The 2 Spoons

a Texas favorite, famous chicken fried steak sandwich!

August 21, 2021 by Becky Spoon

When I was choosing the right photo of this Chicken Fried Steak Sandwich as the header photo, I just couldn’t make up mind. Don’t the photo look amazing?

This sandwich is without a doubt a Texas favorite. Whether on a sandwich or served topped with gravy and fries or mashed potato, the chicken fried steak is served at almost every cafe, diner, mom and pops, even TexMex restaurants in Texas will have a chicken fried steak on the menu. Just the name, chicken….fried….steak….just denotes it is going to be amazing!

Today we use cube steak, the official cut you buy for chicken fried steak. My mom would use round steak that she would tenderize by beating it with the sides of a plate. It’s been around for a long time. I have another post of chicken fried steak that has a little history of the cfs and how it came about with the chuckwagon on trail rides. Best Texas Chicken Fried Steak Fingers

a Texas favorite, chicken fried steak sandwich!

So the sandwich starts with the chicken fried steak which is made by breading the cubed steak and frying it in hot oil until golden brown on all sides. The breading is key! Seasoned flour, egg mixture, back into the flour, repeat if you like, throw into the hot oil, well, not literally, but place in the oil, turning until golden brown. I like to use Peanut Oil; however, you could use vegetable oil. I also like to fry in a cast iron dutch oven. Mine is very old, it was my Grandmother’s, but you can get some really nice Lodge cast iron pieces. This is like the one I used: https://amzn.to/3D95Erh

So much for the “chicken fried steak” let’s talk about the sandwich! It starts with a buttered and toasted bun. Then it is slathered with a good mayonnaise. Add a layer of lettuce to the bottom, then the steak and last but not least top with fresh salt and peppered tomatoes and thinly sliced onions. You could add pickles, but I really don’t like pickles on this sandwich, but do what you like!

If you have leftover chicken fried steak, you have to have it for breakfast on to a homemade biscuit and then topped with gravy! Here’s my favorite buttermilk biscuit recipe:

wonderful – flaky buttermilk biscuits.

Here’s the recipe or this wonderful sandwith! Enjoy!

chicken fried steak sandwich!

Print Recipe

CourseBreakfast, brunch, dinner, Lunch, Main Course

CuisineAmerican

Keywordchicken fried, chicken fried steak sandwich, cube steak, sandwich, steak, Texas Chicken Fried Steak

Ingredients

1 lb cube steak or tenderized round steak
2 cups plus if needed all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
2 eggs beaten plus a splash of water
peanut oil for frying (up to about 1/3 in the pan you are using)

To Build the Sandwich

Cooked Chicken Fried Steak
2-4 hamburger buns
butter for toasting the buns
good mayonnaise
lettuce leaves
sliced tomatoes
thinly sliced onions (I used Purple)
pickles (optional)

Instructions

For the Chicken Fried Steak

Place the flour in a container. Add the seasonings and whisk. Add your eggs, a splash of water and a big pinch of flour in another pan and whisk until the egg and flour are combined completely.
Cut your cube steak or tenderized round steak into bun size pieces. They will enlarge as you bread them. Lightly salt and pepper. Place one steak in the flour pressing down to help the flour adhere, turn over and do the same.
Then put the steak in the egg mixture turning to completely coat, then back in the flour, pressing down, to completely cover with the flour. You can dredge again, add back to eggs and back in flour, or you can just do the one dredge. Either way you want to make sure they are completely covered and the flour is adhering to the steak. Set your dredged steaks on a sheet pan or plate until ready to fry.
Heat your oil in a large skillet to medium high. When the oil is heated add your first few pieces of steak, single layer, not crowding and cook until lightly browned. When done remove and drain on a rack over a sheet pan. Draining on paper towel will make them soggy. If you are frying many keep the already cooked pieces in the oven on the wire rack on warm. Continue until all have been cooked.

To Build the Sandwich

Heat a griddle or skillet to medium high. spread each bun with butter. Place on the hot griddle and cook until they start to brown a little. Flip and leave on the other side for just a minute.
Slather each side of the bun with a good mayonnaise. Top each bottom with lettuce, then add you steak, tomatoes, onions, more lettuce if you like.
Place the lid on and enjoy! You'll need lots of napkins!

i love these – chorizo, potato and eggs fried burritos with red sauce.

