Mama's Fried Chicken

Christmas shopping has worn me out. Every time I think my list is complete, I remember someone I forgot. Trying to stick to my budget has been challenging. What do you buy for distant relatives you may or may not see and you know they are not buying you anything but you can't walk in empty handed for them when you bought for everyone else? I looked at food baskets, throw blankets, sweaters but I did not know there size, then I saw them...SLIPPERS done! Good enough!

And I love slippers. I hope someone got me some slippers cuz I would so be walking around in them right now.

Anyway yeah this is crunch time and no time to spare. In between shopping, wrapping, getting holiday outfits ready, making reservations here and there, haircuts, prepping my holiday menu, eyebrow waxing, let me tell ya, there is no time for a decent meal. So I decided that today I would take the day off, recharge and make some good old Mama Ruby's fried chicken. 

Yup she taught me this and she always said: "Always use Self rising flour." Self rising flour is flour with baking powder and sometimes a bit of salt added to it. She swears by it and you really can tell the difference between chicken fried with all purpose flour and chicken fried with self rising.  I find that it gives foods a little more rise, a little more lift.

So while I take the day to eat and recharge for more holiday craziness, here is our fried chicken recipe that I would like to share with you today: 

10 chicken drumsticks 

1 pound chicken breast tenders

1 package white mushrooms

2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes

4-5 cups vegetable oil for frying

3 cups self rising flour

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

In preparation for the frying I first add flour into a large plastic tub that has a fitted top. I use this bucket only for dredging meats. I also add the salt, pepper and garlic powder to bucket.

Stir to combine and set aside. 

Cut potatoes into wedges and place in a plastic container and add water just to cover potatoes. This will keep them from getting brown.

I like to remove the skin from the drumsticks. I just think it adds too much fat and it tastes just as good without it. I do this be removing the skin with a paper towel. It's much easier than just using my hands.

Then place chicken drumsticks, tenders, potatoes and mushrooms to the flour filled container. 

Place the top on container and make sure it's on good then start just shaking container back and forth to coat chicken.

Heat oil in large skillet to about 350 degrees.  Add some chicken pieces along with some potato wedges and a few mushrooms in pan to cook. Don't overcrowd pan and cook in batches. Usually when the mushrooms are a little browned, they are done. And very addictive. The potatoes usually take around 5-8 minutes to get browned, crispy and done. Turning occasionally as not to burn. 

The chicken may take a little longer.

About 8-10 for white meat 13-15 for dark meat. Be sure to turn occasionally so they don't burn. I usually set a timer for 3 minute intervals in between turning. Cook until chicken is browned and juices run clear. Smaller pieces cook faster than bigger pieces. I always use a food thermometer to make sure the chicken is done and the temperature of the cooked chicken is 180 degrees. Drain on paper towels and let rest 5-7 minutes before serving.

I serve with my husbands favorite dip that consists of Ketchup, Tabasco and a bit of lemon juice combined. Delish! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Ham and String Bean Stew

I can't wait for the holidays to really begin and for me that tradition starts with eating turkey and ham and Black Friday. 

Thanksgiving is an awesome day for traditional foods but I look forward to cleaning up and heading to the late night outlet sales. My kids already made there list's and they are more excited about Black Friday than I am! I love sticking to tradition, I guess I'm freaky like that.

This recipe is kind of a tradition, in that every time we make holiday ham this is what happens with the ham leftovers. This time I cooked it with added potatoes but if you desire you can just omit the potatoes and serve over mashed potatoes. Either way it is a delicious meal made with leftover holiday ham and because my ham was baked with a sweet glaze, it makes this sauce a bit sweet which adds a wonderful fall flavor.

1 small onion sliced

1 can tomato paste

1 can cut green beans drained

1 1/2 pounds ham from shank cut into 1 inch chunks

1 1/2 pounds potatoes quartered

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Using a dutch oven, on medium-high heat, begin by sautéing sliced onion until soft and translucent about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant about 30 seconds. Add ham chunks and let ham and onions cook together for about 5-7minutes. Add can of tomato paste and let it cook with ham for about 3 minutes then add I add about 2 cups of water to pot and stir. If I feel I need more water, I add about a cup more a little at a time. Add salt and pepper, add potatoes and stir. Let stew cook on low heat for an hour, stirring occasionally.

