Steak Strips in Leek and Red Pepper Gravy

When I purchased leeks for this month's  Eating the Alphabet, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them.  After I picked a recipe to post, I had extra leeks.  This is one of the recipes that I made.  Although I rarely cook with leeks, I put red pepper anywhere I can get away with it.  The combination of leek and red peppers sounded good to me.

I had purchased some London Broil (round steak) on sale and wasn’t quite sure I what I wanted to do with it.  None of the recipes I found appealed to me.  Maybe because it has been so hot here the last few days, and I didn’t want to use the oven.  I ended up putting together something that did sound good to me and could be done on the stove top.

I remembered a Season Salt mixture that Tiffany had posted over at Eat at Home.  I adapted it and coated all my steak strips with the seasoning salt.  This gave lots of flavor to the gravy.

I served this over mashed potatoes, but it could be served over noodles or rice.  Hubby approved, and I will be making this again.

Steak Strips in Leek and Red Pepper Gravy
1 leek sliced into 1/4-inch rings
2 T. olive oil, divided
2 t. Kosher salt
3/4 t. coarse ground pepper
1/4 t. paprika (smoked if you have it)
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. onion powder
3 or 4 turns of Spice Islands Chipotle Chili Seasonings Grinder
1 lb. thick cut round steak cut into 1x2x1/4-inch strips
1 (14 oz.) can beef broth or two cups water and 2 t. Better than Bouillon Beef Flavor Paste
half a medium size red pepper cut into short julienne strips
3 T. flour
1/3 c. water

Place leeks in a bowl of water and swish around to remove any grit and dirt.  Pour water off.  Rinse leeks again and drain.  Place leeks in a clean dish towel and squeeze to dry.  Heat 1 T. olive oil in a medium skillet.  Cook leeks over medium heat until soft.  Remove from skillet and set aside.  Meanwhile combine salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and onion powder and chili seasonings in a medium size bowl.  Mix well.  Add beef strips and mix well.  Make sure that all strips get some of the seasoning salt mix.  Heat second T. of olive oil in the same skillet that you cooked the leeks in.  Add steak strips in a single layer and brown well on both sides.  Remove steak strips to the container with leeks as they brown adding more strips to skillet until all strips are browned.  Return leeks and steak strips to skillet.  Add broth and red pepper.   Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and cook 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Mix flour with 1/3 c. water until well blended.  Slowly add to skillet mixture, stirring constantly.  Boil 2 to 3 minutes until mixture is thickened to gravy consistency.  Serve over mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice.  Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Linking to:  Mop It Up Monday
Must Try Monday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Recipe Sharing Monday
Hunk of Meat Monday
Mangia Monday

Hungarian Beef

A warm welcome to all my new followers, and as always thanks to all who take the time out of their busy lives to read this blog.  I truly appreciate it and hope that you find the information here useful.

After my two week break, I am finally back to cooking.  I need to defrost the freezer so am trying to use what is in to get it cleaned out.

This recipe is another one that uses round steak.  It was in a Gulden’s  Spicy  Brown Mustard ad, and I have been making it for years.  The meat will be easier to slice if it's slightly frozen.

I have adapted it to include carrots and sometimes celery to make it a little healthier.  They can be left out if desired.  Since we just got back Friday, and I have not been to town to grocery shop, I did not have celery to use in the dish in the photo.

This dish is a bit spicy.  Reduce the mustard and the paprika to make it a milder.

The original recipe says to serve it over rice.  Since hubby is not a fan of plain rice, I serve it over noodles, potatoes or Homemade Beef Rice A Roni.  I will post that recipe in a few days.

Hungarian Beef
1 lb. round steak, about 1-inch thick
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 c. water, divided
2/3 c. catsup
2 T. brown sugar
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. Gulden's Spicy Brown Mustard
2 t. paprika
2 T. cornstarch
3-4 small carrots, peeled and cut into match sticks  (opt.)
3/4 c. chopped celery (opt.)

