Eating on the Cheap

I love short ribs. Several years ago, the year before Steven and I moved to Texas, I was working as a consultant for a restaurant owner. I was making just enough money to pay the bills with little left over. My best friend had just moved out of the too big house we had rented and Steven moved in. He is awesome at being frugal. Because of Steven is why we still have a savings account. (albeit dwindling) Anyhow, he is an excellent grocery shopper too. We used to comb the aisles at WinCo late at night for deals. We'd buy the meat that had one day left and veggies that were packed in the $1 for 5# area. During this very trying time together, just learning to live together and how to adjust...we created some great dishes. One of them was Braised Short Ribs.
I had cooked short ribs before this, but always at a restaurant. Always with a bevy of ingredients on hand. That time I had a cheap bottle of red, a little soy sauce and some limp ass carrots... By far the best short rib recipe I had ever made. So, tonight, I will be making my cheap ass short ribs. Going back to a time in our relationship when all that mattered is that we had each other, I had a job making ends meet and we had a roof over our head. Which is more than I can say for now...altho' now we have a saving account, I have unemployment and we are living with family.

Cheap Ass Short Ribs:


flour
salt and pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh garlic
6 carrots, rough chopped, do not peel
5 stalks celery, rough chopped
1 yellow onion, med or 4 shallots, large dice
3/4 c. soy sauce
3 cup bold red wine
8 meaty beef short ribs
any herbs you have, thyme, basil, Italian seasoning, bay leaves
Oven @ 350


Dredge the short ribs in flour, season with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in heavy dutch oven, brown short ribs all the way around. Remove and hold on plate. Add a little more oil to pan and sweat the veggies til onions are just transleucent. Try not to brown. Pour in soy sauce and red wine. Allow to deglaze the pan just slightly, scrape all the the goodness from bottom of pan. Place short ribs and any herbs you have on top and cover. Place pan in oven and allow to cook for 2 1/2 hours, until the meat separates from the bone. You can then strain the liquid, but it on to boil, reduce it by 3/4 and you have this luscious sauce that is very concentrated.

Serve with a big ass green salad and some bread. Or mashed potatoes...like I did here.