Stew, stir-fry, chili, soup; I'm starting to get uninspired. Really. Uninspired on beef dishes. When you HAVE to make something you can't. You just can't think of something. Just can't be creative.
I have beef block.
Well, I should say I HAD beef block. Until this just popped into my head. I've been obsessed with mushrooms since I roasted those crack shrooms a few weeks ago. Now I want to use those things on everything. I MEANT to put them on pizza we had Monday. You'll just have to wait for that one...
But I really wanted to put them with some braised beef. So. I did. And it was delicious. And we ate it. And we were full. *snort*
The beef was deliciously tender. The mushrooms had that luscious thyme flavor. The noodles with their garlicky butter flavor. The green beans; crispy and simple. Just simple, easy, tasty goodness in a slow cooker. Yup. I didn't have to do much with this meal. I chopped some shrooms. I mixed water with cornstarch. Boiled some noodles, and nuked some green beans. Voila. Dinner's on the table in less than 20.
A TASTY dinner is on the table in less than 20. Like. I can't wait for lunch the next day, tasty. Yes. I have lunch for dinner, for those who are new to my blog. I rarely - and I can't express how enough the RARELY part - eat out for lunch at work. There has to be NOTHING in fridge or pantry for me to have for lunch for me to eat out. OR there's a special office function, like our Christmas party...excuse me, HOLIDAY party. I plan meals to have enough for me and S dinner and me lunch the next day.
It's not that difficult. 4 servings for the most part. S usually eats 1 1/2, we toss 1/2 and I have 1 for dinner and 1 for lunch. The number of people that eat out in my office is amazing. Do they not realize how much they can save if they bring from home? Let's say you eat at McDonald's or even the deli next door. A meal? $6.50 x 5 days is $32.50. x 4 weeks? $130 A MONTH!! INSAGN!! Seriously. I'll cook enough or both of us to have a meal and you can pay me half that a month? Mmmkay? And that's a conservative estimate! In DC? Even the food trucks are at least $10. $50 a week. $200 a month. Crazy.
BUT this meal is not crazy! The chuck steaks were about $5. The noodles were half a bag for about $1.25, the mushrooms were $1.25 and the green beans were $2.50. That's a meal for 4 for $10. Don't shy away from mark down meats. Just throw them in the freezer if you're not planning on using that day. There are some tasty eats in those discount meats.
Mushroom Braised Chuck Steak
- 1 pound chuck steak, trimmed
- 2 cups beef broth, low fat, low sodium
- 3 cups mushrooms, chopped
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 ounces egg noodles
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons garlic salt
- Combine first 4 ingredients (chuck steak through thyme) in the liner of a slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Cook on high 4 to 5 hours.
- Remove thyme and discard. Remove beef and keep warm.
- Combine water and cornstarch with a whisk. Add to the broth and cook until thickened.
- Cook pasta according to package directions; omitting salt and fat. Toss with butter and garlic salt.
- Serve beef over hot noodles.
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