Easy Boneless "Buffalo Wings"

boneless skinless chicken cut into chunks

cornstarch

salt

pepper

onion powder

garlic powder

oil for frying

container with lid big enough for shaking

Preheat oil to 400. I use a deep fryer.

Coat chicken with cornstarch and seasonings by placing all items (chicken first) into the container, then closing the lid and shaking it all around.

Fry chicken a few pieces at a time until about 170* internally - time will vary depending on size but my pieces were about the size of a McDonald's chicken nugget and took 5-7 minutes per batch of 6-10 pieces.

Drain on paper towel.

Coating:

I used three different coatings. The first was straight buffalo sauce, the second was half buffalo sauce and half ranch, and the third was BBQ sauce. Put cooked chicken in a clean container with lid and pour sauce on top; close & shake. They were also good without a coating.

Taco meat burrito thingys (an alternative to regular tacos)

2 cups taco meat (I keep it in the freezer in 2-cup packages)
2 carrots
1 onion (or half a large one)
2 large whole-wheat soft tortillas
cheese

Grab some taco meat that's been in the freezer for a while and you don't know what to do with it. Or just make some with ground beef and taco seasoning. If you're making it fresh, drain it well after it's brown. Use a food processor to finely chop the onion and carrots together, and then put them in the skillet with your taco meat (you don't have to defrost your meat first if it's frozen -- just stick it in there). Cook over medium heat until the onions are getting tender and a little browned. Spoon the mixture onto the tortilla shells, half in each one. Put it right in the middle, in kind of a strip down the middle. Put your cheese on top of the meat, however much and whatever kind you like. I used white American because it was what we had, but I think cheddar or a spicy cheese would be better. Fold the sides of the tortilla over everything, so it's like a flat burrito. Stick it on your George Foreman grill and grill it until it's brown and the cheese is melted, just a minute or two. If you don't have a George Foreman grill -- um, you need to get one. But you could probably brown it in the skillet if you wanted, if you've drained out the oil.

I don't like tacos because I hate lettuce and the stuff that's usually in tacos, so this is a good alternative. You don't *need* the carrots, I suppose, but they do enhance the flavor a bit, and it's added nutrition. I add chopped carrots to whatever I can add them to, because it's good for you and you don't notice the flavor that much. You could probably also do the same thing with chopped celery, maybe even some chopped baby spinach leaves. Whatever. This is great because it's a quick lunch packed with protein and flavor, and you can customize it for your tastes. Although I don't think I'd put lettuce in it. It would get wilty on the grill.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This was an impromptu meal put together upon realizing that I didn't have enough tortillas to make enchiladas - AFTER I had already mixed up the filling. It came out super yummy, so I'm going to share. :-)

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp butter/margarine

1 box Rice-a-Roni Mexican or Spanish rice

1 can (14 oz, I think) of refried beans

1 small can (10 oz, I think) of Old El Paso green chili enchilada sauce

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese

1 can (4-7oz) chopped green chilies

1 to 1.5 lbs of chicken, cut into bite size pieces

tortillas

tortilla chips

shredded cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350*

2. Prepare Rice-a-Roni according to package directions.

3. While the rice is simmering, cook the chicken in a skillet. Once it's done cooking, add the cream cheese and green chilies and stir and cook until all is combined and warm.

4. Spray the bottom of a casserole dish with cooking spray. Spoon a very thin layer of enchilada sauce in the dish. Place a layer of tortillas in the bottom. The number of tortillas will depend on the size of the dish and the tortillas; my dish was about 8x12 and my tortillas were fajita-size - I used two.

5. Spoon all of chicken mixture into casserole dish. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce evenly over chicken. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Add another layer of tortillas.

6. Spread refried beans into casserole dish. I found this to be easier if I picked up each tortilla and spread it on the tortilla, then used a spoon to fill in any gaps where the tortillas didn't cover.

7. Spread rice on top of beans.

8. Crush enough tortilla chips to cover top of casserole, then spread on top. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of chips. Bake for about 15 minutes.

*I actually used leftover rice and beans, so if you find a full box of rice or a full can of beans is too much for you, use half instead and save the rest for another meal.

Applesauce-Oatmeal Cookies

From my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook...these are delicious!

1/3 c butter or margarine, softened

2/3 c packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 egg

1/2 c unsweetened applesauce

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour*

1 1/4 c rolled oats

1. In medium mixing bowl beat butter or margarine with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and baking soda. Beat till combined, scraping sides of bowl Beat in egg and applesauce till combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour and the rolled oats. (Blogger note: I had NO problems mixing in my flour with the mixer.)

2. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375* oven for 8-10 minues or till ightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. Makes about 30 cookies. (Blogger note: I got about 40 cookies!)

*I used bread flour because I am just about out of all-purpose.

Baked Fruit French Toast

Baked Fruit French Toast

1 can of apple pie filling

1 loaf of Italian or French bread, cut into 1" slices

1 tsp cinnamon 6 eggs

1 cup brown sugar 1 ½ cups milk

¾ cup raisins (optional) 1 tsp vanilla

Butter a 13x9x2” baking dish

Spread can of apple pie filling on the bottom of baking dish

Sprinkle on cinnamon, brown sugar, and raisins.