After an hour, add can of cut green beans and check potatoes for doneness. If potatoes are still not soft, cook on low for an additional 45 minutes to an hour. Serve with crusty bread if desired.

Potato and Egg Scramble

Potato and Egg Scramble 

What do you do after an extremely stressful weekend with cranky people, bills to pay, disorganized house to clean and big decisions to make? Well when it comes to a worry-wort like me, I eat. And that itself is not easy to do because when I am stressed or depressed I eat and then I feel better, but I have been trying to eat healthy lately and so eating away stress is really hard to do. So what to do with those healthy baked potatoes from last night? You make breakfast.

I love Leftovers, especially potatoes. There are so many things I can do with them. I made some baked potatoes yesterday and I has some leftover baked potatoes that nobody ate. Usually leftover baked potatoes, I find are not really 

appetizing, but when fried up with a little bit of butter, everything is right with the world again:)

This is a breakfast that will bring anyone to the kitchen saying "what is that smell" 

The smell of bacon wakes everyone up. My favorite meal of the day is truly breakfast. And for me, well food just makes me feel happy. So here is a breakfast that I would like to share with you.

2 large baked potatoes (diced)

4 eggs

4 slices bacon

1 tablespoon of butter

salt

ground black pepper

Begin by dicing up the leftover baked potatoes into little bite-sized

Pieces, set aside. Take 4 slices of bacon and cook them in a pan on medium-high heat until browned. Remove bacon from pan to a paper towel lined plate to drain from fat. Discard all but 1 teaspoon of bacon grease from pan. Add diced baked potatoes to the pan with a dash of salt and ground black pepper and stir to combine. Let potatoes get a bit browned in pan for about 2 minutes. Chop cooked bacon slices in to bite sized pieces and add cooked bacon bits to potatoes. Let them cook together until potatoes have softened up and browned a bit more, about 2 more minutes. In a medium bowl whisk 4 eggs until combined. Add 1 tablespoon butter to potato bacon mixture and stir to melt butter and to combine. Add whisked egg mixture to pan and stir gently with a spatula to let the eggs scramble up light and fluffy.

I love making breakfast with leftovers. How about you?

Next up I will be working on a holiday meal that will provide a leftover meals

That will warm the upcoming winter.

Picky Eaters - Twice Baked Potatoes

I am truly a meat and potatoes mom. In my life I have many picky eaters. Three of them to be exact. To make a meal that they will all agree on, it usually consists of meat and potatoes. Veggies unfortunately are hardly ever touched.

I will make them, but they will not eat them. I end up begging for them to take a bite. My husband included. I must admit that it can get challenging trying to introduce new meals and menus to this household. I on the other hand am very much like a chef. I will try anything once and I usually like anything I try.

I love food. All kinds of food. I love veggies and anything new and exciting to try. My husband not so much.

These twice baked potatoes are a staple in our home and they are one of the foods that everyone can agree on. They are packed with flavor and simple fillings and everybody loves bacon!

So if you have a picky eater, this ones for you.

Twice Baked Potatoes

4 large russet potatoes 

6 slices bacon

2 cups shredded cheddar 

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt

Ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450

Wash potatoes with vegetable scrubber, rinse and pat dry.

 Rub potatoes with a bit of olive oil, 

then place in oven and bake potatoes for one hour. Remove potatoes from oven and carefully slice each potato in half length-wise.

Using a spoon, scoop out most of potato into large bowl. 

Be sure to leave enough potato to retain shell. Set potato shells aside. In bowl with potato filling, add two tablespoons butter.

 While potato filling is cooling down a bit, fry bacon slices until browned and drain on paper towel lined plate. Chop bacon into bits. They were really hot so husband used a fork.

Toss bacon bits in with potato filling. Add two cups shredded cheddar to potato mixture along with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste.

Mix well to combine. 

Spoon mixture back into potato shells and sprinkle with more shredded cheddar. 

