Country Fried Steak with Creamy Mashed Potatoes!

Last night I did not cook dinner, instead Danny and I went with his brother and some friends to check out a new "wing night" spot (new to us, not them.) 

We had a wing place that we frequented almost every week with his parents but it ended up closing down. That place had wings for $.45 a piece every Wednesday and the new place we went to last night was $.55. I of course get plain wings and then dip it in ranch because I have such a sensitive palette to anything spicy that even mild is to much for me sometimes (I know I am a wuss, can't help it!) Danny on the other hand gets Molten Lava Hot Spicy Garlic that smells SO spicy that when it comes to the table its like my nostrils are on fire...true story. 

BUT, the night before I cooked and it was de-li-cious!! The previous week when I was at the supermarket I noticed they had cube steak on sale and I though to myself "we haven't had country fried steak in FOREVER" So I picked us up a couple packages. This is hands down one of my favorite meals and its not hard to make it just makes a HUGE mess in my kitchen. By the time I am done cooking there is flour all over the kitchen from dredging the steaks plus grease splatter that ends up all over my stove after frying them in my cast iron skillet. But in the end taking that perfect bite of fried steak with creamy country gravy is SO worth the mess....

I have made several different recipes through the years but its the Pioneer Woman's recipe for country fried steak that I love. When Ree's show first aired on the food network I wasn't really sure what to make of her (and honestly thought she was kind of annoying) but after making a couple of her recipes, this one being one of the first I came to the conclusion that she is an absolute miracle worker in the kitchen! The following two recipes one for Country Fried Steak and the other for Creamy Mashed Potatoes both came from Ree's cookbook "The Pioneer Woman: Recipes From An Accidental Country Girl"

Lets get to it shall we.....

Country Fried Steak...aka Chicken Fried Steak by Ree

Ingredients:

1. 3 pounds Cube Steak (tenderized Round Steak That's Been Extra Tenderized)
2. 1-1/2 cups Whole Milk
3. 2 whole Large Eggs
4. 2 cups All-purpose Flour
5. 2 teaspoons Seasoned Salt
6. 1 1/2 teaspoons Freshly ground black pepper
7. 3/4 teaspoon paprika
8. 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I honestly used only 1/8 tsp but we already discussed me being a wimp)
9. 1/2 cup Canola Oil, For Frying
10. Salt and Pepper
11. 1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

1. Begin with setting up an assembly line of dishes. Mix the milk with the eggs in one; the flour mixed with the seasoned salt, black pepper, paprika and cayenne in another. Then have one clean plate at the end to receive the breaded meat.
2. 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, turning to coat. Finally, place it back in the flour and turn to coat (dry mixture/wet mixture/dry mixture). Place the breaded meat on the clean plate, then repeat with the remaining meat.
3. 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. 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.

Now, if you have Ree's cookbook you will see she also has a recipe for country gravy. I will hang my head in shame and say that my gravy actually came from a packet...I know, I know but it was STILL delicious! :) 

We had creamy mashed potatoes that I kind of adapted from another recipe by The Pioneer Woman. In her recipe you make the mashed potatoes and then put them in a baking dish and finish them off in the oven. I skipped the last step and just served them after mashing them.

Ingredients:

1. 2 1/2 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes
2. 1/2 stick Butter, Softened
3. 1/2 package (4 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened
4. 1/2 cup (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half (i just used whole milk cause that's what I had)
5. 1/2 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
6. 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
7. 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

Directions:

1. Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Drain the potatoes in a large colander. Place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape before adding in all the other ingredients.
3. Turn off the heat and add butter, the cream cheese, half-and-half (or milk), seasoned salt, kosher salt and pepper. Mash to combine.

**I served them at this point but if you want to go ahead with the original recipe you can find it here. 

And here is my final plate! I served them with buttered green beans and a side salad...

P.S....im still trying to decide/learn how to use my new camera. Im not 100% sure if I am gonna keep it yet or get a new one. We shall see.

Zesty Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

Hi Ya'll! I hope you all have had a great new year so far. Can you believe its already the end of January??!! Crazy...