Lay slices of bread in baking dish

Mix together eggs, milk and vanilla and pour over bread

Refrigerate overnight

Bake at 375° for about 40 minutes

Baked French Toast

Baked French Toast

1 loaf white bread, cubed ½ cup maple syrup

1 8oz cream cheese, cubed 1 cup milk

8-12 eggs

Line bottom of 9x13 inch pan with half the bread cubes.

Layer cream cheese cubes on top of bread, then add the rest of the bread.

Beat together eggs, maple syrup and milk in large bowl. Pour over bread.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Next morning, bake in a preheated 350° oven until light golden brown (45 minutes)

Cut into squares and drizzle maple syrup over all.

Yield: 8 servings

Easy chicken and rice dinner

Seriously, it's easy. I'm a big fan of easy. I'm also a big fan of dry vegetable soup mix, apparently, since I'm using it in everything lately.

Boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders (any kind of boneless chicken will do, but you can't use big pieces like whole breasts. If you have large pieces, cut them to be smaller so they'll cook faster.)
1 cup white rice
3 cups water
1 package dry vegetable soup mix

Brown the chicken slightly in a little bit of oil. Nothing too major. If you over-brown, that's ok. Or if you forget to brown it, that's ok too. Whatever. Either way, use a really big skillet so you'll have room for everything (I used my 12-inch cast iron and it was just big enough). Then pour in your water and the veggie soup mix, and stir it to dissolve the powder and get everything evened out. Dump in your rice, and try to spread it evenly around the skillet. Make sure there's no rice hanging out on top of the chicken where it won't be in the water. Bring the water to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until the rice is done and the chicken is cooked through.

This recipe serves 4, or maybe 5 depending on how much chicken you have and what sides you serve with it. I didn't serve any sides and it served the 4 of us with a few leftovers. As with my other chicken recipe, this would be great if you cut the chicken into small bite-size pieces, but I didn't and it was still good. I'm sure you could also bake this, but I have no idea how long you'd need to bake it, so if you go that route you're on your own.

Pudding Cake

super easy, super good.

you can use any flavor combo you like. we use white cake and lemon pudding because that's what we like. i have used angel food cake and strawberry jello and didn't mix the cool whip. i just used it straight from the bowl. it wasn't too bad. i use generic everything and whatever is on sale. it's just as good as name brand.

make a cake per box. let cake cool absolutely and completely before continuing on.
use the handle of a wooden spoon to make staggered holes about half as deep in the top of the cake.

make one regular sized box of pudding per box. before it sets up, pour about 3/4 over the cake and into the holes.

into the remaining pudding that has been allowed to set up, fold one regular sized bowl of cool whip. use that to "ice" the cake.

it's definitely a "spoonable" dessert.

cover and set in the fridge until ready to eat.

Granny's pie crust

i got this from mother...so if it rambles or you find little hints and tips...they are hers. i just copied and pasted this one. this is the way granny makes her crust and it is wonderful and not difficult at all!

makes 4-5 crusts

4 Cups flour

1 Tbs sugar

1/2 tsp salt

mix together and make well in center of bowl

1 beaten egg

1/2 Cup cold water

1 Tbs vinegar

mix together & set aside

13/4 Cups shortening

cut into dry ingredients

Add liquid

PS. rolls better if chilled

roll leftover into pie sized ball and freeze for later use.

keep it cold. keep what you are not actually working on in the fridge. use cold ingredients.

don't handle too much

the least amount of extra flour you work into it while rolling out the better. Too much flour which makes it too dry will make the crust crumbly not flaky.

Pumpkin pancakes

This is from Allrecipes.com. Link to the recipe is http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Pancakes/Detail.aspx.


Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 3 tablespoons brown sugar
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 1 cup pumpkin puree
* 1 egg
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 2 tablespoons vinegar

Directions

1. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt, stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

*QB's notes: I used soy milk like I do in everything else, and it was fine, so you can make these dairy-free. I didn't have any allspice, so I used about 1/8 tsp. of cloves and 1/4 tsp. ish of nutmeg -- it turned out all right, but I should have used a bit more. Or else gone out and bought allspice. You really should have allspice. Anyway, these were delicious either alone or with maple syrup.

Osso Buco with fennel, and orange gremolata



Ingredients

1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 fennel bulb, cut into large pieces
3 celery stalks, cut into 1 inch/2.5 cm pieces
4 pork shanks
19 oz/ 540 ml tin of diced tomatoes
2 tbsp/30 ml olive oil
2 tbsp/30 ml flour
1/2 cup/125 ml white wine
juice of 1 orange
5 sprigs of fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Gremolata

1/2 cup/125 ml fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp/ 15 ml orange zest, finely grated
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced


Method

1. Add oil to a skillet and brown onion for 2 mins. Add pork shanks and brown on all sides. Sprinkle with flour and cook for a further min

2. Deglaze with wine and orange juice and bring to the boil.

3. Place pork and onion mixture in crockpot and add tomatoes, celery, fennel and thyme.Season to taste.

4. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.

