Using Corn Flakes as Chicken Coating

If you read what I've written a lot, you may already know I am a stockpiler of groceries. Not a stockpiler as in hoarder -- no, just that I stock up on enough (usually about 6-weeks' worth of something I use) so that I won't have to pay full price. There is actually a procedure to this that isn't hard to learn. I tell you about how to stockpile here.

One thing I stockpiled was Kellogg's Corn Flakes...and I got the biiiig boxes of corn flakes too -- the 1 lb package. My justification was that corn flakes can be used for more things than just cereal. Chicken coating for example. For some reason, the thought never entered my mind "Um, Darla? You tried that several years ago and that was a dismal failure, don't you remember?" Well, that is what my mind SHOULD have told me. But my mind was on vacation that day and didn't tell me that, or if it did tell me, I didn't listen because my mind was on the "good deal" in front of me.

So recently I tried making the oven baked chicken coated in corn flakes again. I used the recipe on the box. I ran it by a few friends on Facebook and some gave it rave reviews. Personally, I couldn't get past the corn flake taste. It tasted like there were corn flakes on the chicken. Probably because there were corn flakes on the chicken.

If you decide you want to use corn flakes as chicken coating, go for it. But my advice would be the crush those corn flakes SMALL. Make them microscopic. I thought we crushed our really well (we used a rolling pin and had the corn flakes inside a gallon sized Ziploc type bag.) I know you know I have the propensity to screw up a recipe, but I promise I did not. I followed the recipe to the letter, and even used my digital meat thermometer. j

Mental note to never make this again. But it was worth a shot. I gave one of the boxes of cereal to my neighbor and she LOVES Kellogg's Corn Flakes and eats it daily, so at least I was able to help a neighbor.

Basic Italian Meatballs

2 slices bread (regular white bread, soft.) Slice it into small bites
1/4 cup milk
1 lb of 75-80% lean ground beef
1/2 of an onion, diced
1 egg
1 TBSP garlic, diced
1 TBSP Italian seasoning

Mix the beef with the bread, milk, egg, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Blend with your hands. But don't blend too much, it makes the meatballs tough. Taking about 2 TSBP of beef mixture for each, form into balls with your hands. If you put water on your hands, that will make forming the balls easier and they won't stick to your hands so much.

Place on baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until heated through to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.

I cook spaghetti and use a jarred spaghetti sauce if I'm crunched for time, or you can make this homemade spaghetti sauce.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

I am in search of the "perfect" homemade macaroni and cheese receipe. A friend sent me this one, but I haven't tried it yet. A few more ingredients than I prefer to use, but I do like that it seems to be a basic recipe. However, I am trying to get away from processed foods like Velveeta. This has Velveeta in it, but I may make an exception just this once. In general, Velveeta can be pretty expensive too and I have been wanting to improve food value and cut costs. So here is the recipe, keep in mind that I have not cooked this yet.

Southern Style Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:
2 lbs elbow macaroni
3-4 garlic cloves, pressed or diced
1 stick real butter
32 oz. Velveeta Cheese, cut into cubes
2 eggs slightly beaten
4 cups milk (half and half is really good too!)
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (grated sharp cheddar cheese for top approx. 1 cup)
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 - 2 tsp salt 2 tsp ground dry mustard

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease pan to bake the macaroni and cheese in (Use a cast iron dutch oven, but 9X13x2 will work. And have extra pans ready this recipe makes a lot.)

Slightly beat the eggs into the milk and let stand to room temp while cooking the macaroni, so eggs will not cook when it hits the hot macaroni. Cook macaroni until tender, in an extra large pot, then drain melt butter and cook garlic until translucent.

Put the macaroni back in the big pot, add the butter and garlic. Start stirring! Add the cheese and stir as it melts in the hot macaroni, add the milk and egg mixture, salt and pepper and dry mustard. Stir until all ingredients are well mixed and very creamy.

Pour into baking dishes or pan and top with sharp cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 until browned on top and knife stuck in the middle comes clean. Depending on the size of the pan - 20 min for a small pan, 30-45 min for a large pan.

Notes:

Hints: I have found that real butter is one of the mainstays, it holds the flavors together and margarine just doesn't taste as good. I like real cream but it is really rich, sometimes I use cream and milk. Sharp cheddar cheese is important for the sharp flavor; mild cheddar doesn't have the same taste. Of course the best way to insure a great dish is cast iron, but even the disposable pans still work well.

