Chicken Fried Chicken

Chicken
4 skinned and boned chicken breasts
1 tsp salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
oil

Directions:
 Place chicken breasts between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and flatten to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle with half of the salt and pepper. Set aside. Combine cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, remaining salt and pepper. Whisk together milk and eggs. Dredge chicken in cracker crumb mixture; dip in milk mixture, and dredge in cracker mixture again. Pour oil to a depth of 1/2 inch in a 12-inch skillet (do not use a nonstick skillet). Over medium high heat (more on the high side) fry chicken, in batches, 10 minutes, adding oil as needed. Turn and fry 4 to 5 more minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack in a cookie sheet. Keep chicken warm in a 225° oven.

Country Gravy
1/3 - cup flour
2 - 3 tablespoons pan drippings
3 cups milk
salt & pepper to taste

Carefully drain the hot drippings, reserving cooked bits and 2 -3 tablespoons of the drippings in skillet. Add 1/3 cup flour to the skillet with the drippings. Cook over medium high heat. Using a whisk mix the flour into the drippings until it starts to brown and become a paste. This is called a roux. If the roux looks too oily and runny you can add another tablespoon or so of flour and mix again. Whisk constantly until the paste becomes nice and brown.

Slowly add the milk whisking constantly and blending the liquid with the flour mixture until combined. Let the gravy come to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until the gravy thickens up. If the mixture thickens too much add more milk as needed until the gravy is the consistency that you want. This could end up being more then the required 3 cups. Season generously with salt and pepper and serve over the chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes.

Barbecued Beef

1 1/2 cups ketchup 1/4 cups packed brown sugar 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons mustard 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon liquid smoke 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1 (4 pound) boneless chuck roast 1. In a large owl, combine ketchup, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 2. Place chuck roast in a slow cooker. Pour ketchup mixture over chuck roast. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. 3. Remove chuck roast from slow cooker, shred with a fork and return to the slow cooker. Stir meat to evenly coat with sauce. Continue cooking approximately 1 hour.

Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie

6 oz pineapple juice
6 oz soymilk
3/4 cup frozen yogurt
1/2 cup Strawberries
1/4 cup Pineapple Sherbet
1/4 cup Ice

Place all ingredients into blender and blend until "smoothie" consistency

Lemon-Zucchini Loaf with Lemon Glaze

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1/2 cup canola oil 2/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup buttermilk Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 Tablespoons lemon juice) Zest of 1 lemon 1 cup grated zucchini (you don’t need to peel the zucchini before grating it) Preheat oven to 35o degrees. Grease and flour a 9×5″ loaf pan; set aside. In large bowl, blend flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In medium bowl, beat 2 eggs well, then add canola oil and sugar, and blend well. Then add the buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest and blend everything well. Fold in zucchini and stir until evenly distributed in mixture. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients in the large bowl and blend everything together, but don’t overmix. Pour batter into prepared 9×5″ loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (if your oven tends to run hot, check the loaf after 40 minutes). Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and cool completely. While loaf is cooling, you can make the glaze… LEMON GLAZE 1 cup powdered sugar Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 Tablespoons lemon juice) In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice until well blended. Spoon glaze over cooled loaf. Let glaze set, then serve. I found this recipe at http://nancycreative.com.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts – CopyKat

Raised doughnuts
2 pkgs. regular or rapid rise yeast
note: If you don’t have the small yeast pkg’s you will use : 4 1/2 teaspoons of yeast. (Each yeast pkg. contains 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/4 cup warm water (105−115 degrees)
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk (scalded then cooled)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening
5 cups all−purpose flour
Vegetable oil
Creamy glaze or chocolate glaze

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in warm water in 2 1/2−quart bowl. Add milk, salt, eggs, shortening, sugar and 2 cups flour. Beat on low speed scraping bowl constantly, 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed scraping bowl occasionally, 2 minutes. Stir in remaining flour until smooth. Cover and let rise in warm place, until double, 50−60 minutes. (Dough is ready when indentation remains when touched.) Turn dough onto floured surface; roll around lightly to coat with flour.Gently roll dough1/2−inch thick with floured rolling pin. Cut with floured doughnut cutter. Cover and let rise until double, 30−40 minutes. Heat vegetable oil in deep fryer to 350 degrees. Slide doughnuts into hot oil with wide spatula. Turn doughnuts as they rise to the surface. Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side. Remove carefully from oil (do not prick surface); drain. Dip the doughnuts into creamy glaze, set on rack, then when slightly cooled spread chocolate glaze on top. Can dip in sprinkles or other toppings after glazed if desired.

Creamy glaze:
1/3 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
4−6 tbsp. hot water
Heat butter until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency. (Add melted chocolate for a chocolate glaze if desired)

Chicken Enchilada Soup

3 cups chicken stock
2 skinless, chicken breasts
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
4-6 jalapeno peppers, minced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups frozen corn
1/2 cup tomato paste
8 oz cotija cheese, crumbled
8 oz pepperjack cheese, divided
1 cup cilantro, chopped
Tortilla chips
In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add chicken stock and heat over medium heat. Add chicken breasts, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne pepper. Simmer about 20-25 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken and set aside. Add tomatoes, jalapenos, bell pepper, onion, and garlic to the pot. Simmer about 30 minutes, covered until tomatoes have begun to break down. Add black beans, corn, and tomato paste and stir to incorporate. Add cotija cheese and half of the pepperjack cheese and stir to melt. Return chicken to soup and cook about 20 more minutes until desired consistency.

If soup isn't as thick as desired, you can add strips of flour tortillas. They will dissolve into the soup to thicken the broth. Add cilantro, reserving some to top individual bowls if desired. Ladle into serving bowls and top with crushed tortilla chips, reserved pepperjack cheese and cilantro if desired.

I found this recipe here.

Hawaiian Beef Teriyaki

1 can pineapple chunks with juice (15 oz.) 1 c. soy sauce 3/4 c. brown sugar 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp. minced ginger *1 Lb. skirt steak, sliced very thin (carne asada works GREAT) Mix together all ingredients, excluding beef. Set aside about 1/2 c. of the sauce, cover and refrigerate. Place beef in a Ziploc bag and pour marinade over. Press out all the air, seal, and marinate for at least 6 hours (overnight works great). Over prepared grill on medium-high heat, grill steak a minute or two on each size until cooked to your desired doneness (with the steak being so thin, you don’t have to grill it for too long). Place beef in a large bowl, pour remaining sauce over the cooked beef and stir until well covered. Serve with rice (or grilled fresh pineapple). *you can use sirloin steak, cut into chunks. Thread marinated beef onto skewers and grill. **This is also a GREAT marinade for Teriyaki burgers… I found this recipe here.