Marinated Chicken Wings – Our Super Bowl Choice

As I have been shopping in the grocery stores over the past week, I have been amazed at all the party food that is available for the Super Bowl.  It has truly become an event that includes food and it includes some of our favorite appetizers and fun time foods. I  I think by now many of us have broken all of our New Year’s resolutions and are ready for a special treat.

We will have the usual of chip and dip, cheese and crackers and the marinated chicken wings I am sharing with you today.  This recipe was sent to me by my California cousin and it seems to be a good one and easy to make.

Marinated Chicken Wings

20 whole chicken wings (about 4 lbs.)

1 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup white wine or chicken broth

1/4 cup canola oil

1 tbsp sugar

2 garlic cloves/minced

1 tsp ground ginger.

Cut chicken wings into 3 sections and discard the wing tips.  Put wings in large resealable plastic bag.

In small bowl whisk the remaining ingredients until blended

Add to chicken wings, seal bag and turn to coat – refrigerate overnight

Transfer chicken and marinade to slow cooker.  Cook covered on low for 3 to 4 hours until tender.

Using tongs transfer to plate and serve.

I love buffalo wings but sometimes they are just too hot and spicy.  This seems to be a a great alternative.

I hope you are planning a great Super Bowl Sunday with special friends and family.  We aren’t big sports fans anymore but we do love the food that goes along with the game.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Fried Chicken With Milk Gravy – A Work In Progress

Over the past week or so, I have been nudged into frying chicken.  My California cousin sent more recipes and he included a fried chicken recipe.  I really thought he was very brave to send a cousin in the South a fried chicken recipe.  As I read it, I realized it was very similar to the way I prepare fried chicken.  Then to confirm that I needed to make some fried chicken, I was sitting in a training class at work and the leader said every woman in the South should know how to make fried chicken.  I decided then and there that I would make fried chicken.

Have I made fried chicken before?  Yes I have but several years ago I gave my electric frying pan away.  It was a specialty frying pan and was very heavy and I just felt as if it was quite cumbersome.  I have tried to fry several things including okra on the stove top and it just does not work.  A few months ago, I purchased a new light weight electric frying pan.  I love using it and the consistency of the heat is a great plus in frying food.

I browsed through my California cousin’s recipes and several other cookbooks by Southerners to decide how to fry my chicken.  Here is what I came up with.

Fried Chicken with Milk Gravy

4 to 8 chicken thighs and breasts ( I used boneless breast and cut it half lengthwise)

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 quart of buttermilk

1 cup shortening

2 tablespoons of butter

1/2 cup water

First of all, I washed my chicken and placed it in a shallow bowl and covered it with buttermilk.  I let it marinate in the refrigerator for about two hours.  I drained it and I do believe I should have rinsed it off and patted it dry.  My breading started to come off when I was frying it and I believe it is because the buttermilk was still on the chicken.

I mixed together all of the dry ingredients in a gallon size freezer bag.  I placed the chicken pieces in the flour mixture, 3 pieces at a time. Reserve any unused flour mixture for gravy.

I put the shortening in the electric frying pan and set the temperature to 360.  I used Crisco oil and I am thinking maybe I should have used the crisco solid shortening instead.  I added the two tablespoons of butter to the oil and after it melted, I placed the chicken in the oil. I placed all of the chicken pieces in the oil skin side down.  Then turned to brown on all sides.  I added 1/2 cup of water to the oil and covered the pan and reduced the heat to 220 degrees.  I cooked it for 25 to 30 minutes until the chicken was tender.

To crisp the crust, remove the cover and cook at 360 degrees for an additional 5 minutes or until desired crispness.

As you can see from the above picture, the breading did not crisp up as much as I wanted it to.  Also, maybe I should have double breaded the chicken or used an egg wash. When I fry the chicken again, I will rinse and pat dry after marinating it in the buttermilk.  I may also use an egg wash when breading the chicken.  If you have any suggestions, let me know.

I will say this was the chicken was moist, juicy, and flavorful. On to the milk gravy and I will say, I have never tried to make milk gravy before. However, this seemed so easy and it turned out well. The milk gravy recipe is from Betty Feezor’s Carolina Recipes Volume II.  The basic chicken recipe is from her cookbook to but I did make some variations in the spices and she did not marinate her chicken in buttermilk.

Gravy

After chicken is fried, remove it and all but 1/4 cup of fat.  ( I estimated that the bottom of my pan had a small amount of fat covering the surface).  Set temperature to 210 degrees.  Add the remaining flour from coating the chicken and brown it slightly, stirring constantly.  Gradually add two cups of milk and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, stirring constantly.  Cook at 210 degrees about 5 minutes, stirring to keep gravy smooth.

