Turkish Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

(Sulu Köfte)
Anybody who lives in Western Pennsylvania and regions close all have one thing on mind right now. STEELERS! Everyone is gathering their Super Bowl recipes and preparing to make an extravaganza of football munchies. Last weekend was the playoff game and I too was thinking about savory munchies. So in the tailgating spirit, with a bit of my international cravings, I found an easy Turkish recipe for meatballs in tomato sauce. No grape jelly and chili sauce meatballs in a Crock Pot this year - I am keeping things healthy and delicious.

Turkish Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
1/2 pound lean ground beef (90/10)
1/4 cup fine bulgur
1/4 cup long grain rice
2 small onions, one grated & one sliced thinly
2 cups beef broth
1 14.5 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon dried mint
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (Halaby pepper)
2 cloves garlic, minced
dried parsley
salt
gresh ground black pepper

Combine meat, grated onion, bulgur, rice, egg, mint, Aleppo pepper and garlic in a bowl. Season with a few grinds of fresh ground black pepper and a pinch of salt and set aside. In a heavy pot, saute sliced onion in olive oil and when transluscent, add broth, tomato paste, tomates and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. On a large dish, spread flour. Form small meatballs and roll into flour, making sure all meatballs are covered with flour. Drop meatballs into boiling tomato broth and stir slowly. Turn down heat to a simmer and cook meatballs for about 30 minutes until sauce is thick and meatballs are cooked. Garnish with parsley. After the meatballs are cooked through you can pop the meatballs and sauce in a Crock Pot and serve with the rest of your football nosh.

White Portabella Pizza

Each weekend I try to explore a new recipe. I gather up information, tweak the ingredients to fit my healthy eating plan, seek the ingredients I can substitute or add and come up with something yummy. My experiments are all happily devoured. But each week I get the same comment from the man of the house. "How about something with mushrooms?" Gah! I can no longer escape this request! You see, mushrooms look scary to me. I don't eat them. I adore the mold that gives us stinky cheese and the yeast that makes bread and wine, but mushrooms are...fungus. And fungus is creepy. Sadly this is one reason I could never be a chef. I don't eat fungus and I don't eat critters who swim. Neither shrimp nor 'shroom will I consume. But he tells me these are scrumptious. Tell me if you agree, because I haven't tried one!

White Portabella Pizza
2 large portabella mushrooms
1/2 shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Pinch salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Parsley

Preheat oven to 400 F. In a small skillet, saute garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Remove from heat. Place portabellas top side down on a baking sheet. Drizzle with garlic oil, mound on 1/4 cup cheese over each and sprinkle with salt, pepper and parsley. Heat until bubbly and melted, abut 5-7 minutes. Serve to your favorite fungus fan.

Ethiopian Beef Tibs

This recipe is inspired by one I saw on the Cooking Channel show Foodography, a show that explores the history and variations of different foods. I was immediately planning my strategy of the making of Tibs. Ethiopian ingredients are not something one finds in their local rural grocery store. And being on a budget I swapped the Injera bread for a whole grain tortilla. It was a huge stretch but unavoidable. Then I moved on to the Berbere spice. Even my overstocked spice supply was inadequate. Thanks to Amazon, Berbere was mine in two days for under $10. On to cooking!

After cooking I dug into the warm beefy tibs. Spicy delicious yum! I tossed the tortilla in the end, it was too heavy and floury. Brown rice worked beautifully instead. Maybe some day I will get me to a place to try the real dish, but for now I am feeling the sweet heat and loving it.

Ethiopian Beef Tibs
2 lbs lean sirloin roast, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large sweet onion, sliced
1 14.5 ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and cut into large chunks
3 jalapeño peppers, seeds and pith removed, diced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons berbere
1/2 teaspoon salt


Quickly saute beef until just brown in a large skillet with about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Be sure not to overcook, let the meat be cooked medium. Remove beef and drain. Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet and saute the onions until barely translucent. Add the berbere and saute until fragrant. Add tomatoes, salt and beef and cook for a few minutes until the spices are blended in. Toss in the diced jalapeño and serve. 

Spicy Beef Chili

My mother used to make chili often, but I have no idea what her recipe was. It's all lost now, and that is a sad thing. But back then when she was alive and I was young her chili didn't impress me at all. It had big scary looking beans in a rather smooth meat sauce and a flavor that was not exactly memorable. Now I crave something spicy and beefy and chili is the obvious choice. Since I don't have my mom's recipe to tinker with, I made my own. The beans are too valuable nutritionally to take away, so I did some fancy footwork to make them less obtrusive.

