Honey Dipped Fried Chicken

Who doesn't like fried chicken?  On Monday's at Woodman's they put all the weekend meat on

Honey chicken with mango-corn salsa.

clearance. Score for us! I got a thick ham slice for $1.50 and a whole chicken fryer for around $3.00. Again, nothing wrong with them. They were at their due date. If chicken is frozen it's good for up to 9 months. If you are using it you want to try to make it no later than 2-3 days afterward. Throw away if you notice any fowl smell or slime.

This chicken was perfect. I have this way I like to bread my chicken. I normally use a grocery paper bag. It saves the mess. I use 2 cups flour to 1/2 cup corn starch. This recipe is different using a dipping batter. Still the same principle: dip the chicken into the cornstarch and then into the wet batter. To keep the skin krispy, this recipe called for removing the chicken and letting rest half way through cooking. I didn't like this method at first. I had to rebatter some of the chicken half way though. With the bag method, you shake and fry. The wet batter only had salt and pepper. I like to add Cayanne and Thyme to my dry batter.

Brine:
 But before all that I brine the chicken for a few hours first in 2 quarts water, 1/2 cup salt, and 1/2 cup sugar. Mix the sugar and salt until dissolved. You could also use buttermilk. This helps break down the fibers and makes the chicken moist.

Batter:
2 cups flour (1/2 cup reserved)
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2  cups water

Honey Coating:

3/4 cup honey
2 TBSP hot sauce

Remove the chicken from the brine patting dry with paper towels. Prepare the batter mixing in a little water at a time. Fill a cast iron skillet half way with canola oil. Heat to 350-375 degrees. Use a thermometer to verify temp. Coat the chicken in the reserved flour on both sides. dip into the batter and into the hot oil. I fit all of my chicken in together. You can also do this in batches. Fry for 7 minutes a side. Remove the chicken from the oil and let rest for 7 minutes. (Or fry the next batch)

Return the chicken to the hot oil. Fry the breasts 20-25 minutes or until the internal temp is 160 degrees. Thighs take 15-20 minutes, smaller pieces like drums and wings may be done at 14 minutes. Drain oil off chicken on paper towels, season with salt,  and make the honey dip. Dip each piece of chicken in the honey and serve!

Roasted Marshmallow Strawberries

Roasted Marshmallow Strawberries

These are as easy as can be for a quick dessert or campfire treat during the summer. I didn't make my own mallow but used the store kind in the jar. Make sure to wipe all the water off your berries to make the mallow stick I used a spoon to get the mallow on the strawberries and then a metal skewer over the stove burner. If you are really fancy, you could use a blow torch for more control. I am a love burnt marshmallows though!

Homemade Gnocchi

We love gnocchi here and usually end up buying the dried kind from Woodman's. Today I gave making my own from scratch. Lydia Bastianich makes it look so easy. How hard could it be right?  I got a new toy today too, a potato ricer. I boiled 3 lbs or so of potatoes on the stove and they are cooking. I am going to peel them rice them, and then let them cool before I attempt this dough. You can make your own pesto like I did in this recipe (my herbs just started to grow) http://tinkmomfoodie-foodobsession.blogspot.com/2014/08/peanut-pesto-focaccia.html  or you could buy the Classico brand like I did today.

Lydia's Gnocchi

6 lg potatoes
2 TBSP plus 1 tsp salt
3 eggs beaten
3 cups flour
grated Parmesan approx. 1/2 cup
Classico Pesto sauce or the sauce of your choice

Peel and rice the potatoes. (I got my potato ricer at Bed Bath and Beyond for $12.99)  Let them cool completely and make a large circle with the flour and potatoes. Leave  a well in the center. Place the eggs, a tsp of salt,  and a pinch of pepper. Move the flour from the outside of the well into the eggs. Incorporate until the dough becomes to come together. Flour hands and divide dough into 6 portions. Roll each portion into a rope 1/2 inch thick. Cut rope into smaller portions and mark with a fork. This helps the sauce adhere to the dough. Boil a huge pot of water, add two TBSP of salt. Add the gnocchi and boil until the gnocchi float to the top 2-3 minutes. Drain and top with your favorite sauce.

Crock Pot Adobo Chicken Wings

My friend George posted this recipe the other day and it looked yummy! Filipino Adobo Chicken. It's got vinegar for acidity and some soy sauce which makes for a rich sauce.

Adobo Chicken Wings

3lbs defrosted chicken wings
3 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cup vinegar
2 tsp. black pepper
3/4 cup soy sauce
2 medium potatoes cut into chunks (optional)

I defrosted a bag of chicken wings and broiled them on a tin foil lined pan for 25 minutes. This helps brown the chicken and prevents it from falling apart in the crock pot. I added the soy sauce and vinegar along with two bay leafs. I also threw in 2 tsp pepper and some salt. I put the entire thing on high in the crockpot for three hours. I poured the sauce out and reduced it on the stove to about half. I served the chicken over white rice. The family loved it!

Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli

Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli

1 head of broccoli
1 can of sliced water chestnuts drained
1 lg onion quartered
2 TBSP flour
1 cup beef stock
1 lb stir fry meat or tenderized round steak (found in meat dept)
2 TBSP oil
4TBSP soy sauce
salt

This is a crowd pleaser and you can make this with very little effort. Perfect for Mom's Day! The only cooking you will be doing on the stove is browning the meat.  Take the meat and cut down into strips. Be sure to cut across the grain. Roll the beef around in the flour. (You could also use corn starch here also)  Season the meat with salt. Add to a frying pan that has been heated with 2 TBSP of oil. Brown the meat on all sides. Once the meat is browned place it in the crock pot.

