Chicken Fried Steak

“I love meat – from my head down to my feet; fried up or grilled, with my family or the girls, I love meat.” Sounds like a good commercial, huh? I do love eggs…but meat is my best friend. I can eat just about any man under the table when it comes to meatballs…actually, when I think about it I could most likely eat any man under the table PERIOD. I eat more than Barry and Annie combined. It’s that whole breastfeeding thing – it makes me famished. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

But, I do love girly foods…and sometimes that’s a problem for Barry. Sometimes he’s like, “Woman! I’m tired of all these froo-froo foods like puddings, and muffins – I want some MAN FOOD.” No, not really…he’s never said that – but I’ve said it to myself. Man food rocks. Woman food rocks too – actually, food in general rocks. I’m hungry, I need a snack.

The cookbook for this week is The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook (affiliate link butt covering for the FTC). It was a gift from our cousins a few years ago at Christmas – they live in Atlanta, but this cookbook is from Social Circle, Georgia. It tells the history of this home and how it came to be a restaurant. It’s got history peppered all through it – and those are my FAVORITE kind of cookbooks.

It’s full of good SOUTHERN cooking like fried pork chops, gravy, and biscuits. It’ll make you cry with delight – it’ll make you hungry – it’ll make you fix a snack. Gosh…I’m hungry. I love Southern food – good thing I live there. Southern food = man food, plus a chicken salad or something lady-like peppered here and there. But after you fix a man meal like THIS, sometimes he’s okay with chicken froo-froo salad.

Praise the Lord and pass the gravy! I heart gravy. It’s good for the soul.

I nixed the cream-of soup because we just don’t buy those things anymore. Plus, once you have REAL GRAVY you won’t go back to the can. “Gravy love! My gravy love! I need ya, oh how I need ya, love!” (Barry sings that all the time.)

When I coat meat, I like to do it in a bag I can just pitch…it makes clean up easier. You can use a Ziploc if you like…or you can be cool like me and use an empty cereal bag. Add flour and seasonings. Shake. Trash. No clean up. Praise the Lord!

*Please do not leave me nasty comments about BPA. Thank you and amen.*

I do fry my meats in palm shortening instead of butter when I have it…it doesn’t brown or smoke and set off the fire alarm – does anyone else do that? “Oh, Stacy must be cooking again.” I know the neighbors hear and see the smoke coming out my windows. They probably also hear all the 4 year old tantrums – I sometimes wonder what they all think of me. Oh well, who cares. I have gravy.

Palm shortening is just another one of those healthy fats that we like to use – do we use it every day? No, I save that for coconut oil. But, I do so love meat and doughnuts fried in palm. Heavenly.

You can whip up a batch of Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup to go with your steak. I ain’t hatin’….it’s gravy after all. “Gravy love! My gravy love! I need ya, oh how I need ya love!”

Either way – gravy and chicken fried steak are here. It’s a beautiful thing. I’m hungry.