Loaded Citrus Marinated Asada Fries
Welcome to part 2 of my Budget Friendly Meal Series!
Switching out the tortilla chips for fries, Loaded Asada Fries are a California staple! These are fun for a Friday night dinner at home that the whole family will love!
Author: Leslie Stokes
Budeget Friendly Family Meal Series
This series is all about feeding your family on a budget!
I think we can all agree that groceries these days are breaking the budget! Aftering starting a conversation with my online community about the rising cost of food, I knew this series was something I had to do!
Each week I will be sharing a family style meal that fits the budget, along with a “healthy Mom” option because if your family is anything like mine, I’m the only one who likes to eat healthy!
I hope you follow along with this series and please reach out if you have any questions!
Ingredients:
This recipe is simple and nothing to crazy or special, but what sets it apart is the Citrus Marinated Steak- this juicy, flavorful steak is my go-to for tacos and I thought it would be fun to switch it up and make some loaded fries!
Asada fries started taking over every menu in california about 3 years ago and honestly, we can’t get enough! You can go wrong with anything loaded with cheese + guac, am I right?
- 1 lb of steak: I used sirolin tips for this, but flank or skirt steak is great, too! Find something in your budget! I love picking up a pack of skirt steak at sams club for around $20 and freezing half for another time.
- 24oz of fries
- 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese or choice
- 2 avocados
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 limes
- cilantro
- paprika
- onion powder
- cumin
- minced garlic
- 1 large orange
The Budget
I did my shopping for this at Trader Joe’s, but I did price check at a few other places, including Walmart and they were all the same!
You can get the budget down using ground beef if needed!
steak- $8.50 (range would be $8-10)
limes x 2- $0.66
tomatoes x 2- $1.14
avocado x 2- $1.68
cilantro- $0.88
Orange- $0.78
Total- $18.42
Let's Make It!
I love this because it’s pretty much a sheet pan meal, not a lot to do but chop some veggies, marinate the steak and cook the fries!
Slice or chop your steak into small, bite size pieces.
**Skirt steak or flank steak would be best if left whole and grilled, not cooked in a pan!
- In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the steak marinade and then fold in the steak, marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.
Preheat the oven to 425°
I don’t care what the package says to cook the fries on, 425° on the top rack of the oven is the best way to get crispy fries!
- If doing the healthy mom option with the mini bell peppers, add those in about 10 minutes into the cooking process!
- Once preheated, add the fries to the top rack of the oven.
- Start chopping the tomatoes, cilantro and onions + any other toppings you got like, jalapenos or radishes
- Smash two avocados and add in some tomato, cilantro, onion, salt and lime juice to make the guacamole, this is all to taste. Make sure to save some to put on top of the fries, too!
Over high heat, I love using a castiron pan for this, add in 1 tbsp of olive and then add in the steak cook for 3-4 minutes or until the steak starts to brown.
You want a high heat to sear the steak and get those crispy edges!
You also want to make sure the pan is big enough, this will prevent the steak from getting too watery.
Once the fries have cooked for about 15 minute and have started to get brown and crispy, take them out and top with the shredded cheese, pop them back into the oven for another 5 minutes or so, before taking them out.
**you want the fries to get super crispy before topping with cheese.
- Once the cheese is melted, top with steak, tomatoes, cilantro, onions and the guacamole on the side.
This was enough to feed our family of 5 and was such a fun dinner! It was nice to switch up from ground beef or chicken while still keeping it in budget, one pound of steak actually goes a long ways!
I hope you guys love this series and try some of the recipes for your family!
Don’t forget to follow along on social media and please reach out if you have any questions!
Loaded Citrus Marinated Asada Fries
Ingredients
- 1 lb steak of choice skirt, flank, top sirolin tips or even ground beef are a great choice for this! Do what fits your budget!
- 24 oz french fries of choice
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheese of choice
- 2 avocados
- cilantro
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 onion
- *** healthy mom option: mini bell peppers (included in the budget)
- ****other toppings: radishes, jalapenos, sour cream, beans not included in the budget
For the Marinade
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic
- 1 tsp lime juice
- ½ tsp lime zest (you will need 2 limes)
- ½ tsp oregano
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tsp orange zest
- pinch of cilantro
- ¼ cup white onion
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Let's Make It
- Slice or chop your steak into small, bite size pieces.**Skirt steak or flank steak would be best if left whole and grilled, not cooked in a pan!
- In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the steak marinade and then fold in the steak, marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 425° I don't care what the package says to cook the fries on, 425° on the top rack of the oven is the best way to get crispy fries!
- If doing the healthy mom option with the mini bell peppers, add those in about 10 minutes into the cooking process!
- Once preheated, add the fries to the top rack of the oven.
- Start chopping the tomatoes, cilantro and onions + any other toppings you got like, jalapenos or radishes
- Smash two avocados and add in some tomato, cilantro, onion, salt and lime juice to make the guacamole, this is all to taste. Make sure to save some to put on top of the fries, too!
- Over high heat, I love using a castiron pan for this, add in 1 tbsp of olive and then add in the steak cook for 3-4 minutes or until the steak starts to brown.You want a high heat to sear the steak and get those crispy edges!You also want to make sure the pan is big enough, this will prevent the steak from getting too watery.
- Once the fries have cooked for about 15 minute and have started to get brown and crispy, take them out and top with the shredded cheese, pop them back into the oven for another 5 minutes or so, before taking them out.**you want the fries to get super crispy before topping with cheese
- Once the cheese is melted, top with steak, tomatoes, cilantro, onions and the guacamole on the side.
- This was enough to feed our family of 5 and was such a fun dinner! It was nice to switch up from ground beef or chicken while still keeping it in budget, one pound of steak actually goes a long ways!
