MILANESAS

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Milanesas are a favorite in our house in part because they're so easy to make. They're great with beef, pork or chicken cutlets and the rest of the recipe never changes! Whenever I'm in a rut and not sure what to make for dinner and am short on time, this is usually my go-to recipe. The best part is that you can prepare the meat and dredge it the day before and just refrigerate overnight so all you have to do is cook them. Just be sure to separate each cutlet so they don't get stuck together and store in an airtight container.

Served with lime wedges and a little salsa to garnish, our favorite way to eat milanesas is of course, as a taco. José also likes milanesas de puerco served with papas fritas. I like milanesas de pollo with rajas de chile poblano y cebolla. Really, there are lots of ways you can serve them, so be creative.

I typically use a little oil as possible – not in an attempt to be healthier because fried foods just aren't healthy – but to keep the breaded cutlets as light as possible. If you use too much oil, it's possible for them to get heavy and greasy. With less oil they stay lighter and, dare I say, a little less unhealthy because they're not soaked in grease.

RECETA:

Milanesas

• 2 large eggs, scrambled
• ¼ cup of milk
• 6 pieces of sandwich steak
• 1 cup of plain bread crumbs, divided into half cups
• vegetable oil

Scramble the eggs and milk together. Soak the meat in the egg mixture for 15-30 minutes. When it's done soaking, if you need to cut the meat to make it a bit more manageable in the frying pan, cut them about the size of your hand.

Spread the first half cup of bread crumbs in a dish and dredge the meat until it's fully breaded.

Heat enough oil to coat the bottom of your frying pan and when it's hot, add the milanesas and cook for a few minutes on each side or until they're done to your liking. We like ours brown and a little crispy on the edges, which requires being cooked slightly longer. You can add more oil after the first three milanesas are done cooking if necessary, but it's better to start with less oil. Drain the cooked cutlets over paper towels to get rid of any excess oil.

When you begin running low on bread crumbs, just add the other half cup to the dredging dish. The reason you don't want to add the entire cup at once in the beginning is that sometimes the egg is a little drippy and can cause the bread crumbs to clump. With less crumbs in the dish, there's always just enough crumbs at any given time for the meat. A half cup should bread at least three pieces of sandwich steak.

• How do you like to serve your milanesas?