Sour Cream Walnut Bread

I am lucky enough to have a family that is very proud of it's heritage.  As a result, I know quite a bit of my lineage (there may be rumors of French royalty, in your face!).  I also have quite a few recipes from family members who are long gone.  These recipes use phrases like "a good amount" or "in a warm oven".  I'm sure back in the day, everyone knew what this meant.  Unfortunately, not so much now.

For our family cookbook, my Aunt Anne translated a couple of these recipes and last night I made one.  Holy Cow!  It is really good.  Now I want to look through the old recipes and translate more to try!  In the meantime, here is what I made last night.  It is a quick bread that is slightly sweet and beautifully nutty.  It is amazing with a little butter smeared on it.  I am thinking of whipping up a maple cinnamon butter to go with it next time...

Sour Cream Walnut Bread

Ingredients

1 egg

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. sour cream

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 c. walnuts

Directions

Combine the egg, sugar and sour cream in a large bowl (I also added a splash of vanilla, cinnamon would be yummy too).

Whisk this together.  This is what I love about old school recipes.  These women didn't have a Kitchen Aid mixer so they are all made to be mixed by hand and they can be thrown together easily without hauling out the power tools.

I put my walnuts in the food processor and pulverize them because I do not like big chunks of nuts in food, but I like the flavor.  If you do this be careful not to process them too long or you will have nut butter.  If you do like big nuts, (I heard what you just thought, and you have a dirty mind)  chop them by hand.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder.

Add half the flour mixture to the sour cream mixture and blend.

Add the other half of the flour mixture and stir until mixed completely.

Fold in the nuts

and spread the batter in a well greased loaf pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.  You will be tempted to take it out sooner.  DON'T!  It is not done and the center will collapse and you will have to put it back in the oven to finish cooking and then cool it upside down to try to get the center to pop back up.  That's what I heard anyway.



Mondays With the Maid

If you are a mother or wife, chances are real good you are also the maid.  I don't mind really.  I am a little OCD and my husband is a little not OCD.  To him, doing laundry means washing clothes and drying clothes.  All of them.  Mixed together.  On high heat so it is done efficiently.  Luckily I learned this about him very early on while we lived separately and before he could ruin an expensive bra, or cause jean depression (we have all suffered needlessly from this ailment caused by jeans being put in the dryer).  Cleaning house means moving everything to a different spot where no one will see it, including me.  As a result of this (as well as the fact that he works like, sixty hours a week and I work like, eighteen),  I am the maid.

Little known fact: I was previously married.  It did not go well (hence the previously).  After the divorce, a good Samaritan left this book

on my mothers porch.  I'm sure this anonymous donor was someone I knew who may or may not have critiqued my mother's housekeeping skills... ass.

The book did not have it's intended effect, as my mother and I laughed and continue to laugh about it to this day.  I kept the book because it is full of good ideas (and some comical ones), and I keep the book (and enjoy it) out of spite.  I have found it extremely gratifying to enjoy things simply out of spite.  Try it sometime, you might be surprised how enjoyable it can be.

I have decided to continue my spiting (I was surprised it was a word too!) of this someone who may have also critiqued my housekeeping skills (and I'm sure is positive I currently live in squalor) by starting Monday's with the maid.  I will share tips from the book my mother received as a gift (snort).  Sometimes they will be good and sometimes they will be laughable.  I will also share things I have learned along my housekeeping journey (Do you know how to get Sharpie out of carpet?  I do.).  Next Monday I will introduce you to the best cleaning product I have ever used.  Period.  You should check it out.  I bet you will be shocked and use it everywhere just to see if it will work... and it will.  Stay tuned!

Chicken Fried Steak with Brown Gravy

I love to cook, but even those of us who enjoy spending hours in the kitchen need some quick and easy recipes.  This is quick and easy as well as family friendly (we all know this means our husbands will eat it, the kids are not really the issue). 

Chicken fried steak was not something I ever had as a kid.  Probably because my dad wouldn't have eaten it (see!).  As an adult, I battled vegetarianism.  When I was pregnant with my second child (a boy) I became a raging carnivore.  This of course made my husband love me more than ever (not the fact I was growing him a son, the fact that I made beef, like, all the time).  It was during this time, I discovered chicken fried steak.  It was easy and meaty and my daughter could smother it in A-1 (she is always looking for things to drown in that stuff). 

So if you are looking for a simple and easy steak(ish) dinner try this sometime.  I'm positive the man in your life will love you more than ever once you make it.

Chicken Fried Steak

Ingredients

1-1/2 c. flour

1 Tbsp. seasoned salt

1 tsp. pepper

4 cube steaks

4 Tbsp. oil

2 Tbsp. butter

2-1/2 c. low sodium beef broth

Directions

Mix the flour, seasoned salt and pepper together in a shallow dish (I use a pie plate).

Dredge the steaks in the flour mixture and let rest on a plate for 5-10 minutes.  You will notice as they sit, that the flour starts to absorb the juice from the steak and the steaks get damp again.  This is when I dredge mine a second time.  This gives them more crunchy coating.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering and add the steaks to the pan.  After a few minutes they will be nice and brown on the bottoms and the tops will look like this.  Flip them over and give them about 5 minutes on the other side.  If they are browning really fast, turn the heat down.

While the steaks are frying, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.

Dump in about 3 Tbsp. of the flour mixture you dredges the steaks in and whisk together.  It will get kind of pasty.

Add in the broth in small amounts, whisking after each addition until smooth until you have added all the broth.

Heat the gravy to a boil and then turn the heat down low to keep it hot until the steaks are done.

Look at that!  The steaks are done!  Put the steaks on a paper towel lined plate to let the extra oil soak off for a minute

then serve immediately with gravy (and, as I prefer, mashed potatoes).