Country Fried Onion and Mushroom Steak

Me: 'What do you want for dinner tonight?'
Him: 'Tacos!'
Me: 'We don't have tacos. :('
Him: 'What do we have?'
Me: 'Pork, chicken, steaks... I could do a Salisbury with the mushrooms I bought?'
Him: 'That could be cool...'
Me: 'OH I KNOW! It will be waiting for you when you get home! :D'

And that is usually how our meal planning works half of the time. Thankfully I came up with the brilliant idea (using him for inspiration because hey, I don't want to surprise anyone unless I know they are going to love my food experiment) to try to make some Country Fried Steaks with an onion and mushroom gravy; one of his all-time faves when we go out to eat. After deciding what should go in it, I just had to figure out whether or not to pan-fry them or use the deep fryer. After a few minutes of no decisions, he suggested to try both out, so we did! 

We both thought that the deep-fryer would be the winner, hands down. But to our surprise, the pan-fried steaks came out much better than the deep fried ones! Cooking in the pan allowed the breading to soak up all the delicious flavored that were being released by the pan, giving it a fuller taste than the deep fried one. Because of that I opted to only give directions for the pan-fried recipe, however if you really want to deep fry them please do so for 4 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Enjoy!

• 4 3-ounce Steaks
• 3/4 cup Breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated)
• 1 Tbsp Green Onion (was 1 stalk for me)
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 Milk
• 2 Tbsp Butter
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup Onion
• 1/4 cup Mushroom
• 1/2 cup Beef Broth
• 2 Tbsp Flour
• 1 Tbsp Cornstarch
• Salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and green onion in a container. Beat egg until fluffy and then add 1/4 cup Milk and whisk. Once combined, dip steak in egg batter and then press in the flour concoction until coated. Do this for all 4 steaks.

Step 2: In a sauce pan, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat. Once butter melts, turn heat to medium-high and place steaks in the pan. Cook for about 3-4 minutes each, or until golden brown. Be sure not to move them for at least the first two minutes to help the breaking stick to the steak or else it might fall off.

Step 3: Once steaks are down, remove them from the pan and turn the stove to medium heat. Add onions and mushrooms to the pan and cook in the pan until soft. Slowly add in the milk, broth, flour, and cornstarch to the onions and mushrooms. Make sure to stir while adding in the ingredients in order to mix them properly. 

Step 4: After gravy has been mixed, turn heat to low temperature and let sit for a minute. Stir again, and then turn off heat and let sit for another 1-2 minutes. Gravy will thicken up as it cools a bit.

Step 4: Cover steaks with gravy and enjoy!

Yield: 4 servings.

Cheesy Tuna and Green Bean Casserole

Mmmmmm Tuna Noodle Casserole. One of those foods that always brings back fond childhood memories. Taking a traditional Tuna Casserole and exchanging the peas that my family would sometimes put in it with green beans and adding some delicious cheese makes this casserole a wonderful dinner meal.

This can either be eaten by itself as the full meal or feel free to make a side dish to go with it! And another great thing about this dish is that the leftovers make for a tasty lunch! Enjoy!

• 9" x 5" Baking dish, or another dish of your choice
• 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
• 6 ounces pasta (I used Fusilli pasta)
• 1/4 cup Diced Onion
• 10 3/4 ounce can Campbell's Cheddar Cheese Soup
• 14.5 ounce can French Style Green Beans (drained)
• 5 ounce Canned Tuna (drained)
• 1/2 cup French Fried Onions (I used cheddar cheese flavor)
• 1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1/3 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup Cottage Cheese
• 1/4 cup Chopped Green Onion (1 stalk)
• 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
• 1/4 tsp Thyme
• 1/4 tsp Ground Sage
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. While oven is heating, cook your pasta. Once cooked, drain and set aside. Tip: To help prevent the noodles from sticking together, add a little butter while the noodles are warm and stir until it dissolves.

Step 2: Combine the diced onion, minced garlic, 1/8 of the green onions (set the other 1/8 aside for now), cheese soup, milk, Old Bay, thyme, sage, and black pepper in a pot and cook over medium heat. Stir until concoction becomes smooth. Remove from heat, add in the cottage cheese, stir, and then set aside.

