WHAT TO DO WITH THE WRONG CUT OF MEAT?

The other day I asked my husband to get me the cut of beef that I recently discovered, the strips of beef that I liked so much and think are very versatile. I had in mind a new plan for them. He told me he did, so I stepped outside for some errands while the meat was defrosting. When I came back, I discovered that we were defrosting the wrong cut of meat. I was disappointed. I had a very nice plan for my strips. I also make sure that when I pack the meat to freeze, I usually write on the bag the name of the cut and the date, so how could he get something else? I didn't stop for long to fret about it. I am now used to this "man thing" about the refrigerator. They never find what you need unless it's on the edge of the first shelf, so how can you expect to get something from the freezer? I let my plan go, and started thinking about the new challenge.

BEEF CHUNKS WITH TOMATO 

                                         

The cut that I got was from the tip of the big top round of beef that I buy sometimes and cut according to my needs. They were two pieces from the top, I call them bananas because of their shape. We usually sear them and continue cooking in the oven on a bed of root vegetables. But today I was in a hurry so I had to think of a new way to cook them of the stove and quickly. We just came back from shopping and were hungry. So I started marinating the meat in onion, garlic and salt and pepper until I thought of the new plan. It turned out to be one of the easiest meat dishes I've ever made. It was easy, quick and delicious. You'll need:

2 medium strips of beef (about 7 X 3 inches each)

1/2 onion cut into medium strips

2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

1 can chopped tomatoes with juices

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by marinating the beef in the onion and garlic with salt and pepper. Heat a non stick skillet and add the meat. It will sizzle. That's good. Brown the meat on all sides, then add some water to the skillet. With a spatula, scrape all the browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. You'll have a brown sauce around the meat. Let it boil and reduce. Add the can of chopped tomatoes with their juices. Bring to a boil and lower the heat. Cover the skillet and let simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes until the meat is fork tender. You may need to check on it from time to time, add some more liquid, depending on the nature of the cut of beef you're using. In the mean time you can cook some yellow rice to serve on the side and make a salad or sautee some vegetables.Slice the meat against the grain, serve topped with some of its sauce. Wasn't that really easy?