and popped in the preheated oven. These take 45 minutes-1 hour to cook so get them started first. Next I started a blue cheese & shallot butter to top the steak and baked potato. I sauteed 2 cloves garlic (small) & 1 shallot in 3/4 stick of butter. Once they had simmered together for apx 10 minutes I slowly whisked in blue cheese crumbles Once it was fully incorporated I poured into a heat safe container and popped in the freezer to cool. Every so often stirring the mix so the oils didn't separate. I patted the sirloin steaks dry and seasoned with salt & pepper. In a hot pan I seared the steaks for two minutes on the first side, then flipped and seared for 3 more minutes on the other side. This will cook them to medium rare temperature. Then I turned the heat down and added some teriyaki to the pan and marinated it over the steaks for 1 minute more. I removed the steaks from the pan to rest and started the mushrooms. In a hot pan with olive oil I placed the mushroom caps, cap-side down and let cook (without touching) until caramelized (apx 3 minutes). Don't move the mushrooms before they are caramelized or they will steam. Then I tossed the mushrooms and cooked the other side for apx 5 minutes until brown. At this point I added garlic and salt and cooked for apx 3 minutes. Then I added a mixture of white wine (1/2 cup), 2 tbs lemon juice & 1 tsp dried thyme. I let this cook until the liquid had evaporated then served the mushrooms immediately. The blue cheese & shallot butter topped the baked potato and steak. This dinner was exactly what we needed to get the week off on a better foot!