Cubed Steak with Tomato Gravy

Sometimes you just have to trust the label on a can of veggies.  Tomatoes in this case.  Just before I threw the can in the recycling bin, I noticed a recipe printed on the side label.

We are taking a trip back to 1950 folks.  Something about cubed steak, salisbury steak, anything sizzling away in a skillet with gravy makes me get all Joan Cleverish...

I'm always pulled towards recipes with few ingredients, with many of them already found in my pantry.  This recipe is one of those.  My guess is that you'll just be buying the cubed steak, or making the short walk to your freezer to set it out to thaw.

Cubed Steak with Tomato Gravy

4 cubed steaks

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 potatoes, chopped

15 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 c. water

2 T. olive oil

salt

pepper

Preheat a large skillet to medium heat.  Drizzle in olive oil with garlic.  Let cook just a minute until fragrant, do not burn.  Season steaks with salt and pepper and place in hot skillet.  Cook 3 minutes, flip an cook an additional minute before adding in other ingredients.

Pour in tomatoes, water and chopped potatoes.  Put lid on skillet, turn down to low, and let simmer for 35-45 minutes, stirring halfway through scraping the bits off the bottom of the pan into the sauce.  Sauce will continue to thicken.

Serve as is, or over rice.

I was already feeling starchy, so I didn't take the extra step for rice.  Trust me, the meat is so tender and the gravy is so good, you won't miss the rice.  But if you like to follow recipes to a T, then make the rice.

Whew.  This week is crazy.  I need a glass of wine.

Or another piece of this steak.