Feels like I’ve been on a cooking frenzy this week. I started out with about 15 cups of chicken enchilada filling on Monday. Tuesday I prepared a triple batch of the Mock Chicken Fried Steak. It’s a very busy week on the home front so I am doing my best to be prepared in every area.
It’s funny when you look back on your childhood what you see. Here lately Phillip, our son, has been doing a bit of childhood reminiscing and it’s amazing what ‘little’ things stand out. For instance in this recipe for chicken fried steak I can see mother’s plastic Tupperware container that she always used to store the patties. I even see the waxed paper between the layers! This was a dish that mom would use on one of her ‘sewing days’ when she didn’t want to be interrupted to prepare a big meal. Funny how I’m just like her to this day.
I actually enjoy getting foods prepared for the freezer. This week I also froze two jelly roll pans of Bing cherries. I have the stained thumbs reminding of my endeavors. Before Friday hits I’ll have 3-4 more quarts of homemade tomato sauce ready to hit the road. Ooops, forgot to mention I’m now making homemade hand cream; this past week my assistant and I whipped up 3 batches. We’re looking at the holidays and thinking of using them as gifts. There were also several smoked blocks of cheese. And, I’m smoking a batch of country ribs to use for my baked bean dishes a bit later in the week. Me oh my, I’m making my own self tired!
I have this inner voice saying we need to get things put away for the winter. I don’t know if it’s because of the floods this spring and summer, but I’m sure preparing. My parents, in Northeast Missouri, continue to receive buckets of rainfall. They say the corn looks lovely from the road, but the ground is so saturated the stalks aren’t receiving enough oxygen. My folks tell me it’s rather depressing right now and they sure need to see sunshine instead of all the rain.
On a positive note I had a wonderful day with our son, Phillip. Can you believe all of us had dental appointments including our dog, Jilly? I can say that Phillip and I are no worse for the wear, but Jilly is still in druggie land. The great part of the day was I got to spend all of it with Phillip. While I shopped he went to the sports store. He got to choose lunch and he picked ‘Waffle House’. We also stopped to purchase ‘Kringle’ at a bakery in Springfield, but we got there too late. Then it was on to Grandma and Grandpa’s to see their new house. Still in boxes they’re just taking it a little bit at a time. (Ervin’s Mom and stepdad, Ed) We took them all the fixings for chicken enchiladas like we had at our house.
I hope the week brings lots of sunshine and fun activities for each of you. I’m heading towards some R & R this week and lots of family time. Enjoy the recipe! Simply yours, The Covered Dish. www.thecovereddish.com
Mock Chicken Fried Steak
1 pound of burger or chuck
2 teaspoons onion salt (may want to pull back on)
2 teaspoons parsley flakes
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups finely chopped saltine crackers, divided
1 tablespoon chili powder
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl; use only one cup of the crushed saltines. Should the mixture feel too stiff add a small amount of milk. Sprinkle the rest of the saltine crumbs on the counter or chopping board. Roll balls out into steaks and press into the cracker crumbs. Place on waxed paper and chill 30 minutes or more. Fry in hot oil until brown on both sides. For a more healthy approach use onion powder instead of onion salt. Also try baking on a jelly roll pan that’s been lined with parchment. If you bake them use 350 degrees and monitor until done.
