Name: San Marino Steak
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 8 h
Total time: 8 h 15 min
Ingredients: 1/4 cup flour; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 2-3 pounds stew meat; 1 cup tomato sauce; 2 carrots chopped; 1 onion chopped; 1 celery chopped; 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning; 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce; 1 bay leaf

Sometimes you learn things you never expected to learn. For instance, with our San Marino unit, I learned there is not one, but two completely independent countries INSIDE Italy. I knew about Vatican City, which endlessly amuses my kids, but San Marino was a new one for me. If I hadn’t known better I would have thought it was an April Fool’s geography prank, but no, this was a completely real geography lesson for us. Come join us as we learn about the country.

(there might be affiliate links in here, I don’t know where, but just in case)

San Marino resources

Someday I want to write some picture books for all of these little bitty countries. It would be fun to write a story about a country that is literally a mountain. That’s about all there is for this country and it wildly amuses me.

I mean, it’s a mountain, there’s not a lot of space for agriculture.

Fun Fact: this video has more views than the population of San Marino.

Bwa ha ha ha ha, maybe I shouldn’t be writing this while in a silly mood as I watch Jesus Christ Superstar (there I found an affiliate link to include).

San Marino recipe: Steak San Marino

Sometimes you find a recipe that is wildly popular, and this Steak San Marino recipe was that. It went into my recipe file, to make again later.

Steak San Marino ingredients

1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
pot roast
8 ounces tomato sauce (or 1 jar homemade spaghetti sauce defrosted)
2 medium carrots chopped
1 onion chopped
1 celery rib chopped (who decided to call them ribs?)
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning (leave out if using spaghetti sauce)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf

I love easy recipes

Steak San Marino recipe main dish geography Europe

Are you ready? It’s only a few quick steps

Combine flour, salt, and pepper, then coat pot roast in the mixture (I mixed it in a gallon ziploc bag and shook it nice and energetically). Put that in the slow cooker. I like slow cooker liners to make clean up easier. I have them auto-delivered so I don’t have to remember to buy them at HEB.
Put everything else in the slow cooker. If you’re feeling like working harder, then you can stir things around a little bit. Or you can be lazy like me and just hit start cooking and leave it for the rest of the day.
Serve with some kind of starch. The original recipe suggested white rice, but we served it with egg noodles.

That’s it. Nice, easy and delicious.

San Marino Steak

Slow-cooker meal perfect for a cool night.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2-3 pounds stew meat
1 cup tomato sauce
2 carrots chopped
1 onion chopped
1 celery chopped
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf

Instructions

Mix flour, salt, and pepper in ziploc bag. Put stew meat in and shake until covered in flour mixture then put in crock pot.
Combine remaining ingredients and pour over meat in the crockpot.
Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

Seriously, Tim Minchin has an amazing voice. I super love this production of Jesus Christ Superstar, it’s my absolute favorite heresy.

And that has absolutely nothing to do with our San Marino unit, so now I’m going to get back on topic.

San Marino notebooking pages

We used our Europe notebooking pages. I’ve jokingly said I want to revise it and add a “How many of it will fit in Texas?”

I seriously loved learning about this country, just looking at my notes on the country make me smile. Their form of government amuses me, I wonder how it works to have two heads of state. Do they both have to agree for something to happen?

Also, it’s bigger than the Vatican, but it’s still smaller than the city I live in, which is so interesting to see and goes back into the difference in size we see out here in the Western states versus Europe (or the Eastern United States).

I had lots of fun with my fun facts, here is a small sampling of them (in case you can’t read my handwriting):

to fly into the country you must go to a nearby airport in Italy
the oldest constitution in existence
there’s a Museum of Vampires and Werewolves (!!!!!)
there are more cars than people in the country

And I loved a quote they said, “Know ourselves, unknown to others,” which is an unofficial motto. Unofficial because the official motto is “Libertas” (Liberty) which makes sense for a country founded by political refugees.

I think the micronations, which I was corrected on Twitter, and they should be called microstates are some of my favorite countries to learn about.

Okay, really I’m thoroughly enjoying all of them. There is always something fun to learn in each country.