31 Pins: Day 8

Day 8

We had been thawing out some chicken legs for a couple of days and needed to eat them today.  Usually we will grill them with some garlic salt (yum), but I was in the mood for fried chicken.  I did some searching and found some KFC copy cat recipes, but they seemed a little bit too involved for me...and included MSG, which did not sound appetizing.  So, I stuck with my blogging buddies on this one and made a few adjustments of my own. :)

Original pins:

These two recipes seemed easy and sounded good.  They both inspired my recipe.

http://kaitlininthekitchen.blogspot.com/2010/04/chicken-fried-chicken.html

http://www.mommyskitchen.net/2008/12/chicken-fried-chicken-my-search-is-over.html

6 chicken legs (or whatever you have)

Dry Ingredients: 

6 Ritz crackers, crushed

1 cup flour (use self-rising or add 1 tsp. baking powder, I forgot this step)

1-2 tsp salt (I added 1, but Josh added one more just in case) :p

1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp season salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Crush the crackers in a baggie, and then add the rest of the dry ingredients to the bag to be mixed around.  You can potentially use this bag to shake the chicken, or dredge in a shallow bowl.

Wet ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

Whisk together in a dish large enough to dredge chicken.

Skillet with 1/2 inch canola oil

Instructions:

1. The copy cat site suggested soaking the chicken in salt water for an hour, and I am pretty sure my husband did this (he cooked it for me while I was at a church meeting). :D  Drain on paper towels.  
2. Dredge or shake in dry mixture.
3. Dredge in wet mixture.
4. Dredge or shake in dry mixture again.
5. Fry in oil (medium heat) for 15 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

The results:

It was REALLY GOOD!  The coating was crispy and did not fall off (like mine usually does when I pan fry).  The chicken was juicy and the coating was perfectly spiced.  Guess that extra tsp. of salt did the trick. ;)  If you like fried chicken and aren't on a diet, you should try this!

Expense rating: minimal (bought the chicken for gas points at Giant)

Difficulty rating: moderate

31 Pins: Day 3

Original pin:

Actually, this is not the original-original pin.  I specifically remember pinning (or at least seeing) some type of spaghetti bread on Pinterest.  However, it is nowhere to be found on my boards.  A quick search remedied that and brought me to this wonderful blog post (linked in photo above). 

Here is how today went down:  This was not my original pin to complete today.  I had plans of an organizational task today, but could not find what I needed to hang something on the wall.  Of course, it was recently moved (not by me) after being in the same place for MONTHS.  Anyway, I moved on and worked on some other things.  I did finish a kid's birthday gift for my niece that will make its blog debut shortly.  Then 2:45 rolled around and I thought to myself, "I had better decide what's for supper."  (No, being a stay at home mom has not changed this last-minute-supper habit.... yet). 

I saw some meatballs in the freezer and decided on spaghetti.  Then I remembered that pin with the spaghetti inside the bread!  I looked at the time again... knowing I would need 1.5 hours to make dough (I LOVE my bread machine!!).  Perfect timing!  Just enough to make the dough and bake the meal.  In the last half-an-hour, while the bread was kneading and rising in the machine, I cooked the pasta and heated the meatballs in sauce.  Coincidentally, I made the sauce myself a few weeks ago... and was supposed to blog about it but have not.  Sorry!

The results:

I used a semolina pizza dough recipe from my Bread Lovers Bread Machine Cookbook.  I had some semolina/durum flour sitting in the cupboard from my pasta making endeavor and had been thinking of trying this.  The dough was very easy to work with and extremely tasty!

You can kind of see it, but there is also mozzarella cheese inside of this shell.  The recipe calls for an egg white wash on top, but I opted for butter instead.  And lots of garlic salt.  And parmesan cheese.  I figured we would want it to taste as much like garlic bread as possible.

Half an hour later...

The WHOLE family... yes, ALL 4 of us!!!  were eating the same thing for dinner.  Max only took one bite, but he is sick, so it still counts. :)  I am calling this one a huge success.

BONUS: There was so much dough and so much spaghetti that I had enough to make 2 loaves!  The other one is sitting in the freezer for a busy day. :D

Expense rating: Cheap

Difficulty rating: Easy

Keep pinning, but start doing!!!

Day 1:  Fun Photography

Day 2:  Family Conversation

Lemon Glazed Zucchini Bumbleberry Jelly Roll

A random issue of Kiwi magazine showed up in my mailbox this week.  I'm definitely not "Growing /my/ family the natural and organic way," but ok. :)  Two recipes in the back caught my eye.  One was for "chewy zucchini-lemon sugar cookies" and the other "easy bumbleberry jam".  After a failed attempt at both, and a genius idea from my mom, this is what I came up with:

the "roll" part:

1 medium zucchini, shredded/processed

1 1/2 c.  flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. butter, softened

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. lemon zest

2 T.  milk

• Place the zucchini in a wire mesh basket/colander and allow to drain for about 30 min.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line jelly roll pan with parchment/wax paper.
• In one bowl, combine flower, baking powder, and salt; whisk together.
• In a stand mixer (or whatever), beat butter for a minute.  Add sugar and beat for 1-2 minutes until fluffy.  Add vanilla, lemon zest, and milk.  Beat until combined.
• Add the dry ing. in batches until combined.
• Fold in zucchini.
• Spread in jelly roll pan until even.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.  Toothpick should come out clean.  