5. Make gremolata just before serving by combining parsley, orange and garlic.

6. Serve over pasta or rice with gremolata sprinkled over top

Oven

1. Heat oven to 350F/ 180C. Place pork and onion mixture in baking dish with tomatoes, fennel, celery and thyme. Plus an extra 3/4 cup/175 ml white wine. Season to taste.

2. Cover and bake for 4-5 hours. Stir occasionally adjusting liquid level if necessary.

3. Prepare gremolata as above. And serve over pasta or rice

Watercress Soup

Ingredients for 6-8 people:

2 bunches watercress
3/4 lb potatoes
1 onion
2 pints chicken stock
1-1/2 oz butter
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic (optional)
salt and black pepper
3 tablespoons of double cream or 1/2 cup milk

Garnish: nutmeg (optional)

1 - wash watercress and discard tough stalks/ yellow leaves

2 - Peel and thickly slice potatoes and onion.

3 - Put potatoes, onion, half the watercress, stock, butter, bay leaf and peeled garlic (if using) in a large saucepan. Season with salt and pepper.

4 - Bring soup to boil, cover pan and simmer until the potatoes and onion are quite soft.

5 - Remove bay leaf and liquidise soup (DH likes a few lumps in it - you may not!)

6 - Stir in cream or milk plus the other half of watercress chopped finely and heat soup without boiling.

Serve in heated bowls with crusty bread.

This is from Reader's Digest 'The Cookery Year' - 'tonsed' a la Beesknees ... tasty and good for you .... nice chilled as well as hot, with or without nutmeg to serve.

Vegan-friendly falafel (and not-vegan tzatziki sauce)

These recipes are from Allrecipes.com. The falafel is vegan, but the tzatziki sauce is not. But if you wanted to make it vegan, you could just substitute soy yogurt for the dairy yogurt, easy peasy. I'm not sure how everybody else eats this stuff, but we just dip the balls in the sauce and eat them that way. Super yummy.

Falafel:
INGREDIENTS

* 1 pound dry garbanzo beans
* 1 onion, quartered
* 1 potato, peeled and quartered
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 2 cups canola oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Rinse the garbanzo beans under cold water and discard any bad ones. Place in a large pot, and cover with water. Let soak 24 hours, and rinse again.
2. Place the garbanzo beans, onion, and potato in the bowl of a food processor. Cover, and process until finely chopped. Leaving about 1 cup of the garbanzo bean mixture in the food processor bowl, pour the rest into a mixing bowl. Add the garlic, cilantro, coriander, cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to the garbanzo bean mixture in the food processor bowl; process on low to blend thoroughly. Return the reserved garbanzo bean mixture to the food processor bowl, and add the lemon juice, and olive oil; process on low into a coarse meal. Cover, and refrigerate 2 hours.
3. Stir the baking soda into the garbanzo bean mixture until evenly blended. Using damp hands, form the mixture into 1 1/2 inch diameter balls.
4. Pour the canola oil into a wok 1 to 2 inches deep, and heat over medium-high heat. Cook the falafel balls, turning so all sides are evenly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove falafel from oil, and drain on paper towels. Repeat to cook remaining falafel balls.

FOOTNOTES

Cook's Tip: If you don't have time to soak the dry garbanzo beans for this recipe, substitute three 15 ounce cans of garbanzo beans, and start with Step 2.

Tzatziki sauce
INGREDIENTS

* 8 ounces plain yogurt
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
* 3 cloves pressed garlic

DIRECTIONS

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, dill and garlic. Blend thoroughly and serve.

** QB's Notes:

The sauce is better if you chill it in the fridge for an hour or so before eating. You can mix up the falafel ingredients the day before if you want to, but be warned, it will change colors. I'm not sure why. It doesn't affect the taste, but it looks different. Darker. Also, I used about twice the amount of dill in the sauce, and I ramped up the spices in the falafel. We like FLAVOR in this house. It's good the way the recipe says to do it, but if you like spicy food, feel free to play with the amounts. You can't screw it up.

Enchilada Casserole

taco meat
1 can refried beans
1 can rotel
1 pkg soft tortilla shells
1 pkg shredded cheese
1 can enchilada sauce

pre heat oven to 350 deg. grease a 9x13 baking dish.

mix first three ingredients together and put one large spoonful in the middle of a softened tortilla shell. sprinkle with a bit of shredded cheese and roll up. place roll in the bottom of the baking dish. continue until you run out of tortillas or your dish is full.

i had left over meat mix so i just spooned the rest over the rolled tortillas in the dish, but you could save it and freeze for the next set, i suppose.

pour enchilada sauce over all that and then sprinkle the rest of the shredded cheese over the top of it all.

bake for about 20 mins or so. the meat is already cooked so all you are doing is melting everything together.

Taco Cornbread Casserole

i swear this is almost as easy as ordering take out!


make taco meat and add a can of diced tomatoes
pour it into a greased 9x13 pyrex
on top, pour one can of creamed corn...
over that, spread out a double batch of cornbread mix

bake at 400 for about 20 mins or so. when you scoop into it, it will freak you out, but it's not raw cornbread, it's creamed corn juice.

Seasoned chicken and veggie bake

Lame title, but I don't know what else to call it, and I just made it up tonight. So yummy. I apologize for the large size of this dish, but you can adjust it as needed, or make the whole thing and freeze half for later. Also, I don't measure. Think of these amounts as rough estimates.

