Comforting Cube Steaks

So my parents bought part of a cow a few months ago and they were kind enough to share with my sister and I, but here is the dilemma... what is a cube steak????  Of course busted out Google (the computer nerd I am) and found out that a cube steak is used to refer to a cut of meat that has been run through a mechanical tenderizer. The resulting steak is called a cube steak because of the cube-shaped indentations made by the tenderizer.  Now that explains what it is but my burning questions is how do I prepare it?  So I continued with my research and found this information: Cube steak can be braised, sautéed or pan-fried. Cube steak can even be baked in a casserole. Examples of cube steak recipes include chicken-fried steak and Swiss steak.  Well, I went in search of some recipes because I was determined to use my cube steaks for dinner... and this is the recipe I choose.

I varied the spices because I didn't have dry onion soup mix at home.  Did you know that you can make a homemade onion soup mix (probably less sodium too)?  That recipe will have to wait for another day...  

I also thinly sliced onions and baked them too.  I would have added mushrooms but I didn't have any.  The soup and soda make a thin gravy mix so you could make mashed potatoes, thicken up the gravy and you have dinner done. Bonus: the house smells amazing.

I was also reading some of the reviews for this recipe and many people used the slow cooker to make this recipe.  The website link is at the bottom of the recipe if you want to read the reviews too.

Ingredients:
4 (4 ounce) cube steaks
1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Season the steaks on both sides with Cajun seasoning and black pepper. Place the steaks into the prepared baking dish. Pour the lemon-lime beverage over them. Combine the cream of mushroom soup and dry onion soup mix, and pour over the steaks.
Bake, uncovered, for about 1 hour, or until meat reaches desired doneness. Do not open the oven door during the first hour of cooking. Serve steaks with gravy spooned over. 

Allrecipes.com - Comforting Cube Steaks