Share and Relish

 Tis my turn to kick in a recipe.  Here is one of my comfort foods.  A great hearty cold weather warmer-upper.  It can go by varied names.  Here, I can either call it a stir fry, or fajita.

Ingredients:
                  1 lb / (.5 kilo) Flank steak, or London Broil
                                        Onions (yellow, white, cooking, or Vidalia)
                                        Peppers ( red, yellow, or green )
                                        Mushrooms
                                        Butter
                                        Crisco  (Lard based cooking fat )

Seasonings:                       Salt
                                         Seasoning Salt
                                         Onion salt / powder
                                         Garlic Salt / powder
                                         Pepper

 To prepare, I use two skillets.  A larger one for the veggies.  I add some butter to a non-stick skillet, and on low to medium heat, I melt the butter, and as it melts, I chop the onions into sliced rings.  After the onions are added, I turn the heat up onto medium low. I add them to the skillet as I cut them.  I am sauteing them to get them translucent. After the onions are started, I move onto the peppers. I do them in this order, for they take the longest time to sweat down. Keep stirring to keep from burning. Next, I work with the mushrooms.  Mostly what I use, because of my budget, is the white button mushrooms. Once mushrooms are added, cover with a lid and lower temp a little just to keep veggies warmed.

 After cleaning off and washing my cutting board, I move onto my meat preparation. Earlier in the day, I moved the meat down from freezer to refrigerator. As I get ready to work with it, it is still nearly frozen.  I have found when you cut meat into relatively thin slices, it works easiest when cutting the meat when either still frozen, or at least still has some frost in the meat.  By the time you cut the steak into thin slices, they defrost in no time at all. Only takes moments rather than hours when still in whole piece.

  Just prior to cutting the meat, I add a bit of Crisco into my heavy duty pan.  I allow it to melt and warm under low heat while meat is cut.  After meat is cut, I lay them out on it's widest side, and then season the meat.  Once both sides of the meat strips are seasoned, you will find they are melted and ready to fry.

  Fry the meat on both sides, and when ready, can add to the veggie dish and you are ready to serve.  All told, with prep time, to ready to serve, it takes about 1 hour.  This meal especially for lent can be used differently.  if I would enjoy on a Friday in lent, I would just make the stir fry veggies.  Lucky for me, when I made this, it was on a Thursday, so I added the meat.

  When I first learned to cook, it was for a family, and I have a hard time downsizing for one.  With that being said, leftovers are always as wonderful as the first time.  When I first learned to cook, my mother followed a recipe to the letter. I learned that way.  I will not ever complain about that, but, now that I cook for myself, I use her recipe's as a guide, not a rule book.  You like other veggies,. as Emeril Lagasse would do and say is, "BAM!" Make it your own.

  As an example, mushrooms such as Chanterelles, Crimini, shiittaki's, Oyster, Portabella, Porcini, or Morels.  I used tame peppers, you can use any to bring up the heat to your desired likeness. Jalepeno's, Habenara, as examples.  I had used London Broil, or otherwise known as Flank Steak and or top round steak/roast, because is pretty inexpensive, and by cutting across the grain of the meat wehn slicing, you end up with a tender slice of meat.