Breaded Steak Fingers {Egg-free, Dairy-free}

On of my husband's favorite pre-allergy foods was chicken fried steak.  It is off limits now because the steak is almost always dipped in an egg batter prior to frying it.  It certainly wasn't a healthy food choice but he did love it as an occasional treat when we dined out at a place that served it.

I pretty much never make fried foods at home.  I figure if you are going to eat that unhealthy, you might as well eat out, right?  So, I never really attempted to make the traditional version when he could have it.  Now that he can't have it, I decided to come up with an egg-free substitute to satisfy his cravings.  Not only does he love these, they are baked rather than fried so a little bit better for you than the egg-dipped deep-fried variety.

I made steak fingers because they are a little more versatile.  The kids like to dip them in ketchup but the hubby likes to cut them up and eat them with a fork full of mashed potatoes.  You can keep the steaks whole but you may have to adjust the cooking time a little bit.

If you like this recipe, you may also like Baked Chicken Strips (EF, DF) or Smothered Steak {Slow-cooker} (EF).

Breaded Steak Fingers

2 pounds cube steak

1 stick margarine or non-dairy margarine

1 1/3 c bread crumbs*

1 t garlic powder

1 t onion powder

1 t seasoned salt

1 t freshly ground black pepper

1 t paprika

Preheat oven to 350^o.  In a shallow dish, combine bread crumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, pepper and paprika.  In a separate shallow bowl, melt the margarine.  Cut each piece of steak into one inch strips.  Dip each strip of steak in margarine, turning to coat.  Then place the steak in bread crumbs, turning to coat.  Place on baking sheet, lightly sprayed with cooking spray.  (I lined mine with foil.)  Cook at 350^o for about 20 minutes.  Serves 6-8

* Be sure to check the bread crumb label to make sure they are egg-free and/or dairy-free, according to your dietary requirements.