Faux Fried Fowl

Is this recipe healthier than real fried chicken? Yes. Was it delicious? Yes. Was it better than the real thing? I will leave that up to you to judge. I do know that it was far less time consuming and didn't require me to stand over bubbling Crisco for an hour. I doubt it is as good as my real fried chicken, but I'll take this for a quick meal any night.

 

I give you faux fried fowl aka oven-fried chicken. It was delicious! I sort of improvised and used the spices I had in my kitchen but I am certain you can go on Pinterest and find a great assortment if you're not into mine. I got my inspiration from some cornflake chicken recipe and went from there. Remember, we like a lot of seasoning in our home!

 

You'll need:

 

1 beaten egg

3 tbsp. milk

1 sleeve of crushed saltines

1/2 tsp thyme

1.5 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tbs butter

1 lb of chicken breasts

 

Mix together dry ingredients and in a gallon Ziploc bag. Combine milk and beaten egg - dip chicken breasts into mixture and then place into gallon Ziploc bag. Shake it up.

 

 

 

 

Place chicken on foil lined pan. Drizzle melted butter on top of chicken.

 

 

Bake at 375 for about 55 minutes or until the middle is 170 degrees F. Don't screw around with chicken, make sure it's completely cooked to the right temp or you could get food poisoning on your way to your honeymoon. No lie.

 

 

Serve with starch and veggies/fruits. Super juicy, super delcious and even had some crunch to it.

 

What's cookin' in your kitchen this week?

 

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~



Easy Last-Minute Chicken Stir Fry

I know, I know. It's chicken. Why is Buzzard blogging about chicken?

Because chicken is tasty when you season it perfectly, it's flexible and it's meat. Nuff said. Moving on.

Some days, I just really can't get motivated to think of something for dinner. My brain shuts off and just says, "hmmmm hamburger helper will work." However, then I feel bad that the Ninja has been at work for 12 hours and would probably appreciate a real meal with more than just meat and carbs. Picky, picky.

So, the other night, about 30 minutes before he gets home, I decide I should make something real. Out come the chicken breasts for three reasons:

1. We only have ground beef right now; no steaks or roasts and I already told you I didn't want to make hamburger helper.
2. Usually, for last minute meals I will use chicken because I can just bake it and while it's baking [which takes foreverrrrr], I can make some veggies and a rice or pasta dish.
3. They were in the fridge/freezer and I didn't want to venture outside to the garage freezer to look for something different.

My brain ran through all the chicken ideas I had that weren't just plain baked chicken and I finally settled on stir-fry. It's colorful, has a lot of veggies and super easy and quick! A lot of people think they need a wok or that making sauce will be difficult. It's not. Quit telling yourself that you can't do this because it's easy and you can!

Here is what came of my last minute meal prep using chicken - I hope you like it! Beef fajita strips or stew meat could just as easily be used for this (neither of which I had on hand).

Easy Last-Minute Chicken Stir Fry (makes 2 servings)

- About 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 green pepper
- baby carrots, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
- 1/4 white onion, sliced up (or diced, your preference)
- Minute rice
- 2 cloves garlic (or minced garlic ~ 1.5 tbsp)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- vegetable oil

Chop your chicken breasts into bite sized hunks.

 

Brown chicken in hot pan with a couple tbsp veggie oil and 1/2 the garlic. Set aside on low heat.

On a separate cutting board (food safety!) slice and dice up your veggies. Again, I used green pepper, onion and carrots because that's what we had in the fridge but you could use whatever you like. I think sugar snap peas would be ok, as well.

 

In a separate pan, fry veggies with a little vegetable oil and the rest of the garlic. Cook until soft enough to eat but still crispy.

 

In a bowl, combine soy sauce, cornstarch and lime juice. Add to chicken when vegetables are nearly done. Allow sauce to thicken and stir around with chicken.

 

Prepare rice according to directions. Combine chicken (when cooked through) and sauce with veggies - stir together. Spread over rice and enjoy!

I did a lot of winging it with this recipe and the Ninja LOVED IT so I'm sure that you can do the exact same thing. The important factor is to make sure the chicken is done and that you allow the sauce to thicken a little bit over heat. If you want a saltier sauce, add more soy sauce. Also, we really like garlic in our house but if you aren't a huge fan, you can trim the amount back.

 Also, just as a reminder, I'm not a food photographer, although I really think I am getting better. The Ninja said this is one of his new favorite recipes.

Hope you like it!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Engagement Chicken and Easter

Today was our first Easter as a married couple and usually for Easter, we join the rest of the Buzzard clan at my Grandma and Papaw's house for ham, mashed potatoes and the best fried chicken in the world.

Not this year. This year we're in Australia and I was in charge of Easter dinner. I accidentally found a recipe for Engagement Chicken on a Yahoo! blog. According to the author of the blog, the recipe is named Engagement Chicken because there have been several young women who made this dish and then a month or two later their boyfriends proposed. Something to do with it being the type of homemade meal their mom would make.

Recipe is below:
Engagement Chicken
Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken (approximately 4 pounds)
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, plus 3 whole lemons—including 1 sliced for garnish
• 1 tablespoon kosher or coarse sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Fresh herbs for garnish (4 rosemary sprigs, 4 sage sprigs, 8 thyme sprigs, and 1 bunch fl at-leaf parsley)

1. Position an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the giblets from the chicken, wash the chicken inside and out with cold water, then let the chicken drain, cavity down, in a colander for 2 minutes.
2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Place the chicken breast-side down in a medium roasting pan fi tted with a rack and pour the lemon juice all over the chicken, both inside and out. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper inside and out.
3. Prick 2 whole lemons three times each in three different places with a fork and place them deep inside the cavity. Chicken cavity size may vary, so if one lemon is partly sticking out, that’s fine. (Tip: If the lemons are stiff, roll them on the countertop with your palm before pricking to get the juices flowing.)
4. Put the chicken in the oven, lower the oven temperature to 350°F, and roast, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
5. Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Using tongs or two wooden spoons, turn the chicken breast- side up. Insert a meat thermometer in the thigh, and return the chicken to the oven and roast for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the meat thermometer reads 180°F and the juices run clear when the thigh is pricked with a fork. Continue roasting if necessary. Keep in mind that cooking times in different ovens vary; roasting a chicken at 350°F takes approximately 18-20 minutes per pound, plus an additional 15 minutes.
6. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving. And here’s the secret: Pour the juices from the roasting pan on top of the sliced chicken— this is the “marry me juice.” Garnish with fresh herbs and lemon slices.

Here is how it ended up - super juicy but not much to look at because I didn't want to spend $10 on garnishes. But Hyatt said it was delicious :)

That's a lemon sticking out, btw.

Post lemon-removal:

And Hyatt carving the bird :)

Total cost of our meal?
Chicken - $5.32
Green beans - $1.00
Lemons - $2.50
Total cost of meal: $8.82 for two people = $4.41 per person. AND we had leftovers :)

I am not sure how I feel about this domesticated wifey-ness thing I've got going on. Strange.

I hope that you all have a special Easter, wherever you are, and that you take time to remember the real reason for Easter. To celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Best wishes for a blessed holiday.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~