Fried Chicken Caesar Salad

I used leftover fried tenders and made myself a Fried Chicken Caesar Salad for lunch! I love Caesar Salad of all kinds. Adding fried chicken, shrimp or crab to a Caesar Salad is a real treat on a hot summer day! 

Fried Chicken Tenders

6-8 chicken Tenders 
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 Tablespoon Hot Sauce
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
Oil for frying

Make an egg wash by beating the eggs, buttermilk and hot sauce together in a shallow dish. Mix flour and spices in another shallow dish. Dip chicken breast pieces in egg wash then dredge in the flour mixture. For a thicker crust on the chicken, repeat that step again... egg then flour. In a heavy skillet, heat about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch of oil to 365 degrees. (Or heat a deep fryer to 365 degrees) Place chicken in hot oil. (If the oil is not up to temp, the coating will not stick. Do not crowd the chicken in the pan or it will boil in the oil and not fry crispy.) Fry for about 5 minutes per side or until golden brown and no longer pink inside. 

Fried Chicken Caesar Salad

1/4 - 1/2 cup Classic Caesar Dressing, to taste

6 fried chicken tenders, sliced

6 cups torn romaine lettuce

1 cup seasoned croutons

1/4 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese 

Toss lettuce, croutons and dressing in large serving bowl. Top with chicken and sprinkle with cheese. Serve immediately.

Roasted Vegetables!

Living in South Carolina all my life, I went through the eye wall of Hugo all those years ago, and I remember it all to well! The storm, the eerie calm and starry sky as the eye passed over, and the aftermath of the other side of the eye wall are still fresh in my mind with every passing storm. We are watching Irma and hoping for the best! I have a wedding Saturday to prepare for, and then we will decide what to do next. We are as prepared as we can be here in this ancient double wide mobile home. (that I hope does NOT become truly mobile!)

In the mean time, I'm cooking some foods that might perish if we are left without power for any significant time. Today I roasted some vegetables I had sitting around. Awesome flavors!

Potatoes, Carrots, Onions and Garlic Cloves

Cut into chunks, except the garlic. Leave it whole.

Tossed in oil and a little lemon.

Seasoned with basil, Kosher salt and pepper, to taste.

Roast on a baking sheet for about 30-45 minutes at 400 degrees.

My kitchen smells amazing!

Hamburger and Potato Casserole with a Bechamel Twist

I was trying to figure out what to cook for supper with the things I had on hand. The cabinets are getting pretty bare, and those that know me, know that "running to the store" is not an option out here. I need a couple of hours to be able to do the shopping. Well, I had ground beef in the freezer and thawed it out. I had a few potatoes, a couple of onions and some cheese. Most recipes would call for some cream of mushroom or broth next, but I didn't have any on hand. I decided to go with a bechamel with a garlic kick. Here's a step by step, and the recipe is at the end.

Layer potatoes and onions.

Next combine hamburger, spices and bechamel,

then top the potatoes and onions.

Next Cheese!

Another layer of potatoes and onions.

More meat mixture.

Continue layering.

After 4 hours cooking on high.

All plated and ready to gobble up! It went fast!

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

¼ cup flour

2 cups milk

2 garlic cloves, run through a garlic press

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp. Pepper

3 lbs. peeled russet potatoes, sliced

1 sliced onion

3 cups shredded sharp cheese

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Brown the ground beef on the stove top. Remove meat and reserve grease. Add flour to grease and stir to cook the flour to make a roux. Add a little butter if needed. Slowly whisk in milk until smooth. Bring to a boil. Sauce won’t thicken until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in meat and seasonings.

In a Crock Pot* base, layer 1/3 of the potatoes. Salt and Pepper the potatoes, to taste. Add 1/3 of the onions, 1/3 of the meat mixture, and 1 cup of the cheese. Repeat the layers ending with cheese.

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or until the potatoes get soft.

*If you don’t have a crock pot, layer as instructed in a casserole deep dish and cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until potatoes are fork tender.

Hot Pepper Sauce for Collard Greens

With all the peppers the hubby planted, I have so much to make with them! Pepper Jelly, Pickled Peppers, Cowboy Candy (candied jalapenos) and much more! This was one that my MIL requested!

Southern Collard Green with Ham Hocks

1 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
about 30 small peppers

Clean jar, lid, and band and rinse well.

Mix together sugar, salt and vinegar in a stainless steel saucepan.
Cook over medium heat until it begins to boil.

Fill jar with peppers and pour hot vinegar mixture over the peppers. Leave about 1/4 inch of head space from the top of the jar. Remove air bubbles in the jar by tilting jar slightly to allow bubbles to escape as pepper press against opposite side of the jar.

