“Out with the old—in with the new” seems to be an appropriate slogan for the coming year; however, let’s hope that it doesn’t end up like some other years when most of us were saying, “Back with the old—please! The new sucks!” Anyway, with the promise of positive changes coming in 2009 for all of us, I decided that this would be a good time to change the look of my blog. After much thought, deliberation, trial and error, and so on, I chose the “Contempt” theme designed by Vault9. I like the colors, the clean look, the customizable header option, and the way that the design is formatted. It seems to be well organized and easier to read.
I’m just somewhat puzzled, however, as to how and why “Contempt” was chosen as the name of the design. It’s fascinating, I think, to know why people have selected particular names and titles for various things—artwork, pets, babies, their pickup truck, their evil step-sister—anyway, I tend to ramble. I hope you like the new look of my blog—it’s nice to make changes occasionally to keep things interesting, don’t you agree?
I found an easy, great tasting fried chicken recipe on the AllRecipes.com Website that I’d like to share with you. It’s called “Chicken Fried Chicken” and it was submitted by “CASSJW.”
Ingredients List:
- 30 saltine crackers
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons dry potato flakes
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I used wings, legs, and thighs as well.)
Directions:
- Place the crackers in a large resealable plastic bag, seal the bag, and the crush crackers until they are reduced to a coarse crumb.
- Add the flour, potato flakes, seasoned salt, and pepper to the bag and mix well.
- Beat the egg in a shallow dish or bowl, and heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- One by one, dredge the chicken pieces in the beaten egg; then place the chicken pieces in the bag containing the crumb mixture. Seal the bag and shake to coat the pieces.
- Reduce the heat to medium, and cook the coated chicken in the skillet for 15 to 20 minutes, turning frequently until golden brown and the juices run clear.
Note: I doubled the recipe and used wings, legs, and thighs in addition to the breasts (I used only 4 boneless breasts rather than 6).
What I liked about this recipe was that it wasn’t overly seasoned, and it provided the skinless chicken pieces with a wonderful crunchy coating that almost made it seem as though the skin had been left on the chicken. I confess that I did fry up a few legs and wings with the skin, just as a comparison, but I must say that the skinless pieces were just as tasty (and I know, more healthful) as the pieces with the skin. Enjoy!
With winter upon us and the weather looking really ugly, it’s the time of year to treat ourselves to some of our favorite comfort foods. One of mine has always been chicken casserole—or casseroles, since there are so many variations that I enjoy. (Mom’s is still the best, however. See “Food Memories: Birthdays.”) The version I found on RecipeTips.com is certainly one of those that I have added to my list of favorites. “Baked Chicken with Pasta” is a thick, creamy, stick-to-your-ribs variety that I really enjoyed.
Baked Chicken with Pasta
Ingredients List:
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 8 ounces of mushrooms (use your favorite), sliced
- 4 ounces of pimento, drained and chopped
- ½ teaspoon of poultry seasoning
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme (use just the leaves)
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 – 10 ¾ ounce can of cream of celery soup
- 1 – 10 ¾ ounce can of cream of chicken soup (Use the kind with herbs if you can find it.)
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- 8 ounces of Velveeta cheese, cubed
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts that have been seasoned with lemon pepper; then sautéed or grilled and chopped into bite-size pieces. You may also use 3 to 4 cups of leftover chicken, which is what I did. (Of course, I would have preferred to grill the chicken first, but the grilling season is now only a memory.)
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 16 ounces of spaghetti, fettuccini, or angel hair pasta (I used the fettuccini this time, because it was what I had on hand.)
- 1 cup of seasoned bread crumbs
- ½ cup of Romano cheese, shredded (You can also use shredded parmesan cheese.)
Directions:
- In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and sauté the onion, pepper, mushrooms, and celery.
- Add the pimento, poultry seasoning, thyme leaves, garlic, and green pepper. Stir to combine and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.
- Stir in the soups, chicken broth, and Velveeta cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted.