Place potatoes back into oven and cook for another 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serves 4

I topped mine with some leftover sloppy joe mix from last night.

Was fabulous!

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Fall is truly my favorite time of year. The weather changes, the air becomes more crisp, the seasonal colors become warm and inviting with browns, oranges and golden yellows. And it is my favorite time of year because I get to break out my big sweaters and warm cable knit throw blanket. 

One food that is a staple in the fall is mashed potatoes. When I make dinner on a fall day I look forward to a meal that includes mashed potatoes. I love making them, I love eating them, I love making hash brown, mash browns with the leftovers. ( More on that later)

These mash potatoes came out so light and creamy; and I think it has to do with this potato ricer that I got from Williams-Sonoma. This thing is AWESOME! Just pass some boiled potatoes through it, and stir. The trick that I found is, not to fill the ricer, because it will be to hard to push through. Just put a couple of spoonfuls at a time. The texture will be so creamy and NO lumps!

My nephew used to say that he loved my CRUNCHY mashed potatoes.

Well Joey check these out!

I make mine with chicken broth instead of milk (most of the time) because of milk intolerance from my husband, but you could definitely swap for milk or cream and it will make them even more creamy.

4 pounds russet potatoes

About 1/2 cup chicken broth 

1/2 cup butter

Salt

Pepper

Start by peeling and cutting potatoes into sixths. Place in pot of water that is covering potatoes by and inch or so. And let 'em boil for about 30 minutes or until tender when poked with a fork. I may even let mine go for a bit longer, as I like mine really fork tender. Drain in colander in sink, and enjoy the steam bath.

When drained, get a few spoonfuls and place into ricer that is above a small pot, and squeeze handle to push potatoes through. One you have pushed all of them through ricer (or mashed with a masher) simply add butter and broth or milk, a generous seasoning of salt, a pinch of black pepper and stir.

Hash brown-mash browns coming soon!

Chicken Stew

When I think of chicken stew, I think of family. This recipe was taught to me by MaMa Ruby, my mother-in-law, who I consider, as do many, an expert cook. Seriously, anything that little lady cooks, turns to gold. I learned so many recipes from her along the years, like her Famous Fried Chicken to her Awesome Oreo Crust Cheesecake. Her Short Cut Spaghetti Sauce is a family treat, as is her Everything InThe Pot Chili. I will have ALL these recipes and more on here soon, but for now we are going to start with her chicken stew. MaMa Ruby, this is for you!

Ok so first we start by cubing up some chicken, about 4 pieces of boneless skinless chicken breast and set aside.

The first thing we add to the pot is a whole stick of butter to melt. As Mama Ruby always says, "the more butter, the more better."

For this meal, I will be using my favorite le-crueset pot.

Then we add our chicken, finely chopped garlic and a whole peeled onion. "Don't worry" Ma Ma says, "The onion will come out later, we just want the flavor from it!"

Let it cook on medium-high and stir occasionally.

Stir every 5 minutes or so, until chicken is tender and whitened in color.

After about 15 or so minutes add potatoes and carrots. Add more salt and pepper if you like. Stir to combine and cover. Mmmmmm this is gonna be gooood!

Let veggies get tender, then add two cans of cream of mushroom soup. Stir together and lower heat to simmer about 10 minutes.

I served this with yellow saffron rice, but you can pair it with white rice, buttered egg noodles or just plain stew. Either way it's delicious!

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breast

4 lbs potatoes 

1/2 pound carrots

I large onion

I garlic clove

1 cup butter

1 cup water

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

Salt

Ground black pepper

Directions:

In a large Dutch oven pot, add 1 cup of butter to melt. When butter has melted add chicken, 1 cup water, finely chopped garlic and 1 whole onion, season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium and cover, stirring about every 5-6 minutes until chicken is tender and white in color, this should take about 10-12 minutes. Add potatoes and carrots, stir to combine. Cover and let veggies do there thing, stirring occasionally about 10 more minutes or until potatoes and carrots are fork tender. Add 2 cans cream of mushroom soup and stir to combine, lower flame to low-simmer and cook about 10 minutes more. Remove and discard onion. Serve with rice or noodles, YUM!