I was very pleased with my first attempt at milk gravy.  It amazed me how similar the recipes for fried chicken were from Dorie Sanders, Mrs. Wilkes, and Betty Feezor.  I will definitely try this again and I am sure I will make Mr. D very happy. It will make me very happy if the breading doesn’t slide off the chicken.  I know I can do this.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Finishing Out June With An Enchilada Dish

Yes, I know July 4th is approaching.  I thought about recipes I could share with you and the enchilada dish just kept coming back to me and I knew I had to share it.  I prepared it this past weekend and Mr. D and I enjoyed it.  It is fairly easy to make and I liked it because we had enough to eat now and freeze for later.

Here is a picture of the enchiladas:

This recipe was given to me by a friend that lives in California.  We made contact with each other earlier in the year and he told me he did not have a means to share his recipes.  He is sending some of them to me and I will share them with you on my blog.  He is now in his retirement years but was an accomplished chef for many years.  Let’s just say he is my California cousin.  You do know in the South we have many cousins scattered all over the place, don’t you?

Here is his recipe:

Go California Turkey or Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

2 tbsp. butter, 1 medium yellow onion chopped.

3 cups of leftover turkey or chicken shredded and coarsely chopped

1 cup cheddar sharp cheese, 1 cup jack cheese

1 19 ounce enchilada sauce

6 6 inch fajita style tortillas (flour)

¾ cup sour cream at room temperature

Cilantro chopped for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat, add onion and cook stirring until translucent – about 5 minutes

Transfer onion to bowl and cool, mix in turkey or chicken, ½  cup of each cheese and ¼ cup enchilada sauce.

Spread ½ cup enchilada sauce across bottom of 9×13 inch baking dish.

To assemble:  pour remaining sauce into pie plate.  Place 1 tortilla in sauce, add about ½ cup turkey or chicken mixture to center of tortilla and roll.

Place rolled enchilada seam side down in baking dish, repeat with remaining enchiladas.

Pour any remaining sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted.  (about 20 minutes).

Serve hot with dollop of sour cream and sprinkles with cilantro.  Serves 6.

The cheese makes the casserole gooey and delicious. I know this will be a recipe that I will use often and share with friends and family. If you are having guests over the upcoming holiday weekend, this would be a good choice for one of your meals.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are looking forward to a special July 4th weekend.

 

A Grilling Favorite – Chicken Bruschetta

One of the great things about living here in the foothills of North Carolina is being able to use our grill year round.  Even though we have cold winters, there are days that we can still fire up that grill.

The recipe I am sharing with you today is a family favorite.  The marinade is easy to make and I really do like the Kraft sun-dried tomato vinaigrette dressing for this and other summer recipes.  I will confess that I turn the grilling over to Mr. D and I am the one that does all the other preparation. (Not really that much for me to do). This is especially good in the summertime when fresh tomatoes are available. I know you can tell by this recipe that it has been used a lot.

I have never served this with spaghetti as is recommended in the recipe.  We usually eat it with brown rice and some type of grilled vegetable.  I know Memorial Day is approaching fast and this would be a great option for a family cookout.

I think another reason I like this recipe so much is because I love to say “bruschetta.”  Can’t you imagine how it sounds with my southern accent? Thanks for stopping by.

A Southern Favorite – Chicken Pie

When I moved to Catawba County in 1976, I realized chicken pie was a favorite here.  When I purchased the first one, it wasn’t what I expected.  Chicken pie to me was chicken with vegetables in a pie with a cobbler or biscuit topping. That isn’t true here.  A chicken pie can be minced chicken in a 9 inch pie crust with a pie crust top.  It can also be a cooked chicken with raised dumplings and that is actually called pot pie.  The reason it is called pot pie is because the chicken is cooked in large black pots with the dough on top.  As it cooks together it makes a wonderful hearty chicken stew.

This chicken pie recipe I am sharing with you today is one of my favorites.  It is from the St. Peters’ Lutheran Church cookbook that was published in 1981.  It is fairly easy to make and I like it because I don’t have to roll out dough to make the topping.j

Easy Chicken Pie

2 and 1/2 Pound chicken, cooked

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 and  1/4 cup of chicken stock

1 cup self rising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1 stick margarine.

Cut chicken in bite size pieces and put in a baking disk (9 x 13 is what I use)  Mix the soup and chicken stock in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Pour over the chicken.  Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over the chicken.  Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.