Reynold's Non Stick Aluminum Foil

Have you tried Reynold's Non Stick Aluminum Foil yet? When I first saw it advertised, I thought, "This is ridiculous -- just how lazy are people going to get? I mean, come ON...is this a REAL issue?" I actually shook my head -- the stuff was too expensive, and does it really take that long to put a little oil on aluminum foil yourself to make it "non-stick?!?"

But a little while ago, I finally tried it. It was on a good sale at the grocery store (BOGO!) and I had a coupon that doubled, which made the stuff practically free.

I think I used it for Brownies the first time. Oh-Em-Gee! The stuff is fantastic. I reserve it just for the things I cook that need a non-stick surface, because to use it for everything WOULD be way too expensive, but for the things that DO stick, I think the food that it prevents from being wasted (ie bits of food that will stick to regular aluminum foil that you won't bother to scrape up and eat) pays for it. Less frustration when time to clean the dish as well.

So if you've been wondering about whether to get it or not, I vote yes. Just be very sparing in the use of it so you don't waste it.

Now about those Reynold's slow cooker liners -- I'm just not ready to take that step yet.

Homemade Fudgy Brownies (Credited to actress Katharine Hepburn)

You know I have been on a kick lately to have desserts that are preservative and chemical free. Really tired of lab-food.

One evening recently, my daughter and I had a need for chocolate, and I mean a NEED for chocolate. I looked online to find a chocolate recipe we might have ingredients to make. Luckily, I had bought a package of Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate after Christmas on clearance (highly recommended, because unsweetened chocolate doesn't "expire," it keeps for a long time. So getting a package for $1.47 was a really great deal.

Well, I found this recipe called Katharine Hepburn's Brownies. It is a very rich, fudgy brownie. I was concerned that the kids might not like it, since they are accustomed to chemical-laden stuff, but they really liked this.

TIPS Before you start:

Use REAL butter, not margarine. Use REAL vanilla extract, not the fake stuff.

Right off the bat, there is something strange about these ingredients. Do you see it?
Very little flour. Ridiculously little flour. But that's what the recipe says and it works!

Also note that you want to add the ingredients IN THE ORDER LISTED below. Don't get all "industriously sidetracked" and get them out of order (like I did one time) -- follow the DIRECTIONS. It will make it much better.

When you get to the stage to add the eggs, ensure that the mixture has cooled enough that the whites of the eggs will not get "cooked." As you know, it doesn't take much heat to start cooking egg whites. Don't ask why I know this.

1 stick (8 TBSP) butter
2 squares of unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)


ALRIGHTY THEN - HERE ARE THE DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Prepare an 8"x8" pan (I use that new Reynold's Non-Stick Aluminum Foil or you can butter the pan. Some people may want to butter and flour the pan, but I've found it is fine un-floured, plus you don't have white flour showing up on dark brownies if you don't flour the pan!)

Melt together 1 stick butter and 2 squares unsweetened chocolate then take the saucepan off the heat. This process is a little faster if you chop up the chocolate into smaller pieces. Be careful as the chocolate is hard and you don't want the knife to slip. Then we'd have to call you "Stumpy" and we don't want that now do we? (If you have a double-boiler, you may want to use that. I have also put water in a saucepan and set another pan on top of it to do the melting, so I don't have to worry about scorching the chocolate.)

Stir in sugar, and let it dissolve a little bit in the butter/chocolate mixture.

Add eggs and vanilla, and beat together well.

Stir in flour and salt.

Add the walnuts if you want to put nuts in this.

Bake in a buttered 8" square pan at 325°F for approx 40 minutes.

Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Cream Cheese frosting is delicious on many types of cakes, including carrot cake and my intended destination -- red velvet cake.

It is very easy to make. Only 4 ingredients!

You can make this. Don't buy the stuff in the canisters. It's expensive and full of additives. The short cut isn't worth it and you'll like this one better anyway I bet.

Make sure you follow the directions...for instance: "Softened" butter and cream cheese does NOT mean almost soft. It doesn't mean microwave it. Don't take any short cuts. Just leave it out and let it soften.

I'm not saying this to nag you. I want you to not waste money by doing this wrong and ending up with runny frosting.

TIP: Because you are going to mix it all together anyway, go ahead and put the cream cheese and butter into a bowl to soften, because it's easier to remove butter and cream cheese from their wrappers while they are still cold).

Ingredients:

2 packages of cream cheese, softened (you can buy the store brand, it doesn't matter. Just buy it in the rectangular package, NOT the kind that comes in the tubs)

1/2 cup butter, softened (Generally, this is a regular-sized stick of butter. NOTE: Use real butter -- not margarine or the stuff from the tubs. REAL butter)

2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar (Powdered sugar, 10x, etc are all other names for confectioner's sugar).

