Feast your eyes on this! It's Paula Deen's Southern Fried Chicken Recipe. You can find the recipe here. It's by far the best fried chicken I've had at home.
Sorry for the dearth of posts here lately. I'm busy getting ready for another garage sale, getting ready to go back to work, and working on a new project (to be announced here soon).
If you like gyro sandwiches, here's a great recipe you can make at home. It's reminiscent of restaurant gyros, but without the expense (or the sometimes too-strong flavor) of lamb.
The original recipe called for pocket pitas, but I prefer the softer pitas without pockets. I made them from scratch using the same recipe I use for Garlic Bread Sticks. Instead of forming them into bread sticks and baking them, I divided the dough into 16 portions, patted each out into a circle about 10 inches in diameter, and cooked them in a medium-hot skillet for about a minute and a half on each side. The leftovers can be used for other sandwiches, or frozen for a later meal.
Greek-Style Chicken Pitas
2 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup finely crushed saltine crackers
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup dry instant milk (optional -- I added it to increase calcium)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dry oregano leaves, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound ground chicken or ground turkey
*****
1 6-ounce carton of PLAIN yogurt (make sure it is not sweetened and not vanilla flavored)
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1/8 teaspoon sugar
*****
Fresh lettuce or spinach leaves.
Pita breads
Combine milk, cracker crumbs, onion, dry milk, garlic, oregano, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper.
Add ground chicken and mix well. Shape into 6 oval patties.
Place patties on unheated broiler rack. Turn oven on to broil. Broil for approximately 7 minutes, then turn over and broil an additional 5 - 7 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink inside.
Meanwhile, combine yogurt, cucumber, green onion and sugar. Chill until ready to use.
To serve, slice each chicken patty in half lengthwise. Arrange in center of pita bread. Top with lettuce and cucumber sauce. Roll or fold to eat.
Makes 6 pita sandwiches.
Versions of this recipe have been all over the Internet for years, so I just picked one and ran with it. I ended up with moist, rotisserie-style chicken and a cup or two of flavorful, if a little spicy, gravy to go with it.
You have to plan ahead for this recipe because the seasoned chicken has to sit over night in the fridge. I tried skipping this step once before, and all I have to say is "Don't!". It makes a huge difference in the flavor and moistness.
Roast Sticky Chicken
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 onions, quartered
2 (4 pound) whole chickens
In a small bowl, mix together salt, paprika, onion powder, thyme, pepper, cayenne pepper and garlic powder.
Remove and discard giblets from chickens. Rinse chicken cavities, and pat chickens dry with paper towels. Rub each chicken inside and out with spice mixture (I only did the outside). Place 1 onion into the cavity of each chicken. Place chickens in a resealable bag or double wrap with plastic wrap. (I put them in the pan I wanted to roast them in and wrapped the entire thing in plastic wrap.)
Refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 250° F.
Place chickens in roasting pan. Bake uncovered for 5 hours, to a minimum internal temperature of 180° F. Let the chickens stand for 10 minutes before carving.
Notes: After about 1 hour of cooking, I poured about a cup of water in the pan, stirred it into the pan juices, and then basted the chickens with the liquids every 45 minutes or so.
To make gravy, remove the cooked chickens from the pan, pour the pan drippings into a small sauce pan, and add about a cup of water to dilute the spiciness of the drippings. Heat to a boil, and then thicken with a mixture of cornstarch and cold water (about 2 T. of cornstarch in 1/2 cup of cold water).
Makes 2 whole chickens and about 2 cups of gravy.
A while back, Fantastagirl posted a recipe for Chicken Parmesan. She said the recipe came from Mr. Incredible's mom. (I hope she doesn't mind that I'm writing about it here; I wasn't able to get in touch with her yesterday to ask permission.)
Under the category of "back story with too much information", a long, long time ago, I tried a frozen version of Chicken Parmesan. Either I was already getting sick, or I got sick from it. Either way, it was many years before I could even think about the combination of breaded chicken and pasta sauce together. Even now, I tend to avoid this kind of dish whenever we go out for Italian food, in favor of creamy white sauces.
But I have to admit, I loved this dish! I tried to stay true to the recipe, but in the end had to make two changes. I used cornflake crumbs instead of cracker crumbs, because that's what I had on hand. And I cut the amount of Parmesan cheese from 3/4 cup to 1/3 cup, because of Spouse Guy's dislike for "stinky cheese". Otherwise, I made it just as she posted it.
We served it over pasta, with a salad and some garlic toast to go with it. This is definitely one for the "keeper" file.
