What to do with cubed steak…

I find myself always thinking of cubed steak as just for Country Fried Steak. But when you are challenged to find new ways to prepare foods (because our diet is restricted) you have to get creative.So, besides country fried steak, I make a variation that the boys REALLY like.

I call them Steak Fries.

Take your cubed steak and beat the heck out of it. Yeah, it’s great on stressful days.

Then slice into strips. Like a French fry. A protein laden, beefy French fry. Yum.

Mix up some breading. Since the boys can’t have wheat, I use a lot of corn starch. Mixed with some GF flour, seasoned with garlic, onion powder, salt and peppa and sometimes some paprika.

Don’t forget to season the beef strips with salt and pepper before you dredge them. This really helps them taste super good, and the salt breaks down the tough parts in the meat.

I like to dredge them, and then let them sit while I heat up the pan. The breading tends to stay attached to the meat instead of the pan.

Grab up some Earth Balance dairy free buttery spread (also affectionately known as Fake Butta in this house) and add it to your hot pan. ( I usually use bacon fat, but the dog ate it. Just thought I would let you know….since it’s super important.)

When the pan is hot and covered in butta, add your beefy fries and brown.

Sizzle my little fries, sizzle away.

Turn them so that they are evenly cooked. Now, with this cut of meat, I tend to cook it like I would steak. Medium rare. I like a little pink in the middle, but for those of you who don’t, just make sure you don’t cook so long as to make them tough. It will happen. I won’t tell you how I know, but just take my word for it.

Moving on…

When they are cooked through, set aside and cook remaining fries. I like to sit them on the back of the stove and then add all of them together in the pan to heat them up right before serving.

Speaking of serving, I like to put mashed potatoes and corn with it.

Mashed potatoes…. how do I get them creamy with no dairy you might ask? Well, I guess I could let you in on my secret.

Yep, I put fancy goat cheese in our taters. Most people use cream cheese, which is my favorite. But, we can’t use that and I don’t mind the tofu cream cheese, but it tastes funny sometimes. This however, taste like a creamy cream cheese and it’s good. Very good. Plus, I put a glob of Earth Balance in there too. Yum!

So, there you have it. Steak Fries. Even my pickiest eater likes them!