My meal plan for Jan 11-17 included Pan-Fried Venison Steaks.  I decided to switch it up a little and try something different.  The result was nothing short of scrumptious, if I do say so myself.  Even the kiddos made that “oh this is so good” sound when they took their first bites.  It was very very very good.  Here’s my creation.

Wine-Braised Venison Steaks

• About 1.5 lbs venison steaks, thin (or you can use pork chops or think beef steaks, or even skinless chicken thighs)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or mixture of 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat flour)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2-4 garlic cloves, pressed
• mushrooms, sliced (enough for about 1.5 cups when sliced)
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 2 cups light wine (I used our homemade cranberry crabapple wine “Cranapplicious”), at room temperature

Toss steaks and flour together in a ziploc bag to lightly flour the steaks. Heat butter and oil together in a skillet over med-high heat. Cook steaks in hot skillet – quickly browning on both sides. Remove steaks from the pan, set aside, and keep warm. Add the green onions, garlic, sliced mushrooms and thyme to the skillet. Saute another couple of minutes. Return the steaks to the skillet, pour in the wine, and bring it all to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover the skillet and simmer 8-10 minutes (less for thin pork chops). Remove from heat and serve.  (Serves 4 or 5.)

I served the steaks with yam fries and sauteed asparagus (sauteed in butter).

The steaks were marvelous, melt-in-your-mouth, with a hint of sweetness from the wine.  With the flour from the steaks, the wine made a bit of a sauce as it cooked down, perfect with the onions and mushrooms to serve over top of the steaks.  With the yam fries and asparagus, it was a scrumptious meal for sure!