Chicken and Waffles

So you know your southern when...It sounds weird, I know, but there's something so good about the combination of salty and sweet. Chicken and waffles is just that. My advice: Don't knock it until you try it.
Ingredients:
2 cups Bisquick mix
1 egg
2 1/3  cups milk (1 1/3 for waffles, 1 for frying chicken)
2 chicken breast
2 cups flour
1 cup of vegetable oil for frying 2 tbsp for waffles
waffle maker
favorite syrup

Directions:
Cube your chicken breast and cover with 1 cup of milk. Place the 2 cups of flour in a large Ziploc bag. Drop the cubes of chicken into the flour and shake. Place covered chicken cubes in hot oil (may require more than the 2 cups) and fry until golden brown.  Follow the directions on the Bisquick box to prepare the waffles according to the directions.

Serve chicken nuggets over the waffles and drizzle with syrup.
Review: This is one of my husband's and kids absolute favorite meals! We serve this more than I should admit. :)

Pulled Pork Sanwiches

I have to admit that I have never had pulled pork before. I have never cooked it or even tried it at a restaurant before, so this was a true first for me. I have to say, that it was very good and definitely one we will try again.
Ingrediants:
Pork tenderloin
1 can of coke (or your choice of soda)
Favorite BBQ sauce

Directions:                                                                                                                  

Cook your pork tenderloin in the coke in your crock pot on low heat for 6 hours. Remove from coke and seperate. (This is the pulling part.) Return pulled pork to the coke and add a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce and cook for 30 mins on medium. Serve on your favorite buns with your favorite sides.
Review: This makes enough to serve for company. I served my family of four plus my mom and dad. Ace and I loved this meal! Dusty and my dad could've done without the BBQ sauce as they are not big fans. My mom and Cooper could've gone either way. For my first attempt, I thought it was a hit. We even had enough for left overs.

Since I first published this, we have had this meal again. The second time I made it, I used Dr. Pepper and a honey bbq sauce. It was sweeter and really good. I made Dusty's before I added the bbq sauce and he thought it was just as good just cooked in the DP.

Saucy Cranberry Orange Chicken

This recipe was sent to me from one of my closest friends in Florida. She's a mom of twins and a 5 year old. She says that she was able to cook this meal while juggling the feeding of the twins. She and I both agree that it was super easy and she thought it was better the next day. It originally comes from Campbell's Kitchen. Thanks Campbell and Beth!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup cranberry juice

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)

1 tablespoon dried cranberries

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves or 1 teaspoon ground sage

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 cups hot cooked instant white rice

Sliced green onions (I left these out as my family are not big onion eaters.)

Directions:

Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until it's well browned on both sides.

Add the orange juice, cranberry juice, soup, cranberries, sage and black pepper in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Serve the chicken mixture over the rice and sprinkle with the onions.

Review: It was very creamy and almost reminded me of something you could serve at Thanksgiving. I did like the flavor and the texture that the cranberries added to the meal. I think that I was the only one in my family that liked this, but that's all that matters, right?

Chicken with Black Pepper Marinade

This recipe is from foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, crushed
• 4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
• Salt
• Juice of 1 lemon

Directions

In a shallow glass baking dish combine fresh lemon juice with olive oil, garlic and crushed peppercorns. Mix together with a fork. Place chicken breasts in baking dish and turn several times to coat with mixture. Let marinade for 30 minutes. Heat an indoor iron grill pan or outdoor grill until very hot. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and cook for 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

I needed a new recipe and was searching when I came across this one. It's been so long ago that I cooked it that I'm not sure what my thoughts were. I do know that the picture makes this meal look appetizing!

Easy Lemon-Pepper Blackened Salmon

For this recipe, I wanted to step outside my comfort zone of cooking with chicken, even though there is something to be said for the various different ways to cook such a simple bird. I wanted to deliver something new and fresh to you, so I ventured out with salmon. For one it's a lot healthier on your waistline than some of my other recipes and two, it just looks good. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. (Thanks Julie for the website. It might just be my new favorite!)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I used about 2 whole lemons)

1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns

4 salmon fillets

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Whisk together the butter, lemon juice, parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir in the peppercorns. Dip the salmon into the sauce so the flesh side is coated, and set on a plate,
3. Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, add the salmon, placing it skin side up into the skillet. Cook for until the flesh is seared and golden brown, about 1 minute.
4. Place the skillet into the preheated oven, and cook until the salmon flakes easily with a fork, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve immediately.

Review: Well, this one was a swing and a miss for my family. Even though, I loved it and could definitely prepare it again, my boys were not fans. It must be a texture thing and of course, a fish thing. The salmon was very flakey and had just the right amount of lemon for the fish, no over kill. I probably could've bake it a little longer because the middle was still a little rare. When serving fish, I have yet to find the perfect side dish. Next time, I might serve it with some steamed asparagus.

Lemonade Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

1 can (6 oz.) frozen lemonade concentrate

3/4 c water

2-4 chicken breasts

1/3 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. oil
2 t. melted butter



Directions:
Mix together lemonade (I used half the can) and water; pour over chicken in a bowl. Refrigerate 2 hours or longer. (I did this part in the morning before leaving for work. Mine marinated all day.) Drain liquid. Mix together the flour, salt and pepper in a plastic ziploc baggie. Add well drained chicken to the bag, close and shake until chicken is coated in flour. Heat oil in large skillet or frying pan over moderate heat. Add floured chicken, cook until evenely browned, turning pieces over carefully. Once chicken is browned, remove and arrange in a shallow baking dish. Brush with melted butter. Add the other half of the lemonade. Bake uncovered at 350 for 50 mins to an hour. Spoon lemonade in pan over chicken several times as it bakes. Serve with favorite sides. Make 2-4 servings.

Review: If you like lemon, you will love this recipe. The chicken is tender and juicy. . It's good, but has a definite lemon kick. We had more fun trying to think of variations of this chicken dish. We used the same recipe except changed the lemonade to frozen orange juice. We cooked it the exact same way and served with stir fry vegetables and edamame. It was just as good as an orange chicken from a chinese food restaurant. Our next attempt willl be to swith the lemonade with a limeade and do some kind of tequilla lime chicken on the grill. The possibilities are endless. Have fun experimenting!

Pizza Dip

My pizza dip is such a hit at parties that I was asked to put it on my blog. This recipe is so easy to change up and make it your own. Add anything to it that you would eat on your pizza and it's sure to become a fan favorite at your next party. This dip is great to take to a New Year's party, College Bowl party or even the next Super Bowl party. If you know me, you probably have had this dip. (Pictures to come soon.)

Ingredients:
2 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese
2 c. of motzerella cheese
1 c. of parmesean cheese
2/3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 c. of spaghetti sauce
Sour dough or Italian bread loaf, sliced
Directions:
Soften the blocks of cream cheese, add in 1 c. of the motzerella and the parmesean cheese and the garlic. Place at the bottom of a baking dish. Top with the spaghetti sauce and sprinkle remaining cup of motzerella. Bake at 350 until edges get bubbly. Serve with sliced bread.
* This reheats easily when needed as the parties go on.