Fried chicken tenders and okra
Good food makes me happy, In this instance that good food is good old fashioned fried chicken tenders and fried okra
Its a nice simple recipe thank goodness.
- 1 lb chicken tenders
- 7 or 8 large okra
- 2 eggs
- seasonings of your choice
- 1 cup flour
- vegetable oil
Fill a 10 inch frying pan with about an inch of vegetable oil. Roll your chicken tenders in the flour and then dredge them in the beaten egg. Cook in the oil for about 10 minutes a side. When the chicken is done, repeat the flour and egg on chopped okra. Cook for about 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Thats it. I served it with fresh heirloom tomatoes and cheaters (bread machine) french bread.
Split pea soup when you don’t have a ham bone or most of the other ingredients either
Okay so I love me some good old fashioned split pea soup, but most days, all I have on hand are the peas and some potatoes. Those of you who read this would probably be shocked to know that I rarely ever have fresh veggies in the fridge due to the lack of demand for them in this particular household. I.e. I buy them, use what I need for whatever two or three recipes I needed them for, and then they languish away in the drawer until they either get too brown and mushy to use or get lucky and get tossed in some pot of soup. Since we don’t eat much soup in the summer, this is an especially bad time for veggies to be hangin around if you know what I mean. Plus my husband doesn’t like vegetables particularly- he prefers to get his nutrients from a multivitamin so theres no convincing him there. But I digress… a lot.
We’ve established that veggies in fresh form are not prolific in this house aside from the ones currently growing in my garden so when I went to the cupboard yesterday and the cupboard and fridge were pretty much bare I was stumped as to what to make for dinner. Then I saw those two bags of split peas sitting there. So smug and yet so innocent. “She can’t use us,” they said, “She doesn’t have all the ingredients!” Well let me tell you I showed them! And now I’ll show you what I did with them.
- 2 lbs split peas
- 1/2 lb bacon cooked
- 8 small potatoes diced
- 1 med zucchini diced
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1/2 cup sour cream or french onion dip or combination of the two (this is a cleaning out the fridge recipe)
- 1 cup milk give or take
- 10 bullion cubes
- 2 tsp salt
- pepper to taste
- 2 tbsps minced garlic
- 3 tbsps dried onion flakes (my mind drew a blank on the name of those)
Okay so here goes. If you have carrots and celery and real onions please feel free to add those, but I didn’t and I wanted a recipe out there on the web for those people like me who really need to grocery shopping but can’t until payday cuz thats how it goes some weeks.
Right. Rinse the peas because as they say on the bag- they’re a natural agricultural product and despite modern machinery may still have a rock in them that would not feel good if you bit down on it. I used 15 cups of water when I made mine, but you can use less for a thicker soup- I wish I had. If you use less, cut down on the bullion accordingly but not too much- peas soak up a lot of flavor and you want this soup to have a good taste to it so that picky people will eat it too. Put the peas, water and really everything else except the bacon on to boil for a while. I cut up all the bacon except about 5 pieces and set it aside. I threw those 5 pieces in with everything else to give it a meatier flavor. It will take about 45 minutes with things at a medium boil for things to get mushy enough for this soup to be considered done. If I have the time I let it cook itself into a mush, but last night when I made it I was short on time because our water had been off half the day so I started ladling this into the blender and pureeing it for about 5 seconds for each batch. If you’re lucky enough to have one of those hand blenders that would be better. Just be careful either way because duh soup is HOT. Once you have everything blended or cooked to the consistency you like, top it off with the reserved bacon that is nice and crispy and serve hot. Yummy!
So there you have a bare cupboard split pea recipe.
Chicken Soup-y goodness
Well I’m getting to be a slacker on here but to be honest, some of the stuff I cook just doesn’t rate explanation. However, this stuff’s good. Chicken soup is really the cure for what ails you and in case you hadn’t noticed, I do like me some chicken. Its generally the only meat in our house (with the exception of ground turkey. Thats healthy of you, you say, but in reality, its cheaper, and I know my husband will eat it whereas beef and pork are iffy with him. He rarely likes ham, pork chops, steak, or any of the other man meats. He doesn’t even eat bone in chicken so you can imagine the challenge I face in grocery shopping with him. Me: Try it you might like it. Him: (little kid squeal) NO! I don’t like it! Now he’s not always like this, but he knows what he likes and getting him to try something he’s not sure of is often more trouble than its worth. So thats why you’ll see so many chicken recipes from me. However soon I’m going to have a surprise for you all that will make this blog a bit more diverse.
