My Mother's Swiss Steak

This Swiss Steak was a favorite meal at home when I was young. My mother always cooked it in the skillet on top of the stove. It would simmer for about 1 1/2 hours until tender. I never have that much time after coming home from work so I cook it in a crock pot.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 pounds round steak, cut into 6 steaks or strips about 1 inch wide and 3 inches in length
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 beef bullion cube dissolved in 1/2 cup water
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons sweet relish
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 small cans tomato sauce or 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with juices
1-2 medium green bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips
If using diced tomatoes: use 1/4 cup cold water blended with 1 tablespoon cornstarch

PREPARATION:Heat oil in a skillet and brown beef steaks/strips quickly. Place in crockpot. Add onion. Combine water/buillion, garlic, sugar, relish, salt, and pepper; pour over beef and onion. Cover slow cooker; cook on LOW setting for 6 hours. Add tomatoe sauce or tomatoes and green bell peppers; cook 1 hour longer. If tomatoes was used, stir cornstarch mixture into the pot; cook on HIGH setting until thickened. Sometimes I even use the cornstarch when I've used tomatoe sauce depending upon the amount of moisture that has cooked out of the steak. You want it to be a thick gravy like consistency.

Also, the beef bullion/water can be substitued with a 1/4 cup of soy sauce and 1/4 cup water. This liquid is what tenderizes the round steak. The recipe is very versatile, tomatoe juice can be used instead of diced tomatoes or the sauce and cube steak can be used instead of round steak. Most times I add the green pepper with the onion instead of after the steak cooks for 6 hours, but I like the green peppers cooked to death! lol I really dont think you can mess it up, no matter how you put it together. Just do not add the tomatoes (whether it be sauce, diced, or juice) or the cornstarch/water to thicken, until the steak is very tender, otherwise the tomatoe base will scorch before the steak is tender.

You can serve it over rice with green beans on the side OR (my family's fav) with mashed potatoes instead of rice with the green beans.