Slice steak into 1/4x2-inch strips.  Spray a skillet with nonstick spray.  Sauté steak strips, a few pieces at a time, until all are browned.  Add onion and garlic; sauté 3-5 minutes.  Add vegetables if using.  Combine catsup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, paprika and 1 c. water.  Add to meat mixture.  Cover and simmer 20-30 minutes until meat is tender, stirring a few times.  Combine cornstarch with remaining 1/2 c. water.  Stir into the meat mixture.  Heat and stir until shiny and thickened.  Serve over hot rice, noodles, or potatoes.  Makes 4 servings.

Linking to:  Hunk of Meat Monday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Busy Monday
Mop It Up Monday
Making Monday's Marvelous
Recipe Sharing Monday
Must Try Monday
Mangia Mondays
Weekend Potluck

Chicken Fried Steak Cubes with Country Gravy

I must warn you that this is not a healthy dish.  It is, however, a dish we love, so I make it once a month or so.  I grew up eating this and my kids grew up eating this.

This is one of my favorite uses for round steak.  I like it because it is simple and easy and makes meat seem to go further.  I don’t generally use a recipe, but I tried to write it out for this post.

This is served with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables, green beans or other veggie and sometimes hot biscuits.

I usually don’t bother, but to make this even more “chicken fried”, the steak cubes can be dunked in a beaten egg before being dredged in the flour.

Chicken Fried Steak Cubes with Country Gravy

1 to 1 1/2 lbs. boneless round steak, cut about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick
2/3 c. flour
1 t. or more seasoned salt of your choice
1/4 to 1/2 t. freshly ground pepper (depending upon how “peppery” your family likes it
enough melted shortening or vegetable oil to cover the  bottom of what ever skillet is being used to a depth of at least 1/8 inch.
3 c. milk

Pound round steak with a meat mallet on both sides.  Cut steak into 1 1/2-inch cubes.  Dip cubes in beaten egg, if desired.  Combine flour with seasoned salt and pepper.  Dredge steak cubes in flour mixture.  This can be done by putting flour in a shallow pan and rolling the cubes in the flour or by putting the flour in a plastic bag (I repurpose a bread sack) and shaking the cubes a few at a time in the bag.  Reserve any excess flour mixture.
Heat the shortening or vegetable oil in a large skillet until hot.  Place the steak cubes in the skillet in a single layer, not letting them touch each other.  (Fry cubes in two batches if necessary).  Cook cubes 2 or 3 minutes on each side until there is a nice crust, turning to cook all sides.  Remove from the skillet and keep warm.
Measure fat left in skillet.  4 to 6 tablespoons fat  will be needed to thicken 3 cups of milk.  Return fat to skillet and reheat if necessary.  Measure reserved flour mixture.  6 tablespoons will be needed.  Add plain flour to seasoned flour to make 6 tablespoons if necessary.  Add flour to fat in skillet and cook, stirring for 1 to 2 minutes to eliminate any raw flour taste.  Slowly add milk, stirring constantly, and cooking until gravy is thickened to your liking.  Add additional milk a little at a time if gravy is too thick.  Serve gravy over steak cubes and mashed potatoes.  Serves 4 to 6

Sour Cream Swiss Steak

I had a rain check from a local store for round steak at $1.99 a lb. that was about to expire so I picked up 15 lbs. this week.  We have round steak quite often due to its low price.  Round steak generally needs to be cooked for awhile in some kind of liquid for the best results.

I have already posted Steak Cubes with Butter Crumb Dumplings which is one of our favorite round steak recipes.  Tonight I made another of our favorites, Sour Cream Swiss Steak.

This recipe comes from New Southern Cooking by Nathalie Dupree, 1986.  I have changed it some from the original recipe.   For the salt and pepper, I use Spice Island Sea Salt and Pepper Grinder and just grind it until I like the amount.   The sauce makes a very good gravy to serve over mashed potatoes, rice or noodles.  I served it over mashed potato pancakes with I make with leftover mashed potatoes.  I will post that recipe soon.  The sauce is on the sweet side so if it is too sweet for you, cut the brown sugar back to 1 1/2 to 2 T.

The recipe calls for a heat-proof skillet.  I use an old Corning Ware 11-inch skillet and can get only about 1 1/2 lbs. round steak in it.  If a heat-proof skillet is not available or 2 lbs. of steak is needed, just use a regular skillet to brown the steak and transfer everything to a baking pan or dish to bake it.

