Down Home Kitchen

I sure do like “fried chicken”, and it likes to put pounds on me……….I just can’t seem to resist the fried chicken, cream gravy, creamed potatoes, hot rolls and a tossed salad.  I pour the gravy on the chicken, potatoes, and rolls and I’m in “hog heaven”.  I’ll sit there and eat until every savory morsel is gone.  I love my food………..it’s something I’ve always had a craving for.  For some people it’s hard to fry chicken, that turns out good.  I had to work at it for years.  Believe me, it wasn’t as easy as breading it and putting it in the grease and frying.  I got several pieces, that still had the center raw.  So, trail and error became the standard in everything, I’ve learned to cook over the years.  I’ve really learned how to make it all taste “very” good.  Guess that ’s why everyone comes to my house for the holidays.  They know where the good food is going to be and that I’ll be cooking……..lol.

4 to 6 pieces chicken

1 c. flour

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. garlic powder

3/4 c. oil

In bowl mix together dry ingredients, rinse chicken pieces in water, baste in flour mix.  In lg. skillet, place oil and arrange basted chicken.  Fry until sides start to brown, turn and pierce with fork.  When both sides are brown, make sure to pierce again, just in to be sure middle of pieces are done.  Remove to paper toweled plate, to drain off excess oil.  Serve hot.

2 lbs. chicken wings

1/4 c. butter melted

2-4 tsp. hot pepper sauce

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg (optional)

Preheat oven to 425*F.  Cut tips off wings,(save for soup) cut wings in half at joint. In med. bowl, combine butter pepper sauce, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Add wings and toss.  In bottom of broiler pan, arrange wings on baking sheet, bake and turn occasionally, about 35 min. or till brown and crispy.  Serve, with blue cheese or ranch dressing.

1 pkg. boneless, chicken breasts

1 c. (26.5oz) Mushroom Spaghetti Sauce

1 c. (14.5oz) Diced tomatoes with mushrooms(optinal) can use diced tomatoes with juice

1 pkg. refrigerated fettuccine pasta

1/4 c. heavy cream

2 T grated Parmesan cheese

Spray lg. skillet with cooking spray, cook breast till browned on both sides and no longer pink , remove and keep warm.

Stir sauce and tomatoes in skillet, add pasta and bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer over low heat for 10 min or till pasta is tender.  Add cream till blended and serve on individual plates.  Slice each breast into strips; place on top of pasta, and sprinkle with cheese.

This goes great with garlic bread and a nice tossed salad………

Well, as you can tell ………there was plenty of food…..  ….front and center was my dressing……..right next to it on the right sliced turkey and then just to the right of the turkey, Mom’s sliced ham……..above the dressing…….is green onions…..the creamed potatoes and to the right of them is the sweet potatoes, topped with melted, marshmallows……….over on the left is some dishes that my sister left covered that she brought, they kept getting cold for some reason………..Above the potatoes were her deviled eggs and banana pudding, which you can’t see, because they are covered…….too………. she was supposed to bring a fruit salad, which she forgot……..

Oh I kept my giblet gravy on the stove……..since there wasn’t enough room for it on the table and was able to re-heat it ever so often and keep it warm…… 

Hope all of you had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving…….

Most people you talk to, can’t stand the sight of liver & onions, much less the smell. Once they take a taste, for some it’s even worse.
Then you have the die-hard liver & onions…….lovers, who will pick it every time it’s on a menu at a restaurant.  I am one of them and it’s quite a highlight of my day to find it offered. I also cook it very often, when I can catch a good looking grade of beef/calves’s liver at a store.  I love to baste my liver in flour, and brown in in oil, along with sliced up onions.  I fix the brown gravy the easy way, by using the package mix adding water and heating until it thickens.

I usually serve the liver & onions, with an assortment of veggies, and if I in a cooking mood, hot rolls or biscuits.  Nothing gets better than that on a cool evening………

I’ve started thinking about my grocery list for Thanksgiving.  How about you all?  I already have the turkey and just need to get the rest of the fixings.  Guess I’ll make my homemade pecan pies again this year, my spouse said he wants one.  I was seriously thinking of being lazy this year, but it looks like I’ve started something that I can’t change, unless some one else can do it better………either way, I’ve got to do the cooking again and will be plenty exhausted when it’s over.

Have you ever had a disaster happen to your cooking on a holiday?  If so, tell me about it and I will be glad to print it, with your link.

1 med. chuck roast

2 ribs celery cut up

3 carrots cut up

1/2 green bell pepper cut up

1 med. onion cut up
3 med. potatoes cut in quarters

1 c. water

salt, pepper, oregano, basil, garlic powder for seasoning

Place all ingredients in slow cooker except potatoes.  Set temp. on high and cook for three hours.  Put in potatoes and cook another hour.  Remover to serving dish, reserve stock for making gravy.

   Sliders are a great grab and go high protein snack.  These can be made the night before and heated in the microwave in the mornings.

The roll is important.  A small soft roll works best and can be used in any combination.  Considered to be a mini hmburger, they have evolved into all sort of combination’s.  Use sliced deli meats, cheeses, and cooked eggs. When no one has time for breakfast these are the best fast snack.