Poor Man's Beef Wellington

One of my favorite dishes is Beef Wellington, but it's hard to find in restaurants near here and somewhat expensive to make at home.  It was actually our anniversary meal in Kenmare in Southern Ireland at Mulcahy's Restaurant in 2007 (4th anniversary).  I developed a craving lately and knowing that a 3lb. beef tenderloin isn't in my grocery budget, so I've developed my Poor Man's Beef Wellington.  Chris and I both gave it a 10 so I promise it was delicious.   Here's the best rated recipe on the web with the original ingredients.
Chris doesn't like mushrooms, but they are one of my favorite foods.  In this case I skipped them and amped up the onions.  And here's a photo of my finished product:

Annie's Version:
Ingredients:
2 small yellow onions, minced
2 T. minced garlic
1 T. butter
2 T. olive oil (amount just for onion mixture; some additional needed for meat)
1.5-2 lbs. sirloin (or other inexpensive cut beef that is mostly rectangular or oval cut)
1/4 lbs. deli or packaged ham
dijon mustard
2 8pk crescent rolls
1 egg

Directions:
Warm butter and olive oil in large pan.  Add onions and garlic for about 10 minutes on medium, stirring and carmelizing slightly.  Add salt and pepper.  Set aside to cool.

Season both sides of meat with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Cook for approximately 3 minutes on each side in a large pan (could use same pan the onion were previously cooked in).  Set aside to cool slightly.  Cover both sides with a thin coat of dijon mustard.

Lay out plastic wrap and arrange pieces of ham in shape of rectangle overlapping that is large enough to mostly surround your piece of beef (don't move beef yet).  Then cover the ham with a layer of the onion mixture.  Place the beef on top of the onion mixture and wrap the smothered ham around the beef along with the plastic wrap.  Once the meat is surrounded and covered, transfer to a plate and cool in fridge for half hour.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

On a large jelly pan, dust with flour and roll out crescent rolls to form the crust.  It took sort of piece and weaving from sides and around the top to fully cover, but I think it added to the appearance. 

Whisk egg in small bowl and use a pastry brush or plastic spatula or cover lightly the top and sides of your rolls with the egg wash.  This will give the appearnce of crispier pastry dough used in the traditional recipe.  Place in oven for approximately 10-15 minutes depending on your oven.  Monitor so the rolls don't get burnt.  We found the bottom stays a little doughy, but we like that.

We each had a small slice and a half, shared another big slice with my brother, and had enough for each to have a piece for lunch.  I would say the meat was medium rare when I put it in the oven and medium when it came out.

We ate ours with some pears and bleu cheese.  This photo shows the pretty part of our table with cloth napkins, etc.

And this photo shows the rest of our crazy table :)  Deane never ended up ending anything but his grapes at the table.  Kate tried Pasta Lentil Bolognese (from Tyler Florence's baby food line, Sprout) and it was the first "entree" she really liked.  She also had some freshly made pears that my Mom made while babysitting in the afternoon.

And my favorite part of any good homemade meal...happy husband! 

I estimate with my deal shopping that I spent less than $8 on this entree, much better than likely $30-40 original recipe price tag.  As a disclaimer, I had these ingredients available from previous shopping where I utilized coupons and bought sale or discounted meat.

I'm linking up with these linky parties: Home Stories A to Z, Tip Junkie, At Home with K, Not Just a Housewife, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, Seven Thirty Three, Shabby Creek Cottage,