Southern Fried Chicken

I never really thought of Texas as being part of "The South", but everyone down here thinks it is so I guess I can say that I live in the South now. Since we've been in the South, Jeremy has become addicted to fried chicken, so I decided to learn how to make it. This recipe is the first one that we tried, but I don't know if we're going to try any others because it's so good! The chicken is really moist, the flavor is strong and delicious, and the outside is nice and crispy!:)



Southern Fried Chicken

Ingredients
25-30 saltine crackers
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons dry potato flakes (or crushed potato pearls)
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1-2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves


Directions
1. Place crackers in a large resealable plastic bag; seal bag and crush crackers until they are coarse crumbs. Add flour, potato flakes, seasoned salt, and pepper to bag and mix well.
2. Beat egg in a shallow dish or bowl; heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
3. Cut chicken breasts into strips about one inch thick. One by one, coat the chicken in flour and then dredge chicken pieces in egg beat, then place in bag with crumb mixture, seal bag and shake to coat.
4. Reduce heat to medium and cook coated chicken in skillet for 15 to 20 minutes, turning frequently, until dark golden brown and juices run clear.

We also made honey-butter biscuits super quickly by mixing 1 part melted butter to 2 parts honey and brushing it on top of some refrigerated biscuits before baking. Tasty!:)

Strawberry Muffins with Pecan Crumble Topping

These were pretty tastey little muffins and it was a nice change to have fruit other than blueberries in a muffin.



Strawberry Muffins with Pecan Crumble Topping

2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup whole milk or 2% milk
1 tsp lemon juice or zest of 1 lemon
1 cup fresh strawberries, cut into small pieces (about the size of a small blueberry)

Pecan crumble
1/4 cup pecans, chopped and heaping
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peal (optional)
1 tablespoon melted butter

Mix all ingredients until well combined.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12- cup muffin tin with muffin papers (or butter and flour the cups, or spray with nonstick cooking spray.)
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, and eggs until smooth – no lumps. Whisk in the evaporated milk, lemon juice and milk until combined.
3. Add the fresh fruit and gently toss with you fingers to combine. Make a well in the center of the bowl. Pour the butter mixture into the center of the well and, using a rubber spatula, gently pull the flour mixture into the center of the well until just combined.
4. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup until full. Sprinkle pecan crumble evenly among muffin tops and gently press. Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

I adapted this recipe from http://www.stephanieskitchen.com/

New Orleans Praline Brownies

These were super delicious the first day and then still good the next day, but, really, they're better the very first day that you make them.


New Orleans Praline Brownies

1 box brownie mix for a 9x13 pan
Water, vegetable oil and eggs as called for on brownie mix box
1/2 cup chopped pecans


Praline Frosting :

1/2 cup whipping cream (or evaporated milk)
6 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla


1. Heat oven to 350° F. Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.

2. Make brownie mix as directed on box for fudge brownies, using water, oil and eggs. Stir in chopped pecans. Bake as directed. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

3. In medium saucepan, mix cream, butter, brown sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in pecans, powdered sugar and vanilla. Cool 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

4. Spread frosting over brownies. Allow to stand 30 to 45 minutes, or until frosting is set.

Waffle Tip

Whenever we make waffles we put them on a cookie sheet and pop it in the oven to keep warm while we make the rest. Naturally the farther down in the stack the waffles are, the more squished they are. The ones at the bottom are completely flat. If you freeze them that way they definitely stick together. And, let's be honest, they just aren't as good that way! I mean seriously, no one wants a squished up old waffle.

So, when I made a big batch of waffles to freeze for the Js school breakfast, I put the finished waffles on a cooling rack until they were completely cool. Then I put them in freezer ziploc bags with a sheet of waxed paper in between each layer, and froze them - and they didn't squish! It worked like a charm. I did the same when I made French Toast too.

Bahama Mama Chicken

I'll post a picture of this later but wanted to get the recipe up for Megan. This is so easy and so yummy! It's a family favorite. I serve it with brown rice and stir-fry veggies - delish!

Bahama Mama Chicken

6-8 pieces of chicken (legs, breasts, thighs... boneless, skinless breasts work great.)

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

1/4 C soy sauce

1 C honey

Remove fat and skin from chicken. Place chicken in a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Combine soy sauce and honey; pour over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour, uncovered. Turn over and bake 1/2 hour more or until chicken is cooked through.

Pour sauce in pan over chicken, rice and veggies, to taste, when serving.