This actually wasn’t the plan when I picked up some pork cubed steaks from the discount meat bin, but when I started poking around for recipe ideas for cubed steak I felt silly for never considering it! Also, it’s ridiculous how easy this was to make. So easy that I’m sure this will become a regular meal in the house!

My shortcut? You know from my Shepherd’s Pie recipe that I never skimp on the mashed potatoes, but use a pressure cooker to make it clean and simple. Nope, the secret’s dry country gravy mix. Not only does using a dry gravy mix save a ton of time; it’s also much lighter than traditional gravy. You’ll be trading richness for quick-and-light, but there’s so much flavor in the steak, you won’t miss it. I promise.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cube steaks (pork or beef)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 6 turns fresh ground white pepper
• garlic salt (generously)
  
• 1 egg
• splash of half & half
• vegetable oil, fill the bottom of the pan about 1/3″
  

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl flat and deep enough to dredge. Mix egg and milk/cream in another.

Salt and pepper the cube steak before dredging in the egg wash, then dredge in flour mixture. Dredge again in egg then in flour to thicken the coating.

Heat oil until drop of batter sets it bubbling. Cook on each side ’til it’s browned, about 4–5 minutes per side, flipping with a pair of tongs when halfway done. When cooked through, lay the steaks on paper towel to soak up the moisture and grease.

For dinner serve with mashed potatoes; for breakfast serve with eggs and hash browns and smother with country gravy.

This Sunday dinner was my first attempt at cooking a leg of lamb. With the helpful advice of my friend Tracy I made a delicious herb marinade. I started with the leftover mint from the chilaquiles and chopped it finely. To this I added dried basil and rosemary and 6 chopped cloves of garlic, salt and freshly ground pepper, olive oil and lemon juice. After spreading the marinade over the lamb I marinated for nearly 8 hours. This is a good starter recipe for quantities and I used it for reference, but, as I am prone, I totally winged the quantities on the herbs.

To make the potatoes I tossed them with the leftover marinade, some olive oil and Penzey’s Fleur de Sel, the best salt in the world.

Absolutely incredible. This had our entire Sunday Night Farscape group making yummy noises but otherwise eating in silence. I must admit, that’s my favorite part, knowing all this was worth it.

About a month ago we got a great deal on a whole ham in the discount meat bin. $7 for a TON of ham. The up side? A lot of really good smoked ham. The downside? That’s a lot of ham, and for us, ham is a sometimes food, which means getting creative. I’ve been wanting to try making scalloped potatoes for some time and this was a good opportunity. I combined a few different recipes to come up with this one.

It turned out PERFECT. Rich, delicious, with a sauce that made me lick the bowl. Seriously, I licked the bowl.

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 small yellow gold potatoes, sliced thin
• 1 medium white onion, sliced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1.5 cups half & half
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 1 cup chopped ham

Preheat oven to 400º.  In a saucepan, melt the butter with pepper (again I’ll sing the praises of Penzey’s Shallot Pepper) and Garlic Salt to taste. Add the flour, then when it’s all melted, add the half & half. Stir this until the sauce starts to thicken. Remove from heat.

Sauté the onions in olive oil (butter works too) until cooked through. In a separate bowl toss potatoes, onions, ham, cheese and sauce. Spread in a baking pan and bake for 45 minutes.

Sunday dinner this week was a team effort, pairing my pot roast with Samm’s unbelievably creamy “Wallpaper Paste” mashed potatoes. And so here are two recipes for you!

Slow Cooker Pot Roast
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 4-lb. Pot Roast, well marbled, cut into chunks
• 3–4 large carrots (or two ENORMOUS carrots, like I used)
• 1 parsnip, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1  turnip, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 medium onion, sliced thick
• 1 package baby bella mushrooms
• 4 large cloves minced garlic
• 12 oz. (approx 1 can) beef broth (reduced sodium or a natural brand)
• 1 small can Cream of Mushroom soup
• 1 packet Lipton Onion Mushroom soup mix
• 1/4 cup flour
• Penzey’s Krakow Nights seasoning, to taste

Line bottom of your crock pot with the carrots, parsnip, turnip and garlic. You can use potato too, but since I knew this would be accompanying mashed potatoes I kept them out. Pour cream of mushroom soup and broth on top.

Mix onion soup mix with the flour; toss meat to coat, then layer meat on top of vegetable/soup mixture. Top with onions and mushrooms.

Cook on high for 5 hours, low for 8–10 if your crock pot can handle it. When about an hour is left to cook, add the Krakow  Nights seasoning. 

For a thicker gravy, spoon out the juices into a saucepan and mix with a cornstarch roux.

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Samm’s Wallpaper Paste Mashed Potatoes

• 6 russet potatoes washed and half way skinned and cut into evenly sized pieces (about 1 inch wide)
• Boil
  a big pot of water. Once the water is at a rolling boil add the
  potatoes. Cook for about 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
• Put hot potatoes into the food processor. Add about a 1/4 cup of
  milk and a 1/4 cup of butter (or more butter if you like). Add salt to
  taste.
• Pulse the food processor making sure you get the majority
  of the lumps. It’s done when the potatoes are smooth and sticky. They
  should stick to your spoon when you turn the spoon upside down. You can
  add more or less butter/milk depending on how you like it.
• A trick I like to do is during the last 3-4 minutes of the potatoes
  cooking time I add some garlic powder and fresh chopped garlic to the
  boiling water. It adds a nice garlic flavor that’s subtle and not too
  strong.

These were the perfect complement to the stew; I’ll definitely make this recipe again!

I served this over some mashed purple potatoes acquired at the Oak Park Farmer’s Market. The result is a bit strange-looking but really delicious. Purple potatoes have a really delicious, rich, earthy flavor that are a great contrast to your average mashed potatoes.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb Pork Steaks, Country Ribs, or Pork Chops, chunked
• 1/2 onion, sliced ; 3–4 cloves garlic, crushed or sliced
• 1 envelope Onion Mushroom Soup Mix (or any variety of Onion soup mix)
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp Tomato Paste (I prefer Amoré Double-Concentrated Tomato Paste in a tube… you won’t waste half a can of tomato paste ever again!)
• Baby carrots, frozen corn, frozen peas, vegetables as desired

—-

Sauté onion & garlic in olive oil. Add pork chunks and brown on all sides. Add all remaining ingredients. Simmer on low until vegetables are tender and meat is cooked through, about 15–25 minutes.

I like serving this over mashed potatoes, but you can also cut up potatoes and add them to the stew as well.