CROCKPOT SWISS STEAK

Super easy, super flavorful, super leftovers...what more can I say? This is comfort food at its best. For the richest flavor, brown the meat and veggies before they go into the crockpot, but that isn't absolutely necessary if you are in a rush. This recipe will fill your kitchen with nostalgic aromas from your childhood and leftovers make the best panini sandwiches for tomorrow nights dinner.


¼ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons dry basil leaves
2 pounds round steak (about ¾" thick) see note
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 stalks celery chopped (see note)
small chopped onion
3 carrots chopped (see note)
(2) 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes (see note)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
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Cut the meat into serving size pieces and coat it with the flour (save any flour that doesn't stick to the meat). Brown the meat in the vegetable oil then put it into the crockpot. In the same pan, saute the onion, celery and carrot until tender. Stir in the diced tomatoes, salt & pepper, basil, Worcestershire, brown sugar and the rest of the flour. Mix well and pour over the meat in the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until the meat is very tender (my crockpot cooks hot, so it was tender in 6 hours); the sauce/gravy thickens as it cooks.
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NOTE: The recipe calls for round steak, but I thought that would taste a little dry because its so lean, so I used lean chuck steak and trimmed all the fat away.
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NOTE: I chopped the veggies in the food processor to get them small enough. I also used canned diced tomatoes that had basil and oregano in them and I put the tomatoes in the food processor because Hubby doesn't like to "see" chunks of tomatoes in the sauce.
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NOTE: If you like mushrooms, add them the last half hour of cooking, or serve them on the side.