Steak and Chicken

so many chicken ideas at skinnytaste.com and a lot of those recipes are in the database here on MFP. My favorite is pollo sabrosa.. grilled. bone in chicken thighs(trimmed of excess fat and skin) marinated overnight and grilled. awesome.. reheats well and I shred the meat and use in tacos, burritos and cold on salads. Chicken ropa veja is great.. I put it on salads warm.. same with chicken santa fe. Otherwise I love a great teriyaki marinated chicken breast on the grill, then sliced and served on salad. marinade is easy: soy sauce, some citrus or pineapple juice for acid(or rice wine vinegar), some honey or brown sugar or agave to sweeten, some garlic and ginger all to taste. marinate as long as you can-even overnight. then grill or broil, or even pan saute. I have a vacuum food sealer so I put in all sorts of meat cuts with the marinade and vacuum seal it. freeze. then it marinates as it thaws.
other great marinades are some soy sauce, citrus juice of some sort, cumin, garlic, chili powder and a touch of smoked paprika. I sometimes add in spiced rum or tequila.. just a splash. makes for great flavor. works on beef,chicken and pork. For a great cut of steak(porterhouse, t-bone, rib eye) I don't do anything besides salt and pepper. for less expensive cuts like sirloin or flank- I like marinating in some beer with garlic, soy and ginger or beer, garlic, cumin, chili powder. Basically "asian" and "mexican" flavors.

Steak and Bone In Chicken both get some worscetshire sauce, soy sauce and some meat tenderizer or dried parsley flakes.

I always pan seer, grill or roast chicken for salads and either pan seer or grill steak. Steak usually only gets lots of black pepper. Chicken could be anything - cajun seasoning; rosemary, marjoram and/or thyme; buffalo hot sauce; spicy bbq seasoning and/or sauce; lime and cilantro, ... whatever strikes my mood at the time.

I like flat iron steaks (they're cheap for steak) seasoned with garlic salt and lemon pepper and grilled to med rare on my cast iron griddle. Then sliced thin on the bias. Great for adding to salads.

I prefer chicken thighs to breasts. They seem to dry out less easily. I remove the skin and debone then cut into chuncks and season (garlic salt and lemon pepper are good here too, so is taco seasoning or season salt, whatever) brown on the stove top. Good in tacos, salads and jut adding to a bits and pieces meal.

I have two go to entree salads that I love. Conveniently, one is chicken, the other steak.

Chicken and strawberry salad
Start with a bed of salad greens (a basic spring mix is fine, but I think any salad greens would work). Add in some sliced strawberries. Top with sliced or shredded chicken breast. Sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese and chopped walnuts. Add your favorite dressing, preferably a wed wine or balsamic based dressing. I love Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette.

The chicken can be cooked using any method. I've done this with supermarket rotisserie chicken and also with chicken I've cooked myself, either baked in the oven or in the crockpot.

Steak and Plum Salad
Cook your flank steak. I typically just pan fry it, but grilling would be a good option too. I season with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and sometimes some chile powder if I'm feeling fancy. Spray pan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Cook steak about 6 minutes per side. Remove from pan and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes. Cut across the grain into thin strips.

Again, start with a bed of salad greens. Add cooked flank steak and sliced plums. Sprinkle with pecans (toast the nuts if you feel fancy) and crumbled blue cheese. Top with your favorite dressing. Brianna's Blush Wine vinaigrette works well here, too. I've also used regular balsamic dressing, too.