Believe it or not, I have had some trouble deciding on day 2's recipe. I don't want to start off on a dessert rut, but I do have some seriously kick ass desserts to share. Then again, I have several things we all find kickin. So, I'll do one of our favorite dinners.
Swiss Steak
1-3 lbs Beef (skirt steak is an excellent choice)
1 med Onion
1 Green Bell Pepper
2 med Carrots
2 stalks Celery
1 can Tomatoes
1c Red wine
1/2c Boiling Water
1 cube or 1 tbl Beef Stock
2 cloves Garlic, smashed and chopped
Salt & Pepper
You will need either a crock pot or a dutch oven for this. Chop all the veg into small pieces and toss together in a bowl with a little vegetable or olive oil. Put the stock cube or granules in the boiling water. Now bring a heavy (I prefer cast iron) skillet to med/high heat with enough oil to coat the bottom fully. When the pan is searing hot.... sear the beef. Now, as this is going to be a slow wet cooking method, using cheap cuts of beef is not only acceptable, but preferred. Skirt steaks and shoulder cuts have lots of flavour but can be tough. Sear each side of the beef for 3-5 minutes, until each side has obtained a nice browning. Season each side as you sear. Once the meat is well seared, remove from the pan and allot to rest on a plate. Turn the burner to the med side of low (wherever you would usually saute) and wait for the pan to cool a bit. Saute the mixed veg until the onion is translucent. immediately place the veg into your crock pot, turn the crock pot on high and place the pan back on the burner on med/high. Give the pan about 2 minutes to reheat, and deglaze the pan with the red wine. Deglaze means to use a liquid in a hot pan to life the fond (fond being all the tasty browned bits stuck to the pan) making a very flavourful sauce. Be sure to scrape the pan well during deglazing to get all the tasty bits out! when you feel the pan is as deglazed as it is going to get, add the beef stock (out of cubes or granules? canned stock/consume is fine, as is coffee!) While the liquid is heating, add the meat to the crock pot, cutting as necessary to fit. Add the can of tomatoes (dices, while, stewed, doesn't matter). Gently pour the liquid in. Add the garlic and more salt and pepper to taste. Cook on high for 1-2 hours, then turn down to low for an additional 2-4 hours. Alternately, prep the meat and ingredients the night before, toss it in the crock pot on low before you leave for work and you'll have dinner waiting for you when you get home!
We like to serve this over garlic mashed potatoes, but works well as is, with noodles or biscuits!
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