4 to 6 chicken leg quarters, skin removed (any cut of chicken will do)
1 package dry veggie soup mix
2.5-3 cups of water
2 small onions, chopped
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cubes chicken bouillon
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 carrots, washed and sliced
2 stems of celery, washed and sliced

Brown the chicken, and transfer it into baking pans. (I needed a 9x13 and an 8x8 pan to hold everything.) In the same skillet where you browned the chicken, toss in your chopped onion and brown (add oil if necessary to keep it from sticking) and your flour. When onion is browned, add water, bouillon cube, soup mix, and pepper. Simmer until everything is dissolved and the mixture thickens slightly. Slice carrots and celery and scatter the slices amongst the chicken pieces. Pour your liquid over everything (if you use 2 pans, try to be judicious -- you don't want one pan swimming and the other one with like a drop). Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 1 hour, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Serve with hot cooked brown rice. I added a little butter and Italian seasoning to my rice, but you can do yours however you want.

My husband also suggested cutting the chicken up into small chunks and mixing the chicken and veggies in with the rice, and serving it as a one-dish meal. It's an option, and it would be easy if you're using boneless chicken.

Spicy Tomato Sauce for Meat

i poured this over pork chops, but i bet it would be good over chicken or steaks, too.

one can of diced tomatoes (undrained)
one can of rotel (undrained)
1/4 cup (maybe less) of all-purpose flour

brown your chosen meat in a skillet. remove the meat. pour both cans, juice and all, into the skillet to "deglaze" the good stuff off the bottom. add the flour and stir to thicken. add the meat back into the skillet and spoon the sauce over it. let it simmer for a few minutes and then try not to choke on the bones as you inhale it. :-D

JIMMY YOUNG TRIFLE

This trifle is from a book I'd recommend by Gill Holcombe called 'How to feed your whole family a healthy, balanced diet with very little money ... and hardly any time, even if you have a tiny kitchen ....' - recipe originally supplied by Audrey Hurst from Bramley in Surrey for the JY Show - thank you Mrs Hurst! (For some reason she missed out the alcohol though - not recommended in my house - see my adaptation below.)

Serves 4-6 - you will need:
1 small tin mandarin segments
2 small bananas
1 orange jelly (jello)
1/2 pint (250ml/ 1 cup) boiling water
1 swiss (jelly) roll or an angel cake
1/4 pint (125 ml/ half cup) evaporated milk
Sweet Sherry is traditional - or fortified wine - or liquor of choice eg brandy or S. Comfort

1 - Put jelly in measuring jug with 1/2 pint (250ml/ 1 cup) boiling water, stir until dissolved then add juice from mandarin segments and 2 or 3 ice cubes if you have them (I didn't) to make jelly up to just 3/4 pint (375ml/ 1-1/2 cups).
2 - Allow to cool while your arrange pieces of cake (or a packet of trifle sponges) in a large glass bowl and pour over the Sherry or what you will - allow the cake to soak it up ... then pour over some more!
3 - Arrange the mandarin segments around the edge and the sliced bananas in the middle ... pour pour over 1/2 pint (250ml/ 1cup) of the cool jelly over and refrigerate.
4 - Leave the remaining 1/4 pint (125ml/ half cup) jelly to cool completely in the fridge ... I think it's best if you can get it when it's nearly setting but Mrs H's recipe doesn't say ... Then add 1/4 pint (half cup) evaporated milk to the jug and whisk by hand or mixer till it's thick and frothy and leaves a trail. The level in the jug should be near the 3/4 pint (375ml/ 1-1/2 cup) mark.
5 - Carefully pour the milk jelly over the trifle and return to the fridge to set for a couple of hours.
6 - Serve the trifle as it is or finish it off with whipped cream and decorate with fruit (I used strawberries) and grated chocolate (I sieved some cocoa powder over).
7 - Enjoy!

Seasoned Baked Potato Wedges

preheat oven to 350

peel potatoes and cut into thin wedges

mix in a large mixing bowl with just under 1/4 cup of oil and whatever seasoning you prefer. i use greek seasoning, but any flavor will work.

line a cookie sheet with foil and spread wedges out in a single layer. bake for about 20 minutes or so...until they are tender.

Hot Chocolate

I heart the Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate Hot Chocolate" recipe...with a couple minor tweaks...

3 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp Hershey's DARK Cocoa
Dash salt
Splash vanilla
1 c milk

Combine dry ingredients in mug. Heat milk to HOT (not boiling). Pour into mug, add vanilla, whisk until mixed. MMMMM...if we had milk, I'd have a cup right now!

Edited to add: For a dry mix, replace 1 c milk with 1/3 c powdered milk and omit vanilla. When you're ready mix, add 1 c boiling water. If you make this in bulk, you'll use 1/2 c of mix for each cup of water.