Sour Cream Swiss Steak

1 1/2 to 2 lbs. round steak, cut into serving size pieces
1/4 c. flour
1 t. paprika
1 t. dry mustard
1 t. salt
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper
1/4 c. vegetable oil or 2 T. oil and 2 T. butter
1 medium onion, chopped or 3 T. dried onion
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 c. sour cream
3 T. brown sugar
3 T. soy sauce
3/4 c. water

Using a meat mallet, pound the steak pieces on waxed paper until 1/4-inch thick.  Combine flour, paprika, dry mustard, salt and pepper in a  pie pan.  Dredge meat in flour mixture and set aside.  In a heat-proof skillet, heat oil or butter and oil until hot.  Brown round steak pieces in hot oil and set aside.  Drain off any excess oil and wipe out skillet if necessary.  Mix together sour cream, brown sugar, and soy sauce in a 1 c. glass measuring cup.  Pour mixture into skillet.  Measure the water in the same glass measuring cup to rinse out all sour cream and add to sour cream mixture in skillet.  Add any excess flour from dredging the steak, and mix well.  Return steak pieces to skillet, turning each piece over to get sauce on both sides.  Cover and place in a 300 degree oven.  Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour until steak is tender.  Remove steak to serving platter.  Pour sauce into gravy server to pass at table.  Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Tomorrow Salad Dressing 2: Recipes using mayonnaise as a base

Linking to Vintage Recipe Thursday, 
Hunk of Meat Monday
Recipe Sharing Monday
Ingredient Spotlight

Steak Cubes with Butter Crumb Dumplings

This  recipe originally used 2 lbs. of round steak cut into 6 portions.  I  cube the meat instead and use 1 to 2 lbs. round steak, depending on how many people I am feeding. The meat seems to go further that way.  I also use the Cream Soup Mix that I posted on Monday and add vegetables to the original dish to make it a one-dish meal.  We like our dish saucy, so I double the gravy ingredients.

If you choose to cut the steak into larger pieces, coat the meat with some seasoned flour, then pound it with a meat mallet, and coat it with the flour again before browning it.  This will help to get some flavor into the meat.  Round steak is inexpensive, and I use it a lot; but sometimes it does not have much flavor..

You can make this without rolling the dumplings in the buttered crumbs, but it is much better if you take the time to do it.  You may omit the poultry seasoning in the dumplings or use another herb.

Steak Cubes with Butter Crumb Dumplings
1-1 1/2 lb. round steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 T. salad oil
1/3 c. flour
salt or seasoned salt
pepper
1 can cream of chicken soup or 1/3 c. Cream Soup Mix and 1 1/3 c. water
1 can water
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen vegetables (mixed vegetables, peas and carrots, broccoli, California blend, carrots, etc.)

Heat salad oil in a skillet.  Combine flour, salt and pepper in a plastic bag.  Shake steak cubes in the flour to coat.  When oil is hot, add steak cubes and cook until well browned on all sides.  Transfer to a 9x13-inch baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Add the frozen vegetables to the meat.  Combine the soup or soup mix and 1 1/3 c. water, with the 1 c. water and the salt and pepper in the skillet in which the meat was browned.  Heat until boiling.  Pour over the meat and vegetables.  Cover.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until meat is tender.  Remove from oven; increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.

Butter Crumb Dumplings
1 c. fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 c. melted butter, divided
2 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1 t. poultry seasoning (omit or use other seasoning if you want)
1/2 t. salt
1 c. milk

Mix 1/4 c. melted butter into the bread crumbs combining until all the crumbs are well coated.  Combine flour, baking power, poultry seasoning, and salt.  Stir well.  Combine 1/4 c. melted butter and the milk.  Stir into the flour mixture.  Stir until dry ingredients are moistened.  Mixture will not be smooth.  Spray a kitchen tablespoon with cooking spray.  Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls into the buttered crumbs; roll dough in the crumbs until coated.  Place on top of meat and vegetables.  Bake 20 to 30 minutes until lightly browned on top.  Makes  6-8 servings.

You will probably have buttered crumbs left over, put in a freezer bag, freeze, and use later.

I am linking this recipe to Potluck Sunday at Mommy's Kitchen.

Monday:  DIY Groceries-Cornell Mix