Country Fried Steak with Gravy

A classic Southern dish is Country Fried Steak.  I think you have to be able to cook this meal to be a true Southerner.  I've been playing around with gravy some, but this was my first time trying cubed steak.  You may want to play around with the seasoning to get it where you want it, I will do that more next time I try this meal, but this is a good basic place to start.

Country Fried Steak with Gravy

cubed steak, 2 pieces
1 egg
2 cups flour, divided
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
oil for frying
3 cups milk
Heat oil over medium heat in frying pan.  Break egg onto saucer, beat.  Mix 1 cup flour, salt, and pepper on large plate.  Dredge cubed steak in flour, then dip in egg.  Dredge cubed steak a second time in flour.  Drop into hot oil, cook 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown.  Pour off hot oil until you have about 2-3 tbsp left.  Add 1 cup flour, mix with oil and brown mixture, lowering heat to low-medium low.  Add milk slowly  while constantly stirring until you get the amount of gravy you would like to make.  Cook on low-medium low, constantly stirring, until gravy is desired consistency (make take a little while to thicken, but cook it slowly).  Serve over rice.

Corn Casserole

I love corn!  Growing up, it was about the only vegetable I would eat, especially when my mom cooked fresh corn all day long.  This recipe is a new take on corn that I got from Betty, a family friend of ours.  It's a great side dish and works great for a pot-luck dinner!

Corn Casserole

2 can corn, drained
1 can chopped green chiles
1 8 oz block cream cheese
1 stick butter
cheddar cheese
Soften butter and cream cheese, mix together.  Add corn and green chiles, mix.  Place in 2 qt casserole dish, top with cheddar cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Chicken Pot Pie

This is a great chicken pot pie recipe that my college roommate Melissa gave to me.  I changed it a little to have 1 can cream of chicken and 1 can cream of potato just to give it a little more flavor.  It makes great left-overs!

Chicken Pot Pie

1 can cream of potato soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
15 oz Veg-All, drained
2 large chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1/2 c milk
1/8 tsp sage
1/8 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 pie crusts
Mix first 8 ingredients together.  Spoon filling into pie crust and cover with other pie crust.  Press edges together.  Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes.

Bang Bang Shrimp

I do not like shrimp, but Brent loves it!  So when he was traveling for work a couple of weeks ago, he brought home 15 pounds of fresh shrimp frozen into 5 pound blocks.  We gave 10 pounds away, but today I am attempting to cook my first ever shrimp recipe.

Bang Bang Shrimp (adapted from the Bonefish Grill recipe)

1 pound shrimp, deveined and peeled
1/2-3/4 cup corn starch
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup Thai sweet pepper sauce (Asian pepper sauce)
10-12 drops hot sauce
2 tbsp buffalo wing sauce
Mix mayo, pepper sauce, hot sauce, and wing sauce in a medium sized bowl.  Coat shrimp in corn starch.  Heat oil in deep fryer until very hot (about 350 degrees).  Drop shrimp in, cook 3 minutes.  Do not overcook (I learned my lesson the hard way!), literally cook them 3 minutes in very hot oil.  Remove from oil (they should be very, very light beige in color), place on paper towel.  Drop into sauce, coat.  Serve immediately.

 

 

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

So, earlier on the blog I posted a delicious beef enchilada recipe.  I wanted to try something a little new tonight though, so I attempted chicken enchiladas.  I used the Philadelphia cooking creme again, but this time it was the Santa Fe flavor.  I've also kind of been on a Southwestern/Mexican kick, so you may have seen a theme lately!

Chicken Enchiladas

3 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
1/2 onion, diced
1 tsp garlic
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 small can chopped green chiles
6 enchilada sized tortillas (soft taco)
1 container Philadelphia Santa Fe cooking creme, separated
1 1/2 cup Mexican blend cheese, separated
Saute diced onion and garlic until slightly browned.  Add green chiles, saute another 1-2 minutes.  Add tomatoes, chicken, 3/4 cup cooking creme, 1/2 cup cheese; heat and stir until cheese is melted.  Scoop chicken mixture onto tortilla, making a line down the middle.  Roll tortilla up, place in greased 9x13 baking dish, seam side down.  Continue with 5 tortillas.  Top with remaining cooking creme and cheese.  Bake covered at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then uncover for 5 additional minutes.

Mile High Salsa Pie!

Brent has named this dish "Mile High Salsa Pie" and rightly so, that's basically what it is!  This is a great dish to play around with, add different ingredients or make it as spicy as you want.  It's also just an easy Mexican dish to throw together.  It makes great leftovers!

Mile High Salsa Pie

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 jar medium salsa
2 cups cheddar
4 soft taco tortillas
(You can use a soft taco kit to make this.  It comes with the tortillas, the seasoning, and usually a spicy cheese mixture which makes a great addition to the meat mixture.)
Add taco seasoning to drained ground beef.  Simmer for about 5 minutes.  Add beans and cheese mixture (if using kit) to meat mixture.  Heat for 3-4 more minutes.  In a round 2 qt baking dish, layer tortilla, salsa, meat mixture, then cheese.  Repeat layers until all ingredients are used, ending with cheese.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and dish is bubbly.