Smothered Swiss Steak

If you've been reading my blog for a while, then you won't be surprised to learn that my mom gave me a new cookbook for Christmas :)  I get one every year from her, and also a subscription to Simple & Delicious, which is the easy version of Taste of Home.  This is the first recipe we've tried out of this cookbook, called America's Best Recipes: Comfort Food, 175 Made-with-Love Family Favorite Recipes.  I guess only time (and trial and error) will see if this is true.  For this recipe, the sauce sounded like it would be so good.  I haven't done much with cube steaks before, so it was a new-ish cut of meat for us.  Some people here may have prejudged this by the name alone ("just so you know, mom, I don't like steak, remember?") but everyone had to eat it because that's how we roll.

Smothered Swiss Steak
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp seasoned pepper (I already had this but I think regular pepper would be fine too)
1/2 cup flour (I used Bob's Red Mill GF flour blend)
6 (4 oz each) cube steaks
4 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 med onion, diced
1 med green pepper, diced
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (12 oz) Coca-cola
1 tbsp beef bouillon granules
2 tbsp tomato paste

In a shallow bowl, combine salt, pepper, and flour.  Dredge cube steaks in flour mixture.

Brown 2 steaks in 1 1/2 tbsp hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat for 3 minutes on each side; drain on paper towels.  Repeat with remaining oil and steaks.  Drain drippings from skillet, reserving 1 tbsp in skillet (I didn't do this...there didn't seem like that much more than 1 tbsp left).

Saute onion and green pepper in hot drippings for 7 minutes (weird number...but that's what it says) or until tender.  Add diced tomatoes, coke, bouillon, and tomato paste.  Bring to a boil and cook, stirring often, 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened.  Return steaks to skillet; cover and cook over low heat 55-60 minutes or until tender.

The recipe suggests serving over cooked rice, but I had some potatoes left from another recipe, so we had ours with mashed potatoes.

The youngest child looked at his skeptically.  He asked "mom, where's the bone in a steak like this?", afraid that it would sneak up on him.  I assured him there was no bone.  But I didn't want to tell him it was more like big hamburgers because he thinks he doesn't like those either.  I settled on "it's not that kind of steak."  He still didn't like it.  He ate half (because he was made to) but he dealt with it much better than he has in the past, as he is growing up.  The middle child also did not care for it, even though she helped me make the whole thing (so there goes that myth...let them help you in the kitchen, they say...your kid will like the food then, they say) but she was also made to eat it, and did so much faster than her brother.  The rest of us liked it! 

This was not expensive meat.  I also have no idea really which part of the cow it's from etc so I don't know how healthy it is compared to other cuts.  Even though the final product had the texture of ground beef, it definitely didn't start out looking like that...I really have no idea how they get it that way, and I could google it but I'm not going to. But go ahead and try it if you want.  It's a relatively inexpensive dinner and definitely edible haha even if you have picky children.