Tender Beef Tips in Gravy

Tender Beef Tips in Gravy

We have a favorite steakhouse that we go to and when we go there, I almost always order the steak tips.  Considering I eat beef maybe only two or three times a month, it's a big deal for me when I find a beef meal that I like and would go back and order again.  I've been looking for that copycat recipe for ages.

Ah, this isn't it, but it sure is good!  And without doubt this is one that I would make again and enjoy again.  My Sweetie Pie, who is the beef eater, absolutely raved about this and had a hard time putting his fork down.  It was a fight to the finish, grins.  No question in his mind, he would definitely eat it again.

This takes a little bit of time, about 2 hours on the stove top, so it's more of a Sunday dinner special.  I don't know if it could be made in a slow cooker or an Instant Pot but if you're good at converting recipes, then I say go for it.  Me, I don't mind doodling about in the kitchen and giving the pot the occasional stir while it's doing a slow simmer, filling the kitchen with maddeningly delicious aromas.

BEEF TIPS IN GRAVY
Adapted, original recipe can be found here 

3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
2 pounds cubed beef stew
1 onion chopped
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Knorr beef bouillon
2 cups low sodium beef broth
1 teaspoon minced garlic (either dried, fresh, or jarred)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup of water mixed with 1/4 cup of cornstarch to create a slurry

Heat a large deep skillet over high heat, add a couple teaspoon of oil and add the onions.  Saute until the onions are tender and translucent.

Add the beef and brown the cubes, stirring to brown all sides, maybe five minutes or so.

Add all remaining ingredients except the slurry mixture.

Allow it to come to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Cover and allow to cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally so your food doesn't burn to the bottom of the pan.

Just before end of cooking time mix the 1/4 cup of cornstarch in 1 cup of water.  Slowly add maybe a half cup of the mixture of the gravy, gently stirring all the while, and let it cook for a bit to see how much it thickens the gravy.  Add more of the slurry until you get the desired thickness.

You may need all of it, you may need less.  Gravy will thicken as it cooks so try not to be heavy handed in the beginning or you could end up with a brown glop.  If that happens, just add more liquid to loosen it up.  Not thick enough to your liking?  Make a little more slurry and add it slowly, stirring to allow it to cook and thicken up.

Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

Sweet Chili Dog Sauce

Sweet Chili Dog Sauce

Sometimes there's nothing like a good hot dog and potato salad to hit the spot.  They remind me of the best days of summer outings and family get-togethers and of course country fairs.

It wasn't until much later in life that I discovered chili dogs, never knew such a thing existed. I was in my late teens when my to-be husband introduced me to chili, and that was in a can.  Up until then hot dogs were served up dripping with mustard or ketchup and relish only and for the brave the occasional pile of diced onion.

Here's a interesting tidbit.  In New England hot dog rolls are primarily split on the top; just about everywhere else they are split along the side.  Ever notice that?  It's quite disconcerting to me to see them split on the side.  I think making my own top-side split hot dog rolls may be on the agenda.

Anyway, enough of all that.

This hot dog chili has a unique flavor.  Aromatic from all the gorgeous spices, sweet, not savory like Tex-Mex chili, so if you're looking for a savory chili this won't be it.  My boyfriend liked the chili so much he ate it without the hot dog, grins.

The list of ingredients looks long, but it's mostly all spices.  This goes together easily.  There is a long slow cooking time but it's worth it.

SWEET CHILI DOG SAUCE
(Adapted from this site)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt (if necessary)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon ground chili powder
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 cup tomato sauce
1 can (14.5 oz) beef broth

2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
half a cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf

In a large pot, like a Dutch oven or small stew pot, heat the oil over medium heat.  A the the hamburg, onion, garlic, salt and pepper and cook until the hamburger is no longer pink, giving it a couple of good stirs to break it up into a mince.  Drain the fat from the meat, reserving everything else.

Add the chili powder, cocoa powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, allspice and cayenne.  Give it a good stir and allow to cook for 3 minutes.

