Seasoned Flour

Happiness is a cast-iron skillet full of chicken, bubbling and frying away. So, if you have 3 of them going, it must be happiness beyond all reasoning....well, anyway, I fried some chicken (lots) and made seasoned flour to coat it.
1 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic salt
dash of paprika

Chicken Parmasen

I guess technically I should call this Chicken "Mozzarella", as the chicken pieces are topped with mozzarella instead of Parmesan, but you could sub it around so that it was the other way if you wanted to. This was wonderful, and I will make this again.

Chicken Tenders
Flour
Egg
Italian Style Bread Crumbs
Margarine
Spaghetti
Spaghetti Sauce

1. Dredge chicken pieces in flour.
2. In a medium sized bowl, beat egg with a little water. Dip each of the chicken pieces in the egg, then coat the chicken pieces with bread crumbs.
3. Melt a little margarine in a skillet. When the margarine is melted, add the chicken pieces. Allow to brown fully before turning and browning other side.
4. Transfer chicken pieces to a baking pan. Top each piece with a generous amount of spaghetti sauce. Bake in oven at 375 degrees about 15 - 20 minutes. Toward the end of the time in the oven, top with mozzarella cheese.
5. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Add spaghetti sauce and stir until heated through.
6. Serve chicken with pasta.

Bread Baking!

I have a bread machine. It is a good little machine, and I have used it to make bread before, but I don't like the way the bread comes out when it's finished. For some reason, even though the machine does all the work and I measure the ingredients carefully, my bread never comes out the way I think it should. So, I prefer to make bread the old fashioned way: with my hands. Today I tried a very basic bread recipe from The James Beard Cook Book. The dough was beautiful and it was nice to work with. And, the top didn't sink in.
I halved the recipe so it would only make 1 loaf. The full recipe was for 2 loaves.

Basic White Bread (makes 1 loaf)
1-1/4 teaspoons yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water + 1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1 Tablespoon sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
2 Tablespoons butter


Put the lukewarm liquid in a large bowl and add yeast. Add sugar and salt and stir well (until yeast dissolves).
Add the flour 1 cup at a time and stir in with a wooden spoon. As soon as you have a smooth dough, melt the butter and mix it into the dough. Then add the rest of the flour. Continue stirring or mixing until the dough is blended.
Turn the dough out onto a floured board, cover it with an inverted bowl and let it rest 10 minutes. Knead until smooth and satiny.
Allow the bread to rise in a bowl until doubled (1-1/2 to 2 hours). Then punch the dough 2 or 3 times to deflate the dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 3 minutes. Shape into a loaf and put into a well greased loaf pan. Cover and let rise until doubled. Bake in a 375 degree oven until nicely browned and done (40 - 45 minutes).

Chicken Pita Pockets

I have recently discovered Kraft's Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette. It is wonderful on salads, used as a marinade, and as a dressing in salads. The bottle touts that it is free of preservatives etc., and has only 60 calories in 2 Tablespoons, so it is guilt free as well as flavorful. I used the dressing in the chicken salad for these pita pockets, but you could sub any of your favorite dressings in its place.
2 pita pockets
3 oz chicken, chopped
2 Tablespoons Kraft Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
finely chopped broccoli
shredded carrot
finely chopped onion
salt and pepper

Combine chicken, broccoli, carrot, onion and vinaigrette in a bowl. Mix well and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let mixture chill for a few hours. When ready to enjoy, stuff chicken salad into warmed pita pockets.

Experimenting with Corn Cakes

If you have been reading any of the recipes on this blog, you will know how much I love pancakes. I got to thinking about playing with my pancake recipe again, and this time I decided to make corn cakes. I substituted corn grits for the flour, and added chopped jalapenos and corn to the batter. After the corn cake cooked (I made one big one), I topped it with a mixture of taco meat, peppers, onions, mushrooms and corn seasoned with cumin and chili pepper. On top of all of this I added salsa. It was delicious, and the corn cake had a nice crunch to it.

1/4 cup corn grits
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg white
1/4 cup milk
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup corn
jalapenos, chopped

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Pour mixture onto a hot griddle to create a corn cake. Let the corn cake cook well before flipping....be gentle with it as it will fall apart. After the cake has cooked on both sides, top with taco meat etc.
Meat mixture:
taco meat
onions
green peppers
mushrooms
canned corn
jalapenos
cumin
chili pepper
salt and pepper

Combine in a frying pan, and brown in a little olive oil.
After I put the meat mixture on top of the corn cake, I topped it with salsa and a little sour cream.

Lime Chicken with Spaghetti

This came together rather quickly, and was delicious! I think the next time I make it, I will toss in some steamed broccoli or cauliflower.

2 (or more) green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon oil
6 oz chicken, cubed
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tablespoons minced parsley (or more)
½ teaspoon seasoning salt
¼ teaspoon lemon/ pepper seasoning
4 oz spaghetti

In a large skillet, saute onions& garlic in oil until tender.
Stir in the chicken and cook for a few minutes. Add lime juice, parsley, seasoned salt and lemon-pepper. Saute for 15-20 min or until chicken juices run clear and chicken is thoroughly cooked.
Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain. Add to chicken mixture& toss.

