W4DW Guest Post Steak Bites

What's for Dinner Wednesday?  Steak Bites with Glazed Carrots and Creamed Peas and Dumplings all made in under 30 minutes.

Those of you that follow me over on Facebook probably know that we had a heifer that tried to give me heart failure.  She concerned me so much that I drove her to the Oklahoma State University Vet Hospital.  Miss Melinda of Bastian Show Calves was my person to vent to during the ordeal because she knows cattle and she happened to be where we bought her from.  Melinda has raised 2 boys that need some good hot meals to keep them going, so I am excited she shared the recipe with all of you this week.  Be sure to check out Melinda's blog, Farm Livin' is My Life or follow them on Facebook.-KFM

My work schedule has changed yet again and so I'm home on Fridays now.  I took full advantage today to make a good lunch for my guys.  And while I'd like to tell you I spent hours slaving over a hot stove to prepare this meal but in all honesty, nothing took more than 30 minutes to prepare.

Steak bites were the main course.  I had a sirloin steak thawed in the fridge and sirloin really is the best steak for these bites.  Trim the steak and slice into bite sized pieces.  Be sure to remove the silver and the excess fat.  Once you have it chopped into small pieces, sprinkle Cowboy Rub over it for seasoning.  Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter in an iron skillet until completely melted and sizzling good.  Add the meat to the butter and cook stirring once or twice until no longer pink inside.  In the meantime, slice and chop a red onion, a yellow onion and a couple of bell peppers.  I also like to add a can or two of mushrooms or some fresh sliced mushrooms.  Once you have all the meat cooked, add more butter to the skillet and saute the veggies.  A little trick for the farm families out there, I used my little crock pots to keep the steak bites and veggies warm until the guys were ready for lunch.  Worked great without drying out the meat.

 

So, now we need some sides.  My guys really are meat and potato type of men.  I popped 6 potatoes in the microwave to partially cook and hit the baked potato button on the microwave for 4.  Once they were done, I slipped the skins off and chopped the potatoes into medium sized chunks.  Now, the skillet from the meat still had a little butter left in it so I added more and fried the potatoes in that skillet.  Really, they just needed a little crispiness on the outside as they were just about done from the microwave.

Chris is a fan of glazed carrots.  In order for this to be a quick meal, I grabbed 2 cans of carrots out of the pantry, heated them up in a little water, added 2 tablespoons of butter and about 3 tablespoons of brown sugar.  Wa la....glazed carrots.

Mike is a fan of creamed peas and dumplings.  I hadn't made them in a while, but dug out the dumpling recipe and whipped it up for him.  A pack of frozen peas with enough milk to cover them plus just a little was put on medium heat while I did the dumplings.  The dumplings called for 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs, 1 egg, 1/3 cup milk, parsley to taste, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 3/4 teaspoon salt.  Mix it up and when the milk is hot and peas are just about cooked, add dumplings by the spoonful and cook until dumplings are floating.

So there you have it.  A nice home cooked comfort meal on a busy spring day.    

W4DW-Simply Elegant Steak and Rice

What's for Dinner this Wednesday?  A recipe that mom has made since I was a kid.  I love this recipe.  It's easy to do the prep work and put in the oven while I help the boys with their homework.  It also uses cheaper cuts of beef and the cooking method makes the steak super tender.  To make the beef easier to cut, I like to have the meat partially frozen. 

The recipe gives you 2 cooking options and it could easily be cooked in a crock pot as well.

Simply Elegant Steak and Rice

1½ pounds tenderized steak or sirloin steak

1½ tablespoons vegetable oil 

2 large onions

1 (4 ounce) can sliced mushrooms

1 (10¾ ounce cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup red wine

1½ teaspoons garlic salt

3 cups hot cooked rice

Cut the steak into thin strips.  Cut the onions into ½ inch thick slices and separate into rings.  In a large oven proof skillet, brown meat in the oil using high heat.  Add onions, sauté until tender crisp.

Drain mushrooms, reserving liquid.

Blend soup, red wine, liquid from mushrooms and garlic salt.  Pour mixture over the steak and onions.  Add mushrooms, cover and simmer for one hour or until steak is tender.

OR

Cover the skillet and bake at 350*F for 1 hour.

Serve over beds of cooked rice.