Add the tomato sauce and beef broth and bring to a simmer.  Add remaining ingredients.

Slowly simmer uncovered for about an hour, stirring quite frequently to ensure it's not burning at the bottom of the pan.  If this is thickening too fast, you can add a bit of water and cover the pot.

Discard the cinnamon stick and bay leaf before using.

Spoon the chili sauce over grilled hot dogs and celebrate summer!

COOK'S NOTE:  This keeps very well for several days if put in a covered container and seems to get better with being allowed to mellow out.  A perfect make ahead.

Italian Pot Roast

Have you ever made something in something in your slow cooker that the aroma had you salivating for hours?  Have you ever made something sooooo good that when you finally ate it  you amazed yourself at its sheer deliciousness?  And it was so good that you thought about it for hours and days afterwards?  And the leftovers were squabbled over?  Well, this Italian pot roast was just that for us.  Steel yourself.  This was fabulous.

I had bought a just-under-three-pound chuck roast and then didn't know what to do with it.  It was on sale for half price and I just can't resist a good sale when it comes to meat.  I was expecting to fall back on my favorite New England pot roast, toyed with the idea of trying a homemade steak ranchero (we had just gone out for Mexican and my Sweet Pie had ordered it out so that was a no) so at the last minute I decided to venture out and try something new.  This may have been new to us but it will soon become an old favorite.

I made a couple of substitutions based on what I had on hand, but they are substitutions I would've done anyway.  I'll share my changes in COOK'S NOTES.

ITALIAN POT ROAST

1 three-to-four pound boneless chuck roast, excess fat removed
1 eight-ounce package fresh mushrooms, coarsely chopped  **
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 14-ounce can low-sodium beef broth
1 one-ounce envelope dried onion soup mix **
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 eight-ounce can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning **
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Place mushrooms and onion in the bottom of a 5-to-6 quart slow cooker.

Heat a fry pan over medium-high heat and add the oil.  Sprinkle pepper on the pot roast and then sear the beef on all sides.  Remove meat to the slow cooker.

Pour beef broth and tomato sauce over the beef .  Add the dried onion soup packet.   Cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours or until meat shreds easily with a fork.

Somewhere in that time frame you're going to have to use your good judgment.  About thirty minutes or so before you think it's going to be done, remove the meat to your serving platter.  Add the tomato paste and the dried Italian seasoning to the gravy fixings that are in the slow cooker.  Make a slurry with the cornstarch and two tablespoons of water and stir into the gravy.  Continue cooking the remaining amount of time on high, until gravy is thickened.  You can add the roast back to the pot for a couple of minutes to reheat it, if you want.  Serve roast on a platter with some gravy; additional gravy can go in a separate bowl.

COOK'S NOTES:  Rarely do I ever have packaged dried onion soup mix on the pantry shelf.  I have way too many spices, herbs, and dried vegetables on my shelf not to make the best dried onion soup mix from what I have on hand. It is far superior to the prepackaged mix, in my opinion, and a couple minutes of my time is worth the result and big flavor.

I think white mushrooms would be nice in this, but I bought a package of cremini mushrooms.  They have a bolder flavor, in my opinion, and just stand up better with the rest of the ingredients in this recipe.

Dried Italian seasoning--nope, not happening.  All that is is a mix of Italian herbs expensively mixed and sold in a bottle for your convenience.  For this recipe, I added a good pinch of oregano, basil and thyme, and a bit of garlic.  Done.

I did NOT remove the meat to a separate platter while I made the gravy.  I like a thicker gravy so I know that two tablespoons of cornstarch is not nearly going to be enough, especially when I saw how much liquid there was in my slow cooker.  I made a slurry of 1/4 cup of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of water and just dumped it all in and it worked perfectly for me.  Of course, if you are timid about such things, you cook the roast until fall apart tender, remove all the liquid to a sauce pan and make gravy from there.  Add the meat back and serve.  No judgment from me, smiles.  You have to do what's right and comfortable for you.