August 18, 2021 by Becky Spoon

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I’m not sure when I ate the first wet burrito, but these chorizo, potato and eggs fried burritos with red sauce became a favorite after that. Likely we were in Ruidoso and I came home and duplicated them. I’ve made these with many different fillings. Why not make a breakfast wet burrito and stuff it with potato, chorizo and eggs? Well, of course! Perfection.

I had Hatch red chile sauce already made from enchiladas. Of course, I didn’t want that to go to waste so I thought the other day that I’d love that for breakfast. Decided if I could make breakfast enchiladas with eggs in them, that this burrito should work also and wow did it every. So delicious!

i love these chorizo, potato and egg fried burritos with red sauce.

Of course a key component in this dish is the Hatch red chile sauce. I make this sauce form Hatch dried chile and once you start making this sauce I think it will become your favorite enchilada sauce. You may be able to find them at your local grocery store or there’s different websites you can order them. I’ve actually ordered these online from Amazon https://amzn.to/3xTm0k1.

If I’m in New Mexico, I’ll load up on them. When I run out, I order them online to get the real thing. Here’s my recipe for red chile sauce. It’s kind of a process at first, but the original paste makes a lot of sauce. We Love New Mexico Hatch Red Chile Beef Enchiladas Too!

If you don’t want to make the sauce from scratch most grocery stores have canned Hatch Red Enchilada Sauce. https://amzn.to/37PwGWi.

New Mexico Hatch Red Chile Beef Enchiladas

i love these – chorizo, potato and eggs fried burritos with red sauce

This deliciousness for breakfast is crazy. You can make these up to the point of frying them and store in the refrigerator over night. Next morning fry them, heat the sauce and you’re set. You will not regret this recipe. Let me know if you make this!!

i love these – chorizo, potato and eggs fried burritos with red sauce.

I'm not sure when I ate the first wet burrito, but these chorizo, potato and eggs fried burritos with red sauce became a favorite after that.

Print Recipe

CourseBreakfast

CuisineMexican

Keywordbreakfast, burritos, fried burritos, Hatch red chile sauce, homemade chorizo, New Mexico, wet burritos

Servings servings

Ingredients

For the Hatch Red Chile Sauce

8 oz (about 20 to 25) dried whole red New Mexican chile pods, mild, medium or hot, or a combination
2-4 cups water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 white onion, quartered
3 cloves garlic
heaping tablespoon flour
1 tsp crushed Mexican oregano
water or chicken stock
1 tsp salt, or more to taste

For the Burritos

1-2 cups Hatch Red Sauce (a can of Hatch Red Enchilada Sauce can be substituted)
1 medium potato, diced
8 oz chorizo
4 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp butter for cooking the eggs
cheddar or Monterrey jack cheese, grated
2 large burrito size flour tortillas
peanut oil or vegetable oil for frying
salt and pepper
Mexican Crema for serving

Instructions

For the Red Chile Sauce

This will make much more chile paste than you'll need for just this recipe. Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chile pods. Toast the chile pods in a heavy skillet over medium heat until they are warm and release their fragrance, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
Remove the chile pieces and place into a sauce pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes until the chile is soft.
Remove the chile from the liquid and place into a blender or food processor. Add the onion and the garlic. Blend until a smooth paste. Strain the paste, pushing through with the back of a spoon. This takes a few minutes. You just want to keep straining, pushing the puree through leaving behind any skin or seeds, adding a little water if you need to. Discard the skins or seeds.
Warm the oil in a skillet. Add the flour and cook for a minute or 2, stirring. Add enough water or chicken stock to make a pretty thin gravy. Add the chile mixture a little at a time, tasting until you reach the desired chile taste you want. If you have some left, you can freeze until you need later. Add the crushed oregano and salt to taste. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, adding water if needed. You want a pourable sauce, not a thick sauce. When ready the sauce will coat the back of a spoon but still be pourable. At this point I always strain again, pushing through the sauce, leaving behind any solids. This is not mandatory, but if I'm making enchiladas I want a very smooth sauce.

