I know I been neglecting my blog lately. It is just that Twitter is such a great outlet for my random thoughts :) So, if you are feeling deprived of my random thoughts, follow me on Twitter. (@genwar)
For lack of any other topics, I thought I might post some of my culinary adventures. For example, we had a GREAT dinner tonight. All I did was take a 2.75 pound beef roast, salt/pepper/Nature's Seasonings both sides and toss it in the crockpot. Add a 28 oz can of mini potatoes and a 14.5 oz can of carrots and cover with 3.5 cups of beef broth and turn on low. Wait 10 hours. Came home, ladled out about 3 cups of the broth (now FULL of fat) and boil in a saucepan on the stove. Then I mixed 1/2 cup of water with 2 tablespoons of flour and whisked it smooth. Pour that in the boiling broth and whisk over high heat until a smooth, light brown gravy was formed. Simmer that on low heat to thicken. We ate the beef, the potatoes and carrots and some leftover mashed potatoes in the fridge, all covered in that gravy and it was AWESOME! Plus, the roast was like $4 ($1.59/lb @ price chopper), the potatoes were $1.38 (walmart) and the carrots were $.77 (walmart). Feed a family of 4 (we're 3 but there's leftovers) for $6.XX. Not
bad.
On Saturday, I made buffalo chicken sandwiches. Some of you asked for the recipe so I'll post it as well. I did make it up, so everything is approximate. I don't claim to have invented deep frying (I read a lot of different recipes and fried a lot of stuff before) but there was no specific recipe for this.
1.5 lbs Chicken Breasts (boneless, skinless, 3 or 4 good sized breast halves)
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup flour
2 teaspoons Nature's Seasonings
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder or salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Shitload of Canola Oil
2/3 cup melted butter
1 cup Franks Red Hot
Hamburger Buns or rolls
Lt Ranch Dressing
Lettuce
1. Trim chicken. I buy the cheapest chicken breasts I can get, so there is a lot of misc fat and gristle attached to them. I have to cut all that off.
2. Divide Chicken. You'll want to cut them into sandwich sized pieces. They'll grow about 20%, so keep that in mind. I kept 2 breasts halves intact and cut the other 2 in half to give me 6 pieces...the smaller ones were normal sandwich size. The larger 2 were for me, I like a big sandwich.
3. Grab two wide bowls. In one, crack the eggs and add the milk. Whisk until smooth. In the other, dump the flour and the 6 dry seasonings. Stir with a fork until there is no clear spot in the flour.
4. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture for a couple seconds and then in the flour mixture. Turn over and over, coating all sides. Then, back in the egg mixture to get wet and back in the flour mixture. Turn until coated. Do this for all of the chicken. You may need to adjust your portions depending on how big your pieces are...feel free to crack another egg or add some more flour and Nature's Seasonings to the mixtures until all the chicken is double coated.
5. Drop the chicken in a deep fryer at 375 (or dutch oven full of canola oil) for about 8-10 minutes. I like to use tongs to separate and rotate the pieces twice during cooking. Look for a warm brown color to the outside of the breasts and the fact that they float freely in the grease as indications that they are done. Don't be shy about giving more time...grease heating methods vary and it is better to be overdone than underdone with this dish and chicken in general. Drain the fried pieces on paper towels. (Note: I served this with french fries. you know...take potatoes, cut into desired shapes, dry and dump in grease. I recommend that, if you are doing this...make the french fries first. Keep em warm in the oven or something...but they are not as good if they go AFTER the chicken.)
6. In a large, shallow dish (I used a glass cassarole pan), lay the chicken out in a single layer. Use
the available dish that leaves as little extra space as possible. Mix the butter and Red Hot in a glass measuring cup and pour over all the pieces. Let them sit for 3-4 minutes in the mixture and then turn them over. Let them sit another 3-4 minutes. Allow more time in the sauce on each side to increase hotness...I just went with 3-4 minutes because I like a tiny bit of hotness.
7. To make sandwich, remove a piece from the hot sauce and shake to drain. Place on bottom of hamburger bun or roll. Pour a liberal amount of Lt Ranch Dressing (or regular, if you're just kicking healthy in the balls. I mean, you've already punched healthy in the eye and mouth with this meal, why add insult to injury?) on top, enough to cover the middle 2/3 of the breast. Add shaved or chopped lettuce (I like to buy a $1 mini salad at Walmart and use that. It's cheap and already in bite sized pieces.) and top with the rest of the bun/roll.
Didn't take long and was absolutely delicious. I even had leftover breasts on fresh buns a couple of days later (after 2 minutes in the microwave) and it was STILL good. I couldn't believe how easy and delicious it was.
I'll spare you the failed experiment with homemade sausage gravy on Sunday morning. :| ugh, I was sick all day.
-gen