To the frying pan add  the beef broth and soy sauce.  Use a spatula to scrape all the brown bits up. Add the florets to the crock pot along with the water chestnuts. Top with the sauce. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or low for 4 hours. Add more soy sauce to taste. Serve over white rice.

Chicken and Mole' Enchiladas

The Chicken and Mole' Enchiladas are a great weekend dish. You could use the crock pot during the week day and have the chicken en mole' waiting for you. Then all you would need to do is prepare a baking dish with the sauce, roll up the enchiladas with 2-3 TBSP of the topping and a little cheese. Then spread the rest of the topping over them and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. You could get all of the ingredients ready the night before and put the crock pot on right before you go to work in the morning. Either way, this is a delicious sauce! I chose to use bone out breasts in this recipe which can cook in as little as 25 minutes. The bone in with skin thighs may take up to 35 minutes.

Chicken and Mole' Enchiladas

Mole'

16-24 ounces of chicken broth
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce chopped
4-5 squares Ghirardelli 60% Cacao chocolate chopped
1/4 cup peanut or almond butter
1 small box of raisins
2 Guajillo or New Mexico dried chili peppers (see below)
1/4 cup toasted  pumpkin seeds
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. salt and pepper
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 TBSP sesame seeds (toast if fresh)
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts thawed
5-10 shakes of hot sauce(optional)


for the Enchiladas
4 oz cheddar cheese reserve half
1 pkg flour tortillas medium sized





Pan Method

Take the dried chilies and toast them in a dry frying pan until you can begin to smell them. Cool them down for a minute or two and then make a slit with a knife and remove all of the seeds and stem. To a very large frying pan add all of the other ingredients up to the chicken. Stir the sauce until the chocolate and peanut butter are melted. Add the defrosted chicken breasts and cook on medium heat for 25-30 minutes.  Shut off the sauce and remove the chicken to a clean plate. Let cool down for 5-10 minutes. While that cools down use a blender or hand blender to smooth out the sauce. You may leave some of the tomatoes chunky but may have to remove the dried peppers.

Shred the chicken. (Discard the skin if using skin on) Reserve 1/2 of the sauce for the topping before adding the chicken back in the sauce. Take one cup of the sauce and place it on the bottom of the baking dish(9x13). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lay one tortilla in the sauce and add 1-3 TBSP of the filling. Add a pinch or two of the cheese. Push the filling to one side and roll. Place seam side down in the dish and keep on going until the dish is full. You may have to put a few sideways. Top with the remaining cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Serve with your favorite toppings. I like avocado and sour cream.

Puerto Rican Rice and Pernil or Roast Pork

I have been so busy with school this semester that I hardly have time to think. Sunday is both "Special Breakfast Day" for us and "Special Dinner Day."  It's the one day of the week I can put a long cooking chicken or roast in the oven and sit around. Ok I did do some errands today but now I am relaxing before I have to study. This dish is pretty much set it and forget. The rice comes together in 20 minutes. Together they are a marriage made in Heaven. 

Pernil 

Early in the morning take the roast out of the fridge. Use a knife to make little slits on the top of the roast. My roast had a thin layer of  fat. If you have a thicker layer of fat, use a knife to get under the fat and then make the slits on the roast. Mine was a 4lb sirloin pork roast. To the slits add minced garlic. I use the pre-cut one from a jar. (Travesty I know!) Next salt the entire roast and use two packets of Sazon with Achiote and Cumin and rub it on the outside and underneath the roast.

roast marinated

 Place in a small pan and cover with foil. Let marinate for a few hours. I started my roast around 1PM. I added water to a large roasting pan and then the roast. (It's important to keep the pan covered with water or you will have smoke!) Season  the roast with Adobo with cumin and cover the entire roasting pan with foil. Add to a preheated 350 degree oven. 

I baked the roast for 3 1/2 hours. I increased the oven temp. to 450 degrees.  It was now time to crisp the skin.  I removed the roast from the oven, removed the tin foil, and placed a marinade of 2 TBSP oil, 2TBSP lemon juice, and 1 tsp. Oregano, salt, and pepper.  Bake for 20-25 more minutes. The roast should measure 160 on a meat thermometer. Some say less  but I like to be sure it's done. 

Puerto Rican Rice

This is the rice I normally make in my Arroz con Pollo or chicken and rice. My youngest daughter goes wild for this! My only different addition was a pack of Sazon and some ham. You will love this rice too! I had black beans on hand but you can also use gandules or green pigeon peas. 

2 cups long grain rice

4 cups chicken broth

1 small onion diced 

1 tsp minced garlic

2 TBSP tomato paste

1 pack Sazon

10 green olives 

2 thick pieces ham

1 TBSP chicken bouillon (optional)

olive oil 

Add one to two TBSP oil to the bottom of a large stock pot. Brown the onions for 3 minutes or so and add the tomato paste. Again brown for another 2-3 minutes. Add the two cups of rice and once again brown in the oil for another few minutes. You are coating and browning the rice. Add the broth, garlic, Sazon, olives, diced ham, and chicken bouillon. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Cover with a lid and no peeking for 15-20 minutes. Let sit on the stove top for 5 minutes before serving.  Add additional bouillon if needed. At the last minute I also add the beans before serving.