Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich

A friend introduced me to Ree Drummond's Pioneer Woman blog. LOVE IT! She refers to her husband as Marlboro Man and this is, as the title suggests, his favorite sandwich. 

1 large onion 

1/2 cup butter
2 pounds (to 3 Pounds) Cube Steak
Lawry's Seasoned Salt
½ cup Worcestershire Sauce
Tabasco Sauce
4 whole French/deli Rolls 

Instructions

Slice onions and cook in 1/4 stick butter until soft and light brown. Remove and set aside.

Slice cube steak against the grain. Season with Lawry’s. Heat 2 tablespoons butter over high heat (in same skillet) until melted and beginning to brown. Add meat in single layer. Cook one side until brown, then flip and cook until brown, about a minute on both sides. Add 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce, 5 to 6 shakes Tabasco, and 2 tablespoons butter. Add cooked onions. Stir to combine.

Butter halved French rolls and brown under broiler.

To assemble, lay bottom half of French roll on plate. Place meat mixture, followed by a spoonful of juice from the pan. Top with other half of roll, cut in half, and devour!

Review - These sandwiches were incredibly easy to make. I really enjoyed them. I think I sliced the meat a little too thick, which made it hard for Josie to eat. Little mouth needs little bites. My only complaint again comes from my cookware. I need (not want, need) a cast iron skillet. My non-stick Calphalon is not cutting it anymore. Oh to dream....

Here's the link to Ree Drummond's website. Everything about it is fabulous. She's incredibly witty. Her recipes are great. The pictures will make you drool.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Beef Stew

I found this on Allrecipes.com. I don't know who Kyle is, but his stew could use some work. This recipe yields ten servings. I cut everything in half and it made plenty for a family of four with leftovers.

Kyle's Favorite Beef Stew

3 pounds cubed beef stew meat
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
4 large potatoes, cubed
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 cups boiling water
2 (1 ounce) envelopes onion soup mix
3 tablespoons butter
3 large onions, quartered
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup burgundy wine
2 (6 ounce) packages fresh button mushrooms, halved
1/4 cup warm water
3 tablespoons cornstarch

Toss the beef, flour, and salt in a sealable bag until the beef is coated. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Combine the beef and Worcestershire sauce in the skillet; cook until the beef is evenly browned on all sides; transfer to a slow cooker, but do not clean the skillet. Add the carrots, potatoes, parsley, and pepper to the slow cooker. Combine the boiling water and soup mix in a small bowl; add to slow cooker.

Melt the butter in the skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the melted butter until soft; transfer the onion and garlic to the slow cooker and return the skillet to the heat. Combine the wine and mushrooms to the skillet; cook until the mushrooms begin to absorb the wine; pour the mixture into the slow cooker.

Place the cover on the slow cooker and set to High; cook for one hour. Reduce heat to Low and cook until the beef is fork-tender, 6 to 8 hours. Whisk together the warm water and cornstarch; stir into the stew; cook uncovered until stew thickens, about 15 minutes.

Review - Nothing special. It tasted like regular beef stew. I'm not sure all of the extra steps (browning the meat, sauteing the onions, etc.) really made that much of a difference in the flavor. I'm pretty sure it would have tasted the same had I just thrown everything into the slow cooker. I'll probably save this recipe only because I don't already have a beef stew recipe. Hopefully by the end of this year I'll have found a tastier replacement.