Stuffed Flank Steak

This past Sunday, Clay and I hosted a Mother's Day dinner for our moms. We had good company, good drinks, and great food! I found this recipe in a cookbook I have - Katie Brown's Weekends. We made a couple minor ingredient changes - including the addition of bleu cheese - crucial! Other than that, we didn't change much. You could definitely play around with the ingredients you use to stuff it though - there are a million options.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Flank Steak
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 zucchini, cut into strips lengthwise
6 oz button mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 1/2 red peppers, roasted and cut into strips
1/4 cup Bleu cheese
Kitchen twine
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme (The original recipe calls for these amounts of herbs. I just eyeballed it and probably ended up using more)

Start by laying out your flank steak on a pan you can use to transport it to the grill. The flank steak needs to be butterflied (cut in half parallel to the cutting board almost all the way through). This is a little tricky to do yourself, and if you choose to go this route, be VERY careful. An easier option is to have the butcher at your grocery store do it for you.

* Tip - if you do ask your butcher, ask them to butterfly it width-wise, like a book, instead of lengthwise like mine was. This will make it easier to keep your stuffing inside the steak. You can make it work either way though.

Saute the zucchini and the mushrooms in a pan with a little olive oil until just tender. You don't want to cook them all the way here, because they'll continue to cook when you put the steak on the grill. You really just want to make them soft so they're easier to arrange on the steak.

Sprinkle the inside of the steak with salt and pepper, then begin by laying the zucchini as the bottom layer.
(Got a little help from the hubs one this one while I took the pics :) )

Next, arrange the mushrooms over the zucchini.

Then, top the mushrooms with the red peppers.

Finally, sprinkle the bleu cheese over the red peppers.

Fold the top layer of the steak back over the stuffing. Use the string to secure the edges of the steak and keep the stuffing inside while grilling.We used several pieces of string across the width, and also a couple across the length of the steak too.

Trim any extra string just above the knots. Rub the top of the steak with the chopped parsley and thyme. You can also add some salt and pepper here if you'd like.

Place the steak on a preheated grill, and cook for about 15 minutes on each side, or to your desired level of doneness. Cooking time will vary based on the size and thickness of your steak. Be careful as you flip the steak so as not to lose any of the deliciousness inside.

(We doubled up on the recipe.)

Remove from grill and allow to cook for a few minutes.

Cut and remove the string. Slice either into strips or into portion-sized sections, and serve.