Country Fried Steak

After my slow cooker, the appliance I use the most in my kitchen is my electric skillet. It's lightweight and easy to clean, and it holds more than a stovetop skillet. I have a West Bend. It's probably the cheapest one on the market. No matter. With my electric skillet I can prepare any meal that requires covered cooking. Typically, I use my skillet to cook Calypso chicken (see January 3rd blog) and country fried steak.

I got my country fried steak from a Paula Deen cookbook. But let me say right now that when I cook any recipe of Paula's, I remove all the butter. All of it. I know she's famous for adding a stick of butter to everything, but I've discovered that in most cases, the butter just isn't necessary. I also added mushrooms to my modification of Deen's formula. Finally, any time a recipe calls for any kind of onion, I use Vidalia. It's the only onion my husband will eat; besides, I live an hour and a half away from the town. I ought to be supportive.

Cooked my way, country fried steak can be prepared for only 5 Weight Watchers points. So if anybody out there is trying to lose some holiday weight, this entree gets the green light.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
4 cubed steaks
2 tbsp olive oil
cooking spray
2 cups beef bouillon (or 1 can consomme' or 1 can beef broth)
1 Vidalia onion
2 jars whole button mushrooms

Instructions:
Put flour in a plastic bag. I use a plastic grocery bag from Publix. Liberally salt and pepper cubed steaks. Then toss them in the bag until the meat is coated with flour. Put olive oil in skillet. Then coat skillet with cooking spray. Turn it on to about 350 degrees. When it's hot, add the cubed steak. Brown on one side and then turn to brown the other. Add the beef bouillon (or consomme' or beef broth), onion and mushrooms. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for about 45 minutes.

I serve this meal with Uncle Ben's whole grain brown rice and a green vegetable. Tonight's vegetable was a yellow/zucchini squash mixture.