Kris's Favorite Fried Chicken...with Fried Onions, Fried Potatoes & Gravy

I got this chicken recipe about 8 years ago from "One Million Recipes" - it's a recipe book on a disc. Since that time we have tried a few other recipes but always come back to this one...so, this has become our OFFICIAL Fried Chicken recipe and I am not "allowed" (lol) to try any other ever again. The other recipes are from my grandmother. :-)

• 2 large chicken breasts, cut in 4ths
• Enough Crisco for deep frying

Seasoned Flour

• 3 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp. garlic salt
• 1 Tbsp. pepper
• 1 Tbsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

CRISPY BATTER

• 1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 beaten egg yolks
• 1 1/2 c. water

1. Heat Crisco to 365 degrees in deep saucepan or deep fryer to a depth of about 2 inches.
2. Combine ingredients for "seasoned flour" mix. Set aside.
3. Combine dry ingredients for "crispy batter" mix. Combine egg yolk and a little of water. Add egg/water mixture and remaining water to dry ingredients.
4. Dip chicken in seasoned flour, then batter, then back in seasoned flour.
5. Fry in hot Crisco for 12 to 15 minutes, or until well browned. (Throw in those clumps of mixture that are created by your coating - extra crispies are always yummy!) Drain on paper towels. If you are frying in batches, I recommend turning your oven to warm and placing the cooked chicken in the oven while the next batch is cooking.
6. When the chicken is done, do NOT throw away your batter - you'll need it. :-)

Fried Potatoes

• 5-6 potatoes, sliced about 1/4" thick
• oil for frying
• 1/4 of a medium-large sized onion, sliced or diced
• 2-3 garlic cloves, sliced
• salt & pepper

1. Heat oil on med to med-high heat. While oil is heating, line a colander (preferably metal) with paper towels.
2. Carefully put potatoes, onion, and garlic into pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let cook for a minute or two, then stir and sprinkle again. If you have a lid, cover the potatoes. If not, it works but takes a little longer to cook through. Cook the potatoes stirring every 1-3 minutes until soft to touch. Place in lined colander. If the chicken is not done, the potatoes will also keep nicely in a warm oven.

Fried Onions

• 3/4 medium-large sized onion, cut into pieces (preferred size)
• leftover fried chicken batter mix

1. Rinse onion pieces. Shake off excess, but do not dry.
2. Dip in flour mix, then crispy mix, then flour mix.
3. Carefully place in deep fryer and cook for about 3 minutes.

Gravy

• 6 Tbsp oil from deep fryer
• 4 Tbsp flour mix from chicken/onions
• 3 c milk

1. Heat oil in pan on med-high until very hot (if you use it immediately after getting from fryer, this will take about 10 seconds).
2. Add flour mix and stir until well mixed and starting to brown.
3. Gradually add milk while stirring.
4. Continue stirring until gravy is completely mixed and has reached your preferred consistency.

Obviously, this meal is SOOOO not good for you...but tastes SOOOOOOOOO good! If you feel guilty, throw in some fresh green beans and corn on the cob. That's what we did! (BTW, the batter is fabulous for anything you have a mind to fry...my excess batter is usually used for experiments.)

Pancakes

Here's a recipe from my mom. She makes the best pancakes ever. Light and crisp at the edges, fluffy in the middle. Mmmmm. :)

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
heaping teaspoon baking powder
2 shakes salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon cooking oil
approx. 2/3 cup milk (soy milk may also be used)
Optional: capful of vanilla, a generous helping of cinnamon, chopped frozen or fresh fruit, ginger

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add egg, oil, and a little milk (1/3 cup or so), and any extras, and whisk together. Add milk until the batter is runny, but not too thin. (If you get it thin, you can use it that way, you'll just have thin pancakes.)

Heat about a tablespoon of cooking oil on the griddle over medium heat. When the oil is hot, pour pancakes onto griddle. (You can tell if the oil is ready by dripping a drop of batter onto the griddle -- if it instantly starts to sizzle at the edges, it's hot enough.) Make them whatever size you want. I like to make small-ish ones for the kids. When the edges start to brown and the middles are bubbly, flip the pancakes over to brown the other side. When that side is browned, remove them from the griddle, add a bit more oil to the griddle to heat, and make another pan full. You'll need to make sure you have a bit of oil on the pan, because that's what's going to give you the crispy edges. Serve with butter and warm syrup.

My new favorite pancakes are with vanilla and a bit of cinnamon. The kids like "purple pancakes," with frozen blueberries -- the juice makes the batter purple. Experiment!

Home Made Beefaroni

I have no idea what store bought beefaroni tastes like so I am not sure how well this compares.

1# ground beef

1onion

2-4 t garlic (depends on how much you like garlic)

1 can tomato soup

2-3 T yellow mustard

shredded cheddar cheese

1# macaroni cooked

I run the onion and garlic through the food processor to almost puree. Dump them in a skillet with the ground beef. Cook til beef is brown. Stir in soup and mustard. Pour over cooked pasta and top with cheese.

Pretty kid friendly, quick and yummy

Chicken fried steak with Milk Gravy

Cubed steak, also known as minute steak or chopped steak. We prefer pork to beef.

