Rolled, Stuffed Flank Steak

We were in the grocery store on Saturday when I spied a nice flank steak that was on sale. I grabbed it and promised Richard a great dinner that night. I told him about this recipe I had for a braised, stuffed flank steak. He looked at me a bit quizzical and nodded.

Once we got home I dug out this cookbook. It was first published in 1963. When my mother bought it the year was 1972 and I was a young thing of 13 years old. At some point she gave me this book but I cannot remember when.

Anyway this is a wonderful recipe and after having made it wondered why I had not made this dish in at least 8 years.




Rolled, Stuffed Flank Steak

1 1/2 lb. flank steak, U.S. Prime or Choice
3 tblsps butter
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 tblsp chopped onion
2 1/2 cups white bread cubes (I used a multi-grain bread)
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp dried marjoram leaves
1/8 tsp pepper
1 can (3 oz) sliced mushrooms, undrained
1 1/2 tblsp flour

Wipe steak with damp paper towels. With sharp knife, trim excess fat. Score surface in a diamond pattern, 1/8 inch deep on both sides.

Melt 2 tblsp butter in Dutch oven or stove-top casserole. Add celery and onion; saute until tender - about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add bread cubes, parsley, salt, poultry seasoning, marjoram and pepper; tossing lightly with fork until well mixed.

Place stuffing lengthwise down center of steak. Starting at narrow end, roll up steak and secure with skewers (I used toothpicks)



Preheat oven to 350.

Melt remaining butter in Dutch oven. Brown steak in butter on all sides-8-10 minutes in all.

Spoon mushrooms and their liquid over steak; bake covered 1 1/2 hours or until steak is tender. Remove steak to heated platter and keep warm.

Pour mushrooms and liquid from Dutch oven into bowl; skim off fat from surface. Measure 1 cup liquid and return to Dutch oven.

Combine flour and 2 tblsps water, stirring to make a smooth paste. Then stir into liquid to combine well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.

Slice steak crosswise and pour gravy over it.

Enjoy.

Blueberry Buckle

In continuing with the freezer diving cookbook theme I made some blueberry buckle.I had actually been looking for enough blueberries to make a pie for dessert. While I did not have enough for a pie I did have enough for this.

I have been making blueberry or apple buckle for years but this time I tried a new recipe and it was so very good!



Blueberry Buckle

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar, divided
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups flour, divided
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter.

*Beat 1/2 cup butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, beating mixture well. Add egg and beat well.

*Combine 1 1/4 cups flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour, mixing well after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

*Pour batter into a greased 8x8 inch pan. Top with blueberries.

*Combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar, remaining 1/4 cup flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1/4 cup butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly; sprinkle crumb topping evenly over blueberries.

*Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes.



I did not have fresh blueberries, but I did have frozen ones which I used for this.

Fall Stuff

October has been an interesting month. To start out the month, literally, we received the predicted snowfall on October 1st. But being the creatures of habit that we are, the day before we ran around like crazy stocking in some firewood and picking the very last of what the garden had to offer.

We wound up with a lot of cayenne peppers, several bell peppers, lots of little green tomatoes and some more jalapenos. I made stuffed pepper, pickled the jalapenos and dehydrated the cayenne peppers.


As the winterish weather settled in I went into the kitchen. We had a lot of garlic that we brought back from Florida which was not in the best of condition. I had a recipe for garlic confit so I figured "what the heck" and proceeded to peel 2 cups of garlic cloves. I placed them in a pot and added some seasonings.


Next I added some olive oil,


And then simmered it all for awhile,,,,,,however I got distracted and, according to the recipe, overcooked the garlic. If it tastes good I'll post the recipe.


A couple of days before I was due to leave for South Dakota, Richard called me outside and told me to grab my camera. We had a flock of wild hen turkeys in the backyard.


It was hard to get shots of them as they became aware of us and hustled through the bushes and down the hill.


Today after reading the weather which is calling for highs in the 30s with gusty winds and snow on Wednesday and Thursday we got highly motivated to bring in lots of firewood. Two snowfalls before Halloween? This is NOT how I wanted to start the season.