Chipotle-rubbed beef

"Uncompromising quality."

"The finest ingredients."

"Impeccably sourced."

It's what every Michelin-star chef demands of the foods they cook with.

And they should, because if I'm paying $400 for dinner, I want to eat fish that slept in the ocean the night before.

But all too often, this righteous message of using top-quality ingredients falls on the wrong set of ears.

Here's what I mean: 

When we cook at home for ourselves and our families, no one expects culinary fireworks.

So, different standards apply to our cooking....

Which means using ingredients that a high-end chef might dismiss.

Why bother?

Because many of these overlooked ingredients contain the keys to building flavors we crave in the meal prep kitchen.

Take prepared, ready-made ingredients, for example.

You'd expect to be served fresh, handmade pasta from a Michelin-starred Italian restaurant.

But for weekday meal prep at home?

Handmade pasta's not worth the effort. Plus, dried pasta delivers excellent results.

Coconut milk?

Open a can. Unless you want to spend all afternoon grating coconut, then simmering, straining, and separating out your own coconut milk.

Tomato paste? You've got better things to do than make it from scratch.

The canned version is made with sweet, ripe tomatoes that can add a deep, rich flavor to soups and stews.

So if you think your sacrificing quality by using canned foods over fresh, that's not always the case.

...which is what I learned when I discovered chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.

Chipotle peppers don't grow on farms. Well, not exactly...

They're a prepared food.

It's the name given to jalapeno peppers that are smoked, then dried.

Although you can buy dried chipotle peppers by themselves, I like the canned version better.

Before canning, the peppers are rehydrated, then mixed with a savory adobo sauce made from tomato puree, vinegar, garlic and spices.

You can use them right out of the can blended with mayo for a dipping sauce, or as part of a quick marinade for meat, like I did in this week's SIMPL recipe:

Chipotle-rubbed beef with spiced cauliflower, brown rice, and cilantro-lime butter.

I whipped up this easy marinade by cooking onions with garlic and cumin, then blending it with canned chipotle peppers.

The chipotle marinade gives the beef a smoky, aromatic heat as it cooks under the broiler, before slicing thin.

It's paired with steamed brown rice that's tossed with turmeric-charred cauliflower, then mixed in a bowl with a lime-infused cilantro butter.

I used top sirloin beef for this version, although beef tri-tip would work just as well.

All together, it's a mouthwatering weeknight meal that checks all the boxes for protein, fiber, healthy, fats, and most importantly...

Flavor.

Chef's tip: This dish took me 1 hour 45 minutes to make. But to get the most flavor from the chipotle rub, let the beef refrigerate for 3-4 hours with the rub before cooking.

Chef’s other tip: If you’re reading this and it’s still summer, fire up your grill instead of your oven broiler to get even tastier results cooking the beef.

Here's the nutrition breakdown for 1 serving:

You can get the full 5-portion recipe for this, and all my high-protein dishes when you become a SIMPL Insider.

When you upgrade, you'll also:

• Get the full-length step-by-step videos showing how I created each weekly dish

• Save 2+ hours each week by using my links to order ingredients online for delivery (no more grocery shopping)

• Learn the fundamental skills that separates the kitchen pros from the amateurs in my video: Knife Skills Mastery

Get access to this week’s step-by-step cooking video and links to buy ingredients when you upgrade for $19/month.

More high-protein dishes: