food.com

After we got married, I started to develop my cooking skills not only to impress my husband, but also so we wouldn't die of Hamburger Helper poisoning. I was very newly married, in a new town, new state, trying to make new friends, dealing with my parents and my new in-laws, who were upset that we had eloped. We had thought we were saving everyone the hassle of traveling to an out-of-state wedding. Besides, I had never liked being the center of attention, so the idea of a wedding with EVERYONE that our families knew didn't hold any appeal for me. Little did I know that the wedding is more for the family than for the bride and groom. They were ticked. But, 16 years later, they've gotten over it -- mostly. Anyway, we were living in a one-bedroom apartment which my husband had rented several months prior, when he had moved from Pennsylvania to Indiana for his first job after college. We had just purchased a car for me to drive: a 1976 Camaro for $800, so you can imagine the condition. It was metallic powder blue -- and rust. Still it was fun to drive, and it was the closest I ever came to being mistaken for someone who was cool. Anyways, I knew how to cook, but having been a student at a college where cooking in your dormitory room was punishible by death, I hadn't done a lot of cooking for several years, except for weekends at home. Our kitchen was still a "bachelor's kitchen" though admittedly it was better stocked than I've seen in the homes of some people who have been married for years. This was made with staple ingredients and cooking equipment that my husband already had on hand. According to my memory banks, which are spotty at best, this was my first completely original recipe. With this "Early Marriage" recipe, you can take the cheapest, toughest cut of beef you can find, and make it tender, rich, and scrumptious. I can remember making this with chuck roast that I bought for 88 cents per pound, but that was 1986. Ah, memories.