Any of you ever eat at Zio's Italian Kitchen? It's been a few years since I've eaten there, and I haven't tried this dish, but it is supposed to be a copycat of the one on their menu. I used my own pasta sauce from the freezer and a different shape of pasta, but otherwise, was true to the recipe. It's a good one.
Copycat Recipe for Zio's Italian Kitchen Chicken Pepperoni
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4-6 ounces good quality sliced pepperoni
1 jar Bertolli Marinara (if you double this recipe, use 3)
1 pound penne pasta
1 large sweet onion, julienned or large chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, julienned or large chopped
1 green bell pepper, julienned or large chopped
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced thick
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 small can black olives, drained and sliced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Olive oil
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
Grated Romano or Parmesan cheese (optional)
Put 4 quarts water on to boil in a 6-quart pot. When water is boiling, add pasta.
In hot skillet, add 2 teaspoons olive oil, then sauté onions, peppers, mushrooms and pepperoni until vegetables start to sweat. Add garlic, olives and chicken, stirring often. When chicken is white and onions are translucent, remove from heat (be careful not to overcook vegetables or everything will be too soft)
Drain pasta when done.
In large bowl add pasta, meat mixture, topped with grated mozzarella, covered with marinara and tossed lightly. Top with grated Romano or Parmesan to taste. Serve immediately.
Serves 4-6.
A couple of years ago, daughter Artsy Girl put together this Grilled Chicken and Roasted Garlic Alfredo pizza. I've been putting off trying it, only because Spouse Guy isn't a big fan of Alfredo sauces. I decided to try it anyway, and made two pizzas, the only difference being that the second pizza uses regular tomato-based pizza sauce.
Guess what? Spouse Guy ended up liking the Alfredo version better after all.
The only thing I was unhappy about was the crust. I've used the same crust recipe many times, but it's never risen this much. In my opinion, these particular pizzas would be better on a thin crust.
Grilled Chicken and Roasted Garlic Alfredo Pizza
1 head of garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
Two pizza crusts*
1 jar prepared Alfredo pasta sauce (or regular pizza sauce, if you don't like Alfredo)
Two grilled chicken breasts, thinly sliced**
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves and/or basil leaves
1 - 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese as desired
To roast garlic (quick method), heat oven to 375°. Spread individual unpeeled cloves evenly on cookie sheet, drizzle with oil, and bake about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Remove from oven and let cool. When cool, press garlic from peels and mash with a fork.
Spread pizza crusts with sauce to within 3/4" of edges.
Top each with slices of grilled chicken and bits of roasted garlic, then with dried herbs. Top with the Mozzarella cheese (half on each pizza).
Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 400° until cheese is melted and beginning to brown.
Makes 2 medium pizzas.
* If you use homemade crusts, bake it for about 8 minutes before adding toppings to prevent sogginess, then bake until done, about 8 minutes more. If using a ready-made crust (such as Boboli), there is no need to pre-bake. If using refrigerated pizza crust, such as Pillsbury, follow package directions.
** We grilled the chicken for this recipe a couple of days ago when we were grilling steaks, but I believe you can purchase grilled chicken in the refrigerated meat section of the grocery store.
Sorry for the scarcity of posts here. I've been busy, including being out of town for a couple of days. We had the pleasure of eating one of my mom's home-cooked meals while we were there, and we went out for Chinese buffet one evening. Unfortunately, most of the last week and a half, we've been surviving on convenience meals like hamburger helper (homemade, but still blah) and fish sticks, which I justify because Sparky seems to like them a lot.
For the first time in at least 10 days, I have time today to cook something from scratch. It's cold, snowing a little and Spouse Guy has a bit of a head cold, so I decided some homemade chicken and dumplings would be good.
I make chicken and dumplings three ways. This is the easiest version. I may post the others later, but they are both more time consuming to prepare and I didn't want to make time for them this week.
If you want a more basic dumpling, you can leave out the chicken base, curry powder and chives. Or you can use any dumpling recipe from a basic cookbook, such as Betty Crocker or Good Housekeeping.
Chicken with Dropped Dumplings
3 cups cooked chicken, light or dark meat, cubed or shredded
6 cups chicken broth, homemade or purchased
1 - 2 tablespoons chicken base or bouillon to enhance flavor of broth
1/3 cup cornstarch
2/3 cup cold water
-----
Dumplings:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-2 teaspoons chicken base
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried chives or parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 stick COLD butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
1/2-1 cup milk
Combine chicken, chicken broth and chicken base in a Dutch oven (the wider the pan, the more dumplings you can drop into it).
