Dear Customers,
With the Fourth of July now behind us, that makes two out of the three patriotic holidays of the summer in the books. All that is left is Labor Day on the first Monday of September.
It’s ironic that we wait through all the cold, stormy weather to get to summer only to find that it apparently moves faster every year. Summer used to last forever when we were kids and seemingly stretched out forever.
One of my all-time favorite comic strips was Calvin & Hobbes. Theres a particular strip that takes place on the first day of summer vacation. Calvin and his imaginary pet tiger, Hobbes, are lounging under a huge maple tree contemplating the summer stretching out before them. The caption simply states, “the possibilities are endless!” That’s a feeling every school-aged kid knows, and it is absolutely hard to beat!
June was a rainy month this year and while I don’t often break out the CrockPot during the summer, one particularly cool and rainy Sunday cried out for it. I took 8 cube steaks, which if you are familiar with the cut, are sometimes (always) tough and even a little chewy. Layering an entire bag of small yellow potatoes in the bottom of the crock, I covered them with the following: 1 lb of baby carrots, 1 envelope of Lipton Beefy Onion soup mix, half of a sliced Vidalia onion, the cube steaks, the other half of the sliced onion, 1 packet of McCormick’s Au Jus Gravy mix, 1 can of Campbell’s Cream O’ Mushroom soup, 1 packet of McCormick’s Brown Gravy mix and 1 can of Campbell’s Cream of Chicken soup. I added about 8oz of beef broth over the top of everything because I was concerned about the powdered mixes, but it isn’t really necessary. The natural juices really add enough liquid.
Setting the CrockPot to high, I let it cook for 6 or 7 hours which is just long enough for the fibers in the cube steaks, now smothered in flavorful gravy and onions, to break down to the point where they can be easily cut and easily chewed! It was delicious and judging by the very small dish of leftovers – a real hit on a cool, blustery Sunday!