I have a favorite memory as far as chicken pie is concerned.  At one time, I visited a lady that was a shut in at a local nursing home.  She attended St. Peters and was very proud of the pot pie meal that was a fund raiser for the church.  She always insisted that chicken pie should not have vegetables.  I started to tease her when we talked about chicken pie.  I would tell her I made chicken pie and was going to bring her some.  Her first question was, “Did it have vegetables?  I would answer yes and her whole expression would change and she would emphatically tell me, “Well, I wouldn’t eat it.  Chicken pie with vegetables isn’t fitin to eat.”  It still makes me chuckle.

As I have eaten it both ways, I like both versions.  I just think it is so comforting to smell a chicken pie baking in the oven, especially this time of year.

Thanks for stopping by.

Let’s Start The Week With Easy Parmesan Chicken

I purchased the Crock Pot Recipe Collection Cookbook during the cold winter months.  I have really enjoyed reading it and like the idea of making different types of recipes in my crock pot.  On a recent Sunday we had many different obligations and I decided the crock pot was going to be a great way to prepare our main meal of the day.  As I read through the cookbook, this recipe really appealed to me.  The aroma of the Parmesan Chicken was so welcoming on a busy day. As the pasta was cooking, I made a salad and put some prepared garlic bread in the oven.  Everything was ready quickly and enjoyed very much by Mr. D and I.

As you read the recipe you will see they recommend on step 3 to sprinkle cheese over the chicken and cook for ten more minutes.  We chose to add the cheese to the sauce at the table as it was being served.

This will definitely be something that I will prepare again soon and I do plan to use my crock pot even in the summertime.

Our family will be visiting for a very short time in June and as much as I love to cook, spending time with our grandchildren will be our top priority. I hope you are having an easy Monday and thanks for stopping by.

 

A Confession and Ina Garten’s Lemon Chicken Breasts

Since the holidays I feel as if I have just been coasting along and not really thinking about the meals I have been  preparing.  When the weather was so cold for a couple of weeks, I really think my only goal was to stay warm and comfortable.  To do that I made a lot of soup, stews and hot chocolate.  Over the weekend we have returned to a more normal temperature with the highs each day being in the 50’s.  I started to think of Ina Garten’s Lemon Chicken Breasts recipe that is in her Barefoot Contessa – How Easy Is That Cookbook.  I have made the recipe before and as always with her recipes, I was not disappointed.  The combination of the herbs of oregano and thyme with the garlic and lemon makes the chicken so tasty and it is moist on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Here is a picture of Ina’s Lemon Chicken Breasts:

The recipe is fairly easy to make and the hardest part is probably chopping the garlic and juicing the lemons.  I decided I wanted to make the chicken for our Sunday meal but I had some time constraints that kept me from having the time to bake the chicken in the oven.

Here is Ina’s recipe:

 

So here is the confession. I made the sauce, put it in my slow cooker and added the chicken.  I have a two quart slow cooker and I cooked the chicken on high and it was ready when we came home from our Sunday services.  Honestly, I admire Ina so much, I felt a little creepy changing her recipe.  You know it was sort of as if I was trying to rewrite the Bible.  I never remember Ina using a slow cooker for anything even though I have seen her use the large roaster pans or dutch ovens.  So how did it turn out?

Actually it was pretty tasty and I could taste all of the wonderful flavors of the lemon chicken that I love so much.  The chicken only cooked for about four hours so it wasn’t at the fall apart stage.  I do have to say the flavors seemed a little more intense from cooking the chicken in the crockpot but we did enjoy it.

This is a picture of my lemon chicken.  I used bone in chicken breast and chicken thighs.

I will always admire Ina Garten and one of my favorite things about her is the fact that I can follow her recipes exactly and get great results.  After doing this, I do not plan to put all of Ina’s recipes in my crockpot. She tests her recipes so thoroughly that I am sure she knows the very best way to prepare them. I do plan to experiment with different herbs and seasonings to enhance the dishes I prepare in my crockpot.

Thanks to Ina Garten for being such an inspiration and thanks to you for stopping by.

A Southern Tradition – Chicken Salad and A Favorite – Ina Garten’s Chicken Salad V’eronique

Chicken salad is truly a Southern tradition and is a staple at many Southern events during the summer including weddings, showers and receptions.  My Mother never made chicken salad and I think it was because my Daddy was a true meat and potatoes man.  He would not eat anything that was mixed up together unless it was vegetable soup. I am very lucky to have a husband that will eat just about anything.  As Mr. D is a diabetic, chicken salad is a better choice for him instead of a macaroni or potato salad.

