Dinner 17: Texas

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Texas Chicken-Fried Steak
Tex-Mex Spiral Potatoes
Texas Sweet Onion Rings
Texas Sheet Cake

Review

I chose Texas next, just because I wanted to. I didn't really have a reason. All the foods we looked at had Texas in the name, so it was easy to find Texas food! I chose chicken-fried stead, potatoes with sauce and cheese on them, onion rings and a really big chocolate cake.

I helped make the cake, which was a lot of mixing stuff together. Then I helped pour it into the pan. And then I helped taste the batter! Yum! I also ate a couple of the onion rings before dinner to taste them, too.

I liked everything! It was a really good dinner. I really liked the onion rings, they were even better than the ones we had from Nevada. I liked the potatoes, too, but I liked them better without the sauce on them. And I liked the steak, too. My favorite was the chocolate cake, because it was soooo chocolatey and sooooo big!

Recipes

Texas Chicken-Fried Steak

(original recipe from Mr. Food)

4 beef cubed steaks
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups soy milk, divided
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup chicken broth

In a shallow dish, mix flour, salt and pepper. In a second shallow dish, combine 3/4 cups of the soy milk and the vinegar.

Dip the steaks in the flour mixture, pressing it into the meat, then dip into the soy milk mixture, then bad into the flour. Reserve remaining flour.

Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add steaks and cook 3-4 minutes per side, or until done. Drain on a paper towel-lined platter and cover.

To make gravy, add remaining flour to the pan and cook 2-3 minutes until flour is browned, stirring constantly. Whisk in remaining soy milk and broth, stirring until sauce is smooth and thickened. Serve over the steak.

Tex-Mex Spiral Potatoes

(original recipe from Mr. Food)

4 large Idaho potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup Texas-style barbecue sauce (recipe follows)
1/4 cup dry whole wheat bread crumbs
1/4 cup shredded soy cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 chopped scallions

Slice the bottoms off the potatoes so that they will lay flat. Place two wooden spoons parallel to each other and place a potato lengthwise between the handles. Make 8 crosswise cuts into the potato, stopping as the knife hits the spoon handles.

Place the potatoes on a microwaveable plate. Cook on high for 7 minutes, then turn the potatoes over and cook for another 7 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Carefully brush the outside of the potatoes with oil, reserving the remaining oil for the topping.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. Place the potatoes in a baking dish, then drizzle with barbecue sauce, allowing the sauce to drip between the slices.

In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, soy cheese, garlic powder and remaining olive oil. Top each potato with the crumb mixture.

Bake potatoes for 20 minutes, or until soft in the center. Top with chopped scallion.

Texas Style Barbecue Sauce

(original recipe from Taste of Home)

1 tablespoon soy margarine
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder

In a large saucepan, heat margarine over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender. Add garlic, cook 1 minute longer. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Texas Sweet Onion Rings

(original recipe from Texas Monthly)

3 cups soy milk
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 sweet onions, thinly sliced
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
oil, for frying

In a large bowl, whisk together soy milk and vinegar. Add onion slices and set aside for 30 minutes.

In a large dish, combine flour, salt and chili powder. Drain the onions and dredge in the flour mixture.

Pour at least 4 inches of oil into a heavy saucepan. Heat the oil to 375 degrees. Fry the onions, about 2-3 minutes, until golden. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

Texas Sheet Cake

(original recipe from She Bakes, She Makes)

1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup soy margarine
1 cup water
1/2 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Texas Glaze (recipe follows)

In a medium saucepan, combine cocoa powder, margarine and 1 cup water, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly over medium heat.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease and flour a 15x10x1 jelly roll pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy milk and vinegar. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and flour. Add the cocoa mixture and blend well. Stir in the baking soda, 2 tablespoons water, soy milk mixture and vanilla.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes. While the cake is baking prepare the glaze.

When the cake is done, immediately spread the glaze over it.

Texas Glaze

(original recipe from allrecipes.com)

6 tablespoons soy milk

5 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/2 cup soy margarine

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large saucepan, combine the soy milk, cocoa and margarine. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Stir in the confectioners' sugar and vanilla, mixing until well blended. Spread over warm cake.