Spicy Beef Chili

2 pounds Ground beef
1 medium Onion chopped
3 cloves Garlic minced
1 can (4 oz) Mild green chiles diced
1 can (28 oz) Crushed tomatoes
1 can (8 oz) Tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Ground cumin

3 tablespoons mixed ground chiles:

    2 teaspoons Ground Ancho pepper;
    2 teaspoons Ground Anaheim pepper;
    2 teaspoons Ground Chipotle pepper; 
    1/4 teaspoon Ground Cayenne pepper;

    or

    3 tablespoons your favorite chili powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 tablespoon Canola Oil
1 can (16 oz) Pinto beans drained
 

Rinse and drain pinto beans and pulse once or twice in a food processor to break them up. Set beans aside. Saute onion in canola oil until just golden. Add minced garlic and continue to saute for one minute and remove from pot. Brown ground beef in pot and drain fat. Combine all ingredients back into pot and allow to heat for an hour. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and bread, or Cincinnati-style with cheese and onions over spaghetti. You can also serve it on brown rice. Garnish with sour cream if desired.

Turkish Red Lentil Soup

(Kırmızı Mercimek Çorbası)
My daughter Mira and I are exploring many new meatless dishes for our "Meatless Monday" adventures. I have been trying to approach the day with more creativity than the usual weekday - to honor our new way of eating here at home. We have been keeping company with whole grain, lean meat and healthy fats simply because our low budget food choices were taking a toll on us all. At this point, the extra expense is paying for our long term health. The beauty of Turkish food is that it already uses these healthy ingredients, and is delicious. This soup is lick-the-bowl good and healthy too. What more can you ask for on a cold winter evening?

Turkish Red Lentil Soup
2 onions, finely chopped
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup red lentils, washed and picked over
1 carrot, grated
1 stalk celery, sliced thinly
1/2 cup whole grain coarse bulgur
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
32 ounces vegetarian broth
3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper mixed with 1 tablespoon olive oil
Dried mint to garnish

In a heavy pot, saute onion, carrot and celery in olive oil until golden. Add paprika, cumin, lentils and bulgur and continue to saute for a few minutes. Add tomato paste, water and broth and simmer for about 30-45 minutes until thick and lentils are soft. Using an immersion blender, puree to a creamy consistency, letting the bulgur wheat provide a bit of texture. Add lemon juice, salt and drizzle some cayenne oil on the top with a sprinkle of dried mint.

Spaghetti with Garlic Oil and Chili

(Spaghetti Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino)

This dish was inspired by one of my favorites from Luigi's Restaurant in Slippery Rock, PA. If a dish has garlic, I am intrigued. Heck - you can never have too much of the stuff. Take that as a warning all vampires and people with sensitive noses, I am chowing down the stinky cloves with joy!

Spaghetti with Garlic Oil and Chili

1/3 cup Canola/Extra Virgin Olive Oil mix
3 cloves Garlic sliced
5 cloves Garlic minced
2 dried Chile de Arbol peppers chopped
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 pound spaghetti, cooked al dente

Over medium low heat saute sliced garlic and chile in oil, adding minced garlic and salt at the end. Be sure not to over cook the garlic, it should just be starting to get a nice warm gold color. Remove from heat. Toss hot cooked pasta into the garlic oil. Garnish with Parmesan. I find that the whole wheat pasta seems to absorb the flavor better than regular pasta. It doesn't get as slippery either, and it is especially good left over and reheated. Either way, it is a tasty treat!

Stuffed Cabbage

(Holupki)
In the 1890s, large groups of Eastern European immigrants came to the Pittsburgh area to work in the city's mills. The cool thing about Pittsburgh is that each ethnic group kept it's history and traditions alive. It's something that makes me very proud to say I am from the 'Burgh! These little stuffed cabbages are made in more of a Slovak style, but many groups can claim them as their own. From Turkey's Sarma to Golubtsy in Russia, every country in between has a version of their own. We call 'em "Pigs in a Blanket." It's great food for a cold day.

