SWISS STEAK

Steps:

• While you prepare the meat, heat 2 Tsp olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
• Add onions and mushrooms, and stir to coat with oil.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and lightly browned and mushroom juices have evaporated.
• Remove from pan, and set aside.
• Trim all excess fat from steak and cut into 2" by 3" pieces.
• Season generously on both sides with seasoned salt, granulated garlic, pepper, salt, and optional MSG.
• ,if desired, and set aside for about 10 minutes.
• Dump flour on counter or heavy cutting board, coat each piece of meat with flour, and set aside.
• Return a piece of meat to the flour, mounding more on top, and beat the flour into the meat with the edge of a heavy saucer or small heavy plate, making a crisscross pattern on both sides of the meat.
• Continue doing this until you can actually feel the meat starting to tenderize and the thickness is reduced to about 1/2".
• Repeat with remaining pieces of meat, and flour all pieces of meat one last time after tenderizing last piece.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Return nonstick skillet to medium heat, and add half of the remaining olive oil.
• When oil is hot enough that a small pinch of flour sizzles, add enough meat to form a single layer without crowding.
• When bottom side is about half browned, rearrange meat in the pan without turning over.
• When browned, turn meat, and repeat for other side.
• Remove meat and as much of the browned bits as possible to a plate.
• Add remaining oil to pan, and brown remaining meat as above.
• Set meat aside, drain all excess grease from skillet, leaving browned bits in pan and adding reserved browned bits from first batch of meat.
• Return skillet to heat, and add one can beef broth.
• Stir and scrape bottom of pan to loosen and soften crusted breading.
• Add onion mixture and remaining beef broth.
• Add the juice from the peeled whole tomatoes, and use your hands to squeeze the tomatoes into pulp as you add them to the skillet.
• Bring to a simmer and cook about 5 minutes, breaking up piece with the back of a wooden spoon.
• Place meat in a small Dutch oven, arranging so pieces form sort of a lattice work.
• Add all of the tomato-onion mixture, and move meat around to ensure that all the meat is in contact with the liquid.
• If liquid does not cover the meat, add a little more broth, tomato juice, water, or wine.
• Place Dutch oven over medium-high heat until liquid starts to boil.
• Cover, remove from heat, and place in preheated oven.
• Reduce oven temperature to 300 degree F, and cook for 1 hour.
• Rearrange meat, stir liquid gently, and continue cooking 1 more hour or until meat is tender, but not falling apart.
• Remove meat from Dutch oven, and set aside.
• Degrease gravy; it should not be necessary to add more flour to thicken it.
• It should have thicken enough from the breading on the meat.
• Blend gravy thoroughly with a hand blender or mixer.
• It does not need to be smooth, but all of the bigger chunks should be broken up.
• Return meat to the gravy and Dutch oven to the oven until ready to serve with a salad, bread, and mashed potatoes.