Crispy Potatoes

Who doesn't love fried potatoes? This is how I make mine.

I made these last night and unfortunately they were gobbled up before I could take a picture of them...

Crispy Potato Pancakes

2 large baking potatoes
1 small onion or 1/2 large onion
1 tbl. cornstarch
2 eggs
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 stalk green onions (optional)
canola oil

Wash and peel potatoes. Place in a pot and cover with SALTED cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender. Remove immediately and place on paper towels or on a board to drain.

In a medium size bowl, grate the onion (large shreds) and when potatoes have cooled slightly, grate and add to the bowl. Add one egg and 1 egg white, cornstarch, and garlic powder and season to taste with salt  and pepper. Stir with a fork until well combined.

Heat 2 tbl. of oil in frying pan over medium heat (or at temperature for panfrying). Scoop potato mixture out using a tablespoon and flatten and spread slightly with back of spoon. Fry about 1 minute on each side or until golden brown and crispy. Drain on a rack or paper towels.

Garnish with chopped green onions. Enjoy!

Chicken Fried Chicken

Now anyone who knows me knows I love me some Fried Chicken. So much so that it was present at my wedding reception and the sweet sweet balm to the stress of student teaching while pregnant with Ellie (Thank you, Popeye's on University Ave.)

Chicken nuggets get a bad rap because, well, they're usually nasty. This is my version that tends to get half eaten by Noelle and D even before it makes it to the dinner table. When it comes to Fried Chicken, manners just don't have a place in our house.

Chicken Nuggets/Tenders

Ingredients
2 large chicken breasts (about 1 - 1.5 lbs of chicken)
3 tbls. sweet potato starch
1 egg
1.5 cups panko bread flakes
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons (or more, if you like) toasted sesame seeds

Brine: 3 tbls. salt/2 cups water I find the best way to dissolve is to put in a tightly sealed container and shake

Prepare Brine and brine for at least half an hour, but not more than an hour.

Pat chicken breasts as dry as possible, then slice thinly into tenders or pound the chicken flat and cut into strips.

Place chicken in a bowl, crack the egg into the bowl, then spoon the starch in. Mix well with your hands until the chicken appears evenly coated with the mixture (gets pretty goopy, but it's worth it).

Heat canola oil in a large frying pan. When it's ready, coat the battered chicken with bread crumbs lightly (resist the urge to load up on breadcrumbs - it will not fry well) and pan-fry about 11/2 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the tenders.

Drain on a rack with paper towelling underneath to retain crispness.

Serve with a mixture of "special sauce" (equal parts ketchup and mustard - haha!).

This recipe is versatile - you can make it "Eye-tal-yun" by adding basil and Parmesan, French by adding herbes de Provence, you get the picture.

Enjoy!

Banana Streusel Muffies

N calls muffins "muffies". Other foods she enjoys are "tononoes" (tomatoes), "cawwots", "coocumbas" and "po-tay-tos". Oh, and "cwackas".

Banana Streusel Muffies

Muffie
1.5 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. milk
1/3 c. oil
1 egg
2 bananas, mashed

Streusel
3 tbl. flour
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbl. butter

Whisk together the dry ingredients in large bowl until combined. In a measuring cup mix together oil, milk and egg with a fork until well mixed. Stir mashed bananas into wet ingredients until well combined, then pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Mix until just combined (about 40 strokes is my rule for muffins and brownies).

Work streusel ingredients with fingers until crumbly.

Fill muffin cups to the top, then sprinkle with streusel mixture. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes. Yield: 8 muffins.

Enjoy!

crazy baby hat and mary janes...and soup

fatty feet in crazy flower shoes crazy baby hat and shoes

noelle in the daisy jumper

A sucessful recipe made from cupboard and freezer findings...

Chicken Corn Soup

Base
6 chicken drumsticks
1 large carrot
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
1 1" slice ginger
S and P
olive oil

Stir-ins
1 can cream-style corn
1 can corn kernels
2 green onions

Season drumsticks with salt and pepper. Brown on both sides in a little olive oil in a medium casserole (I used my fabulous cast-iron chili pot). Add 1 large halved carrot, 1 large onion (quartered) and garlic cloves. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove chicken pieces, then strain stock to remove fat. Pour stock back in. Remove chicken meat from bones and discard skin. Chop chicken into bite size pieces and put into pot. Stir in corn and creamstyle corn. Chop carrots into bite size pieces and add. Add enough cold water to cover and season to taste with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Bring to a boil and boil for 3-5 minutes, just to heat through.
Just before serving, chop 2 green onions and stir into soup.

Takes a little work, but it's delicious!