So I got myself 1/2 a pig, 1/4 of a cow and some chickens......

So I thought of a great idea. Yep I'm smart just ask me.

Now I know I can get a bit preachy about the food front and I have been looking for ways to encourage others to eat local and such, however, one of the complaints I hear often is what do I do with all of those random pieces of meat. How do I make short ribs, round steak, or pork steak. First of all I would have to agree that sometimes all of the cuts of meat you get form 1/2 pig or cow or whatever can be pretty overwhelming. And knowing what to do with a piece of meat and make it taste good can be a bit confusing. That being said I would like to help.

My commitments to you....

-the recipes will be easy to intermediate level cooking.
-I will explain where on earth the piece of meat came from on that animal.
-I will tell you what not to do...
-I will encourage you to substitute and disccard ingredients like a pro. If you don't like something don't put it in...plain and simple. If you want to make it healthier or less healthy go for it. These can be your recipes people.
-I will try to include photos....of course I don't have a photo of this first one....but i will try to do better.
-I will answer all questions.....
-It would be nice to have feedback on recipes, so come back and leave a comment if you tried something.

First up Round Steak......this is a typical cut of meat that comes from the butt of the cow. Anytime you see the word round assume butt. The is also the cut typically used for London Broil, in fact most groceries stores mark this cut as London Broil instead of Round Steak. London broil is actually a recipe but to cut confusion the grocery store makes the cut more familiar by giving it a familiar name. Do not try and make this cut into a roast it will be horrible.

Now if it were summertime I would tell y'all to give this thing a quick soak in some marinade and throw it ont the grill cooking it until medium rare. Thinly sliced you can serve it on tacos, alongside a nice starch or on top of salad.

But beings that its winter lets go with a crock pot recipe. Yep, I said I was going to make this easy on you.....no excuse this thing can cook all day in your crock pot and be tender as ever.

Beef Teriyaki...using round steak.

1-2 lbs of round steak thinly sliced
2 cups beef stock.....remember homemade is best.
1 /4 cup Brown sugar....remember substitutes of honey or what not is totally acceptable.
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4- 1/2 tsp of ground ginger...you could use fresh.
1- 2 cloves garlic crushed
1 tblsp sesame oil
1 tblsp rice vinegar
1-2 tblsp of cornstarch

optional add ins
crushed pineapple...small squatty can

Turn your crockpot on low and let cook for 6 hours or so.

Serve over brown rice. If you are feeling extra fancy sub your water with coconut milk.

We also had ours with salad and peanut salad dressing. Steamed greens would be awesome with this as well.

Peanut Salad Dressing
2/3 cup of oil...sesame is great
2 tblsp of peanut butter
2 tblsp of honey
1 tsp crushed red pepper...omit if you want
1/2 tsp of fresh ginger
1/2 tsp salt
splash or so of orange juice
-Whisk your heart out and enjoy.

There you be folks. Let me know how it goes. And if you think this is a lot of sugar you should see what standard teriyaki calls for.

Try it out eat it up feed your family folks.