Stuffed Cabbage
1 large head of cabbage
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound lean ground pork
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 16-ounce can sauerkraut
1 1/2 cups cooked long grain brown rice
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg or egg substitute
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar (or Agave Nectar)
1 tablespoon parsley
1 teaspoon salt (divided)
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Canola oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove core from cabbage and set into a large pot of boiling water. Gradually as the leaves become soft, remove from head of cabbage and put on a towel line baking sheet to cool. Continue to remove leaves making sure to not overcook until all of the large leaves are soft. The inner leaves can be set aside to use in other dishes.

Sauce: In a saucepan, saute garlic in oil until barely golden. Combine crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, two cloves of the minced garlic, vinegar, sugar and one half teaspoon of salt and slowly simmer while the rest of the dish is prepared.

Filling: In a large bowl, combine remaining salt, ground meat, rice, remaining garlic, parsley, onion, egg and pepper and mix well. Set aside. You can switch out the pork for a full pound of beef, or even use lamb if you wish.

Assembly: Drain and squeeze sauerkraut and line the bottom of a large baking dish (16x10), spooning a couple of ladles of the simmering sauce and mixing it into the kraut. Smooth to make a nice bed for the cabbage rolls. When leaves are cool, trim the large back spine of the leaf so that it is the same thickness as the rest of the leaf. Place about 1/4 cup of filling into the leaf and roll, placing the rolled cabbages over the top of the sauerkraut/sauce mixture. Pour over remaining sauce and cover dish with aluminum foil. Cook for 1 1/2-2 hours.

Chicken Balls

We all have our guilty food pleasures. One of mine is the local Chinese buffet. While there are larger and more spectacular buffets in the area, En Lai in Slippery Rock has a small variety of my favorites. It's a far cry from real Chinese food - sort of an American sweetened version of Chinese food. But give me a plate and I pile on Walnut Chicken, Black Pepper Chicken and General Tso's Chicken and love it. And then there are the yummy Chicken Balls. At first I didn't know what they were - alien round fried balls. Hoping I would not encounter seafood, I took a bite and found a seasoned chicken meatball with a crispy crust. This is my interpretation.

Chicken Balls
2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1 carrot, shredded
3 green onions, sliced thinly
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

Cut chicken into chunks and combine with egg whites, ginger, soy sauce, cornstarch and sesame oil in a food processor. Process until chicken is a thick puree. Add carrot and onion and pulse a couple of times. Remove mixture into a bowl. Heat canola oil to 375 degrees in a deep fryer or deep heavy pot. Drop spoonfuls of chicken mix into hot oil and fry until golden brown. Remove from oil, drain on paper and serve hot with a drizzle of sweet chili sauce or sweet and sour sauce.

Spiedies

Like all home cooks, I fall into certain cooking patterns. Throughout the week I stick to the easy stuff - a good bison burger or something I can cook fast and serve with pasta or rice. There are also the "make your own" nights, a chance for everyone to eat the leftovers of their choice or something they want from the convenience food section of my pantry. Weekends are for experimenting on new dishes, and full meals at the table - steak or rotisserie chicken. This dish is a yummy weeknight quickie, and is also perfect for tailgating or picnics. And it is Steeler football season!!!

When I first tried this my tongue had one of those celestial choir moments. What is it with garlic and herbs and me? Holy heck it's good! I gobbled my sandwich, mopping the sauce with my bread and craved seconds. I called Mira to see what she thought, and before I got a clear answer she was holding her plate out asking for more. It looks like this one is a keeper. I think I could fit this on my rotating schedule - maybe for Thursdays.


Spiedies
2 pounds of chicken cubed into 2 inch squares
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried mint
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Combine seasonings, oil, vinegar and lemon juice into a plastic bag and add chicken. Marinate for at least 24 hours. When ready to cook, arrange cubes of meat on soaked bamboo skewers and grill until golden brown, but don't overcook as the marinade has already cooked the meat partially. I doubled the marinade and set half aside as a condiment or baste for the meat. Serve on Italian bread alone or with shredded lettuce, onions and tomatoes and a drizzle of sauce.You can also use the meat to top a salad.

Spiedies are native to New York state and were originally made with lamb. You can use veal, beef or pork too.

Tabbouleh

I have been searching for healthy and filling meals to pack in my little red lunch bag for work. Picking a recipe for lunch is an art in itself. Too heavy and I will be staring off into space instead of keeping production and using that brain. Too light and I will be furtively searching through my drawers for something chocolaty to tame the munchies. This tasty salad seemed to be the perfect choice.