Milk

Couple eggs

flour

salt

paprika

Pepper

couple tbs of butter

couple cups of milk

Put milk in 1 pie plate, eggs (beaten) in another and flour with spices in another. Generally 1 t. of each spice per cup of flour. Heat veg oil in a large skillet. The oil ensures good contact with the skillet so don't skimp. Wet each steak in the milk, then dredge in flour, egg, and flour again. Put in skillet and cook 5 min on each side. If they are thick steaks, check for doneness. Remove to a plate covered with foil to keep warm until all are done. When all meat is cooked, melt 3 T of butter or marg. in skillet. This amount depends on how much gravy you want. I generally double it. When the butter is melted and done foaming, add an equal amount of flour and whisk together. Then slowly add milk while whisking. If going with the 3T of butter and flour, generally 2C of milk is right, but once you have made it you can just eyeball it. Heat to boiling and keep whicking until desired thickness is achieved. Serve steaks with an obscene amount of gravy. DH loved mashed potatoes with this, but I just wast twice as much meat. Very Very good with crescent rolls

French Snowflake's Crepes

mix together (using a mixer, or a blender, or a whip works fine, but not too fast, or you’ll get bubbles) :
1/2 liter of milk (2.1 US cup!)
3 eggs
240 g of flour (8.5 oz)
a little bit of salt
(3 tablespoons of oil, none if you add oil in your pan before each crêpe).

Warm your frying pan. Oil it with a piece of butter inside a tissue (this way, there is not much fat, but your crêpe isn’t glued to the pan). Pour a little quantity of dough. Turn your pan so that the dough is even on the pan. It must be rather thin (nothing like pancakes!). When the crêpes comes off (they say 2 min, I have the feeling it’s usually less), turn it to cook the other side. Use a spatula, or launch it in the air and catch it back on the right side, without folding it.

Let it slide on your plate, put sugar everywhere (not too much), roll, and eat while still warm.

Also try nutella, jam, or go more exotic (read "american"!) with vanilla ice and hot chocolate.

Awesome Baked Pork Chops

This recipe also comes from Recipezaar. I am using the exact title that it is listed there so you can check the source and give credit to the original poster.

6 pork chops

Italian bread crumbs

flour

Eggs

Veg. Oil

1 large can of Cream of mush soup

milk.

Heat a couple tbs of oil in a skillet. Dredge chops in flour, then egg, then crumbs. Brown in hot skillet on both sides. Place browned chops in a 9x13. Cover with foil and bake an hour @ 350. After an hour, mix soup with enough milk to make the consistency of gravy that you prefer. Pour it over the chops, recover with foil, and bake for another 20 min. Serve over jasmine rice.

Peach Cobbler

6 Cups peeled and sliced peaches

1/3 C Flour

2/3 C Sugar

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 White or yellow cake mix

Butter

Mix together first 4 ingredients. Pour in a 9x13 pan. Pour DRY, UNPREPARED cake mix onto the peaches, breaking up any lumps. Dot with butter.

Bake @ 350 until golden brown on top about 45 min.

Warning, ADDICTIVE!!!

Good Ol' Mashed Potatoes

i bet these would go great with Kris' meatloaf...i might just have to try that.

peel and cut up enough potatoes for your brood. a good rule of thumb is one or two for every eater and one for the pot

boil in salted water until they are "fork tender" meaning a fork easily slides into them but they don't fall apart.

drain potatoes and in a big bowl or even the pan you boiled them in, mix potatoes, milk, butter, and black pepper. i never measure when i am making this so i haven't the foggiest idea how much...just make it moist. add a little at a time until they are as wet as you like them.

use a hand mixer to mash them all up...or go old fashioned and get out granny's masher.

i added shredded cheddar this time and it's yummy.

Italian Pork Chops

in a sauce pan, combine butter, onions, italian seasoning, and garlic. cook until onions go clear. add canned or fresh tomatoes. cook until all ingredients are combined well. in a 9x13 baking dish, lay out pork chops. pour tomato "sauce" over chops and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until done. you could sear your chops first if you want, but it's not absolutely necessary.

Spectacular Meatloaf

This was so good even my husband (long-time meatloaf-hater) liked it!

Ingredients - these are all estimates, as I really didn't measure anything.
6 Tbsp butter
1/4 c sliced onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 c green bell pepper, diced
1.5# ground beef (or other ground meat)
4 oz block cheese (I used colby jack)
1 egg
1/4 c bread crumbs
1-2 Tbsp milk (optional)
salt
pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Melt butter over medium heat; add onions, garlic, and bell pepper. Saute or boil until soft then remove from heat to cool. You may want to put it in the freezer for a couple minutes to cool the butter a bit.
3. Mix together meat, cheese, egg, and bread crumbs. Add butter mixture, including excess butter, and mix. If the butter is still too hot, add milk to cool it off.
4. Form into a loaf and place in pan. I recommend using a pan that will allow the fat to drain away from the loaf, as the butter and cheese create more fat than the usual meatloaf.
5. Bake for 1 hr 20 min or until it has reached a safe temperature.

Country Club Chicken

another super easy one...

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup or so of sour cream or plain yogurt
favorite seasoning
8 chicken thighs
1 pkg of bacon

mix soup, yogurt, and seasoning (i used italian seasoning) in a glass casserole (9x13). wrap each piece of chicken in a strip of bacon and place in the dish on top of soup mixture. after all chicken is in the dish, spoon some of the sauce over the pieces. lay the rest of the bacon over the top of the whole deal. bake at 350 for about an hour checking after 45 minutes for doneness of bird.

