County Fried Steak with Sawmill Gravy

I think it's safe to say this is one of my hubby's favorite meals. I saw it on Sandra's Money Saving Meals and knew he'd like it. I personally love the gravy! It is sooooo good! And it's not that hard to make either.


Country Fried Steak
Ingredients:
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper ( I didn't have cayenne so I just skipped it)
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
4 cube steaks, about 1 to 1 1/4-pounds
1/2 cup canola oil
Sawmill Gravy, recipe follows
Directions
In a pie pan, whisk together the egg and milk. In a second pie pan, combine the flour, cornmeal, paprika, cayenne, salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste.

Season the beef with salt and pepper and dredge the steaks in the flour mixture. Shake off any excess, then submerge them in the milk and egg. Dredge them again in the flour mixture. Make sure both sides are well coated with the egg mixture before dredging them for the second time. Dust off the excess flour and set aside.

Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the steaks and fry until their coatings become golden brown and crisp, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove them to a plate lined with a brown paper bag or paper towels to drain. Arrange them on serving plates and serve with the Sawmill Gravy.

Sawmill Gravy

• 12 ounces breakfast sausage, small diced (patties may be used and broken into small pieces)
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped  ( I didn't have fresh so I used 1 tsp dried)
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Brown the sausage in a cast iron or heavy-bottomed skillet, over medium heat. When fully cooked, remove the sausage from the pan and set aside.
In the same pan, over low heat, add the canola oil. Whisk in the flour and cook, constantly stirring, until the flour turns a pale golden color, about 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the gravy has thickened, about 5 to 10 minutes. Return the reserved sausage to the skillet and season with salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Serve alongside the Chicken Fried Steak.

Pizza!

OK, my boys love pizza! I like it too. And the good thing about making it at home is you can control the toppings, ingredients and more to make it healthier than take out!
First you start with the basic pizza dough.

Basic Pizza Dough
Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1.5 tsp dry yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbs sugar
• approx 3 cups of flour

Directions:
Mix all ingredients starting with the top and working your way down the list except for the flour. I start with one cup of flour and use my mixer until it starts working it's way up the beater. Then I put a cup of flour on my counter, plop the dough down, and slowly work it in with my hands pulling from under the dough so there is always dry flour where I am touching. I do this until it is kneadable (is that a word, even?) Then I knead for 10min or so.

Then you spread out on your pan. i have a fairly large pizza pan about 18inches wide and it fills it. I also have a large square pan I use. Then you can top with homemade sauce! (recipe follows) I also like to use lowfat mozzarella. The boys like pepperoni and I like to use whatever veggies I have available. I also double this recipe because our boys love pizza and we always make 2 and eat 2!

Homemade Pizza Sauce
Ingredients:
1 can (15oz) tomato sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder (optional. if I am out I don't use it)
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

In a small bowl, whisk the tomato sauce with the spices and olive oil. This makes 2 cups of sauce and will be enough for one pizza made with the recipe above. I've alo used italian flavored tomato sauce and just added a bit of garlic powder. I double this as well.
Here is the result:

Homemade spaghetti and meatballs

So it's been awhile since I've posted. Life has just been busy and I haven't had time to post recipes with pics and all. This past Sunday we had company so I decided to make homemade meatballs with homemade spaghetti sauce. It was yummy if I do say so myself!

The Best Meatballs
Ingredients:

• 1.5lbs ground beef
• half pound of ground pork (or you can use all beef)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1.5 Tbs chopped Italian flat leaf parsley (or 1tsp dried parsley. Doesn't taste quite as good in my opinion)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups stale bread, crumbled up (in a pinch I make a few slices of toast and crumble that up)
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• olive oil for skillet

Directions:
1. Combine beef and pork in a large bowl. Add garlic, eggs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.
2. Blend bread crumbs into meat mixture. Slowly add the water. The mixture should be moist but still hold it's shape when rolled into meatballs. Shape into meatballs.
3. Heat olive oil in large skillet. Fry meatballs in batches. When the meatballs are brown and slightly crisp remove from heat and drain on paper towel. I then put the meatballs in my crock pot and cover with homemade sauce (recipe follows) and cook on high for 3-4hrs or low for 6-7hrs.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients:

• 2 cans (28oz) crushed tomatoes (any kind will do. I use my mom's homemade canned from the garden)
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1.5 Tbs dried basil
• 1.5 Tbs dried oregano
• 1.5 Tbs dried rosemary
• 1.5 Tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Put all ingredients in blender or food processor. (you can skip this if using crushed tomatoes. Sometimes I only have whole) Pour over meatballs and cook as directed above. Or you can cook on the stove for 20 minutes.
This sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for a week, 6 months in the freezer, or indefinitely if canned.

Don't mind this pic. Since we had company on Sunday I felt a little weird taking pictures of my food so this is today at unch when I had leftovers. Still Yummy!!