For the Burritos

Heat enough oil in a non stick skillet to cover the bottom and heat to medium high. Add the potatoes and a little salt and pepper. Brown the potatoes on both sides, then reduce the heat to low and cook until the potatoes are tender. Remove the lid, increase the heat and crisp up the potatoes. Remove and set aside.
Add the chorizo and cook it for a few minutes until cooked through. Drain on paper towels and add to the potatoes.
Wipe the skillet out and add the butter. When melted add the beaten eggs, folding over until done, but not dry. You want them to be soft.
Add the eggs to the potato and chorizo and add some cheese. Add a tablespoon or 2 of the red chile sauce.
Heat a griddle or large skillet and heat the flour tortillas until they have puffed and have softened, Place on a flat surface and divide the mixture among each tortilla. Place in the middle of the tortilla. Fold the sides over, then roll from the end closest to you, trying to make as tight as possible, but not breaking so the filling will not come out when you fry.
Add enough oil, about an inch, to a skillet to hold both burritos. Het to medium high. You don't want the oil smoking. Place the burrito into the skillet, seam side down. Cook until browned, then turn so that all sides have browned. When done, place on a wire rack to drain.
Heat the broiler. Pour some of the red chile sauce into a bowl or on a plate. Place the burrito on top, then ladle more sauce over the burrito. Top with more cheese. Place in the broiler and allow the cheese to quickly melt. Remove from the oven, add some Mexican crema if you like and serve! Enjoy!

love this shrimp scampi pasta.

August 17, 2021 by Becky Spoon

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This is a classic shrimp scampi pasta dish. It is a simple garlic, white wine and butter sauce. So, so delicious and satisfying.

Scampi are tiny, lobster-like crustaceans with pale pink shells (also called langoustines). Italian cooks in the United States swapped shrimp for scampi, but kept both names. Thus the dish was born, along with inevitable variations. Scampi makes a wonderful appetizer or a fabulous hearty meal if you add the pasta and delicious garlic bread.

love this shrimp scampi pasta.

I love shrimp cooked anyway or cooked in lime juice like ceviche! I made shrimp and grits the other day and I had this shrimp leftover. I’d been wanting scampi, so it worked out well. I usually buy head on-shell on shrimp because I like to use the heads and shells for basic shrimp stock, which is a must in Louisiana style cooking. These were Argentinian shrimp that I found at my local HEB and they were raw, but peeled and deveined. Filling a little lazy I guess, I purchased them, upon the recommendation of the fish monger and they were delicious. Such pretty colors.

You have to make the Shrimp and Grits too. Here’s the recipe for it: these amazing shrimp and grits.

I love to eat in large bowls. Not sure why, but something my late husband and I did for years. We both loved eating in a big bowl. Here’s some of my favorites: https://amzn.to/2UtVzE0. M other favorites are like the ones above in gray. I think I got them at Pier I.

love this shrimp scampi pasta.

If you aren’t serving this with pasta, you could half the sauce. Because I wanted to toss my pasta in the sauce I made more sauce. Who wants bland pasta with this delicious shrimp! Of course, serve with more lemons and delicious bread.

Here’s the recipe! Hope you try this and enjoy!

Shrimp Scampi Pasta

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CourseAppetizer, Main Course

CuisineItalian

Keyworddinner, Easy, pasta, scampi, seafood, shrimp, shrimp scampi, spaghetti

Servings servings

Ingredients

4 tbsp unsalted butter
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
3/4 tsp tsp salt
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Fresh ground pepper
1 lb large or extra large shrimp shelled
1/3 cup chopped parsley
fresh squeezed lemon juice
8 oz pasta of your choice
crusty bread or garlic bread

Instructions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until desired doneness.
In a large skillet, melt butter with olive oil. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine or broth, salt, red pepper flakes and plenty of black pepper and bring to a simmer. Let wine reduce by half, about 2 minutes.
Add shrimp and sauté until they just turn pink, 2 to 4 minutes depending upon their size. Stir in the parsley and lemon juice .
Remove the shrimp from the pan. Remove the pasta from the pan with tongs or similar and add to the sauce. If you get some pasta water, that's good because it will help you thicken the sauce for it to stick to your pasta.
Cook the pasta in the sauce for a couple of minutes. Add the pasta and sauce to individual serving dishes and top with the shrimp. Serve with crusty bread or like I did, garlic bread.
Bon Appetite!

the best crab stuffed salmon.

