pioneer woman and homemade chicken strips.

 a few weeks a go the parentals were gone and my cousins were spending the night. it was my turn to cook and i wanted to to try something new. i had heard about the "pioneer woman" blog and decided to check it out. oh my goodness! she puts me to shame. "pioneer woman" blogs about anything and everything in her life. it's all about the food she cooks, her families adventures, homeschooling her kids, and also has amazing photographs. with all these things going on in her life she still somehow finds time to blog about it all. she defines wonder woman. oh and did i mention she wrote a cook book and has her own cooking show? needless to stay, i was amazed when i looked at her blog. if you have a chance, i would strongly recommend checking it out link. i found a recipe on her site  for homemade chicken strips that was scrumptious! they were fairly easy to make, but my batter was a little dry at first so i just added a bit more buttermilk. i think i will be going back to pioneer woman often to get new recipes!

frying the chicken.

 all done.
(i didn't get a chance to snap a picture until after everyone started digging in.)

Homemade Chicken Strips

Ingredients:  

1 package Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Strips (sometimes Called "tenders" Or "strips")
Buttermilk
1-1/2 cup Flour
2 teaspoons (to 3 Teaspoons) Lawry's Seasoning Salt (or Spices Of Your Choosing)
Vegetable Oil

Instructions: 

Start by rinsing and drying your chicken strips. Next, in a bowl submerge the chicken strips in buttermilk for 15 to 20 minutes (or longer if you’d like).
In another bowl combine about 1 ½ cups flour and 2 to 3 teaspoons of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt (or other seasonings if you prefer). Mix this together well. Next, add about ¼ to ½ cup of buttermilk into the flour mixture and stir lightly with a fork as you add it.
Heat about 1 inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-low to medium heat.
Remove a few of the buttermilk-soaked strips and place them in the flour mixture, turning them over to coat them thoroughly. Place them on a plate. Continue coating chicken strips until they are all ready to cook.
When the oil is sufficiently heated, begin cooking the strips a few at a time. Cook them for about a minute and a half or so on each side. When golden and crispy, remove them to a paper towel-lined plate.
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. Yum!

 

sweet and sassy kebabs.

a few tuesday nights ago, i was trying to figure out what to have for dinner. i seriously do not know how my mom comes up with a different meal to make each night of the week. i have a hard enough time trying to come up with something to make for just one night! i was thumbing through the new Roanoke Apostolic Christian Church cookbook and stumbled upon a recipe for sweet and sassy kebabs. it sounded really good and didn't look like it would take too long, so i decided to give it a go. they were a lot of fun to make and they turned out to be delicious! i also found a recipe for blueberry muffins in the Roanoke-Benson Band cookbook that was very good.

the kebabs.

and the blueberry muffins.

Recipes:

Sweet and Sassy Kebabs

1/2c. ketchup

2T. honey

2T. pineapple juice

2T. white vinegar

1T. Worcestershire sauce

1/2tsp. chili powder

1lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cute into 1/12" cubes

1(20oz.) can pineapple chunks in juice, drained

2 orange, red, or green bell peppers, cute into 1" pieces

Instructions: 

  In medium saucepan, combine ketchup, honey, pineapple juice, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and chili powder. Bring to a simmer; cook for 10 minutes. Heat grill or broiler. Thread chicken onto 4 or more skewers, alternating with pineapple and bell pepper. Brush with sauce and cook, turning once or twice and basting with sauce, until cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.

Blueberry Muffins

1 3/4c. flour

2 1/2tsp/ baking powder

1/2tsp. salt

1/2c. sugar

3/4c. milk

1 egg

1/3c. melted butter

1c. blueberries

  Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, mix the sugar, milk, egg, and butter together.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry. The batter will be lumpy. Fold in blueberries. Spoon into 12 greased muffin tins. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

potato bar and rainbow cake

what is better than cake? a rainbow cake! about a year ago, i made rainbow cupcakes and they turned out really good! so last may, i decided i wanted a rainbow cake for my birthday.....and it flopped. the cake stuck to the sides of the pan when i was trying to take it out ( i made it in two 8" rounds), even though i sprayed the pan with PAM, like really good! but it still stuck. sooo.. this time around i got smart and put wax paper in the pan and it came out great! for the main course i made a potato bar! i had cottage cheese, sour cream, cheese sauce, broccoli, bacon and chives. my family had a lot of fun building their own creation.

 the potato bar.

my dad's creation.

my mom's creation.

and my creation.

Recipe:

Rainbow Cake:

Ingredients: 

• white cake box mix
• frosting of your choice
• food coloring

Make box mix as directed on the back of the box.

Separate batter into three separate bowls. Add coloring. (I know this seems like a lot of food coloring, but it really doesn't affect the taste and the colors turn out bright and vibrant.

Make sure you thoroughly mix the color into the batter.

Spray pan with PAM.

Line bottom of pan with wax paper.

Spray wax paper with PAM.

Then layer colored batter on top of each other in the order of the rainbow. it takes a little bit of thinking when you're doing a two layer round cake.


 Then just bake as directed on the box.

Cool and frost.

And then eat!

pepperoni chicken and bread pudding

     wow! it has been almost a month since my last blog.  i apologize for that.  i have cooked every single tuesday night and haven't skipped one. i am just behind on my posting. i am hoping to put up two blog posts a week until i get caught up.
     every two months, my mom gets the magazine Cooking Light in the mail and i LOVE to look through it. if you've never flipped through one, i would strongly recommend it. it has amazing recipes! i love to try them and they are always really good. this month, i tried the pepperoni chicken and the bread pudding  from the january/febuary issue.  they were both very delicious, but the bread pudding was extraordinary. it was so addicting!

Recipes:
  
Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel
Ingredients:
5 cups (1/2-inch) cubed French bread (about 8 ounces)
1 cup evaporated fat-free milk
3/4 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons bourbon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
Sauce:
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons bourbon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
6 tablespoons half-and-half, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Cooking sprayInstructions:
1.Preheat oven to 350°

 
 2. To prepare bread pudding, arrange bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes or until lightly toasted

 3. Combine evaporated milk and next 7 ingredients (through eggs) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk.

 Add bread cubes. Let stand 20 minutes, occasionally pressing on bread to soak up milk.

4. To prepare sauce, combine brown sugar, 3 tablespoons bourbon, and butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Simmer 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Stir in 5 tablespoons half-and-half; simmer 10 minutes or until reduced to about 1 cup. Remove pan from heat. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon half-and-half, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Keep warm.

5. Spoon half of bread mixture into a 9 x 5–inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle 3 tablespoons sauce over bread mixture. Spoon remaining half of bread mixture over sauce.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serve warm sauce with bread pudding.

Chicken with Pepperoni-Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
16 slices pepperoni, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 cups lower-sodium marinara sauce (such as McCutcheon's)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds chicken cutlets
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Instructions:
1. Preheat broiler to high.
2. Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add garlic and pepperoni; cook 2 minutes or until garlic begins to brown, stirring frequently. Add oregano; cook 30 seconds. Add marinara sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in basil.
3. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Sprinkle chicken with pepper. Add chicken to skillet; cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned, turning after 3 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Broil 2 minutes or until cheese melts.