I guess I’m feeling a little nostalgic these days, with the holidays quickly approaching and my daughter being away at school. Therefore I turn to comfort foods from my childhood. I’m also extremely stressed out, because I decided to refinance my mortgage the month before the holidays. What the hell was I thinking?! I’m a realtor so I should know better. When my clients go for a mortgage I literally give them a checklist of things NOT TO DO like purchase all kinds of furniture on a “no payments/no interest” for 18 months deal, lease a new vehicle, etc. and definitely one of the things includes not putting anything on the credit cards. Knowing the rules, this was a really dumb move on my part considering I like to do a lot of my Christmas shopping ONLINE! Hello…who still waits in lines all night waiting for Black Friday when you can get the same deals sitting in front of your computer in the comfort of your pajamas. Well, I can’t do either. Which also means I have to be a little conservative with my grocery shopping too. AND…Guess who’s probably not outside taking advantage of the last few days of this Indian Summer and grilling steaks. Instead, I’m looking for cheap ways to cut costs on my usually pricey eating habits.

There are several ways to cut costs when cooking. Buying in bulk comes to mind, however, two things inhibit me from benefiting from these savings. 1) I live alone now since my daughter left for college and I hate eating the same meal for lunch and dinner for a week straight. 2) I have the worlds smallest freezer. So that leaves me with choosing lower cost ingredients. Cheaper doesn’t mean boring and bland! It just means being creative.

This dish is made with cube steak, famously used for Chicken Fried Steak! Its made from round steak or top sirloin which comes from the hind portion of the cow, just above the shank. Its a much tougher cut of beef and when you see it packaged as cube steak it look like ground patties. This is because it’s been tenderized, either by blades or pounded. Around where I live, you can usually pick up a 2lb package for approximately $6-$7.

My mother use to make Cube Steak with Ketchup Gravy when I was a growing up. I thought I was the only person that ever at it because I figured it was just something my mom made up so she could rinse out the ketchup bottle! Turns out I’ve run into several people who grew up on this very same dish. Here is the thing, though…I don’t make recipes (even family ones) by the book. I always tend to change things up a notch. So while the concept of dredging the steak in flour and cooking the steaks in a ketchup/water sauce is the same…that’s about it. The recipe I’ve prepared for you is much more flavorful and if you make my mashed potatoes with it, you might add this one to your regular fall menu planning.

Let me know what you think!

Print Recipe

Cube Steak with Ketchup Gravy

A delicious comfort food that reminds you of your childhood. The tangy gravy with remnants from the steak is tasty goodness smothered over creamy, rich homemade mashed potatoes. Surely, this recipe will be a hit on a chilly, fall night.

Course

Main Dish

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

1 hour

Servings

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Cube Steak approximately 6-8 steaks
• 6 tblspns Gluten-Free flour
• 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
• 1/2 tsp Fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tsp Better Than Boullion Roasted Beef Base
• 1 1/2 cups Hunt's Tomato Ketchup
• 1 1/2 cups Organic Vegetable Stock
• 20 "shots" Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tsp Dried oregano
• olive oil for frying

Course Main Dish Prep Time 15 min Cook Time 1 hour Servings Ingredients 2 lbs Cube Steak approximately 6-8 steaks 6 tblspns Gluten-Free flour 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt 1/2 tsp Fresh ground black pepper 1 tsp Better Than Boullion Roasted Beef Base 1 1/2 cups Hunt's Tomato Ketchup 1 1/2 cups Organic Vegetable Stock 20 "shots" Worcestershire Sauce 1 tsp Dried oregano olive oil for frying

Instructions

1. Mix flour, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Dredge steaks in flour mixture.
2. Heat oil in large frying pan medium-high heat.
3. Fry steaks in olive oil, browning on both sides. When blood starts to come to the top, flip to brown the other side.
4. In a medium bowl, combine ketchup, vegetable stock, Worcestershire sauce and bouillon base. Stir well.
5. Add all steaks back to frying pan and pour ketchup mixture over steaks to cover (if sauce does not cover, you can add a bit more vegetable stock or water). Sprinkle with oregano. Cover and set heat to low simmer for 30 minutes. Flip steaks and stir sauce a bit. Continue to simmer for an additional 30 min.
6. Serve over mashed potatoes. And garnish with fresh parsley.

Recipe Notes

You will likely need to brown the steaks in batches as there are too many to fit in one pan. To avoid burning the remnants in the bottom of the pan between batches (as that doesn't taste good in the sauce and it makes it difficult to get a nice browned coat on the steaks), wipe out the excess and add fresh oil for the new batch.

I make the ultimate mashed potatoes, true story! You can find that recipe here.