Now for the matter at hand. I like home made noodles in my chicken soup and its just about the only way picky (my husband) will eat it. Like I said, he knows what he likes. So after you get the soup on, I’ll give you the recipe for those and some basic instructions.
Chicken soup
- 2-3 chicken breasts, boned and skinned
- 2-3 carrots, peeled, and cut into coins
- 2 stalks of celery chopped
- 1 med onion chopped
- 4 cups chicken broth (homemade or otherwise)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, but great if you’ve got a cold for clearing out your sinuses)
- 1 tsp ground thyme
- 1 tsp italian seasoning
- 1 tsp or 1 cube chicken bullion
- Salt and pepper to taste
Okay so put the chicken in a large stock pot along with the bullion and about a 1/2 cup of water, cover it, and cook on med high till its done all the way through. Remove from the pan, add the veggies, chicken broth, and seasonings. Cut the chicken into bite size chunks and dump it back in the pot. Cover the pot again and let it cook over a medium low temp. In the meantime get ready to make those noodles if you’re ambitious. They’re better than store bought any day.
For this recipe you’ll make just a small batch of noodles, but they’re also great in larger numbers for making spaghetti or fettucine alfredo because they really grab the sauce.
Noodles
- 1 egg
- 1 cup flour
Yeah its really that easy. More noodles? the ratio is the same. 1 egg for each cup of flour.
So put the flour in a medium mixing bowl, make a little hollow well in the center and crack the egg in. Mix with a fork going in circles to gently pull the flour into the egg. I usually get frustrated half way through and just dig in and mix it all by hand, but try to get as much flour mixed with the egg before your resort to this. Once you’ve got as much of the flour mixed into the egg as is going to combine, knead the dough a few times and flip the bowl over onto your working surface. (I use parchment paper because it holds up a bit better than wax paper and makes clean up easier) Let the dough rest for about 20 minutes. Trust me on this and don’t skip it. I mean it! Anyway once its done with its nap haul out your rolling pin. If you’re really lucky you might have a pasta machine to roll this stuff out, but if you do then you probably don’t need my help from here and altho I do have one, I’m going to tell you how to do this without one.
Divide your dough in half to make it slightly more manageable. Roll it as thin as you can get it (I usually can get about 1/4 of an inch before I start swearing at it) and cut it into strips. Set these aside flat because if you ball them up then you will have noodle balls in your soup- they stick really easily. Repeat with the rest of the dough and again- you probably don’t want dough balls or you wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of rolling it out so make sure the noodles are laid out flat.
Return to your soup and raise the temp so its got a nice rolling boil going for it. Add the noodles a few at a time and watch as they fill the pan quickly. They cook quick because they’re fresh- about 3 minutes is all it takes. Once you’ve added all the noodles and they’re all floaty you’re ready to eat.
I serve this soup with grilled cheese sandwiches for a really nice hearty lunch or dinner that the guys can’t complain about, but I also eat it myself as is because by the time you wade through all those noodles and veggies you’re going to have plenty to eat. As weird as this may sound, I often add a bit of cottage cheese to my individual serving as a way to cool it down more quickly but also to add a little bit of creaminess. No one else around here will try it, but for my brothers and I its how we grew up eating soup so I thought I’d throw that out there.
Happy eating guys
Make yer own gat dang quesadilla
The title for those of you who don’t know, is a reference the the popular movie, “Napoleon Dynamite” and if you haven’t seen it…. well its ok. Today’s recipe is all about quick easy throw it together in the microwave food for teens, dorms, or just a late night snack or it can be made a bit more traditionally on the stove. Either way, its a nice no brainer faux mexican meal.
- Chicken- I prefer a store bought rotisserie already cooked, but if you’re making this at home and have some boneless skinless chicken breasts hanging round, those will work in a pinch too.
