Turning to collective brain trust: packed up car & freezer foods & staying with Mom in Pittsburgh.

M

marilynfl

Moderator
I brought 8 steaks up with me (Delmonico and New York strip) as I usually have one a month to make sure my iron is high for blood & platelet donations.

However...

Mom has lost her dentures. For the fourth time. So what can I do with the steaks that she can easily chew? I brought up my knives, cutting board and scale, but no grinder. Why not? Because who thinks they'll need a grinder during a pandemic?

I simply don't know how to tenderize a meat that isn't meant to be tenderized. Or else chop it up fine, but then what do I do with it?

 
Place in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes

Then take out, slice thinly, pound out with the bottom of a skillet, if no meat mallet around.

It can be cut into yet smaller pieces and stir fried.

 
I love steak and eggs

if you are going to chop it up fine, cook it first with some pepper then add the eggs for an awesome scramble.

Alternatively, I will chop up ham fine and sprinkle it over my poached eggs. I have not done it but I don't see why you could not do the same with steak. Just don't let the steak police catch you.

 
If your mom likes steak as steak cook it how she likes it then cut. . .

very small, with a very sharp knife, Make sure to cut diagonally so that you are cross-sectioning the steak muscle fibers. She should be able to easily "gum" this up to taste and swallow it.

When middle daughter self-weaned off breast milk (She REFUSED!) she she was already intently following food from our plates to our mouths. We started cutting everything very small pieces and she had a blast gumming it up (no molars!!) and swallowing it. Never did give her baby food or use a grinder for her!

 
Thank you all! Excellent ideas...keep them coming. I've got 8 steaks! But I may

have trouble accessing the Internet soon.

Mom doesn't have Wifi so I buy a month from xfinity when I get here. Only they opened up their hot spots for free access during this time of need and so the home access link isn't working. Spend 2.5 hours on hold and three individuals before I was told to walk my computer around the house to find a better spot. Also their website says their servers are having difficulty.

Roaming didn't work and now the external spots where I would normally go to (like Starbucks, library or local bakery) are closed to public.

Right now I'm using my iphone as a hot spot, but don't want to run out of cellular data time (of which I have minimum amount because i have wired internet at home and never need to use the phones data plan.) But I need to be able to contact family if we go to shelter-in-place so I'm keeping this usage to a minimum.

STAY SAFE, my friends. I'm giving you all a virtual, germ-free hug while I can.

 
I'll say one thing about data and carriers. Think about Consumer Cellular. I have

unlimited data and text for less than $30/month. No contract.
You can buy it at some Targets or Best Buy and sign up online. May be able to do it all online.
I think they use ATT for transmission. Anyway one of the big carriers so you have good coverage.

 
Use your big chef knife and just pound it to make a great chopped steak. Then brown it

in a hot iron skillet. Remove that, add a pile of onions and cook. Add some flour to the onions to make a roux, add water to make a good gravy and add the steak back and simmer for while to make "country style" steak. Serve with rice or mashed potatoes.

 
Beef stroganoff. Cut steak into 1 or so inch thick slices and turn those pieces on the side

And thinly slice across the grain. If the steak is still partially frozen it works better. I’ve used NY strips for stroganoff and also stir fries. Worked great.

 
Hey, Marilyn, you might want to check for hotspots at these places:

You could sit in your car and run the net if you can find a hotspot that is still on: local libraries, Starbucks (if they are still serving to-go--and maybe they left the hotspot on if they are not), any local spot that offered free wifi service before shutdowns and is still open. If a place is still serving take-out and has free wifi up, tell them what you need the access for and see if they will give you their wifi password.

Also, if your mother is close to neighbor(s) you might ask a neighbor if they could allow you to their locked wifi. You will need your mac address for this and they will need to be savvy enough to know how to do this.

 
beef and barley soup.

Obviously you could cut the beef cubes and vegetables quite small.

Betty

 
Pulsing in a Cuisinart or food processor will achieve texture close to grinding

then you can use for anything calling for ground beef...soups, chili, enchiladas, stuffed peppers, meatballs, stuffed cabbage rolls, ragu or bolognese, salisbury steak, burgers, baked rigatoni with meat sauce, ground beef stroganoff, casseroles, meatloaf, etc.

 
Right?! Works with chicken, pork and pretty much most proteins that aren't too sinuous

but even then, the sinewy parts can be removed during or after pulsing.

Edit: can't edit subject line, didn't mean sinuous….meant sinewy. smileys/wink.gif

 
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