Chicken Fried Steak from The Pioneer Woman

Comfort food at it's best!

Chicken Fried Steak with mashed potatoes and gravy is one of my favorite meals.  This recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman!

One of my rules in making this meal . . . don't forget the biscuits!

Ingredients

Chicken Fried Steak:

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 pounds cube steak (tenderized round steak that's been extra tenderized)
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon butter

Gravy:

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 to 4 cups whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Mashed potatoes, for serving

Directions:

For the steak: 

Set up an assembly line of dishes. Mix the milk with the eggs in one; the flour mixed with the seasoned salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, paprika and cayenne in another; and the meat in a third. Then have one clean plate at the end for the breaded meat.

Work with one piece of meat at a time. Sprinkle both sides with kosher salt and black pepper, then place it in the flour mixture. Turn to coat. Place the meat into the milk/egg mixture, coat both sides. 

Place it back in the flour and coat both sides (dry mixture/wet mixture/dry mixture). 

Place the breaded meat on the clean plate, then repeat with the remaining meat.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter. Drop in a few sprinkles of flour to make sure it's sufficiently hot. When the butter sizzles immediately, you know it's ready. (It should not brown right away, if it does, the fire is too hot.) 

Cook the meat, 3 pieces at a time, until the edges start to look golden brown, about 2 minutes each side. Remove the meat to a paper towel-lined plate and keep them warm by covering lightly with another plate or a sheet of foil. Repeat until all the meat is cooked.

After all the meat is fried, pour off the grease into a heatproof bowl. Without cleaning the skillet, return it to the stove over medium-low heat. Add 1/4 cup of the grease back to the skillet and allow it to heat up.


For the gravy: 

When the grease is hot, sprinkle the flour evenly over the grease. Using a whisk, mix the flour with the grease, creating a golden-brown paste. Add more flour if it looks overly greasy; add a little more grease if it becomes too pasty/clumpy. 

Keep cooking until the roux reaches a deep golden brown color.

Pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Add the seasoned salt and black pepper to taste and cook, whisking, until the gravy is smooth and thick, 5 to 10 minutes. Be prepared to add more milk if it becomes overly thick. Be sure to taste to make sure gravy is sufficiently seasoned.

Serve the meat next to a big side of mashed potatoes. Pour gravy over the whole shebang!



2011 Ree Drummond, All Rights Reserved

Source:  The Pioneer Woman 

Garlic Butter Bread Sticks

Would you believe these delicious looking bread sticks are made with puff pastry?

Puff pastry is an easy convenience food that we use often to make desserts and savory treats.

Ingredients

• 1 sheet thawed puff pastry (leave out on the counter for 30-40 minutes)
• 3 tbsp Italian garlic butter (or other compound butter)
• 3-5 pinches shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Lay out thawed puff pastry sheet on parchment lined baking sheet
3. Cut into ½ inch strips using a pastry cutter or pizza wheel 
4. Brush melted butter over all the strips
5. Separate & twist each piece; place back on parchment
6. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese
7. Bake 10-12 minutes
8. Allow to cool before moving from baking sheet

This recipe and photo comes from Gina from Kleinworth & Co. 

You can connect with Gina via

Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram & Pinterest. 

Thank you for creating these awesome bread sticks Gina, your creativity is amazing!

Fried Chicken

Doesn't that fried chicken look delicious?

This recipe and photo comes from Taste of the South Magazine, featuring authentic delicious southern recipes.  Check it out, along with their family of magazines.  Awesome recipes!

Ingredients

• 1 (3- to 4-pound) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon ground red pepper
• Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Rinse chicken pieces, pat dry.

Combine flour, salt, paprika, and red pepper.  Mix well.

Heat oil (in a depth of 2 inches) to 350° over medium-high heat in a deep cast-iron skillet or large heavy Dutch oven.  The Captain and I use a deep fryer.

Work in batches! Coat chicken in flour mixture and gently shake to remove excess. 

Fry chicken for 4 to 5 minutes per side, or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of chicken registers 180°. 

Adjust heat as needed to maintain oil temperature. 

Drain chicken on paper towels.

Mushroom Swiss Burger Pizza

These type of pizzas are so much fun to make!  All you need is pizza dough and toppings you love. Experiment!  One of the best I've made has pulled pork with a little BBQ sauce as a topping.  Use your imagination!

Another thing I like to do is roll out the dough a little thicker than usual and bake.  Brush with melted butter and some parmesean cheese.  When it is done, cut in half and slice a pocket in the middle.  Fill it with your favorite toppings and top it with cheese and bake about 5 to 10 minutes.  I used to make these for lunch when I was working.  Economical and easy lunch . . . you can make a bunch and freeze the rest.

This recipe comes from Publix Supermarkets.  Looks like a winner! Click on the link for more delicious recipes!

I love their pre-made pizza dough in the bakery section.  It is perfect for those times you don't have the time to make dough from scratch and just as good.  It can even be frozen.  One of my favorite convenience foods!

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef, 7% fat
• 8 slices Swiss cheese (5 oz)
• 12 oz pre-sliced white mushrooms
• 1 large sweet onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 lb fresh pizza dough
• 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 (.75-oz) packet mushroom gravy mix, divided
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup flour

Directions

Remove dough from refrigerator and let stand one hour (do not remove from bag until stand time completed).

