Tangy Flank Steak

My husband loves beef. So it was only fitting for Father's Day that I come up with something involving beef. Now, flank steak is a pricey object to go experimenting with but it had to be done. As I said before, I'm looking to clear some cookbooks and recipes out of here if they aren't any good and I'm going to go through some duds as I'm discovering my keepers.

This one is a keeper. Tangy Flank Steak which, as my normal lament seems to be, wasn't really "tangy" at all. If you want some zip in your steak, you'll have to step up the chili powder. Or add something else to give the steak some zip. There is flavor and it's good flavor but it's not spicy. It was interesting - the taste reminded me of my mother's spare ribs. I haven't had them in years. It was a yummy flavor.

Again - my crock pot is a big one so I only cooked this on low for about 5 hours and then turned it to warm. It fell apart nicely but I'd probably cut it back by another 1/2 hour if I do this again. The beef was starting to get a little tough to chew (or is that just one of the downsides to a flank steak?).

Tangy Flank Steak

1 beef flank steak (about 1 1/2 lb.)

1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion, quartered and sliced

1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies (optional), drained

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Cut flank steak in half, if needed, to fit in a slow cooker. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown flank steak in oil. Place in slow cooker.

2. In skillet, place onion, green chilies if desired, water, vinegar, chili powder, garlic powder, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet. Pour over meat.

3. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or on low for 6 to 7 hours until meat is very tender.

4. Transfer meat to a warm platter. Slice meat diagonally. Remove onion from slow cooker with a slotted spoon and arrange around meat. If desired, baste with juices.

One of the side dishes I tried tonight was baked red potatoes. I took red potatoes and halved them, put them in a bag with 1/3 cup olive oil and one package onion soup mix. Shook them together until coated and then baked them at 450 degrees for 40 minutes.

That is a side dish I was not impressed with at all. I picked it up on allrecipes. I don't know if it was the soup mix I used or what the problem with it was (459 reviews and it scores a 4 1/2 stars on allrecipes... what's wrong with our taste buds?) but I didn't find it all that yummy. Simple, though. Maybe next time I'd try a little pepper when I go to bake them...

If you try them, let me know what you think. Or if you add anything to improve the flavor. I think that was the problem - they didn't really seem to HAVE any flavor beyond potato. What's the point in that?

Hope you do try this one...! Don't hesitate to let me know if you come up with a way to "tweak" the recipes to make them yummier. I'm hoping you do!

Enjoy!

By the way...I may not post much for the rest of this week. My son is out of school and he leaves on Saturday to spend the summer in Iowa with his mom. We have a few things planned for the next couple of days before he goes and there is a good chance we'll be in places I won't have access to a computer. A mini-vacation, I suppose. Have a great week and I'll be back next week with more forays into recipe trying...