Chicken Shortcake

This was another recipe from my mother's stash.  I don't remember her ever making it while I was growing up, however, I wish she did.  This dish was great and was fairly easy to make. Think chicken, with a milk gravy over cornbread.  And it was extremely filling.  I paired this with a potato side dish and neither my husband or I could finish it.

Chicken Shortcake

For the Shortcake:

1 Tbsp Shortening to grease the pan

1/4 Cup Shortening

1 Cup Cornmeal

1 Cup Flour

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

1 Egg

1 Cup Buttermilk

Creamed Chicken:

3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, Cooked and Diced

3 Tbsp Butter

3 Tbsp Flour

1 1/2 Cups Milk

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Grease an 8x8in baking pan with shortening and set in the oven to heat.  Melt the rest of the shortening in a small saucepan over low heat.  Turn off the heat when melted.  In a medium sized bowl, mix cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt, mixing well.  Add melted shortening, egg and buttermilk, mix just until combined.  Take the pan out of the oven  and pour batter into pan.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in the flour and cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly.  Slowly pour in milk, stirring constantly.  Keep stirring until the mixture is thick and creamy.  Add salt and pepper.  Stir in cooked chicken.  Cook over low heat for 5 minutes.  Add more milk if sauce is too thick.  Serve creamy chicken over squares of shortcake.

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Chicken Planks and Taking Your Time in the Kitchen

I learned a valuable lesson the other day....Always take your time when your in the kitchen.

See I was frying up some potatoes for dinner and in a hurry like usual, making sure the food is done so the kids have time to eat and can get a bath and make it to bed on time and such.  Theres a small window between the time my hubby gets home from work and when the kids go to bed.  Now I've always been terrified of chopping food.  I'm afraid I'm going to slice my finger off or something.  So for Christmas I got this neat mandoline for cutting potatoes.  And because I was in a hurry and forgot to use the potato holder while slicing them, slicing by hand....low and behold I cut myself...I cut myself real good.  Not enough to require stitches (at least I don't think so) but enough so that my finger is wrapped up in band-aids and it hurts to use.  So from now on, dinner get done when dinner gets done.

So in light of my accident prone self, I'm bringing an easy chicken finger dish.  This recipe is out of the Southern Plate cookbook by Chrisyy Jordan (she may have it on her site too, I haven't checked)  I love Christy.  She is such a doll and her recipe are very simple and easy to use with that great southern flare to them.  If you haven't seen or gotten her cookbook, I highly recommend it.

Chicken Planks

adapted from Southern Plate by Christy Jordan

Cooking Oil

4-5 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

2 Eggs

1-2 Sleeves of Saltine Crackers ( I used 1 sleeve of Saltines and 1 Sleeve of Ritz Crackers because that's what I had on hand and both turned out great)

Pour oil in a large skilled to a depth of 1/4 inch.  Heat over medium heat while you prepare chicken.  

Place chicken in a gallon ziploc bag and beat out until 1/4 inch thick.  Crack eggs into a bowl and beat with a fork.  Crush crackers and put into a separate bowl.  Cut each chicken breast into three strips and dip each piece in the egg mixture, then in the crackers, being careful to cover completely.  Drop each piece into the oil and cook, turning once, over medium to medium- high heat until browned on both sides.  Drain on a paper-towel lined plate.

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Recipe Linked to:

Chicken and Bacon Alfredo

Last night school was cancelled for today as everyone prepped from the massive storm to hit most of the U.S.  Stretching 2,000 miles, reaching from Texas and moving to Maine, 60 mph winds, snow drifts as high as cars....I'm ready for spring.  I'd be happy with only seeing snow at Christmas time and thats it.  Tis the life of living in Wisconsin.  On another note Packers are playing the Super Bowl this weekend, Go Packers!

I made this Alfredo last night. When I first started making this, I was little scared.  See when I first made Alfredo I had used a Jar sauce from Newman's Own.  It smelled horrid.  The smell made me sick.  Perhaps it was a bad batch, I don't know but made me afraid to try making it from scratch in fear I would get the same result.  I quickly overcame my fear making a delicious meal with none other than one of my favorite cooking ingredients...BACON!  Bacon makes the world go round.

Chicken and Bacon Alfredo 

1 lb Penne Pasta

4 Tbsp Butter

3-4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, diced

1/2 Lb Bacon Diced and Fried

Poultry Seasoning

1 Tbsp Dried Minced Onion

2 Tbsp Minced Garlic

2 Cups Heavy Cream

4 oz Cream Cheese

1/4 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

Cook Penne according to box. Fry up your bacon and cook until done.  Remove to paper towel lined plate. Meanwhile season your chicken and cook until done.  Remove to paper towel lined plate and start on your sauce.  In a saucepan, melt your butter.  Add onion and garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add cream, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  Cook until cream cheese is melted.  Add bacon and chicken and cook for 2-3 more minutes.  Drain pasta, add to sauce and mix up.  Serve!

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On a final note I leave you with a music video of one of my favorite songs, while I yearn for summer to be here.