Tabbouleh
1 cup water
1/2 cup whole grain bulgur
zest and juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 scallions, sliced thinly
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 7-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

Boil water and pour over bulgur and let sit until water is absorbed and bulgur is cooled. In a small bowl combine lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, garlic and seasonings mix. Pour over cool bulgur and add vegetables and toss. Serve on a bed of lettuce with a nice whole wheat pita.

City Chicken

This Pittsburgh favorite is a meal-time-machine back into the 1930s. Imagine yourself feasting with the family at the table set with Fiesta - kind of like Ralphie in A Christmas Story. On the place is budget-friendly home cooked food like mashed potatoes, canned peas and chicken with gravy. Wait, chicken is too expensive. Make that city chicken, chunks of pork or veal arranged on a stick to resemble that expensive chicken leg.

It's hard to believe that at one time, chicken was more costly than veal or pork and was saved for that special Sunday night dinner. City chicken is best known in the big cities of Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the Depression. You can still find packages of pork and veal with sticks sold as "city chicken" at the butcher shop. It is delicious, and even tastes a bit like chicken. But then, that's what everyone says about all unusual food, right?

City Chicken
2 pounds veal or pork (or both) cut into two inch chunks
3/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
3/4 cup stone ground whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cups canola oil
2 tablespoons arrowroot (or cornstarch)

Beat eggs and milk and place in a small tray or bowl. Combine flour, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, paprika and set aside in another small tray or bowl. Place four or five chunks of pork or veal, or alternating chunks of both on a stick. Dip stick into egg mixture, then roll in breadcrumbs until well coated. When all sticks are coated with breadcrumbs,  place on a dish and cover with foil and set in the refrigerator for at least one hour to allow the breading to set. Preheat oven to 350F. Add canola oil to a hot skillet and brown the sticks on all sides. When brown, place sticks on a 9x12 baking dish. Pour chicken broth over top and cook in oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until tender. When done, remove sticks to a dish and cover with foil. Take pan dripping and pour into a sauce pan and heat to boiling. Add arrowroot mixed with a bit of water and thicken into a gravy. Serve sticks with gravy.

Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup

Meatless Monday is a worldwide initiative to help people improve their health my cutting out meat for one day a week. As someone who has been hard at work overhauling her diet into something less refined and lower in saturated fat, the idea was something I was very interested in. The only problem - I adore meat and usually find anything other than a double cheese pizza or gooey grilled cheese as being meatless purgatory.

The rumors are true - I was the kid with the poodle who secretly ate all my vegetables. Beans had to be pulverized into creamy hummus before I would even look at them. And forget green beans - they squeaked when I chewed them. Yick! So how to do this? How to eat vegetarian and not feel punished? That my friends is the big question. If you are going to work hard and give up the unhealthy food, you need to be sure that each meal is spectacular and doesn't taste like a compromise. Into the kitchen I went, stocked with beans and veggies. With spoon in hand and full of trepidation, I took a bite. What's this? It tastes...delicious! Can you believe it??? I actually had seconds. Yes, Karen, the hater of the vegetable world has eaten beans and enjoyed them. Maybe you will too.

Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup
5 cups kale, washed, ribs removed
2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 carrot, sliced into thin disks
5 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups vegetarian broth (or three 14.5 cans of Swanson's Vegetarian Vegetable)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Bunch kale and shred into 1/2 inch slices and set aside. Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Saute onions, carrots and celery until softened and onions are barely translucent. Add garlic and saute for 5-10 seconds until fragrant. Be sure not to overcook the garlic. Add broth, kale, beans and seasonings and cook on low for about 30 minutes. Serve with crusty whole grain bread.

Carne Adovada

Something strange is happening to my taste buds. There was a time when they were compliant inhabitants on my tongue. But I think they were plotting a revolution and decided to take over. Maybe they are noticing my new eating habits and have decided that the lack of sugar and refined carbohydrates should be replaced by heat. Lots of heat. They are also controlling my mind. I found myself purchasing a large bag of dried chiles from The Spice House mindlessly obeying the prodding of my tastebuds. Must buy chiles! Must buy chiles! Time to cook something spicy from south of the border.

