Paula Deen's Lean: Chicken Fried Steak with Parsleyed Cream Gravy

First, you have to understand something about the house I grew up in. My mother is a former PE teacher ( the apple doesn't fall far) and Jazzercise instructor. My dad has always been and still is a crazy runner. To put it simply, we were a healthy home that valued good-for-you meals and an active lifestyle. With that being said, it should come as no surprise that I was unaware that chicken fried steak even existed until I was in my mid-20's. The other surprise; it's not even chicken! It's beef! Part of this lack of skillet-fried knowledge is due to my geographical location in Virginia. The other blame lies is my mom's cookin'. Don't worry though, my husband's mother has made up for it by being very generous with sharing her knowledge of gravy, fried chicken and cookin' with bacon grease. I have no been completely deprived. Instead, I consider myself lucky to have had exposure to two types of cooking; both wonderful in their own way; which combined created my won style.


I wasn't quite sure how I would like chicken fried steak. So I started with a Paula Deen recipe, 'cause if anyone can be an expert on these things....it's gotta be her. Here is my lighter and leaner version of Paula Deen's Chicken Fried Steak with Parsleyed Cream Gravy from Paula Deen's Best Dishes-2010 (page 15).

CHICKEN FRIED STEAK with PARSLEYED CREAM GRAVY
Makes 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:


Cooking spray
6 cubed steaks (about 2 pounds) Round, not chuck
2 teaspoons steak seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder


Parsleyed Cream Gravy


2 cups 1% milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup FAT FREE/REDUCED-SODIUM Beef Broth

DIRECTIONS:

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and spray liberally with cooking spray.

Season the steaks by sprinkling them with steak seasoning and garlic powder. In a shallow bowl (I like to use a pie dish) stir together flours and baking powder. Dredge the steaks in the flour mixture and shake off excess flour.

Fry steaks in the pan (probably 2 at a time) for about 4-5 minutes on each side. Be sure to respray the skillet with cooking spray each time. Place the steaks in a dish and keep warm in the oven while fryin' up the rest.

Once the steaks are all fried, use the same skillet for making the gravy. Reduce to a medium heat. Whisk milk, beef broth, flour, salt and pepper into the skillet. Whisk constantly for about 6-8 minutes or until it has reached desired consistency. Stir in the parsley and cook for another 3 minutes. Serve over steaks and mashed red skin potatoes.


RESULTS:

We all LOVED it! My brother and husband were just blown away with both the appearance and taste of this dish. To completely eliminate the vegetable oil for frying and to make a light gravy that is still thick and delicious was just amazing to them.

When shopping for your cubed steaks, look closely at the label to make sure you are getting the leanest cut. The chuck cubed steak is going to have roughly 11 more grams of fat per serving than the round. The reason being is that the round steaks come from an area of the cow that is more exercised. The more exercise, the less fat. Makes sense, right?

To make this dish complete, I would suggest serving over some simple red skin mashed potatoes. Just cube and boil your potatoes, drain and mash. In a small saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon ICBINB and saute a chopped garlic clove. Stir in a little milk and pour onto the potatoes. Mash together with a pinch of salt and pepper and you have the perfect platform for your Chicken Fried Steak with Parsleyed Cream Gravy! YUM!!

I hope you enjoy this slimmed down version of a very classic dish.

NUTRITION FACTS (per serving):  374.5 calories;  13.4g fat;  23.4g carbohydrate;  37.7g protein;  1.7g fiber