Southern Smothered Chicken

It's soul food Friday and yes....I've got yet another chicken recipe.This recipe for smothered chicken that follows requires some preparation work and cooking time, but you'll thoroughly enjoy this chicken dinner.


INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 to 3-1/2 pounds broiler chicken (cut into 8 pieces)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 clove minced garlic

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced (about 3/4 cup)

3 green onions cut into 1-inch pieces

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 to 3-1/2 cups hot chicken broth

DIRECTIONS:

1. Clean chicken by rinsing under cold running water. Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towels. Season your chicken by lightly sprinkling each piece with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. In a large deep skillet heat vegetable oil over low heat until hot, about 4 to 5 minutes. Place chicken in hot vegetable oil and over medium low heat, fry chicken until golden brown turning frequently. Remove chicken from skillet.

3. Next add vegetables consisting of garlic, yellow and green onions to skillet, cook and stir until thoroughly browned. Remove skillet from heat.

4. In a medium bowl, combine flour, soy sauce and chicken broth. Using a wire whisk stir until flour mixture is smooth.

5. Return skillet with vegetables to stove and add flour mixture. Over medium heat, cook and stir with wire whisk until gravy begins to boil and thicken. If necessary add more broth if gravy is too thick.

6. Return browned chicken to skillet, reduce heat to low, cover skillet with lid and simmer for 35-40 minutes, stirring gravy and turning chicken until done.

As a serving suggestion, serve your smothered chicken over a bed of white rice with vegetable medley and corn bread.

Enjoy!

Water (For your health!)

No Recipe today folks...I would like to pass on a health tip about water I found out from a friend.

This is interesting! I know you need minimum water to flush the toxins out of your body, but this was news to me.

Correct Time to Drink Water....Very Important
water
From A Cardiac Specialist!

Drinking water at certain time maximizes its effectiveness on the body:

2 glasses of water after waking up - helps activate internal organs

1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal - helps digestion

1 glass of water before taking a bath - helps lower blood pressure

1 glass of water before going to bed - avoids stroke or heart attack

Please pass this to the people you care about......I DID!

Black Eyed Peas Salad

Go Ahead...I dare you to laugh.....No, I did not make this up...This is a southern delicacy served in the deep deep south....I dare you to try and fix something altogether different from what you've ever tried before...I dare you....

INGREDIENTS:


3 - cups cooked black eyed peas

1 - cup dehydrated sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 – cup small red onion, thinly chopped or diced

1/2 - cup green bell pepper, thinly chopped or diced

1/2 - cup crumbled feta cheese

1/3 - cup olive oil

1/4 - cup balsamic vinegar

1 - tablespoon chopped parsley

1 - tablespoon chopped basil or oregano

1 - tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 - tablespoon honey

Cookware and Utensils:

1 – medium mixing bowl

1 – small mixing bowl

1 – measuring cup

1 – spoon


DIRECTIONS:

As always the key to good cooking is to be prepared and to use quality ingredients.

If you are pressed for time or prefer to use canned beans, that's not a problem.(I just wouldn't tell anyone.) Substitute three cups of cooked beans with two 15 ounce cans of black eyed peas.

Rehydrate your sun-dried tomatoes by placing them in warm water. Allow sun-dried tomatoes to set at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Drain juice before adding to black eyed peas salad.

In a medium bowl, form salad by combining black eyed peas, drained rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, feta cheese, parsley and basil or oregano. Lightly mix all ingredients together.

In a small mixing bowl make dressing by whisking together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and honey. Pour dressing over salad and gently toss to coat.

Refrigerate before serving. This salad would make a perfect side dish for your soul food or southern Sunday dinner.

Enjoy!

Sweet Iced Tea is the perfect drink to go along with this!

Peach Salsa

It's still summer and I thought it might be appropriate to try something exotic and fun and a little different.  I'll bet that most of you have never heard of Peach Salsa have you?

Okay, I admit it...Until a friend of mine showed me this recipe...I hadn't either...but here it is..


Peaches, lime juice, and jalapeno peppers make a sweet and spicy salsa that goes great with tortilla chips or grilled chicken

Prep Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Servings: 2 cups

INGREDIENTS:


2 cups chopped, peeled fresh peaches

1/4 cup chopped sweet onion

3 tablespoons lime juice

2 to 3 tablespoons finely chopped, seeded fresh jalapeno peppers

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon of snipped fresh cilantro


DIRECTIONS:

In a medium mixing bowl stir together peaches, onion, lime juice, peppers, garlic, and cilantro. Cover and chill for 1 to 2 hours. Makes 2 cups (sixteen 2-tablespoon servings).


See..That was easy enough, wasn't it?   Enjoy!

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

I thought I'd throw a little something different in the mix for today...Something tasty , quick and easy to prepare.  How about Stuffed Cabbage Rolls?

INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cup water

1/3 cup uncooked white rice

8 cabbage leaves

1 pound lean ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup


DIRECTIONS:

1.In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

2.Bring a large, wide saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add cabbage leaves and cook for 2 to 4 minutes or until softened; drain.

3.In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, 1 cup cooked rice, onion, egg, salt and pepper, along with 2 tablespoons of tomato soup. Mix thoroughly.

4.Divide the beef mixture evenly among the cabbage leaves. Roll and secure them with toothpicks or string.