- Add the chicken to the skillet and stir it into the other ingredients until well blended; then lower the heat to low.
- While the chicken mixture is simmering, bring water to a boil in a large pot, and cook the pasta according to the package directions.
- When the pasta is cooked, drain it; then add it to the chicken mixture. Gentle stir to combine the pasta with the other ingredients and heat thoroughly.
- Pour everything into a greased casserole dish.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the bread crumbs and the shredded Romano or parmesan cheese; then sprinkle this mixture on top of the casserole.
- Bake the casserole at 375°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.
If you would prefer, you can use some of that Thanksgiving turkey that you may have stored in the freezer rather than using chicken. (I stuck with the chicken.) I suppose you could serve the casserole with a salad and bread and side dishes and all that extra stuff if you would want to, but I thought it was so filling and satisfying, that it really was enough by itself. Enjoy!
Talk about easy, this recipe is so simple that even a first time cook could make this with no trouble whatsoever. And the results—well, in a word, fantastic! “Slow Cooker Russian Chicken” is a recipe I found on GroupRecipes.com, a Website that I’ve been using quite often when I want to find a new chicken recipe.
Ingredients List:
- 1 – 16 oz Bottle of Russian dressing (Note: if you can’t find Russian dressing, you can use Catalina, but the flavor of the dish will not be as rich.)
- 1 envelope of dry onion soup mix
- 1 – 10 oz. jar apricot jam or preserves
- Assorted chicken pieces (Note: the recipe didn’t describe how much chicken to use, so I simply cut chunks from the breast, leg, and thigh meat of a whole 3-pound chicken.)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Combine the first three ingredients in a medium size bowl.
- Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
- Place the chicken on the bottom of the slow cooker and pour the dressing mixture over the chicken.
- Cover the slow cooker, turn the temperature setting to low, and cook for 6-8 hours. You may also cook it on the high temperature setting for 3-4 hours.
The author of the recipe noted that the dish can also be cooked in the oven. The steps are followed exactly except that everything is placed into a casserole dish and baked at 350ºF for one hour. It seems that this is quite a versatile dish. I served it over plain white rice as suggested and found that it was a big hit. Bon Appétit!
Five days of leftover Thanksgiving turkey—in sandwiches, casseroles, and soups—it’s about all I can handle. Although I really like turkey on the day it’s roasted, I really get tired of it in a hurry. Some people tell me, “You can eat chicken seven days a week and never get bored with it, why not turkey? What’s the difference?” Well, I can tell the difference, and for me, the taste of turkey just can’t compare with that of chicken. With that said, I’m happy to be getting back to preparing one of my favorite foods using my tried and true recipes, as well as new recipes that I hope I’ll be able to include among my favorites. The following chicken recipe is one of those new ones that I’ll definitely be adding to my list of favorites.
“Honey Fried Chicken,” a recipe I found on the AllRecipes.com Website, is one of the best fried chicken recipes I’ve ever tasted—so simple to make and so good. The person submitting the recipe said that it was one that he or she tried to copy from a recipe served at a New England restaurant. (I’d sure like to know the name of the restaurant, since I travel to New England at least once a year.)
Honey Fried Chicken
Ingredients List:
- 1 whole chicken (about 4 lbs.), cut into pieces (I used precut chicken pieces)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 packet of chicken bouillon granules
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 quart vegetable oil (for frying—I used a bit less because the oil should be no deeper than one inch in the pan, so apparently, my pan must have been smaller than what was used by the creator of the recipe).
Instructions:
- Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken pieces.
- After the chicken is seasoned, coat the pieces with the honey
- Stir together the garlic powder, chicken bouillon granules, and the flour in a shallow dish or bowl.
- Dredge the honey-coated chicken pieces in flour mixture until the pieces are completely coated.
- Add vegetable oil to a depth of one inch in a large heavy skillet. Heat the oil on the stovetop using a medium-high heat setting.
- Fry the chicken for at least five minutes per side or until the meat is no longer pink and the juices run clear.
Enjoy!