Recipe Linked to:

Chicken and Dumplings

Before I wrote this, I had to get my oldest off to school.  For the last few months, I had taken her to school myself.  She was dealing with some anxiety issues around the time the baby was born so I thought it would be better to drive her to school until she got used to it before I put her on the bus.  Now that winter is here and she loves school and doesn't cry anymore, we decided it was time for the bus.  Driving wasn't feasible anymore.  We only have 1 vehicle and my husband works during the day so I would have to rely on my mother to come here and babysit while I take her to school.  Wisconsin winters can get nasty and with buses being late and vehicles not starting in the cold and my mother having to get my little sisters (ages 6 and 9) on the bus also, my child would end up being late for school most days.

Now, she loves being on the bus, and gets excited when she sees it coming down the road.  My only complaint is, that I have to get a 3, almost 4 year old, up at 6:30 in the morning just so she can eat, go potty and get dressed and be out the door at 7:40 to catch the bus....all for a 5 minute ride to the school.  Yep, we live about 5-7 minutes away from the school and she has to get on the bus that early.  Her class doesn't even start until 8:30 and she's only there for 2 1/2 hours.  While school has been great for her and in a few years she'd be riding the bus anyways I just feel it's a wrong to be making a child that young get up so early.  Perhaps I am over reacting or being overprotective but that really peeves me.

Anyways on to the recipe.  Growing up Momma always made pork chops and dumplings, which I love.  I LOVE dumplings.  My husband however never much cared for the pork chops part.  So I decided to start making chicken and dumplings.  Another really easy dish thats so yummy.  A classic comfort food for those of us snowed in...or not.

1/2 Stick of Butter or Margarine

1 Whole Onion, Diced

1 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1 Cup Frozen or Fresh Carrots. Chopped

1 Cup Chopped Celery

1 Cup Frozen Corn

1 Cup Frozen Green Beans

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

4 Cups Chicken Broth

3 Tbsp Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

1/2 Tsp Dried Basil

1/2 tsp Dried Parsley

1/2 tsp Dried Thyme

1/2 tsp Dried Oregano

1/2 tsp Turmeric, for color - Got this idea from PW

For the Dumplings:

1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

3 Tbsp Shortening

3/4 Cup Milk

Melt butter in a large pan and cook onions and garlic until onions are translucent.  Add in the rest of the vegetables and cook until tender.  You can either chop up you chicken breasts now or do that later....or leave them whole, whatever tickles your fancy.  I like to cook them partially and then cut them up.  Lay your chicken breasts over the vegetables and pour you chicken broth over everything.  Cover and cook.  After the outsides of the chicken is done I like to pull them out and cut them up and add them back to cook the rest of the way..why? I have no idea.  I imagined it would be easier to chop them up first but I'm complicated.  When your chicken is done, add the flour and seasonings.  In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Cut in the shortening until mixture looks like small pebbles.  Add in the milk and stir until wet.  Drop large spoonfuls of the dumplings on top of the stew.  Cook uncovered for 10 minutes.  Cover and cook for another 10 minutes.  Enjoy!

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Lemon Garlic Drumsticks and Why I Started Blogging

(Forgive me for the yucky picture, I have a point and shoot camera thats not very good and my editing software isn't the best either)

I have always been interested in cooking, taking cooking classes in high school and helping my mom and grandmother cook for the holidays and such.  But over the years that passion dwindle.  One day as I was surfing through Yahoo's sub site Shine, and I came across a post about The Pioneer Woman.  Now I have seen the blog mentioned a few times before but had never bothered to see what it was.  After reading the article, I decided to go check it out.  I was immediately hooked.  I loved everything about Ree's site, reading through every one of her posts and drooling over her food.  From there, I stumbled into Tasty Kitchen, which opened me up to thousands of new recipes and hundreds of other blogs.  My love of cooking came rushing back.

Now I have always been a pretty shy person all my life.  I have been with my husband for 5 years and am now just starting to feel comfortable around his mother and step father.  One of my New Years Resolutions was to come out my shell.  I thought what better way to do that than to start up my own food blog and connect with others that share my same passions in life.  While we live in the age of the internet, where people are pretty fearless in what they write because they hide behind a computer I am still terrified of other peoples responses.  Odd, I know.  Seeing people comment on my recipes and stating how much they have enjoyed or look forward to trying my food brings a smile to my face, however, I freeze.  Not knowing as to what and if I should type back.  If I don't respond to your comment,  please don't feel offended, I did see your post and I just don't know what to say back.  I have been pushing myself to comment on other peoples blogs that I have been lurking around for a long time, but is still a daily task for me.  I am confident though that I will work through this.

Anyways enough with my ramblings, one of the first recipes I came across on The Tasty Kitchen was a recipe for lemon garlic drummies.  It sounded simple and yummy, so I gave it a whirl. I changed a few things in the original recipe. This was one of the most delicious recipes I have ever made and was so simple to get in the oven and ready for dinner.  I normally make this with the Garlic Butter Rice.  I think they go great together.

Lemon Garlic Drumsticks

Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

6 Chicken Drumsticks

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 Tbsp Minced Garlic

2 tsp Kosher Salt

1 Tbsp Lemon Pepper

In a medium bowl, mix together oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and lemon pepper.   Place chicken in a ziploc bag and pour the marinade over the chicken.  Seal the bag and shake it up making sure to coat the chicken well.  Place in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place chicken in a baking dish and bake for 45 minutes or until the chicken is 160 degrees F.

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