Just made up a new recipe and it turned out really great.
I called it: “Beef and Tomatoes”
I started with a small carton of onions and celery (about 1 cup) - already cut up (from my grocery store). You can cut your own if you want.
Heat 1 Tbsp - Olive oil - place onions/celery into heated oil and saute until onions are just soft. I added 1/2 tsp of Garlic Salt w/parsley already in it. I also added 1/2 tsp of basil and 1/2 tsp oregano.
After cooking for a little while, I added 2 pieces of bacon (cut into pieces) into the skillet, and after the bacon was cooked - I drained it and broke it into smaller pieces.
I heated my crockpot (high) while I was finishing cooking the onions/celery. As soon as they were done, I placed them in the bottom of the crockpot.
Next, I used 2 - 6 oz steaks and braised them in the skillet which still contained a small amount of olive oil. I sprinkled them with a small amount of tenderizer (on both sides) as I was cooking them. As soon as they were done, I placed the two steaks into the crockpot on top of the onion/celery mixture.
On top of the steaks I poured a can of Hunts, no salt added, diced tomatoes, juice and all, over the steaks. The tomatoes also help to tenderize the meat.
Then, I put 2-3 Tbsps of water into the skillet and scraped the drippings forming a great beef broth. I poured the broth over the beef and tomatoes - making sure the tomatoes still cover the steaks.
I set the crockpot on LOW and just let it simmer.
After 2-3 hours, I removed the steaks to a cutting board and cut them into bite-sized pieces. I then replaced the meat into the crockpot and added another HALF-can of tomatoes, and stired the mixture.
The mixture continued to cook for another couple of hours.
I did not add any extra salt or seasoning to the mixture.
I had a visitor stop by - and had him sample the mixture. He was very happy with the taste combination.
Of course, you can make it go further, if you scoop the mixture over rice or pasta. If pasta, I would suggest mostiochelli (sp?) or rotelli pasta.
I love this taste combination, and it was so good I will be making it again very soon.
If you have questions, just ask.
Love your number 18...my husband came up with something similar after having the Chianti braised short ribs at Olive Garden. He adds about 1/4 c. of Chianti to the drippings, and uses a little beef broth (if he has it on hand) instead of the water.
Sometimes he uses short ribs, but they are a little expensive around here...so it’s perfect for a less costly cut of meat. I will second your opinion that it is an excellent flavor combo, and perfect to put in the crock pot on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Olive Garden charges like $18 per plate for it!
Three cheese Rice-a-Roni is just AWESOME with it...how horrible is that? Take all of the time to make this lovely beef, and serve it with Rice-a-Roni...but it’s really a good combo...LOL!