Bring to a boil; combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Pour into chicken soup, whisking constantly; cook 2-3 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover until ready for dumplings.
In a food processor*, combine flour, baking powder, chicken base, salt, chives and curry powder. With processor running, add butter, a piece at a time, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Turn processor off.
Add egg and process briefly. Again, with processor running, add milk gradually until a soft, sticky dough forms.
Drop dough by spoonfuls (or use a small ice cream scoop) onto simmering chicken stew. Cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove lid and if dumplings look fairly dry on top, continue to cook for 10 minutes uncovered. If they appear to still be wet (especially those around the outside), cover and cook an additional 5 minutes, then remove lid and cook uncovered for 10 more minutes.
Makes 6-8 servings.
I'm taking my chances here trying to post a recipe for fried chicken. I've been making it myself for 20-some years now and have never used a recipe. It's one of those dishes, like my meatloaf, that never comes out the same way twice, and it never comes out as good as my mom's or my best friend's mom's. I do know that brining the chicken (letting is soak for a few hours in salted, sugared water) will improve the flavor, so I try to do that every time.
I always use whole chicken and cut it up myself, so I can save the back and wings to make chicken stock. I learned to cut up a chicken by watching my mom do it when I was growing up. If you don't know how, you can learn here, or you can spend a few cents per pound more and buy it already cut up.
And by the way, that's not some genetically modified chicken with extra parts in the photo. I cooked two (one for leftovers tomorrow or Sunday).
Fried Chicken
1 whole fryer chicken, cut up
2 quarts water
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
______
3/4 cup flour
1-1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
additional salt and pepper
Combine water, salt and sugar in a very large bowl or pan and stir to dissolve. Place chicken pieces in this brine. If chicken is not completely covered by water, add more to cover. Refrigerate until ready to fry, at least 1 hour, more if possible.
Drain chicken and set aside.
Combine flour, seasoned salt and pepper in shallow bowl.
Heat 1/4" or so of oil in skillet over high heat.
Dredge moist pieces of chicken in flour mixture. If you'll be making gravy, you can save the leftover seasoned flour for that. Place chicken pieces, skin side down, in hot oil. Do not layer the pieces (I have layered the pieces, but it's a lot of work to get them done right; it's easier to use two pans if you have more than will fit in one).
Once all pieces are in the pan, sprinkle with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Fry chicken over high heat until well-browned on bottom. Turn pieces; again add additional salt and pepper if desired (we like lots of pepper).
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook chicken for about 20 minutes or until juices run clear.
Remove lid, turn heat up to high, and cook until coating is crisp.
Drain on paper towels.
Makes 6 or more pieces, depending on how chicken is cut.
Sorry, I don't have a picture of this biscuit-topped pie. For one thing, the filling boiled over the edge of the pan and created an ugly mess, and for another thing, we dug into it as soon as it came out of the oven without even thinking of getting pictures first.
I put this pie together without recipe, just using basic cooking concepts from similar pies I've made in the past. I used leftover diced turkey that I'd frozen right after Christmas, as well as turkey broth I'd made and frozen, too. I ended up adding one package of instant turkey gravy mix just to boost the turkey flavor a little. Here is the basic recipe.
Blogarita's Turkey Pie
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3/4 cup flour (approximately)
1/2 large onion, diced
1 quart turkey or chicken broth
1 envelope instant turkey gravy mix
2 cups diced cooked turkey
1 pkg. (either 10-oz. or 16-oz.) frozen mixed vegetables*
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) COLD butter
1 cup milk
Heat oven to 375° F. Spray an oblong baking dish with non-stick pan spray.
In large pan or Dutch oven, melt butter. Saute onions in butter for 1-2 minutes.
Stir in 3/4 cup flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. This mixture will be very thick.
Stir in the gravy mix and immediately whisk in the turkey broth. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil until thickened, about 2 minutes.
Stir in turkey and vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Do not fill more than half full. ** Place in preheated oven.
Combine 2 cups flour, 1/2 salt and the baking powder. Cut cold butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk.
Remove dish of turkey filling from oven. Drop biscuit dough, using a large spoon or a small ice cream scoop, evenly over hot filling. Return dish to oven and bake until biscuits are full cooked and golden on top, approximately 20 minutes.
Makes 4-6 generous servings.
*You can use a peas and carrots blend if you don't wish to use mixed vegetables.
** If you have filling left over, it can be frozen and used later as a base for turkey soup.