August 16, 2021 by Becky Spoon

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Oh, wow! This crab stuffed salmon is amazing! Those of you my age, do you remember the stuffed fish at Steak and Ale! I ate that every time I was there! I can’t remember if it was flounder or salmon, but it was stuffed with crab and delicious!

The crab stuffing is very simple. I didn’t want to add a lot of filler, so this really is mostly crab. If you google crab stuffed salmon, most of them will have cream cheese. I wanted a crab cake stuffed into a piece of salmon. No cvream cheese, nothing like that. Just crab with some seasonings and mayonnaise and buttery crackers to hold it together.

The ingredients are a good mayonnaise, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, old bay, Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, chopped parsley and some buttery crackers. I use those Club crackers. You could use Ritz crackers or regular saltines, however, I really like a buttery cracker for this dish. I combine those ingredients and mound them onto the salmon after I have made a slit on top of the salmon to hold the crab. They are baked 15 to 18 minutes at 375 degrees, then slathered in garlic butter. Delicious!

the best crab stuffed salmon.

I eat a lot of salmon! My local HEB always fresh salmon or occasionally I’ll buy the wild salmon from Sam’s Club. I buy wild salmon, not farm raised. It is a little more expensive, but worth it. perfect grilled salmon salad with summer vegetables. This is delicious!

the best crab stuffed salmon.

This dish is really rich so something like asparagus would be delicious or saluted spinach would also work. Here’s a couple of my other recipes to serve as a side dish.

Perfect Sesame Roasted Asparagus with Whipped Herbed Boursin Cheese

Easy Cheesy Creamed Spinach and,

So Easy, Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice

All of these would be delicious. If you want to keep with a cajun theme these potatoes would be lucious!

Easy – Wilda Marie’s Lazy Potato Casserole

This potato casserole has “Slap Yo Mama” Louisiana seasoning! These are delicious. Here’s a link for this seasoning: https://amzn.to/3iT1Rq2.

Here’s the recipe for this delicious dish! Super easy and so delicious!

Crab Stuffed Salmon

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Servings servings

Ingredients

2 salmon filets
olive oil to brush the salmon
salt and pepper
8 oz large lump crab
1-2 tbsp good mayonnaise
juice and zest of one lemon
pinch of garlic powder
pinch of old bay
pinch of Cajun seasoning like Tony Chachere's
dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
1 sleeve crushed Club crackers (about 18)

Lemon Butter

1/2 stick unsalted butter
juice of 1/2 of a lemon
1 garlic clove minced finely

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a small casserole dish.
Cut a slit down the middle of the salmon without going all the way through and leaving about 1 inch or a space on each end. You just want a pocket to fill with the crab mixture. Brush them with olive oil and lightly season with salt and pepper.
In a bowl add your mayonnaise and the seasonings. Add the crushed crackers, Combine. Add the crab mixing briefly with a fork to keep it light.
Divide the crab mixture and with your hands lightly form a ball like patty not compacting, leaving the crab mixture loose. Place in the pocket of the salmon. Place in the oven and bake for about 15-18 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the butter. Add the garlic and cook stirring until aromatic. Add the lemon juice and remove from the heat. Set aside to brush on the salmon when done.
Crab should start to brown some on top and the salmon should be a little firm, yet a little flaky, but definitely not dry and overcooked. I just check it after about 10 minutes to see where it is. I like salmon medium to medium rare. If you think the salmon is done yet the crab is not browned on top, turn the broiler on and just lightly brown. Remove from the oven and pour the butter mixture on each piece of salmon. Enjoy!

the best stuffed peppers.

August 9, 2021 by Becky Spoon

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I’m proud to cook the Southern foods I grew up on, like these Stuffed Peppers. I am so fortunate to have grown up with strong Southern women that could cook! Oh, my gosh, I continue to try to duplicate things my mother or grandmother made, like granny’s fried chicken. I will never know what she did to make that chicken so good!

Anyway, we’re not cooing chicken, but these Stuffed Peppers like the ones my mother made growing up. I added a few things different, but pretty much the same. These are the perfect comfort food specially when you add creamed new potatoes, fried okra, field peas with tomatoes and feta, and jalapeno cornbread. That’s a pretty southern meal.

