Since it is a popular dish for my family – the recipe has evolved over the years depending on what everyone is “into” at the time.

These days we are all “into” spice so I’ve amended the recipe to include Spicy Sausage.

Recipe:

Chicken Parts

Spicy Sausage

Veggies (I used peppers, onion, celery)

Olive Oil

Garlic Powder, Season All, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Cayenne Pepper et al.

Rice – I use a para cooked rice from the DeKalb Farmer’s Market)

1. Rinse and season chicken. (I started using lemons to clean my chicken per the advice of some Caribbean friends.. but that’s another post).
2. Brown chicken in a dutch oven (If you don’t have one grab your purse and buy one).  Shame on you.
3. Remove chicken and add chopped veggies and sausage.  The spicier the better in our house.
4. The veggies will sweat and the sausage will brown nicely at the same time.  Don’t rush it – it should take about 10 minutes on medium-low.
5. Add already browned chicken to the pot and scrape the bottom to release the delicious brownings.
6. Add enough water to cover the chicken plus about 1 inch.
7. Season water (I use 2 cubes of chicken bouillon in addition to the other seasonings listed above).
8. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for about 1 hour.
9. Add two cups of rice (it will appear as if you have too much water but TRUST me you do not).  There is a long list of those who have disagreed with me and regretted it.
10. Replace cover and cook until liquid is absorbed.

Before you pull in to that McDonald’s drive through to have your fill of greasy bag goodness – I’d like to give you something to consider…  The ingredients in their infamous McChicken Nuggets include a few mystery ingredients, but the one that stand out to me is:  Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.  I don’t know what dimethypolysloxane is but I am certain it’s not something I’d like to digest if I can help it.

Yes I know drives through are quick and sometimes hard to avoid – HOWEVER – with proper planning we can enjoy a healthier alternative.  Now I will admit, I pretty much like chicken fingers in any form… crispy, broiled, tempura style, I usually don’t discriminate.  So don’t be surprised if you see some variation of a chicken tender recipe featured here often.  Okay here goes – Crispy Chicken Fingers.

Ingredients:

Chicken Tenders (tender portion of the chicken breast)

Flour

Paprika, Cayenne, Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Season-All

2 Eggs

Panko Bread Crumbs

Directions:

1. Season tenders lightly with season-all.
2. Coat with seasoned flour (your favorite seasonings… i.e. garlic powder, salt, pepper, old bay – whatever you enjoy)
3. Mix eggs with about 1/2 cup water.
4. Dip flour coated tenders in egg wash.
5. Season panko crumbs with paprika.
6. Roll flour and egg coated tenders in seasoned panko crumbs.
7. Fry in small amount of peanut oil or Oven bake at 375 degree oven coated with cooking spray.  (If you are oven frying spray tops of fingers with cooking spray)
8. Cook until brown!

If I were you, I’d double the batch for leftovers.  The leftovers can be used as an after school snack, chicken sandwiches, or salad toppers.  Just place on parchment paper and freeze.  Then add to zip lock bags once frozen.  Yep.

Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy told the Baptist Press that, “We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.” This man just has to cut it out. Who does he think he is?

The hubby loves pasta – me not so much… which makes it an ideal dish when I am trying to cut calories.  I whipped up this Chicken Florentine the other night and it was a hit.  I love a dish that looks as good as it tastes… it is an excellent idea for entertaining.  The recipe is courtesy of MopTopMaven – my only changes were to add sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms.  Oh and I doubled the sauce of course!

Here is my version of Shrimp Tempura adapted from this Epicurious recipe.  

2 cups flour

1 1/2 TBSP baking powder

2 TBSP sesame oil

2 cups of ice cold water

The only things I did different was refrigerate dry ingredients a few hours before and sat my batter in an ice bath to keep it chilled.

We served it with Makoto ginger sauce.

Here is my version of Shrimp Tempura adapted from this Epicurious recipe.  

2 cups flour

1 1/2 TBSP baking powder

2 TBSP sesame oil

2 cups of ice cold water

The only things I did different was refrigerate dry ingredients a few hours before and sat my batter in an ice bath to keep it chilled.

We served it with Makoto ginger sauce.

The weather here in Georgia is quite chilly (brrrr……)

Its time to pull out the winter gear – here is a tutorial that is definitely worth 4 minutes of your life.  We all know that the right accessories can make or break an outfit.  Wendy has put together a video highlighting 25 new ways to tie a scarf.

25 Ways to tie a scarf

Remembering turkey roasting from long ago I was prepared for a long and arduous process. However it was not so. My thawed turkey only took 2.5 hours to roast with two basting sessions in between.

It was completely juicy and completely lovely to look at.

To top it all off my $10 bird saved me major bucks figuring it will last us at least two meals.

Dress on the left is from Anthropologie : Budding Dahilia retailing for $248.00 –

Pattern on the right is a Kwik Sew pattern 3856 $11.99

I’ve visited Anthropologie and tried this dress on in person – it is so lovely.  It is fully lined and has a delicate split on the side near the ankle.  I have purchased a delicate floral print fabric from Hancock to try and recreate their version using the Kwik Sew pattern.

Stay tuned for the  outcome!

I knew it would happen eventually.  My favorite pot bit the dust… It wasn’t one of the higher end dutch ovens, but it got the job done.  I tried to salvage it with Barkeepers Friend, Vinegar, baking soda and just plain on scrubbing – but there was no reviving this pot.  So, thus began my search for a “true” French style dutch oven.

I planned on purchasing a Le Crueset, but they are just so pricey!  Then I was turned on to their less expensive competitor, “The Lodge” but it received very mixed reviews.  Well, last night on one of my weekly trips to SamsClub I ran across this beauty.  The color is wrong – but the price is right.  It is in the oven seasoning now, so I will let you all know how it holds up later on…

Chow!