Comfort Food Night!- Chicken Fried Steak

First off let me start off saying that I love that the weather is finally in the 70s instead of the 100s. I can make all these goodies again. I am getting my fill of my not so great foods since I am going to be dipping my toes into Gluten Free for my whole families health! I am going to be working on adaption once I start. But will still have a lot of my home cooked goodies! I will be giving the regular recipes and the alternatives so you can use either or!!
    Now on to supper! I have been wanting some Chicken Fried Steak for about 2 weeks but it was either to hot or I just didn't feel good. Pregnant in summer woo hoo! Today it had to happen. On the menu is Chicken Fried Steak, Lumpy Mashed Potatoes (the Mister's favorite kind), green beans (QC loves them so there can't be enough lately), with a pan gravy(I adore gravy's). Notice here how I don't add measurements... I honestly do NOT measure unless I am baking, much like my cousin over at Confluent Kitchen. I can give approximate amounts but really everything is more to the taste and flavoring I like.

What you need:
   Steak:
     Tenderized Steaks (Mine were marked down $2!!)
     Flour
     Seasonings
     Egg
     Milk
     Shortening
   
Mashed Potatoes:
   Potatoes (I got some wonderful red skinned ones from the Farmer's Market)
   Butter
   Milk
   Cheese
   Seasonings
   Salt

Green Beans:
   Frozen Green Beans
   Butter
   Seasonings

Pan Gravy:
   Pan Drippings
   Flour
   Milk


Tools:
    Bowl for mashing
    Potato Masher
    Knife
    Sauce Pan
    Frying Pan
    Baking Sheet
    Whisk
    Microwave Safe Bowl
    Plastic Wrap
    Plates or Bowls for Dredging
    Fork
    Spoon

QC spent this cooking session in the living room with the Wiggles since I don't want him in the room with hot oil. Gave him a snack and a cup and he was most happy to watch me and the TV. We were able to talk the whole time but I felt safer with him away from the kitchen. 

First thing I did was cut up my potatoes to about 1inch pieces. This was about 1 1/2 cups of potatoes. I am only cooking for QC and I most nights. 

Put in pan with water about 1inch above potatoes and add a dash or two of salt. 

Now I added about 2tbsp of shortening to my frying pan and put on medium heat to melt and get hot.

Dredging station 1: I am only making 5 small pieces so I used 1 egg, a splash (maybe tbsp) of milk and seasonings (maybe about 1 tsp)

Dredging station 2: Flour (about 1cup) and my seasonings (about Tbsp or Tbsp and a half) I Whisked both stations up separately so they are well mixed. NOTE: I seasoned both stations since I want these steaks to be seasoned throughout. 

My Tenderized Steaks. These were much bigger but I cut them to more manageable pieces.

With a fork (no I didn't want it on my hands) cover in flour. Knocking off excess flour.

Into the egg to cover. Reason I do the flour first is it helps the egg stick.

Dip in the flour again and you should have something that looks a lot like this.

Fly until light brown on both sides and cooked through.

This foil is for the steaks since it took more than one frying to get them all cooked I put them on the foil and in the oven on 250 until they were all cooked. This kept them warm while I finished the rest of supper!

3tbsp butter in the bottom of my bowl for the potatoes! I like to put the hot drained potatoes right on top to melt it well.

This is how I cook my green beans. Nothing real hard or special. Throw the frozen veggies in a bowl, add water (just enough to cover bottom of bowl)

Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 3 minutes. 

Pan Drippings from the steaks. This is going to make an amazing gravy!

Add about a tbsp flour to the drippings

Stir until all mixed in and it starts to thin up.

Add milk (about 1/4 cup)

Whisk 

Keep whisking and adding tbsp by tbsp until your gravy looks like this. A little runny since it sits for another couple of minutes off the heat. It will thicken up wonderfully!

Drain your potatoes. I test mine with a fork to make sure they are soft all the way.

Throw on top of the butter and add the seasonings. Now I really can't tell you how much since everyone likes things seasoned a bit differently. I prefer mine to be nice and herby. 

Notice they look a little dry.

Add a splash of milk and mix until they look creamy. I added about 1/4 cup sharp cheddar on mine because I like them that way. I covered with plastic wrap while I finished dishing up supper!

Here are my steaks. Since it was only QC and I I only breaded 2 steaks and the rest were just fried for tomorrow.( I am not a fan of reheated breaded meats)

And now for my plate! It looks soo soo yummy!

QC's plate! He actually ate the steak!! 

The inside of my steak, this seriously melted in your mouth!

Mommy try one! He is really getting into the whole sharing thing!

QC Gobbled down supper tonight.

This is one you can double or triple if you wish! Taste while you are cooking (no not the raw meat), and find that balance that suits you, and have fun cooking!