One of my very favorite recipes is Ina Garten’s  chicken salad v’eronique.  It is in her cookbook, Barefoot Contessa at Home and one of my favorite ingredients in the salad is the tarragon.  Many years ago there was a restaurant in our area that used tarragon in their potato salad and I always loved that flavor.  This year I am lucky enough to be growing that herb in a pot in my back yard so I will definitely use it a lot. This recipe is great because you use only a few ingredients. The blend of flavors and the taste would make any Southerner proud.

I made chicken salad this week and as I was making it, I thought of the many different things you can include in chicken salad that enhances the flavor of it.  Here are a few of the ingredients I include in my chicken salad and the amount used depends upon your personal taste.

• I always keep cooked chicken in my freezer.  If I have some that is leftover, I will put it into a freezer bag and it will be ready in a moments notice for a casserole or salad.  I also do this with a rotissere chicken.
• mayonnaise and I always use Duke’s mayonnaise  It is truly a Southern tradition
• chopped sweet pickles or dill pickles
• Dijon mustard
• pecans or slivered almonds
• sour cream  (I use a small amount of sour cream in my chicken, macaroni or potato salad)
• taragon (freshly chopped is the best)
• celery seed

If you prepare Ina’s recipe, I don’t think you will be disappointed in having a very delicious chicken salad.  If you are adventurous you can use a combination of any of the ingredients I suggest and have a very tasty salad.

Please leave me a comment if you have a special ingredient you like to include in your summer salads.  Thanks for stopping by.

 

Chicken Casserole – A Covered Dish Favorite

I was so excited when I discovered the recipe I am sharing with you today.  I have eaten this many times at covered dish meals and I absolutely love the combination of chicken, sour cream and Pepperidge Farm’s bread crumbs.  I have made a longer version of this recipe but you do a lot of chopping and I don’t mind that at all if I have time to cook.  This would be a good recipe for a time when you need to create something that tastes good without lots of effort.  I do know that cream of chicken soup and cream of chicken soup would be considered a staple in most southern pantries. I do like the way the soups can add flavor to a casserole without lots of effort on my part.

If you read my blog on Monday, my goal for the week is to create good meals using the ingredients I have in the pantry.  This recipe would be a good choice and now chicken parts are so much larger than they were in 1972, I would use two jumbo bone-in chicken breasts for this.  My husband and I could make two meals out of this casserole and it would be so good with a side of broccoli or a green vegetable.

At the bottom of the casserole is a recipe for barbecued tuna.  That recipe is so familiar to me as I went to Weight Watchers in the 70’s and we had to eat seafood five times a week.  I don’t enjoy seafood so much so I made this barbecued tuna to help me to include my seafood in my weekly diet. I wanted to include this and ask if anyone else remembers it.  Oh and by the way, no I don’t eat tuna but yes I do eat good old North Carolina Barbecue made from pork, of course.

I hope you are able to try this recipe soon and I know I am going to include it in my weekly meal planning because I think it is a very tasty way to stretch our food budget.  This recipe is from the New Life Baptist Church Cookbook, Lincolnton, NC.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Sharing An Ina Garten Recipe In Honor Of Her Birthday

Sunday was Ina Garten’s birthday.  I made one of her recipes over the weekend and I thought it would be a good time to share one of her chicken recipes from her Barefoot Contessa at Home Cookbook.  This is one of the first recipes I ever made and this is the first Ina Garten Cookbook I ever owned.  I know her recipes can seem complicated and you may think you could never make any of them.  However, I have learned to have all of the ingredients for her recipes measured and prepared (chopping onions or mincing garlic) before making the recipe. The chicken is so tender, moist and tasty.  The sauce is made of the simplest ingredients including lemon juice, wine and butter.  I was so proud of myself when this turned out so good and it gave me the confidence to try so many more of Ina’s recipes.

The recipe is two pages in her cookbook so this is the first page of the recipe:

The recipe continues on the next page pictured below:

My husband came into the room while I was writing this and I asked him what I should serve if Ina came for dinner.  He said her truffle butter pasta and that doesn’t surprise me at all as I know it is a favorite of his.  However, I would never serve one of her recipes to her and asked him about some of my dishes.  We agreed that my pork barbecue would be very tasty.

Hmmmm.  So what would I have if Ina Garten came for dinner?  Probably a heart attack. Thank you Ina for all the special recipes that we have enjoyed and we look forward to so many more.

Hope your week is starting off right and thanks for stopping by.