Wipe jar rim to clean. Place lid on top of jar and tighten ring.

Process jars in a water bath for 10-15 minutes.*

Store in dark, cool cabinet or pantry for up to a year.

*For a quick refrigerator batch, follow instructions as above, but after jarring, allow to cool and store in the refrigerator.

Happy National Watermelon Day!

Happy National Watermelon Day! Here are some watermelon inspired treats to entertain you! I hope you enjoy them! Click on the links for the recipes. This first one is a watermelon cooler that is so refreshing on a hot summer night!

Watermelon Cooler

Next I have a refreshing fruit salad. I use the term "refreshing" a lot when talking about watermelon! It seems like a good word to use when talking about cold, juicy, yummy watermelon!

Simple Fruit Salad

Next is the Hash House A Go-Go's Tower of Fried Green Tomatoes separated by homemade (or house-made) Chicken Salad with a Balsamic Drizzle all on top of a HUGE chunk of Watermelon!

Las Vegas Hash House A Go-Go

Finally, just for giggles, Willie the Whale in Disney Inspired Treats! I had a little boy's birthday to carve a watermelon basket for fruit, and his theme was whales. We carved the watermelon into a whale! That was a fun one!

Willie the Whale

I hope you have enjoyed these watermelon treats!

Happy National Watermelon Day!

Grape Jelly and Mosto Cotto Balsamic

The hubby planted a cutting from his Dad's grape vine several years back, and we are now finally getting enough to can! This vine is special to the Vining Family (no pun intended!) because it was brought to this country by his ancestors. He told me last night that it was his great, great, great, great Grandfather's cutting that started the vine on American soil! What a heritage to pass down!

I washed and sorted the grapes.

This is some of the heritage that I have from my 

Grandmama Bradham. Her chinois or stainless steel

cone with pestle. You can see it was well used! The pestle

is seasoned with many grapes and other fruits and vegetables!

I got 8 cups of juice from the grapes.

About the Mosto Cotto...
"Also called vino cotto, saba, and petimezi, mosto cotto means “cooked must.” The “must” is smashed grapes that in this case are cooked down into a delectable sweet sauce with the consistency of maple syrup. It is heavenly on fruit, cheese, or in salad dressings.

This is an ancient recipe found in countries all around the Mediterranean. It was originally used to create a sweetener in the era before sugar cane was introduced to that part of the world."

This is the mash or "must" (grape skins and seeds) that was left over.

I covered with water and simmered low and slow for 2 hours.

I added about 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, and continued to

simmer until it was the consistency of a light syrup.

Grape Jelly

8 cups grape juice*

10 cups sugar
1 T lemon juice

Combine juices and sugar. Bring to a boil, and boil until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F. Process in jars of your choice in a water bath per canning instruction.

*When using the cone and pestle, this recipe doesn't need the added pectin. The lighter colored grapes (less ripe) contain a higher amount of their own pectin.

For the Mosto Cotto, follow these detailed instructions.
How to make Mosto Cotto (Vino Cotto) recipe

Cantaloupe Jam

Since the hubby planted a bigger garden this year, I have cantaloupe coming in faster than we can eat it. I started wondering if I could save it somehow. Freezing is, of course, not an option. Then I ran across an article online about melon jam, and thought, why not??? So, after a little research, I came up with this recipe for cantaloupe jam! I will admit that I did not completely wash the salt off of the cantaloupe. I did want a little salty-sweet flavor. I also admit that we sprinkle a little salt on our cantaloupe and watermelon. It seemed like the right thing to do, and it turned out delicious!  If you decide to do it this way, taste the cantaloupe before cooking it down to make sure it's not too salty. If it is, rinse it some more. With the next batch, I'm going to add peppercorns for another "twist." I already have 2 more large cantaloupes ripe and sitting in my kitchen!

14 cups cubed cantaloupe, about 2 large cantaloupe

1⁄4 cup kosher salt 

4 cups sugar

3⁄4 cup bottled lemon juice

Toss cantaloupe with salt in a large bowl. Cover and let stand 2 hours. Drain; rinse with cold water. Drain.

Stir together cantaloupe, sugar, and lemon juice in a large stainless steel pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer uncovered about 20 minutes or until cantaloupe is soft. Mash cantaloupe pieces with a potato masher. (I used a handheld emulsion blender.) Simmer, uncovered, stirring often, about 1 hour until it reaches 220 degrees.*

Ladle hot jam into a hot jar, leaving 1⁄4-inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim and apply the lid and band.

Place jars in water bath. Process jars 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

*Cooking time may vary due to ripeness and water content.