We love a good steak in our house. My favorite is a filet either seared in a cast iron skillet or grilled. I also love my steak with southwestern sauce.

Handy prefers to cut his filet into thin slices cover it with horseradish sauce and grilled onions and eat it on a bakery bun.

On my blog Living Large in A Small House, I may sometimes use affiliate links, which means a small commission is earned if you make a purchase via the link. The price will be the same whether you use the affiliate link or go directly to the vendor’s website using a non-affiliate link. You can find my full Disclosure Policy HERE

Southwestern Sauce

This sauce brings together the flavors of tomato (which I love), jalapeno peppers, and garlic. Butter combines all the flavors in a rich sauce.

You might think it will be spicy but it isn’t really. It has just enough spiciness to create an amazing sauce.

saute pan cooking with the southwestern sauce ingredients

Print Recipe

Yum

Southwestern Sauce

A spicy but not hot, rich sauce

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Sauces

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: southwestern sauce, steak sauce

Servings: servings

Calories: 202kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
6 medium garlic cloves, minced
3 tsps cumin
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup beef stock
4 tomatoes, chopped
4 tbsp chilled butter
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Instructions

Saute peppers, garlic, and cumin in olive oil for one minute; increase heat to high; stir in wine, boil and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup. Add stock, and boil to reduce to 1 cup, stirring constantly.
Lower heat. Add tomatoes and cook down. Add 2 tablespoons of butter, stirring constantly until melted. Add 2 more tablespoons of butter, stirring until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Add cilantro

Nutrition

Yum

How to Cook Your Steaks

Filets are best when brought to room temperature before cooking. They really don’t need anything but salt and pepper on each side.

Heat a cast iron skillet that has a coating of olive oil on high heat. Sear both sides of the steak until browned. When “Handy” is showing off for guests he also will sear the sides of steaks. Then turn the heat down to medium and let the steaks cook until the desired doneness.

We like our steak medium-rare and “Handy” can tell if it’s cooked correctly by just pushing on it with his finger. I need to use a meat thermometer and I cook it until 130 degrees. Then let it sit for 5 minutes.

Rare – 130° – 135°
Medium – 135° – 145°
Medium Well – 145° – 155°
Well Done – 155° – 165°

Other Steaks

While we really like a filet we also like new york strip steaks.

You can also serve this sauce over a rib-eye steak or sirloin steak. Actually, you can serve it over any kind of meat. I haven’t tried it but it might be very good over a salmon steak.

Filet Mignon

Filet Mignon is cut from the tip of the Tenderloin, a delicate and tender area of the loin primal. It’s also an incredibly lean part of the animal, which means you’ll enjoy a fork-tender steak without much fat or connective tissue. These qualities have made Filet Mignon one of the most prized cuts of beef.

Side Dishes

If you’ve never tried grilled romaine, you should. It’s perfect with a steak. This recipe is the one I use HERE

Another thing we love is broasted potatoes. Broasted potatoes are baby potatoes cut in half and par-boiled then tossed in olive oil and any spices you like and then bake until done and crispy brown.

I add crushed garlic, dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, salt, and pepper to my olive oil and then toss.

Tools you’ll need

Other Favorite Steak Toppings

Sauteed Mushrooms
Sauteed Onions
Herb Butter
Horseradish Sauce
Pesto Sauce
Garlic Sauce
Parmesan Butter
Gorgonzola Sauce
Balsamic Sauce
Bourbon Cream Sauce
Bernaise Sauce

filet on toasted bun with steak sauce and sautéed onions

I hope this gives you some ideas to add something special to your next steak. I love all of these steak topping ideas but the southwestern sauce will always be my favorite

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, you might be planning out a special meal. I hope this helps.

Peace and Love,

One other steak we love is flank steak. You get that recipe HERE

Thanks for Following Along

If you enjoyed this post I hope you sign-up to be a friend of Living Large in A Small House! Then you won’t miss any of the inspiration that is shared with you each week! You can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. I share even more inspiration on Pinterest! You can listen to me chat on my Podcast.

Beef sirloin tips and onion gravy in a bowl garnished with green onions

Beef | Main Dishes | Recipes

living large podcast

My guest Crystal Ratzlaff was my guest this week on the podcast. She is a fellow blogger who lives in Canada and we talk about all things home and garden. We also share something we are collaborating on soon.