Happy super late Thanksgiving! I hope you had a wonderful time, ate tons of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, mac and cheese…aaand now I’m super hungry…and I hope you spent some wonderful time with family and friends!
Now, this recipe…
I might be a little too proud of the title…the goat cheese ris’oat’o…it’s the perfect amount of cheesy (the risotto and the play on words 😏). I’m sure you can guess the reason for the kitschy little name…there is no rice in this dish, but the risotto is made with steel cut oats instead!
The same process is used, but it’s a whole b’oat’ load (lololol okay I’ll stop) healthier than regular risotto, which is made traditionally with arborio rice. But guess what?! It tastes baaallliinnnn’. It has this delicious little chewy bite to it, but it’s still nice and tender. So you end up with a super, SUPER hearty bowl of comforting deliciousness. The goat cheese in this ris’oat’o is just too yummy for words. Goat cheese is a favorite cooking item of mine!
It’s one of the healthier cheese choices, the flavor is amazing, and it melts beautifully. It makes anything and everything perfectly and decadently creamy. But also a little bit tangy. Unfortunately, my husband hates goat cheese with a burning, fiery passion (I’ve tried to sneak it into stuff…he always knows), so it doesn’t get used very much in my house!
BUT – he’s deployed right now. So goat cheese and I ’bout to partayyyy.
^^^ See all that creaminess? That’s allllll from the goat cheese. So good.
Like I said earlier, even though this ris’oat’o uses steel cut oats instead of rice, the process of making it is still the same. Meaning you’ve still got that tell tale “tedious” process of adding stock, stirring, and sort of babysitting it a little bit on your stove. I personally really love the process of making risotto – I think it’s fun and therapeutic, and I don’t mind babysitting it a bit.
And it makes the end result so creamy and tender, so it’s worth the effort!
In contrast to the ris’oat’o, the flank steak is ultra simple and easy peasy. You just marinate it and then broil it in your oven until it’s perfectly medium rare. Broiled flank steak and grilled flank steak are my two favorite preparations. Buttttt it’s winter, so Ima stay inside and use my broiler. Sorry, grill…see ya in June.
So – remember in my last post when I talked about taking a few weeks off to give myself a little bit of a break because Ford’s sleepin’ be cray cray and we had family and friends coming into town to visit? The family and friends came and went, and I had an amazing time with everyone!
And I have updates on the Ford front! I wasn’t going to start sleep training until he was 6 months old when I knew for sure for sure that he had the ability to self soothe. But I went in for his 4 month well-baby check up (he was more like 4 1/2 months by this point), and my pediatrician highly recommended sleep training for naps, because he says there’s really zero reason for him not to be napping on his own in his crib at this point.
So, I went home that day, started sleep training, and it turns out Ford is a little sleep training champ. We are using the Ferber method where you let them cry for short intervals and then go in to comfort them periodically, and he rarely cries for more than just a few minutes! Sometimes he does, but most of the time it’s short and sweet. Yesterday he went down for two of his naps with zero tears…and it was only day 2.
I’m definitely expecting some regressions, and I don’t think he’s going to be a perfect little sleeper or anything, but maaannnn let me tell you how much more time I have in my days now! We’re talkin’ an extra 4-6 hours where I’m not holding a sleeping baby…um…HELLO LIFE, it’s been a while.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved every second of holding that sweet little boy while he slept, but I also am very much enjoying some independence while he naps so I can get some me time – not to mention I now hang out with him more when he’s awake since I get so much done while he’s sleeping.
IT HAS BEEN WONDERFUL. Want to know what I did last night? I curled up in bed with a cup of tea at 8:00 pm and watched a cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie. It…was…HEAVEN. Anyway, now that I have so much more time in my day, I’m more than ready to get back to my regular blogging schedule.
On that note…steak and ris’oat’o 😍👅!
Yayyyy for yummy meals with cheesily clever titles 😉.
This recipe is 11 smart points per serving!
PrintFlank Steak with Goat Cheese Ris’oat’o
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
Ingredients
For the flank steak
- 1 pound flank steak
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon honey
For the ris’oat’o
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 cup uncooked steel cut oats
- 32 oz box beef stock
- 1 cup skim milk
- 4 oz goat cheese
Instructions
- Add the flank steak and all other ingredients (soy sauce, lemon, dijon, garlic, and honey) into a large ziplock bag and season with salt and pepper. Marinate for at least thirty minutes while you cook the ris’oat’o or overnight if you prep the day before.
- In a large, non-stick skillet, add your olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add your shallot and garlic along with some salt and pepper. Cook until the shallots have softened and then stir in your steel cut oats. Cook this for a minute or two
- From this point on, you’re going to add your beef stock one cup at a time, stirring often, and adding the next cup when most of the liquid has absorbed into the oats. Repeat this until all 32 oz of your beef stock have been used up. The risotto should stay at a gentle simmer throughout the cooking process
- When your beef stock is gone, add the one cup of skim milk as your last liquid addition. When most of the milk has absorbed into the oats, remove from the heat and add your goat cheese. This whole cooking process should take around 50 minutes
- Season to taste with salt and pepper
- When there is about 15-20 minutes left on your ris’oat’o, heat your oven to broil. Remove your flank steak from the marinade, pat it dry, season with salt and pepper, and place on a baking sheet. Put the flank steak in the oven on the top grate closest to the top of your oven
- Broil for 5 minutes on each side and then let the steak rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing in thin slices against the grain
- To serve, dish out a portion of the goat cheese ris’oat’o and top with several slices of flank steak
Notes
The cook time on the steak may very likely vary based on your oven’s broiler and how close you have the steak to the broiler. Just keep an eye on it and use a meat thermometer if you have one.
The cook time on the ris’oat’o may vary as well based on how gentle/heavy you are simmering it. The risotto will be done when you have added all your liquid, though, and it should have an “al dente” texture.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 oz of flank steak and 3/4 cup of ris'oat'o
- Calories: 407
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 535 mg
- Fat: 15
- Carbohydrates: 31 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 34 g
If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!
In the mood for more yummy risotto recipes? Check these out:
Pumpkin Barley Risotto with Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Creamy Baked Mushroom Rice << Not actually risotto, but tastes and feels just like it!
Sues says
I love everything about this! But especially the goat cheese!! Ris’oat’o is such a cute idea :)