5.In a large skillet over medium heat, place the cabbage rolls and pour the remaining tomato soup over the top. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring and basting with the liquid often.


Enjoy!

Whiskey Cake

I don't remember my grandfather, Prince Albert Martin's Whiskey cake looking like this...but it was the best photo I could find...But it was a grand treat...He used to make this dish every year between Christmas and New Year...It brings back one of my fondest holiday memories....

INGREDIENTS:

2  & 2/3 cups of self raising flower

1 & 1/2 tsp of cinnamon

1 tsp of nutmeg

1 tsp of allspice

1/4 cup of butter

3 Eggs

1 Box of brown Sugar

1/2 box of raisin- (flour lightly)

1 package of English Walnuts( Chopped and flour)

1/2 pint of rum or whiskey. (Whiskey is better...I got that from him himself! LOL!)


DIRECTIONS:

Cream eggs and sugar together well.

Mix all dry ingredients together.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the eggs and sugar..

Stir well

Add the raisins and walnuts.

Bake at 360 degrees.

When the cake is done...pour more whiskey over it...don't drown it...while it's still warm..

Cover with a cloth and let it rest awhile!

Eat and enjoy!

I'd say a cup of coffee is perfect for this!

Aunt Jean's perfect pancakes

One of the joys of my childhood was the times I spent the night over my Aunt Jean's house...besides the fact that she had four children...My cousins...She also made the best pancakes known to mankind..bar none..
She left this existence unfortunately on December 26, 2000...but fortunately...she left behind her recipe for pancakes... Here it is-

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of All Purpose Flower

2 tsps of Baking Powder

1 tsp of Baking Soda

1.2 Tsp of salt

3 tblsp. of Sugar

1 tblsp of Maple Syrup

3 cups of Buttermilk

4 tblsps of melted butter

2 large eggs.


DIRECTIONS:

1. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl

2. Mix the liquid ingredients in a seperate bowl

3. Add the liquid and dry ingredients in another bowl stirring gently until blended... Don't overmix.

4.Drop by the spoonful on Hot griddle..Wait until bubbles form before turning..

Serve with thick cut bacon...

and of course a tall glass of milk!

Enjoy!

In loving memory of my dear Aunt, Jeanne Elizabeth Martin Faust  (April 12, 1927- December 26,2000)

Basque Chicken

Here is a nice recipe if you are thinking of fixing something for tonight's meal. (I swear, I'll lay off of the chicken recipes for a few days!-lol)

This is called Basque Chicken and here are the simple directions.

Well as usual, we'll start with the-

INGREDIENTS:


2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced

6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

3 to 4 pounds chicken breasts, with bone and skin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon Spanish smoked paprika

3 to 4 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 (12-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, sliced or 2 roasted red peppers

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

I estimate the Preparation Time on this to be 10 minutes and the cooking time to be no more than 55-60 minutes...an hour roughly.

DIRECTIONS:

1.Preheat oven to 425F.

2.Spread onions and garlic evenly in the bottom of a large shallow roasting pan. Cut each chicken breast in half. Sprinkle chicken pieces on both sides with salt and pepper. Place chicken, skin side up, in pan. Drizzle with olive oil; sprinkle with paprika. Bake 20 minutes.

3.Add tomatoes, red peppers and broth. Continue baking 35 to 40 minutes, basting chicken occasionally, until chicken juices run clear.


Enjoy!


I am told you should enjoy this wine...Rosenblum's Petite Cellars Wine with this dish!

Seasoned Chicken Salad

If I was writing a post this short for "Keith's Space" or "Escapades" I'd also label it "micro-blogging." It's just that this is a simple recipe for a hot afternoon in lazy crazy hazey summer... It's seasoned chicken salad.

INGREDIENTS:


2 cups left over chicken breast, cut into cubes

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp. Montreal Chicken seasoning (or to taste)

Bread of your choice


DIRECTIONS:

This is a cool way to use left over chicken breast..Simply cut the left over chicken breast into cubes, Then Add mayonnaise and Montreal Chicken Seasoning. Serve on your choice of bread, roll, or bagel with tomato and lettuce.


See, now wasn't that short and simple??? Enjoy this with some ice tea.

Apple Stuffed Chicken Breast

God Bless the Chicken!   God Bless The Chicken!!  Can I get an A-men?  There are just so many delicious ways one can prepare the chicken... Here is another delicious recipe I have for chicken.. It's called Apple stuffed Chicken Breast..


INGREDIENTS:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1/2 cup of  chopped apple

2 tablespoons of shredded Cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon of  Italian-style dried bread crumbs

1 tablespoon of butter

1/4 cup of dry white wine

 1/4 cup  of water

 1  & 1/2 teaspoons of cornstarch

1 tablespoon  chopped fresh parsley, for garnish



DIRECTIONS:

1.Combine apple, cheese, and bread crumbs. Set aside.

2.Flatten chicken breasts between sheets of waxed paper to 1/4 inch thickness. Divide apple mixture between chicken breasts, and roll up each breast. Secure with toothpicks.

3.Melt butter or margarine in a 7 inch skillet over medium heat. Brown stuffed chicken breasts. Add wine and 1/4 cup water. Cover. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink.

4.Transfer chicken to a serving platter. Combine 1 tablespoon water and cornstarch; stir into juices in pan. Cook and stir until thickened. Pour gravy over chicken, and garnish with parsley. Serve..


 Enjoy!