- 1-2 cans of pinto beans drained and rinsed with a very small amount of the liquid reserved
- cheese
- topping suggestions- fresh (or canned) mushrooms, salsa, sour cream or plain yoghurt, black olives, tomatoes, fresh or canned jalapenos, diced onions, etc. The sky or your budget is the limit.
- Burrito size (10 inch) tortillas
First off, if you’re cooking your chicken, get that going. I like to cook mine under the broiler for about 20 minutes, or till done flipping it half way through, but cook it however you want and set aside to cool. If you’re using the rotisserie chicken, don’t worry about it yet. Take your cans of drained pinto beans and the liquid (I reserved about 2 tbsp from one can) and put them in a shallow bowl big enough to hold them. Take a potato masher and squish them all up to a paste like consistency- see where we’re going with this yet? Once they’re pretty well mashed, put them in a non stick pan with about 1/4 cup of that salsa and cook them on medium heat. Stir them fairly regularly to prevent them from sticking and burning. Meanwhile, head back to that chicken. You’re going to tear it apart into shreds to make for less surface area when cooking the quesadillas. Once thats done, remove the refried beans (cuz thats what they are now) from the heat and let them cool. They should be a little crusty but not rock solid. Take a tortilla and do one of two things. If you’re microwaving it, put it on a plate, cover half of it with desired toppings, (minus sour cream/yoghurt) and cheese and toss it in the microwave till the cheese is good and melted. When its done, fold it in half and voila, you’re ready to chow down. If you’re going the stove route, melt a bit of butter in a 10″ skillet and put a tortilla in, top half of it your choice of toppings, without the sour cream or yoghurt of course, and cook till the cheese starts to melt. Flip it over and let it brown a bit on the other side and serve.
The microwave version of this meal kept me fed in my dorm in college when I worked late at a 24 hour Wal Mart. It was cheap and delicious and made me very popular with the other kids on my floor.
Bad bad bad Melissa– No post for 3 days
So I’m sitting here struggling to come up with something edible for you guys, but I am half wondering if I’ve used all my good recipes already. If so, I’m ashamed. If not, why can’t I think of any? Well my first thought is, I do my best cooking in the winter when its enjoyable to have the house all warm and cozy from the oven going full blast. In the summer when we hit the 100’s for real feel temps, its awfully hard to convince myself to get cooking. I look at the fridge and say to myself, whats the easiest coolest thing to make and go from there. Well today, I’m going to share a recipe that is more of a “Oh shoot we haven’t gone grocery shopping in 3 weeks” emergency meal than a fancy pants eat. However it still kicks butt and always gets rave reviews around this household. Oh and I must give credit where its due- this recipe is from my stepmom who discovered when she was young after not having a recipe for Shepherd’s Pie. (I think thats how the story goes)
Mashed Potato Surprise
- 2 or 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- instant mashed potatoes big box
- sour cream
- 2 cans mixed vegetables
- 1 can green beans
- 1/8 cup parmesan cheese
- worcestershire sauce
- fried onions
Okay so here goes. Take the chicken (thawed preferably) and throw it under the broiler checking it at regular intervals (don’t burn it like I did the other day) and let it cook till the center is done. I love doing chicken this way because it keeps it soft and moist instead of crispy and dry. (even when you burn it) While thats cooking get your big box of mashed potatoes and make enough for the 12 servings (this will feed a crowd of 4 or 5 hungry men, if you want less, make less potatoes and use only one can of veggies). Cook the potatoes according to the box, but add in the parmesan cheese while the water is boiling. Once you’ve got the potatoes and chicken cooked, its simple from there. Cut the chicken into bite sized chunks and add the chicken, vegetables, green beans, about 1/2 cup of sour cream, and about 4 or 5 tbsps worcestershire sauce and mix them all in. Top this with the fried onions like you would green bean casserole and serve with shredded cheese. Its easy and good, the picky ones enjoy the veggies, and leftovers are good too. A quick note about seasoning. I use about 1 tsp salt and then add a good measure of onion powder to the mix, but you can season however you choose. I also cut up a crookneck squash, sauteed it in a little smart balance, and added it as well- good way to get some fresh veggies in the mix in a hurry. Bon Apetit!
hellesbelles86