1 tsp vanilla extract (whenever possible, try to use real vanilla extract. Yes, it is expensive, but I stock up on it when it's on a buy-on-get-one-free deal, which isn't often...so if you see it on sale, stock up!)

Mix all ingredients together well.

FOOD SAFETY TIP: Refrigerate a cake that is frosted with this. There's a reason cream cheese and butter are kept refrigerated. Mixing it with sugar and vanilla extract doesn't change that.

Need chocolate frosting? See this previous post.

Homemade Chocolate Frosting

I am getting so disgusted by downsizing of food products, especially where cake frosting is concerned! It is ridiculous -- I now have to buy TWO containers of frosting in order to have a decent amount of icing on the cake.

I say no. NO to the ripoff (I hope Duncan Hines & especially Pillsbury are reading this); and hail no to the additives & preservatives that are in those processed frostings. (Check out that southern accent!)

We can have better food for less money by making it ourselves. We'll also know our ingredients are fresh.

Tomorrow I want to make a chocolate cake. Old fashioned homemade chocolate frosting does not look difficult at all, and get this -- This recipe will make TWO CUPS of frosting!!!

So here we go --

6 Tablespoons of softened butter (use REAL butter, not margarine or that stuff in the tubs)

2-2/3 Confectioner's sugar (same thing as powdered sugar). If you're like me & don't use this type of sugar often & it's been sitting for awhile, it's a good idea to sift it to get rid of any lumps.

1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa (the powder type)

*TIP* You may want to sift the sugar & the cocoa together

1/3 cup milk

(Frosting making time is not the time to be cholesterol conscious. Use Whole Milk if you have it. 2% will probably work fine, but if you only have skim milk don't even make this)

1 tsp vanilla extract (the real stuff is MUCH better than the imitation)

In a small bowl, beat the butter, then add in the confectioner's sugar & the cocoa, alternating between those dry ingredients and the milk.

It seems hard to believe that all that powdered stuff will go into such a small amount of moisture, but it will.

Keep beating it until it is smooth and creamy. You may need to add more milk, do so very gradually & carefully so you don't end up with chocolate soup!

Blend in vanilla.

Hoppin John over rice

This is a traditional New Years' recipe, & I'm a little early with it, but we are getting close! Hard to believe it's almost 2012, isn't it?

This recipe involves a lot of chopping, but the rest of it is very simple & fast. You can chop the onion and peppers earlier in the day to make it easier on yourself.

1 cup chopped onion
1 sweet red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped cooked ham (sometimes you can find this already chopped in a vacuum packed bag in the meat department if you'd like a shortcut)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cans black-eye peas (I like Bush's brand best, but any brand works fine)
1/2-1 tsp hot pepper sauce (I have family members with extreme aversion to this. It is okay to leave it out or just put in a couple drops)

3 cups cooked rice. ( In general, that means to use 3 cups of water and 1-1/2 cups of dry rice. Use a ricemaker or cook your rice -- separately from the rest of this recipe! -- in a 2-quart size saucepan). If you need to know how to cook rice without a ricemaker, just let me know.

Salsa (optional)

Sour cream (optional)

In a large skillet, cook onion, peppers & ham in oil for 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Drain blackeye peas, reserving 1/2 cup of the liquid from the can. (I usually just drain the can into a measuring cup until I get the 1/2 cup, then drain the remainding liquid into the sink).

Add blackeye peas, reserved liquid, and hot pepper sauce (optional) to ham mixture. . .stir to combine. Spoon over rice. Top with salsa & sour cream if desired.

If you don't want rice, you can serve this over cornbread, or you can use cornbread as a side food.

Homemade Classic Sloppy Joes

Yes, you can make sloppy joes like Manwich from scratch, and here's how.

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
1lb lean ground beef
1-1/2 cups ketchup
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
8 hamburger buns

Directions:

Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Cook onion and green pepper for 5 minutes.

Add ground beef to the pan. Cook the ground beef, stirring often, until browned. Drain off fat.

Stir in the ketchup, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper.

Simmer over medium-low heat  for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until mixture thickens slightly.

Serve on sandwich/hamburger buns.

Tyson Crock Pot Ready Stew

A quick and easy product you may want to try is the Tyson Ready Slow Cooker Beef Stew. The first time I saw this at Walmart, it was about $14, and I thought it was too expensive. However, recently I found it for $8.78 & decided to give it a try. It was easy and did taste good. Worth a try if you are very busy.

As you can see, there is a seasoning packet that you mix with water. The only work involved is opening the packages and of course you need to cut the vegetables.