Preheat oven to 400°F. 

Chop onion. 

Combine mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon gravy mix and set aside. 

Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high. 

Place 1 tablespoon oil in pan, then add mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Saute and stir 2-3 minutes or until tender. Remove mushrooms from pan; set aside.

Place remaining 1 tablespoon oil in pan, then add onions; cook and stir 5-6 minutes or until soft and golden. Add meat to pan; brown 4-5 minutes, stirring to crumble meat, or until no pink remains.

Stir in remaining gravy mix, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/2 cup water.  Cook until mixture thickens, about 1-2 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

Pat dough into lightly greased or nonstick pizza pan. (Or turn dough out and roll onto a lightly floured surface to desired thinness.)

First top the dough in the following order:  mayonnaise mixture; meat; mushrooms and cheese. 

Bake 18-25 minutes (bake time depends on thickness of pizza) or until thoroughly heated. Keep an eye on it!

Let stand 5 minutes; slice and serve.

Pasta with Tomatoes, Garlic and Basil

This recipe is very similar to a simple sauce that I make.  The difference is a tiny bit of brown sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes and a handful of parsley.

Make your own variation, adding ingredients you like.  Throw it together and let the stove do all the work!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. pasta
• 4 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 28 oz. can whole plum tomatoes, chopped (reserve juices)
• Handful of basil leaves, chopped
• ½ c. grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Heat one tablespoon of oil over medium heat in a saucepan large enough to hold the tomatoes. Add garlic and cook about 1 minute or until softened.

2. Add the rest of the oil to saucepan, then add tomatoes and the reserved liquid.

3. When sauce starts to simmer, lower heat to maintain a slow simmer for 45 minutes.

4. Cook pasta according to package directions.

5. Salt and pepper sauce to taste, toss in basil leaves, stir and pour over pasta. Top with grated cheese.



Source

Apple Crisp

Apple desserts are among my favorites.  There is something about apples cooked in brown sugar and cinnamon that is crazy good . . . and the smell from the oven while it is baking is intoxicating!

This recipe comes from Taste of Home, one of my favorite food websites.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 cups chopped peeled apples
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Vanilla ice cream, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. 

In a large bowl, combine first four ingredients. 

Cut in butter until crumbly. 

Press half into a greased 2-1/2-qt. baking dish or a 9-in.-square baking pan. 

Cover with apples.

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, water and vanilla. 

Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thick and clear. 

Pour over apples. 

Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.
Bake 60-65 minutes or until apples are tender. 

Serve warm, with ice cream if desired. 

Yield: 8 servings.

Source:  Taste of Home

Originally published as Apple Crisp in Country February/March 1993, p47

White Chocolate-Banana Cream Pie

Some of the best recipes are completely semi-homemade and so easy.  This recipe from Kraft Foods is one of those quick, easy and delicious recipes.

Imagine a luscious banana cream pie made super special with the addition of white chocolate!

A very quick and convenient dessert for a special holiday meal or a week night dinner.

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. (4 oz.) BAKER'S White Chocolate, broken into pieces
• 2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• 1 ready-to-use graham cracker crumb crust (6 oz.)
• 2 large bananas, sliced
• 1 pkg. (3.3 oz.) JELL-O White Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding
• 1-3/4 cups cold milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

Directions

Microwave chocolate and butter for one minute or until butter is melted. 

Stir until chocolate is well blended into mixture and completely melted. 

Drizzle over bottom of crust and top with bananas.

Beat pudding mix, milk and vanilla with whisk about two minutes and pour over bananas in crust.

Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm. 

Top with COOL WHIP just before serving.

SOURCE:  Kraft Foods

Twice Baked Potatoes from The Pioneer Woman

I could make a whole meal out of baked potatoes . . . and even better . . . twice baked potatoes!

This recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond of The Food Network, so you know it has got to be delicious!

For different variations, change the type of cheese or try combination of cheeses.

They also make great snacks straight from the fridge or pop in the microwave.

Ingredients

8 baking potatoes, washed
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 sticks salted butter (sliced into pats)
1 cup bacon bits (fry your own!)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup Cheddar or Jack cheese (or a mix of both), plus more for topping
1/2 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
3 green onions, sliced
Freshly ground black pepper



Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Rub the potatoes with canola oil (I like to use softened butter and sprinkle with kosher salt) and bake for 1 hour on a cookie sheet.  Make sure they are sufficiently cooked through.

Place butter in a large mixing bowl along with the bacon bits and sour cream.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and lower the heat to 350 degrees F.

Cut each potato in half (lengthwise). 

Carefully scrape out the insides into the mixing bowl, make sure not to tear the shell.  Leave a small rim of potato for support. Lay the potato shells on a baking sheet.

Mash the potatoes into the butter, bacon and sour cream; add cheese, milk, seasoned salt, green onions and black pepper to taste . . . mix together well. (IMPORTANT: If you plan to freeze the twice-baked potatoes, do NOT add the green onions.)

Heap the potato shells with the filling.  Add a little more grated cheese on top of the potatoes and bake another 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are warmed through.


Source:  The Food Network
2011 Ree Drummond, All Rights Reserved