the "jelly" part:

2 c. strawberries, hulled and chopped

1 c. raspberries

1 c. blackberries

1 1/4 c. sugar

2 tsp. pectin

1/4 c. lemon juice

1. Place the berries in a bowl and mash with potato masher until no whole berries remain.

2. In another bowl, add sugar and pectin; stir well to combine.

3. Add the berries and lemon juice to a medium pot.  Cover and bring to a boil.  The add the sugar-pectin mixture while stirring constantly.  Lower the heat to a simmer and continue stirring 1-2 more minutes until the sugar and pectin are completely dissolved.

4. Ladel jan into clean jars and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

• Spread chilled jam on completely cooled roll.

Use the wax paper to help roll.  May break a part as you do this step, but don't fret!  When you get to the end, wrap tightly in the wax paper and place it in the freezer for an hour.  This holds it together and makes it easy to transport while it thaws.  

the "glaze" part:

1/2 c. powdered sugar

2 T. milk

1/4 tsp. lemon zest

Whisk together until combined.  Brush/pour over jelly roll.

Easy to cut.  Looks beautiful!

Free Gas Baked Beans (No Pun Intended)

No pictures for this one... everyone knows what baked beans look like.

Haha, yes, I meant what I said... free gas.  If you shop at Giant (or Martins) you know what I am saying.  Every week, they offer a small selection of products, that when a certain number are purchased, you can get a certain amount of money off per gallon of gas (up to 30 gallons).  For this recipe, I used many ingredients that I have been stocking up on while saving money on gasoline. :)  This is another "what's on hand" recipe.

• Fry 1/2 lb. bacon in a large skillet.  Drain on paper towel.
• Drain most of the drippings.
• Brown 1 lb. venison (yes, deer meat.... we don't buy beef) in the same skillet - making sure to pick up all of the goodies left behind by the bacon!
• Add canned tomatoes (could be diced, puree, whatever).  I had some leftover from another recipe in the fridge that needed to be used.  Or, better yet, fresh from the garden!
• Cut/crumble in the bacon.
• Add a can of your favorite baked beans (this is semi-homemade).
• Pour/squeeze in a half c. or so of your favorite barbeque sauce (or whatever was on the gas points list!)
• I added a bit of ketchup (should have gone for a little mustard, too).
• In another skillet, melt 1/4 c. butter.
• Saute 1 small onion in the butter until translucent.
• Dump both butter and onions into the beans.
• Simmer on low/crockpot on low for about an hour or until ready to serve.

This is a hearty, bold picnic favorite!  Hope you enjoy this spin... or make it your own!

P.S.  I have 5 more weeks, and I'm already up to 1.20 off per gallon!!!
Check out www.forthemommas.com for more info. :)

Sporty Eggs

They are good for your health and fitness, but not athletic themselves. What I am referring to are deviled eggs with a kick. (Named by my dad's family...got this idea from Gram). Everyone has their own hard-boiling techniques and recipes, but here are mine:

Place a dozen or so eggs (add a couple extra just in case they break/tear) in a pot; cover with water.  Heat to boiling and then boil for about 10 minutes.  Allow to rest for a few minutes, and then strain.  Fill pot again with cold water, cover with lid, and shake!  The shells will crack, and the cold water will get in underneath and make peeling a whole lot easier.  Peel and rinse. Cut eggs in half placing cooked yolk into a small mixing bowl.
Mash with fork.
Add mayonaise (quarter cup-ish - enough to make the mixture smooth).
Add a squeeze (or more) of mustard.
Add enough hot sauce/wing sauce to get the desired amount of heat.
Add any other spices/salts you desire (e.g. italian seasoning, onion powder, etc.).
Optional: Ranch dressing or powder

Spoon mixture into ziploc sandwich bag and cut off corner.
Squeeze into egg halves.
Top with garnish (I used celery seed, but you could use paprika or whatever you like).

Chill.  Enjoy.

Fresh Black Raspberry Pie Slugs UPDATED

Don't worry, it's not what you think. Like raspberry pie? How about all year round? That's right! Lightly cook your filling, freeze in pie tins (lined with press n seal or whatever), and enjoy summer, fall, winter, spring. :) This is sure to please out of town guests/friends and family who weren't around when the berries were ripe! Praise the Lord for friends who were generous enough to offer the harvest while they are on vacation... They're definitely getting one!
I used the filling recipe from 20minutegarden.com (very similar to mom's) and have a family crust recipe to use. Skipped the nutmeg and will add butter just before baking.
Thank you, Mom, for this idea.  Not sure if she came up with it herself or where she got it, but it's brilliant! (SHE GOT THE IDEA FROM A FRIEND'S MOM... HOWEVER, HAS FOUND THAT IT WORKS BETTER TO FREEZE IN A GALLON FREEZER BAG AND THAW BEFORE POURING INTO PIE CRUST.  SETS UP BETTER IN THE END).
Enjoy... Now and later!