Does anyone in this country still believe in the beautiful, nostalgic idea of a big Sunday Family Dinner?
...of course followed immediately by a nice Sunday nap!
Well I do!
And I hope all of you do as well, why?
Well... I'm sure you all know the benefits of eating healthy meals, and everyone has heard the advantages of eating as a family. So.... if you have a family dinner that is healthy think of how awesome you'll be!?
So just in case you need a new and delicious idea for a family meal that doesn't take long to prepare, uses everyday ingredients, is food for the soul and healthy - I've provided you with one of my favorites!
Let me present - in it's healthy-fied version:
Chicken 'Fried' Steak and Garlic Red Skin Mashed Potatoes with White Gravy and Peas
...now showing at a family dinner table near you.
So let's get started, shall we-
First, let's go over what you will need to make EVERYTHING for this smile-inducing meal.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
-Red skin potatoes (I recommend one per person)
-2-3 TBSP. Greek yogurt
-Garlic (I prefer to use the pre-minced stuff that comes in a jar, more economical)
~add to your preference, but I usually do 2 TBSP. of the minced kind when I make 8 potatoes worth.
-2-3 TBSP. Milk
-2-3 TBSP. Sour Cream (fat-free kind works just fine, if you want a lower fat version)
-1 TBSP. butter (light butter, again if you want it even lower fat)
-Seasonings: garlic salt, onion powder, pepper
Peas
Chicken not-'Fried' Steak
-Chicken Breast (one per person)
-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
-1/3 cup whole wheat flour
-1/3 fiber one original cereal
-1/2 buttermilk (regular milk works too in a pinch)
-2 TBSP. cornstarch
-egg white of 1 egg
White Gravy
-2/3 cup milk
-1/3 cup chicken stock - at least (can just use water if you don't want to open a whole can of stock)
-2 TBSP. flour
-1 TBSP. butter
-Seasoning: onion salt/powder, pepper
Ok! Let's get down to business... (well now I have the Mulan song stuck in my head!)
First things first, start de-thawing your chicken breasts if they were frozen.
Then you will want to pound them flat - do this by placing them in a ziplock bag and using your pent-up aggressions and a rolling pin to squash 'em!
Then get them into a nice bath of 1/2 cup buttermilk
while they are soaking...
For the potatoes:
First, you will want to wash, but DO NOT peel, your red skin potatoes
Then cut them into small chunks, try to make them equal in size
While doing this, you can start bringing a pot of water to boiling
When the water is boiling, add your chopped potatoes and let them cook until a fork can go through them, but not so long that they are mush
Remove the pan from the stove and drain immediately, then rinse with cold water (this stops the cooking process so all the starch doesn't make the potatoes sticky)
Place aside, we're now moving on to the chicken.
For the chicken not-fried steak:
Place your fiber one in a blender/food processor-or just throw in a ziplock baggie and smash with a rolling pin! You want the cereal to be completely smooth.
Now you can start setting up your assembly line-
dish 1. all-purpose flour
dish 2. egg white
dish 3. crushed fiber one, whole wheat flour, cornstarch and seasonings
Now remove chicken from buttermilk, and let the excess milk drip off
Then dredge in flour
Dip in egg white
Coat in breading
Place on a plate where they will rest until we are ready to 'fry'
Easy as 1, 2, 3!
All coated up and ready to go!
By the way, now would be a dandy time to turn your stove-top on medium and oven on 350*
Now, to 'fry' them.
You want to get a big skillet hot on a stove-top
When it is hot, either coat the pan with 1 TBSP oil or spray with non-stick cooking spray
Then immediately add your chicken breast and spray the top of the chicken with cooking spray as well
Let cook a few minutes, until starting to get golden, and flip and allow other side to 'fry' as well
You will be left with pretty well 'fried' chicken steaks, but some parts will not be golden and they will probably not be hot all the way through.
So to fix that-place them on a wire rack (like a cookie cooling rack) and then on a baking sheet and place in a 350* oven
These will cook for around 20ish minutes, which just so happens to be the perfect amount of time to finish up the potatoes, make the gravy and heat the peas.
Your skillet will probably look like this:
which is perfect! You better not be one of those people that washes dishes ASAP and has already cleaned this-because you need the skillet remains to make the gravy!
Next you want to make your 'rue' - for this combine your flour and 1/3 cup milk and whisk until smooth.
Now place your skillet back on the heat and add your butter until it melts. Then add rue and stir continuously until it starts getting thick. Then add remaining milk, chicken stock to desired thickness and bring it up to a simmer. Add your spices and you're done!
Now we can finish up the spuds!
In a big bowl, mash the cooked potato chunks - using potato masher, or if you're lazy (like me) you can use a hand mixer :)
Then add in everything else-
milk, yogurt, sour cream, butter, garlic and spices
You can rewarm in the microwave or place in the oven (if your bowl is oven proof of course!) with tin foil overtop
Meanwhile...
Heat up your peas in the microwave, or on the stove-top in about 1 inch of water
That's It! You're completely done with this very impressive meal
Just set the table, fill the water pitcher, and ring the dinner bell!
Dinner. Is. Served.
