Steak Oreganato

"Excuse me? Did you just call me a cheap date? Because I definitely am."

Steak Oreganato is a baked meat sauce dish served over pasta. It’s one of those dishes that you throw into a pan, place in the oven and forget about for a few hours. Perfect for those short term 3 hour deadlines. By the time you’ve finally finished calling your bank and refuting those overage charges or caught up on three weeks worth of game of thrones you’ve got a wonderful hot meal waiting for you. An Italian favorite, most Steak Oreganato recipes ask for expensive cuts of meat like sirloin. But like many kids fresh out of college, I can't afford to be throwing top rate beef willy-nilly into pots and pans hopping that it will come out well. As with most of my cooking I try to take the least expensive ingredients and taper my method of cooking them to what will make that particular ingredient work the best. Steak Oreganato sounds fancy and complicated and i don't know, maybe its the Italian that makes it sound like you'll be spending over 40 dollars on ingredients alone, not to mention the slaving in the kitchen, but this just simply isn’t true. Believe it or not, you can complete this entire dish on about 10 dollars (I'm also cheating because we just planted a fresh herb garden). This wonderfully rich meaty and filling dish will have a hard time making it to the leftover stage so make sure you haven’t eaten in a few days. You’ll be glad you did.

Steak Oregano:

2lb Chuck Steak (5.50)

2 Large Cans Whole Tomatoes (2.00)

2 Medium Onions (0.75)

8 Cloves of Garlic (.50)

Olive Oil

Fresh Basil

Fresh Oregano

Fresh Parsley

Salt and Pepper to taste

1lb Spaghetti (1.00)

 *Preheat the oven to 375 degrees*

1. Slice the meat into 2 inch thick by 5 inch long slices, season them lightly with salt and pepper and place them into a lightly oiled baking pan. 
2. Roughly chop the garlic and onions and toss them into the pan along with the meat.
3. Crush the canned tomatoes into the pan using your hands being sure to not leave large chunks.
4. Lightly chop the herbs together and add them to the pan adding more salt and pepper if necessary.
5. Cover with tin foil and place in the center rack of the oven. Let it cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours covered. (If the liquid level looks low, go ahead and add a cup or so of water.)
6. Remove the foil and continue to cook for another hour or until the meat pulls apart effortlessly. Don't take it out before this happens. You will be happy that you waited!
7. Serve over spaghetti, eat and lick the bowl.

Yeah the person who's dish is on the lower right side is no longer allowed to come eat.

- Juju XOXO