Recipe: Swiss Steak

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 pounds red meat, sliced 1/2 inch thick (round steak or roast; beef, venison, or buffalo)
• 1/2 cup milk (we use almond milk as a non-dairy option)
• 1 cup flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• oil for sauteeing (I used olive)
• 6 cups canned tomatoes with juice
• peppers (I like an assortment of color, so I used 1/2 of 1 green, 1 red, and 1 yellow, but you can use green alone if you desire)
• 1-2 medium onions

Directions:

(1) Slice peppers and onions to healthy 1/4 inch thick, yielding "circles". Place half in the bottom of roasting pan or baking dish. This will keep meat from sticking on the bottom.

(2) Trim fat and connective tissue from meat. Rinse. Pat dry. Place in dish filled with 1/2 cup milk. Then move to dish with flour, salt and pepper to taste. Make sure pieces are well coated.

(3) Heat oil in skillet (we use cast iron) until oil sizzles when a bit of flour is added. Place flour covered meat in frying pan. Cook until golden brown and slightly crispy. (Meat will not be done.)

(4) Move meat to roasting pan or baking dish. Place remainder of peppers and onions on top. Then pour tomatoes and juice on top. You should have an inch or so of juice in the pan. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover. (Steam will make the meat nice and tender.)

(5) Place in oven at 275. Cook about 1 1/2 hours. Shift temperature to 325 and cook for 1 more hour or until done. Meat should fall apart when pulled with a fork. (I have cooked this all day in the crock pot.)

(6) Serve with boiled potatoes and canned green beans.

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Glinda's Notes: This is an old family favorite on my side. It is perfect for a winter meal, with its bright colors, slow cook, hot and steaming presence. Mother says this was one of Grandmother Lottie's favorite dishes, which I did not know.

I remember having this when I was growing up. Sometimes Dad would make it on those days when he was not working in the winter. It was a treat to come home to the aroma of this cooking after being outside in the cold. Customarily, the meat would have been beef. The cook would have pounded it with a meat cleaver to "tenderize" it. I do not find that I need to do that. (Is our meat more tender these days?) I even wonder where my meat cleaver is.

We had this last night. As is our custom, we note where the food comes from, especially those things we have grown. The tomatoes were heirlooms we grew last summer and Richard had canned. The venison was local and part of the fall's harvest. The potatoes were from our garden and are among our last. Richard had grown and canned the beans.

I love reclaiming these old family favorites. They feed the body and the spirit, are a comfort and yummy good.

Hint: Do you get teary-eyed when you chop up onions? Try putting the onions in the freezer for a few minutes just before you cut them. Sometimes I even put the cut onions in the freezer until the whole batch is chopped. I do not leave them in there long enough for them to freeze. We are talking just a few minutes. Somehow, the cold air stops that the part of the process that leaves me in tears. What did the Old Timers do?