Chicken Breasts in Onion Milk Gravy

A neat trick I've learned is to cook the flour in the pan drippings for a short while before adding the milk. It keeps it from tasting gummy or pasty.

This picture shows how much creamy gravy I made using only one tablespoon of all purpose white flour, very little fat and over a cup of low fat milk.

I added one half of a large sweet onion, salt and pepper.

Undercooking the chicken and then adding it to the gravy to finish cooking made the breasts extra tender.

The Pretty Purple Princess Popcorn Box

Like I said, the popcorn wasn't good but the box is pretty!

Princess Classics Disney On Ice Popcorn

I have a picture of the pretty, purple Princess Popcorn Box but it won't load correctly.

The worst $6.00 popcorn I've ever had but the show was definitely worth the cost of admission!

Candy apples, cotton candy, popcorn, snow cones in Princess and Mickey Mouse cups...it was great!

easy Chicken with Onions, Bacon,and Gravy

My husband asked me if this is hard to make because he wants me to make it often. I said it's a little involved but not hard.

What you will need:

One half pound bacon cut up into bite size pieces and cooked until crisp.
One or two pounds of chicken cut up browned in the bacon fat.
One large vidalia or other sweet onion sliced and added to the chicken about halfway through cooking.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Milk
All purpose flour

When the chicken and onions are almost done, remove them from the oil and add about a tablespoon of flour and whisk for about 15 seconds then add milk little by little while whisking.
Once the gravy is browned and thickened, add the chicken and onions and stir through and let simmer for a couple of minutes and then stir the bacon in and let simmer till hot, stirring occasionally.
Serve hot over rice.

I adapted this recipe from a show by Emeril on The Food Network. He was cooking quail in bacon fat.

easy Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

I made this cheesecake using sweetened condensed milk from a recipe found on the Eagle Brand website.
The milk gives it a creamier texture than I am used to but it was rich and tasty.

The homemade chocolate ganache topping I made with semi-sweet chocolate chips melted in hot half and half instead of the cream called for in the recipe. I heated the cream and chocolate chips in the microwave in small increments of time, stirring often until it becomes smooth and thickened.

I baked the homemade graham cracker crust for a few minutes to add more flavor and crunch to the crust.

It was so rich I had to chase it with some Dove chocolate candy.

easy Homemade Seafood and Fish Sauce

What you will need:

-Mayonnaise...I used light
-Tomato Ketchup
-Horseradish Sauce

Combine all three in a one to one ratio.
Or, in my own terms, a little bit of this and a little bit of that!
Taste as you go. The horseradish sauce adds a little kick so adjust accordingly.

easy Salmon Patties with Scratch Sauce

This was a good home-alone meal.

What you will need:

-One small can of pink salmon

-One egg

-1/4 cup bread crumbs

-1/4 cup chopped onion

-Seasoned with a little: garlic, chives, salt, freshly ground black pepper and celery flakes.

Combine to make two patties and fry in medium hot pan coated with olive oil.

Serve warm with sauce. Would make a good salmon-burger on a bun.

easy Bratwurst and Peppers

What you will need:
One package of Bratwurst Links
Frozen Peppers and Onions-I used one half of a bag

Heat the olive oil covered pan and add the links. Let them cook until about half way done and then put the peppers and onions in the center and let finish cooking.

If the pan starts to dry out, add a little water and it will create a moist steam to continue cooking without burning.

easy Pan Saute'ed Shrimp

We had a small haul but it was enough for supper tonight. I decided to try pan sauteing them in their shell because of an episode of something I've seen on the Food Network. My husband liked them, I thought they were fair and the son at home wouldn't even try them, he said the heads still on really turned him off.

I started pinching heads and peeling and deveining the remainder of the shrimp and my husband helped make a scampi using olive oil and butter.
We used salt, pepper and a few shakes of Old Bay Seasoning.

In addition we grilled sale bought flat iron steak and I cooked some white acre peas with onion.
A very satisfying meal I think because we caught the shrimp, cleaned the shrimp and cooked the shrimp ourselves.
Tasty too.

Feasting on Asphalt and Fried Chicken

Alton takes a bite of fried chicken breast and proclaims that it is the best fried chicken he has ever had! Quite a comment from such a famous and serious foodie!

He tries to get the secret recipe out of the tight lipped man who just smiles and starts singing the attributes of his grandma in heaven.
He did admit to seasoning the chicken a day before it's cooked but would only say he uses salt, pepper and a little shake.
"Shake of what?", Alton asks uselessly.

I think I've had the best fried chicken too and the cooks "secret" was to soak the chicken in salt water for a couple of hours before flouring and frying.
I suppose she could have been committing the sin of omission like so many other secretive Southern cooks!
I don't like to fry foods that much so I haven't tried it yet to see if she was telling the whole truth!