Spicy lamb with pasta

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
675g/1 and half lb lamb cubed
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1-2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 (375g) can of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
600 ml/1 pt/2 and half cups water
225g/8 oz pasta shapes
salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat oil in frying pan or crockpot base and fry lamb until brown. Add onion and garlic, fry until softened.

2. Add spices and cook for 1 min. Stir in tomatoes, puree and water. Bring to the boil and season.

3. Transfer to crockpot and cook on high for 4-5 hours, medium for 6-7.

4. Stir in pasta and cook for a further 20-25 mins until pasta is tender.

EASY Chicken Pot Pie

ingredients:

one can each: (drain all veggies but one...doesn't matter which one)
carrots
peas
grean beans
corn
mushrooms
cr. mushroom soup
cr. chicken soup
cooked and cut up boneless chicken
biscuits (canned, home made, bisquick)

in a large baking dish, mix all ingredients except biscuits. season this mixture to your liking. we used garlic powder, dried onions, salt, and pepper. once it's all mixed up and smelling yummy, cover the top with your biscuits.

i baked this at 400 for about 10 minutes. the biscuit tops were done but the bottoms were gooey and the "stew" wasn't as hot as it could have been. i think that lowering the temp and cooking longer might do the trick. remember...it's all cooked already...you are just heating it up and cooking the biscuits.

have fun with it and make it yours. i'd also suggest seasoning the chicken separately. i thought ours was a little bland. dh said to not even worry about putting the left overs away, he was going to "work on it" for a little while longer.

Potato Chip Fish

Submitted by mamabobbs5

Potato Chip Fish

Half of a 5-0z. bag of kettle-cooked salt and vinegar potato chips

4 (5- to 6- ounce) cod fillets, 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick

Salt, for seasoning

4 tsp. light mayonnaise

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place the chips in a gallon-size zipper bag and use a rolling pin to crush them. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray it lightly with cooking spray. Arrange the fillets on the foil and season them lightly with salt. Smear a tsp. of the mayo over the top of each fillet, then sprinkle on the crushed chips, completely covering the top of each piece. Bake the fillets on the top oven rack until they are just cooked through, about 10 minutes.

This was super yummy. I used flounder, cause it's what I had, but it still tasted great. Also, if you don't care for salt & vinegar chips I'm sure you could just use the plain ones, but make sure to use kettle cooked so that the crumbs stay crispy.

Basic white bread

This recipe is stolen from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. My version is older than the one linked here, but I'm sure the recipe is the same in the new one. Best cookbook ever. Buy it.

Anyway, on to the recipe. It's a very basic white bread recipe, great for beginners.

Ingredients:
5 3/4 to 6 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
2 1/4 cups milk or buttermilk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon butter, margarine, or shortening
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1. In a large mixing bowl combine 2 1/2 cups of the flour and the yeast; set aside. In a medium saucepan heat and stir milk, sugar, butter, and salt just until warm (120F to 130F) and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to flour mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface of dough. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size (45 to 60 minutes). *Note from the sidebar in the cookbook: You can tell if the dough has doubled and is ready to shape by pressing two fingers 1/2 inch into the dough. Remove your fingers; if indentations remain, it is ready to punch down.

3. Punch down dough (push your fist into its center, then use your fingers to pull the dough edges to the center). Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease two 8x4x2-inch loaf pans.

4. Shape dough halves into loaves by patting or rolling. To shape by patting, gently pat and pinch, tucking edges underneath. To shape by rolling, on a lightly floured surface roll each dough half into a 12x8-inch rectangle. Roll up each rectangle, starting from a short side. Seal seams with your fingertips.

5. Place shaped dough halves in prepared pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (30 to 40 minutes).

6. Bake in a 375 oven about 40 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped (if necessary, cover loosely with foil the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning). Immediately remove bread from pans. Cool on wire racks.

*Amy's note: the bread can get too heavy and kind of dry if you use too much flour. When you're kneading the dough, add only enough flour so that the dough is slightly sticky -- not enough to come off and stick to your hands, but more like the stickiness of a Post-It note. If you need to make this dairy-free, you can use plain soymilk and vegan margarine, and it will turn out just fine.

Hashbrown Casserole

So easy and so yummy...

in a 9x13 glass dish, put down a layer of frozen hashbrowns (i used the string kind), in a pan, brown up some sausage, add onions, green peppers, whatever you like in an omelet...layer that on top of the hashbrowns. wisk up about 9 eggs and pour over layers. bake at 350 for an hourish. when it's done, put some sliced cheese on top and bake just long enough to melt the cheese and voila...dinner...or breakfast.

Conversion table.


GourmetSleuth

Moroccan Hotpot

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinned
1 large red onion
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 red pepper
100g/4 oz no-soak dried apricots
1 tbsp ground corinader
1 tbsp ground cumin
half tsp tumeric
rind and juice of 1 lemon
300 ml/half pint/1 1/4 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper
225g / 8 oz/ just under a cup couscous
3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander/cilantro

Method

1)Slice chicken. Peel and chop onion. Deseed and slice pepper.