Stuffed peppers, Field Peas with Tomatoes and Feta, Fried Okra, Creamed New Potatoes and Jalapeno Cornbread

the best stuffed peppers.

I decided to make these when a friend brought me okra, small bell peppers (perfect for me) and fresh tomatoes and cantaloupe from her garden. It just happened that I had received the latest edition of Southern Living, where I found recipes using the ingredients I had which inspired this meal and recipes.

It just made sense to make these to go along with the other vegetables. I promise you that I probably have had this meal or very similar my entire life! I don’t put rice in my peppers, it is basically a meat loaf that I’ve stuffed into a pepper. I had a combination of red and green! Perfect for my photos. I always par boil my peppers so they will be tender. These peppers were small but they would likely not be soft by the time the filling cooked. I cooked them in my Staub cookware. I only have 2 pieces and I got those on sale. The pieces I do have are small casserole dishes, but perfect for me. These are the sizes I have but they are in white. https://amzn.to/3ymUEUz.

the best stuffed peppers.

Serve these with mashed potatoes or my Creamed New Potatoes that I served them with! Delicious! these are delicious creamed new potatoes.

For the side dishes:

these are delicious creamed new potatoes.

love this crispy fried okra.

Easy & Delicious, Jalapeno Cornbread from Jiffy Cornbread Mix

Stuffed Peppers

The peppers I used for this recipe were small, I was cooking for one. Because of that you can double the recipe to serve 4-6.

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CourseMain Course

CuisineAmerican, Southern

Keywordcomfort food, meat loaf, peppers, southern food, stuffed bell peppers, stuffed peppers

Servings servings

Ingredients

2 small bell peppers, red or green or combined
1/2 lb ground beef
2 tbsp chopped onions
2 tbsp chopped green onion
1/4-1/2 finely chopped jalapeno (optional)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (optional)
1 egg
1-2 tbsp tomato sauce
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

For the Topping

2/3 cup tomato sauce
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp brown sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Bring a medium pot of water to boil with a large pinch of salt. Half your bell peppers down the middle through the stem. Remove the seeds and the membranes. Add the peppers to the water and par boil about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes (longer if they are larger peppers). Remove and drain on paper towels.
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl like you are making a meatloaf. Add the topping ingredients to a bowl.
In a casserole dish just large enough to hold the peppers. Add a small amount of the topping sauce to the bottom of the pan with a little water. Divided the meat mixture among the 4 halves. They will be pretty full. Top each of the peppers with a little of the sauce.
Place in the oven and cook about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the remaining sauce and cook an additional 15 minutes until done. You can tell if the peppers are done with a meat thermometer or when you press on the top they will be firm. If your peppers are large, you likely will need more cook time.
Remove from the oven and serve immediately. Enjoy!

these are delicious creamed new potatoes.

August 7, 2021 by Becky Spoon

These creamed new potatoes are definitely a memory from the past! Mom always made these but she used the new potatoes that were canned. Remember those? We still have them and they’re good but I always have new potatoes in the pantry.

There are so many entrees that these would be delicious with; I made them a a side for my Stuffed Peppers. Whether it’s a meatloaf or the stuffed peppers, pork chops, fried chicken, these will definitely go with them. Here is the recipe for my stuffed peppers:

the best stuffed peppers.

Here’s the recipe for the Crispy Fried Okra:

love this crispy fried okra.

These potatoes are the perfect side to almost any meal, especially a Southern entrée!

delicious creamed new potatoes.

I left the skins on the potatoes, but you can peel if you prefer. You want to cook them until soft because you want them to be between mashed and smashed. Such a very simple recipe.

Creamed New Potatoes

Print Recipe

Courseeasy side dish, Side Dish, Vegetable

CuisineAmerican, Southern

Keywordcream sauce, dish with new potators, heavy cream, new potatoes, potatoes, side dish, southern potato dish

Servings servings

Ingredients

2 lbs new potatoes, quartered
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1-1/2 cups milk (you can sub with 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup heavy cream and cut down on the flour)
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp chopped fresh chives

Instructions

Step 2
Place potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with salted cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain.
Add butter to saucepan, and melt over medium. Whisk in flour; cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil over medium, whisking occasionally. Boil, whisking occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in pepper and salt. Add potatoes. Cook, stirring constantly, until potatoes start to break apart and mixture is thickened, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with chives.