I've Always Been a Bit Chicken....

...to make Chicken Fried Steak!  Really, I have.  Ever since my sister-in-law and I nearly burned my house down when we were frying tortillas in oil on the stove (remember that, Melissa?), I've avoided frying anything in a skillet on my stove with anything containing hot oil. 

Plus, our new house (new since the last frying incident 11+ years ago) has gas burners.  So, I've always been afraid of trying that.  I know, lame!

Last week, I thawed out some round steak to make a spectacular Swiss Steak recipe (thank you, Mom) in my crock pot.  But, I forgot to put it in the crock pot that morning.  Oiy!  Ever been there?

So, my mind got creative and I came up with Chicken Fried Steak...and then I remembered it would involve a hot pan on my gas burners and smoking hot oil...and I nearly chickened out!  I ran the idea by the girls and they were both willing to help.  If you are going to burn your house down by cooking it is best to not do it by yourself.  Ha!

So, after much prayer and a quick recipe from Pioneer Woman's cook book, we began the chicken fried steak process.  It was fun and messy.  I carefully watched my oil heat up, tested it with a little flour to make sure it was hot enough, debated in my head if it should actually catch on fire should I douse it with flour or baking powder or soda (I still don't know), decided to just put the lid on it and turn off the heat if flames ensued, and then carefully plopped in some finely coated round steak.

Twenty minutes later, we enjoyed the most delicious chicken fried steak complete with homemade gravy, homemade mashed potatoes, broccoli, and key lime pie.  Yum!  The best part?  No out of control flames or calls to 911.  Hallelujah!