Makes 2 servings

Butterbur's Taco Salad

1/4 cup taco meat
1/4 cup canned beans (black beans, pinto beans etc.)
1 garlic clove
lettuce
tomato
onion
salsa
grated cheese
sour cream or yogurt cheese
green onion

1. In a pan, heat taco meat, beans, and garlic together, mixing well.
2. Toss lettuce, wedges of tomato, and sliced onion in a bowl. Add salsa, and using a spatula, work it into the salad.
3. Top lettuce with meat and bean mixture, and sprinkle grated cheese over the top. Top with sour cream and chopped green onion.
4. Enjoy!
Makes 1 serving.

Butterbur's Open Faced Tomato Sandwiches

Ah, tonight I had a veritable feast of foods! A bowl of left-over corn chowder, romaine salad tossed with balsamic vinegar, and open faced tomato sandwiches. Pure contentment!

1 serving
1 English Muffin
1 wedge Laughing Cow Cheese
fresh Basil
fresh Oregano
thinly sliced onion
thinly sliced tomato
freshly ground black pepper
freshly ground sea salt

1. Cut English Muffin in half. Toast the two pieces.
2. Divide the Laughing Cow Cheese in half. Spread half a wedge on each Muffin half.
3. Press fresh Basil and Oregano leaves into the cheese.
4. Top with onion slices.
5. Top with tomato.
6. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Corn Chowder

It was unseasonably cool outside today, and when I went outside in the late afternoon, the only thing I could think was "soup". So today was the day of Corn Chowder. This recipe comes from The Joy of Cooking. I have included both the original recipe, and then the changes that I generally make.

Saute slowly until lightly browned:

1/2 cup chopped salt pork
Add and saute until golden brown:
3 Tablespoons chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
3 Tablespoons chopped green pepper
Add and simmer:
1 cup diced pared raw potatoes
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 bay leaf
When the potatoes are tender, in about 45 minutes, combine until blended, bring to the boiling point, and add to the above:
3 Tablespoons flour
and:
1/2 cup milk
Heat about 5 minutes and add:
1-1/2 cups hot milk
2 cups whole-kernel corn
Reheat but do not boil the soup. Serve it sprinkled with
Chopped parsley

* * *

My changes:

• I like to use bacon in this recipe. I saute 4-6 pieces in the bottom of a large dutch oven. Then I add green pepper, onion and a garlic clove. I always add way more onion to this soup.
• I usually omit the celery (if I feel too guilty about that, I add celery seed sometimes).
• If I have lots of time, I add the raw potatoes as called for. If I don't, I partially cook them in the microwave and throw them in with bacon when it is browning.
• I enjoy adding grated cheese to the soup after it is done cooking.
• Canned corn works well in the recipe, but frozen or fresh is awesome!

Washington All-Purpose Flour Biscuits

I was looking for something quick to throw together to have with corn chowder, and found that this recipe worked perfectly. These biscuits are nice and salty, and went well with the soup!

• 2 cups sifted flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Place in bowl. Stir to blend.

• 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons shortening)

Add. Cut into flour until crumbly.

• Scant 2/3 cup milk

Add gradually; stir to make a soft dough. Turn onto lightly floured surface. Knead gently 6 to 8 strokes. Roll or pat to one-half thickness desired in baking biscuits. Cut with floured cutter. Place on baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Curry Chicken

This recipe came in handy tonight as I had some broccoli in the fridge that needed to be used. I've not done much with curry, so it was a nice and tasty change of pace.
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 Tablespoon reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
2 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1 cup sliced fresh carrots
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups fresh broccoli florets
4 green onions, thinly sliced

1. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, curry and red pepper flakes. Stir in broth and soy sauce until smooth; set aside. In a large nonstick skillet or wok coated with nonstick cooking spray, stir-fry chicken in 1 teaspoon oil for 5-6 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.
2. In the same pan, stir-fry carrots and garlic in remaining oil for 1 minute. Stir in broccoli; cook 2 minutes longer. Add onions; cook 1-2 minutes longer.
3. Stir broth mixture and stir into vegetables. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Return chicken to pan; heat through.

Yield: 4 servings
Calories: 1 cup equals 194 calories
Butterbur's Notes: I used cauliflower with the broccoli, and used left-over cooked chicken

This recipe comes from The Taste of Home Cookbook.

Butterbur's Roast Chicken

Mmmmm.....chicken.......

1 whole chicken
a few garlic cloves
salt
pepper

1. Place chicken in roasting pan.
2. Pierce chicken in several places. Work cloves of garlic into the pierced spots of the chicken.
3. Salt and pepper the chicken.
4. Roast in a 400 degree oven for about an hour and a half to two hours. Make sure that the juices run clear and that the meat does not have a pinkish tint before you eat.

Mmmmmm.....chicken.....