I had picked up some cheap flat beef the other day and was trying to decide what to do with it, and then I remembered that my mother used to make swiss steak. Cheap, hardy meals were the plan so I figured some thin round steak or similar was what she used. It also had a bit of tomato based gravy to go with the mandatory mashed potatoes served with most of the meals I ate growing up. So, off the the laboratory, (kitchen) I went. The meats going to be a bit tough, so I figure, crock pot meal. Slow, easy cooking to tenderize without having to pound the crap out of it. For flavor, dredge in a flour and spices mixture and then browning in some oil to give depth to the flavor. As for a cooking liquid, I decided to just use chopped tomatoes, onions and mushrooms and not add any other liquid. I figured the moisture from those would be more than enough. Now, after 4 hours of cooking on high, the flavors seem fine, but I think another 4 hours on low will be just the ticket to finish the tenderization process.

2-3 lbs cheap flat steak, round or similar

2 cans chopped tomatoes with juice

1 lb mushrooms, large chopped

1 onion large chopoed

Dredge for meat:

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp each garlic powder, salt, pepper, onion powder,

1/2 tsp each ground red pepper, sweet hungarian paprika

Trim the meat of the worst of the gristle and fat, but some fat will contribute to flavor. Dredge in meat in the flour mixture and set aside. In pan on stovetop heated to medium-high, add a 1T of oil and heat until smoking. Add meat a few pieces at a time to prevent crowding and to allow for enough heat to create a brown crust. Flip after a minute or two and then remove. Repeat until all meat is browned.Toss onions in crock pot, put meat on top of onions, then pour remaining ingredients into crock pot and cook on high for at least 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Check flavor after 4 hours and adjust as necessary. Possibly more salt, more paprika, or more pepper. I’m going to server over noodles, but mashed potatoes would work just as well. enjoy

Editor:

OK, so I changed my mind and just added angel hair pasta to the pot. Let it cook for about 30 minutes and wow. HMMMM MMMMM good.