Step 3: Grease baking dish and add in the pasta. Place green beans and then tuna on top of the pasta, and then cover with the cheese concoction. Mix a bit in the dish, but you don't have to mix it a lot, just to get some of the cheese down to the bottom.

Step 4: Cover dish with the shredded cheese, french fried onions, and the remaining green onions. Cover with aluminum and bake for 25 minutes. Then remove the aluminum and back for another 5 minutes, or until the shredded cheese starts to melt. Enjoy!

Yield: 4-6 servings, depending on your portions.

Deep Fried Apple and Brie Bites

This is a recipe I created after receiving a deep fryer for Christmas. These come out tasting just like little mini Apple Pies or Apple Empanadas.

Beware, this recipe can get messy so you will want to make sure you have some extra paper towels waiting in the wings. Also, these can be reheated in case you are bringing them someplace. Just make them before you leave, and when you get to your destination just heat them up in the oven for 5-7 minutes at 400 degrees F (204 degrees C). Enjoy!

Apple and Brie Filling

• 3 Fuji Apples
• 1/2 lb. Brie Cheese
• 1 Tbsp Honey
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 20 crushed Vanilla Wafers

Step 1: Peel and dice apples to very small bits. Set aside in a large bowl when done.

Step 2: Break up Brie cheese into very small pieces and add them to the apples. Add in honey, vanilla extract, and crushed wafers to the bowl and then stir. You should end up with a very mushy looking but very tasty apple concoction. 

Step 3: Set bowl in the fridge while you prepare the Funnel Cake batter.

Funnel Cake Batter

• 3/4 cup Milk
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Step 1: In a large bowl, beat the egg until it is frothy. Slowly start combining the other ingredients into the egg until smooth. The mixture should be a little on the thicker side so if you feel you need to add more flour, be my guest!

Creating the Apple and Brie Bites

• Apple and Brie filling
• Funnel Cake batter
• 20-30 crushed Vanilla Wafers (to coat the bites in)
• Oil for frying

Step 1: In a deep fryer or large pot, heat oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Step 2: While oil is heating up, it is time to get messy. Carefully roll the Apple and Brie mixture into little balls or clumps, making about 5 or 6 at a time. Drop them in the Funnel Cake batter and coat them evenly. Once coated, drop them in the crushed wafers and coat them, giving them a nice Vanilla Wafer shell.

Step 3: Once oil is fully heated up, add bites to the oil and fry until golden brown. Once browned, remove from the fryer and set aside on some paper towels to dry off. Bites will be a little soft as they first come out of the fryer, but will stiffen up after cooling a bit.

Step 4: After you have fried up all the bites, place them on a plate and server warm! Feel free to add a little dash of confectioners' sugar on the top of them before serving!

Yield: Makes about 24-36 bites, depending on how big you roll them

Sweet and Tangy Apple Pork Chops

This is a recipe I created using the idea that pork and apples go splendidly together! The seasonings gives the pork a sweet and slightly spicy taste while the apple cider adds to the sweetness while bringing a unique tartness as it is absorbed into the meat. 

Feel free to omit the cumin or to lessen it since I know it is a strong flavor. Hope you enjoy!

• 1 lb. Pork Chops (I had 4 in total)
• 2 Tbsp Butter
• 3/4 cups Apple Cider
• 3 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Honey Mustard (Dijon works just as well also, or you can mix together plain mustard and some honey)
• 1/2 tsp Cumin
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Cayenne (optional; you can use another chili powder if you wish)
• 1 tsp Mustard Powder
• Apple Sauce (to enjoy the pork chops with once you finish)

Step 1: Combine the brown sugar, cumin, cayenne, honey mustard, and mustard powder in a small dish. Once mixed, rub the spice concoction onto the pork chops and let them sit.

Step 2: Melt butter in a saucepan big enough to cook the pork chops in over medium heat.

Step 3: Once butter is melted, add apple cider to the pan. Then place pork chops in the pan.

Step 4: Cook pork chops for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until browned. Serve with some apple sauce and enjoy!