Grillades and Grits

Made it for the first time on New Year's Day - and really enjoyed it! Might be the beginning of a new annual tradition.

Started with a Cooking Light 2004 recipe and went from there.

Ingredients (roughly):

- 2 pounds thin beef (I went with flank because it was the thinnest I could find, but a thin-cut round steak would be the way to go. Pound the HELL out of it so it's tender enough)
- 1 cup of diced onion (white)
- Around 1/2 cup of celery
- Around 1/2 cup of green bell pepper
- Around 1/4 cup of garlic
- Some flour (a few tablespoons)
- 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 small can sliced ripe olives (I went with black, can was around 3 or 4 oz)
- 1 14 oz can low-sodium beef broth
- A few tablespoons of basil
- Some thyme, parsley
- Hot pepper sauce (per preference)
- Salt and pepper for the steak

Directions (roughly)

Cut steak into 3 or 4 long strips. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a dusting of flour. Sear in oil over medium-high heat for less than a minute per side. Remove from pan, keep warm. Repeat with remaining steak.

Add a bit more oil and sauté the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Sprinkle some more flour over vegetables, and stir well to combine. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, olives - stir well. Add broth, a touch more pepper, basil, thyme, hot sauce, and parsley. Stir well to combine.

Return steak to pot. Bring to boil and simmer for AT LEAST AN HOUR. I'd recommend 1.5 to 2 if you have the time. You want the steak to be unbelievably tender.

Serve over buttery grits. I used Zingerman's grits because they were the only grits I could find in town. Amazing, but way expensive.

Enjoy!