This recipe that I am sharing with you today is called Zesty Roasted Chicken and Potatoes and I believe its from my Betty Crocker cookbook (the bridal edition) that I got for our wedding almost five years ago. It was one of the first meals I learned how to make when I moved in with my husband and it quickly became one of our favorite go to "quick" meals. At one point I think we even had it every week for dinner! I now try different recipes a lot so we haven't had this dish in awhile so the other night I made it and it was just as delicious as I remember. The great thing about this meal is that it is quick, easy AND its all made on one pan so clean up is a breeze! Give it a try I know you will love it too! :)

Zesty Roasted Chicken and Potatoes!

Ingredients:

6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1 lb. small red potatoes, cut in quarters
1/3 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Chopped fresh chives, if desired.

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350. Spray a baking sheet, 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1 inch with cooking spray.

2. Place chicken and potatoes in pan. Mix remaining ingredients except chives; brush over chicken and potatoes.

3. Bake uncovered 30 to 35 minutes or until potatoes are tender and juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Sprinkle with chives.

**Depending on your oven you may have to bake this a little longer than the recommended time. Mine is usually in the oven 40-45 minutes and then its perfect. It really depends on how big or small my potatoes are so at around 40 minutes I check the potatoes and go from there. I also almost never use chives just because that isn't something I always have in my fridge and it doesn't really make a huge difference its still an amazing dinner without it. 

Well there you go. Let me know what you think if you try it! Happy Tuesday everybody!! :)

Jen

XoxoX

Classic Pot Roast

I have been making Pot Roast in my crock-pot for years and while I love a good roast, I haven't been able to find that ONE recipe that surpasses anyone that I have tried before. It seems almost every recipe I have ever found/tried has one of the following ingredients: cream of mushroom soup, french onion soup packet or beef stock or water with some herbs. That's it!

So when I was flipping through a new magazine I just got in the mail last week and came across this recipe for classic pot roast I knew I had to try it. I mean between the pictures and the list of ingredients it just sounded/looked delicious! I thought...hmm....could I have possibly found my recipe?? So here it is....

Classic Pot Roast

Ingredients

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 boneless chuck roast, trimmed, seasoned with S&P (3-4lbs.)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth

1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce

2 cups sliced onions

6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2 to 3 inch pieces

6 cloves garlic, chopped

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

Directions

1) Heat oil in a saute pan over medium-high. Sear roast on all sides, 10 minutes total. Transfer roast to a 4 to 6 qt slow cooker.

2) Stir flour into saute pan; cook 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook 1 minute more.

3) Deglaze saute pan with wine, cooking until liquid evaporates. Stir in broth and worcestershire; bring mixture to a simmer, scraping up any brown bits.

4) Transfer broth mixture to the slow cooker; add onions, carrots, celery, and cook until meat is fork tender, on high heat setting for 4-5 hours or on low heat for 8-9 hours. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves before serving.

Now generally when I make a pot roast I throw potatoes in the crock pot with the roast but this recipe had mashed potatoes along side the roast so I went with that suggestion for something different....

Mashed Potatoes & Peas

Ingredients

2lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks

1/2 cup milk, warmed

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Salt and white pepper to taste

minced fresh chives

Directions

1) Boil potatoes in a pot of salted water until tender, 12-15 minutes; drain. Return potatoes to pot; cook, stirring, over low heat for 1 minute to remove moisture. Mash potatoes until smooth.

2) Stir in milk, butter, peas, salt and pepper; serve immediately topped with chives!

And here is my plate! I served it with some biscuits and honey...YUM! This roast was very flavorful and a nice change of pace from the old cream of mushroom soup roast. I will definitely be making this roast again but I am still on my journey to find the PERFECT roast recipe so if you have one I would love to hear it!! :)

P.S. In case you were wondering the potato and roast recipes both serve 6 people!! I do have another recipe from Saturday I am going to try and get up tomorrow but I am going to Gainesville for a couple of days for a check up so I am not sure if I can post it before I leave. If I don't I will do it when I get home and update you all on how my appointment went as well!!

Good Night!!

XoxoX