Monday, November 2, 2009

Homemaker Monday: Whole Wheat Mexican Milanesa Steaks

Welcome to the 65th weekly edition of...


Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs.

YOURS: This week's "YOURS" goes to Quirky Momma over at Quirky Momma dot com! Her post is about how just focusing on a task for 15 minutes has drastically improved the cleanliness and comfort of her home. For her entire post, click HERE. Thank you so much, Quirky Momma, for linking up with us and it has been fun getting to know you! Please feel free to take the "I Was Featured" button from my left sidebar if you'd like. Have a great one!

MINE: The following is a recipe I learned about in a homemaking meeting at church recently. As Mormons, we are counseled to have a year's supply of food on hand to prepare for emergencies such as unexpected death or disability, natural disaster, economic calamities, etc. One of the best things to store is wheat, as it has almost an eternal shelf life, is healthy and versatile. Many Mormons have pounds and pounds of this one hand. For our family of 11, for a year, we have half a ton, literally.

Because we store wheat, we must also know how to use it. What good would half a ton of wheat do my family in the case of any of the above mentioned scenarios if all I knew how to do was boil it and serve it with butter and sugar? That would get old real fast! Thus, I have made it one of my life ambitions to use and rotate my wheat regularly in a variety of recipes, and I wanted to share the latest I've discovered with you today.

Mexican Milanesa is a thin, breaded steak, much like chicken fried steak in The United States, but to me, much better! This version uses a small amount of meat, but is mostly comprised of cooked wheat. Even if you don't store wheat, this is something you might want to try, as it's healthy and much cheaper than "real" steaks! Plus, my family loved it and I know yours will, too!

Mexican Whole Wheat Milanesa Steaks



Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey or beef
6 cups cooked whole wheat
4 eggs
1 onion, chopped
2 cups milk
2 tsp ground black pepper
4 cups dry bread crumbs or crumbled crackers
2 garlic clove
Salt to taste (I used about 2 teaspoons)
mustard and ketchup

Directions:

Step 1: Boil whole wheat for at least two hours, until tender, then drain water off. If you've never seen wheat sold in stores, this is what it looks like...



...and this is what it will look like once it's cooked and poured into a strainer...



Step 2: Combine cooked wheat, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, and milk in a blender until just blended. It should still be chunky. (Note: You may have to divide this in half and blend in two sessions, as some blenders won't hold this much.)

Step 3: In a large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients. (Another note: If you'd like a really easy way to crumble crackers, just put them in a ziploc bag, like so...



...roll over them with a rolling pin, and THIS will be your end result in about ten seconds...



Step 4: Form the mixture into patties, about the size of hamburger patties.

Step 5: On an oiled grilling or frying surface, on low to medium heat, cook the patties until they are brown on each side, like so...



And you're done! To serve Mexican style, add a side dish of salsa and limes. We also made homemade fries to go with it!



Hope you enjoy!

P.S. Lest you wonder why I, a proclaimed vegan, would prepare such a meal as this, I need you to know that I've fallen off the wagon a bit (and temporarily) since becoming pregnant. However, I did not go out and buy this hamburger meat at a grocery store, thus supporting the factory farm industry, but it was meat we still had in the chest freezer from almost a year ago, before I made the change. Just thought some of you might want to know!

OURS: I can't wait to see what you've got for us today. If you've never linked up before, feel free to dig through your archives and link anything homemaking! Thank you so much for joining us today and I hope you have a GREAT Homemaker Monday!

7 comments:

alessandra said...

Hey Jen, do you know, "milanesa" comes from Bistecca alla milanese, and it happens that I live just next to Milan and love it, the steak I mean.

Hoosier Homemade said...

I bet my house full of men would love this dish!
Thanks for hosting!
~Liz

Unknown said...

genuis! I'm going to try this recipe!

Mom2my10 @ 11th Heaven said...

Alessandra, that is great information! I learned something new from you today. Thank you!

Mom2my10 @ 11th Heaven said...

Hoosier Homemade, yes, they will love it! My 17-year-old boy ate three of these!

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said...

What a delicious looking post!

Rachel said...

Jen,
Thanks for featuring QM! I appreciate the plug! And although I haven't commented much, I have used several of your wheat recipes. We are not Mormon, but we have over 200lbs of wheat in buckets around the house - love the sprouted wheat!