Carne Adovada
2-3 pounds pork shoulder trimmed of fat and cut into 2 inch cubes
16 dried Anaheim or Ancho chiles
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 medium onion, cut in quarters
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 300°F. Spread chiles on a large baking sheet and toast gently in the oven for about 5-6 minutes until fragrant. Once they are cooled, remove stems and seeds and crush into a blender. Add broth, onion, garlic and seasonings into blender and puree into a red paste. Place pork cubes in a dutch oven or slow cooker and pour chili paste over and combine. Cook slowly in the oven at 325°F for at least three to four hours, or in slow cooker set on high for 4-6 hours (or set on low for 8 hours). The longer the pork slowly braises, the more tender it becomes. When done (when you can't stand waiting any longer), skim off all fat from the surface, stir and serve pork on whole grain tortillas with brown rice, chopped onions and shredded cabbage.

Beef Barley Stew

I always feel like I am taking a step back into the past when I cook beef stew. Stews cooked on the hearth while family members were busily doing their work. They fed a whole family and felt warm inside. And they are pretty humble - both in cost and looks. It's like walking back a couple of centuries.  The warm hearty stew is very adaptable. You can use hulless barley or pearl barley, bison or beef, and change the veggies all about to something you like or whatever you have on hand. And cooking for an extended period of time is delicious.

Beef Barley Stew
2 lbs cubed beef or bison
2 1/2 cups beef stock
1/2 cup hulless barley
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon sweet pakrika
fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Combine beef, vegetables, bay leaves, stock, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper in a covered heavy pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and allow to cook on low heat for three hours or in a Crock Pot for about 8 hours. Prior to serving, bring to a boil and mix cornstarch with about two tablespoons of water and pour into stew to thicken. Add mustard and paprika and additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a nice chunk of crusty bread.

Hulless barley will be chewier than pearl barley, and will require at least two hours to fully cook. Don't worry, the stew doesn't mind!

Pork and/or Chicken Adobo

I first tried chicken adobo at Jordan's Restaurant in Grove City. I am still amazed that they are open and located in my town - a very very small town that historically only has two ethnic choices - Italian and Chinese. More specifically, pizza and the ubiquitous pseudo-Chinese buffet. Jordan's serves a small Filipino menu along with pizza and subs to please the uninitiated.  The heck with pizza, give me the adobo!!!! I love it so much I had to create my own version. Be warned - the vinegar flavor in this dish is a delicious kick in the pants!

Pork and Chicken Adobo
2 lbs meat cubes (Pork or chicken, or a combination of both)
1 cup Coconut vinegar (or white vinegar)
1 cup Soy sauce
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 whole garlic bulb, divided and minced
4 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Combine meat, vinegar, soy sauce, half of the garlic, bay leaves and black pepper in a container and marinate overnight. Pour meat and marinade and one cup of water into a large pot and simmer until meat is cooked through. Remove meat but keep liquid simmering. In a separate skillet saute onion until golden. Add the remaining minced garlic and saute until fragrant and pour into simmering marinade. Adding extra oil if needed, brown cooked meat and return to pot. Combine cornstarch with a few tablespoons of cold water and pour into pot thicken. Simmer for about a half hour until meat is tender. Remove bay leaves and serve over rice and steamed green beans.

Swiss Steak

My mom had a nice little collection of favorite recipes that she would cook. Unfortunately, most of them were found in cookbooks and never written down on cards or saved. She would only refer back to the cookbook that the recipe was in. Now that she is gone, it has been difficult to find the favorites I grew up with. Swiss steak is one of those recipes. I have no idea where she got her recipe, and it is not written down. So this leaves me to try to find a way of making it myself. Maybe one day I will replicate what she made - tender steaks with a tomato gravy. But until then, this recipe is easy and delicious. Maybe someday I will perfect the gravy!

Swiss Steak
1 1/2 pounds beef cubed steak
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped fine
2 carrots, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper
canola oil

Dredge steaks in flour and brown on both sides in a skillet with about two tablespoons of canola oil. Set steaks aside. Saute onions, celery and carrot until softened, and when done, add garlic. Combine vegetables with can of tomatoes and paprika, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and allow to cook for a few minutes. Toss everything into a crock pot and cook 8 hours until steaks are fork tender. Serve with pasta or mashed potatoes. You can also make this on the stove top in a dutch oven instead of a slow cooker. Just add about a cup of water or broth and simmer everything low and slow for about two hours.