2)Add oil to frying pan,or if your crock pot has a detachable base, fry chicken until brown. Add onion, garlic and red pepper and fry until soft. Add apricots and spices and cook for 1 min while stirring.

3)Add lemon rind and juice and chicken stock and bring to boil. Season well.

4)Transfer to crockpot. Cook for 5 hours on high, 8 on medium. Stir in couscous quickly and cook for 5 mins. Sprinkle with coriander.

Variations

Lamb instead of chicken is good.

Use eggplant, courgette or beans instead of chicken.

Turkish salad

Ingredients

1 cos lettuce heart
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
half a cucumber
4 tomatoes
1 red onion
225g/ 8 oz feta cheese, crumbled
black olives, for garnish

dressing

3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
salt and pepper

Method

1) Chop lettuce into bite size pieces. Core and seed peppers and cut into thin slices.Slice cucumber and tomatoes.Cut onion in half and finely slice.

2)Put lettuce,peppers, cucumber, tomatoes and onion in bowl. Add feta and mix.

3) Mix olive oil, lemon juice and garlic in a small bowl. Stir in parsley and mint, season with salt and pepper.

4) Pour dressing over salad, toss lightly to cover with dressing and serve, garnished with olives.

Honey and mustard chicken salad

Ingredients

half a melon ( I use a mix of different types of melon, watermelon adds a splash of colour)
2 kiwi fruit

2 tsp prepared mustard ( heat to your taste, I prefer Dijon)
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
2 tsp runny honey
1 tbsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar
5 tbsp olive oil

4 chicken breasts, skinned and boned
1 clove of garlic, crushed
salt and pepper

mixed salad leaves

Method

1) Scoop out seeds and using a melon baller( or spoon)make melon balls.
Peel kiwi fruit cut in half lengthways and slice

2) Make the dressing by combining mustards, honey, lemon juice or white wine vinegar and 2 tbsps of olive oil. Whisk together and season with salt and pepper.

3) Cut chicken in 1cm ( half inch) cubes. Heat remaining oil and fry chicken over moderate heat for 8-10 mins until chicken is browned and tender. Remove from heat and add crushed garlicstir into chicken and season with salt and pepper.

4) Mix chicken, fruit and salad dressing in a large bowl until everything is well coated in the dressing. Taste and season if necesary. Put salad leaves on plate and spoon chicken and fruit mix on to the leaves.

The best grilled cheese ever!

I know what you're thinking. "Grilled cheese? Grilled cheese? She thinks I need a recipe for grilled cheese?! Seriously?!" Yeah, seriously. Because I can guarantee you that if you make a basic grilled cheese, it has never been this heavenly.

What you need:

2 slices of whole wheat bread
A little butter or margarine
2 slices of American cheese (white American is even better)
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Garlic powder (to taste)
*Optional, but fabulous: Creole seasoning (gives it a little kick)

Heat up your non-stick skillet or griddle. Lightly butter one side of both pieces of bread and put one piece on the skillet, butter-side down. Layer one piece of American cheese, a healthy fingerful of mozzarella, a sprinkling of garlic powder, just a little sprinkle of Creole seasoning, the other slice of American cheese, and the other piece of bread, butter-side up. When the bottom slice of bread starts to get nice and warm, but not quite yet browned, flip the sandwich over (carefully, the mozzarella will try to escape -- you might want to use two spatulas, or else pick up the skillet and use it to help hold the sandwich together). Sprinkle a little mozzarella on the outside of the now-warmed bread and kind of press it into the bread lightly. You don't need to smash it, but you want it to kind of stick in there. After the other piece of bread is warmed, flip the sandwich and give that side the mozzarella treatment. Now, when your cheese on the inside is getting kind of melty and the bottom piece of bread is browned and the mozzarella on the bottom is nice and crispy, flip it over to brown the other slice of bread. When it's browned, remove the sandwich from the skillet and let it sit for a minute or two to finish melting the cheese and to cool enough to not burn your lips off.

Then eat it, and try not to pass out from the fabulosity.

Brownies

So since I really have other things to be doing, I will post a recipe. I found this recipe over at recipezaar.com. It was posted by a woman named Karen. It is truly unbelievable.

1/2 C Butter, Melted

1/2 C (44 g) baking cocoa

1 C sugar

2 eggs

2 t Vanilla

1/2 C Flour

1/4 t salt

• Whatever floats your boat

• 1-2 cup Chocolate chips(semisweet, white, butterscotch, peanut butter) or raisins or chopped nuts or M&M' or Reese's pieces or miniature marshmallows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease an 8 inch square pan or line with foil.

1. 
   In a medium bowl combine melted butter and cocoa and stir until cocoa is dissolved.
2. 
   Add sugar and mix well.
3. 
   Add eggs one at a time and stir until well combined.
4. 
   Stir in vanilla, flour and salt until just mixed. Do not overmix
5. Stir in "whatever floats your boat"
6. Spread in a greased 8x8 pan and bake 25 minutes at 350.
7. Doubles great to a 9x13 pan

In the Begining

Well,

We were talking about creating a blog for all of us Flybabies to post our favorite recipes. So i took the lead and created a blog instead of doing my dishes, showering or starting a load of laundry.