Captain Crunch Chicken Tenders

I had some Captain Crunch coated chicken tenders at a Planet Hollywood and thought they were so amazing because they were sweet and salty and crunchy. I found the recipe online and definitely thought I should try to make them!

_______________________
2 cups Cap'n Crunch cereal
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 lbs chicken tenders (or chicken breasts cut into tenders)
Vegetable oil (for frying)

Thaw chicken breasts, cut each breast into 3-4 slim pieces, and dry strips with a paper towel before dredging.

Coarsely grind or crush the cereal in gallon size bag and set aside. Beat the egg with milk in separate bowl and set aside. Stir together the flour, onion and garlic powders and black pepper and set aside.

Dip the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour. Move around to coat well, then shake off the excess flour. Dip coated tender quckly in the egg wash, coating well, then place all coated tenders in the bag of crushed cereal. Shake bag until all the tenders are coated.

Heat oil in a large heavy skillet to 325 (or for a few minutes on low-medium heat). Drop coated chicken tenders carefully in the hot oil and cook until golden brown and fully cooked, 3 to 5 minutes depending on size.

_____________________________Pictured with a baked potato and green bean casserole. I heated the oil too high, so the coating began to burn before the chicken had cooked fully. They were very yummy though, maybe I'll get them perfect next time.

Wedding Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for coating
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting hands
1 cup pecans, chopped into very small pieces

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar at low speed until it is smooth. Beat in the vanilla. At low speed gradually add the flour. Mix in the pecans with a spatula. With floured hands, take out about 1 tablespoon of dough and shape into a crescent. Continue to dust hands with flour as you make more cookies. Place onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 40 minutes. When cool enough to handle but still warm, roll in additional confectioners' sugar. Cool on wire racks.

____________________________________

Christmas Sugar Cookies

I make these every year. They are a mess and probably are way more trouble than they are worth, but it is a tradition!

You must let the dough sit in the refrigerator for a long time. It's annoying, but it will make your life so much easier.

____________________________

Prep:

2 sticks butter
2 small eggs or 1 large egg
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 or 3 cups flour
scant teaspoon salt
scant teaspoon baking soda
teaspoon pure vanilla

After cooked:

1 cup confectioner's sugar
milk or orange juice

Mix butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg(s) and mix again. Add vanilla, salt, and baking soda and mix again. Finally, carefully mix in flour until well blended and sticky dough results. Let dough sit in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Take dough out of fridge and use flour very generously to spread it 1/4 of an inch and cut it into desired cookie shapes. Place cookies on greased bake sheet about 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 heat.

Take cookies out and let cool on wax paper. Mix a little no pulp orange juice or milk with confectioners sugar until a thick, smooth, white mixture results. Spread over cookies and place festive sprinkles on wet icing. Let icing harden for an hour, then place cookies in tins, separated in layers by wax paper. Keep refrigerated or frozen.

______________________________________

Parmesan Dip

My friend George made me this EASY EASY EASY dip because he knew I would love it...So I thought I would write it down...because it is really good, and also REALLY EASY.

_____________________________

1 block of cream cheese
1 small cup sour cream
1/2 cup powdered Parmesan Cheese
Pinch garlic powder

Mix sour cream and cream cheese, fold in dry ingredients and mix until distributed evenly. Serve with Plain Ruffles Chips.

____________________________

Apple Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Looking at the recipes I have here so far, they are all sides or appetizers. I've got a few main dishes up my sleeves, but I thought I'd add one that I want to try over the holiday break.

__________________________

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (1 1/4 pound) fresh pork tenderloin
kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 Gala apple, cut into chunks
1/2 cup Riesling wine
1 cup apple jelly
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a baking dish large enough to hold the tenderloin without folding it.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and brown the pork tenderloin on all sides. Remove the browned tenderloin to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle all sides of the meat with salt, pepper, and parsley.

Cook and stir the onion and apple in the same skillet over medium heat until the onion becomes soft, about 5 minutes, and pour in the Riesling wine. Scrape all the browned flavor bits off the bottom of the skillet and stir to help dissolve them into the wine. Bring to a boil, and pour the onion, apple, and wine mixture over the tenderloin.

Mix together the apple jelly and balsamic vinegar in a bowl until the mixture is smooth and without lumps. Spread the jelly mixture all over the pork.

Bake the loin in the preheated oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 160 degrees F, 30 to 45 minutes. Allow the tenderloin to rest for 10 minutes before slicing, and serve each slice with a spoonful of the apple-onion mixture.

_________________________

Spinach Pinwheels

I love puff pastry probably more than anything on this earth, and when I saw Paula Deen making some spinach pinwheels, I freaked out and knew I had to make them. I might end up substituting the gruyere cheese with parmesan, but we'll see...

___________________________

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
1 (17 1/2-ounce) package puff pastry sheets

Drain spinach well, pressing between layers of paper towels to remove excess moisture.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook, for 5 minutes. Stir together spinach, mushrooms and cheese; set aside.

Roll 1 pastry sheet into a 13 by 11-inch rectangle. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Brush 1/2 melted butter over pastry. Spread 1/2 spinach mixture over butter. Roll-up, jellyroll fashion, starting with the long side. Repeat procedure with remaining pastry sheet, butter, and spinach mixture. (Wrap rolls in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 days, if desired.) Cut rolls into 1/4-inch thick slices.

Place on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 350 heat, or until golden brown.

________________________

Sausage Cornbread Stuffing

My mom made this stuffing for Thanksgiving this year, and it is utterly the most amazing, flavorful stuffing I have ever had. I copied it exactly from this recipe because there is literally nothing I would do to change it...but I definitely plan on it being a staple for Thanksgivings from now on.

_______________________-

2 (8 ounce) packages corn bread mix
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound spicy pork sausage
2 onions, chopped
2 apples, cored and chopped
4 stalks celery, diced
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Bake cornbread according to package directions. Cool and crumble into a large bowl.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook sausage until brown and crumbly, remove from the skillet but keep the oil in the pan. Add onions, apples and celery; cook stirring occasionally until tender, about 5 minutes.

Toss the cooked mixture and the sausage into the bowl with the crumbled cornbread. Stir in the chicken broth and melted butter. Season with parsley, sage, thyme, rosemary salt and pepper. Blend well and press into a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Bake at 350 heat for 35 to 45 minutes.

_____________________________

Creamy Macaroni

Henry and I are hungry for macaroni and cheese tonight, so we're going to make an adapted version of Paula Deen's crock-pot macaroni found here. Hope it turns out well!

Add one pound of meat, seasoned generously with Worcestershire sauce to noodles for an extra kick and a more filling result.

_______________________________________

3 cups Elbow macaroni (1 pound box should do)
1/2 stick butter
1 cup milk
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 pound Velveeta cheese
1 clove garlic
2 eggs


Boil noodles with 1 crushed clove of garlic until soft. While noodles are cooking, brown meat in frying pan while seasoning generously with Worcestershire. Cook meat completely.

When noodles are done, strain them, then put them back in original pot over low heat. Add 1/2 pound of Velveeta cut into quarters. Cut 1/2 stick butter into pieces and stir them into the mixture. When Velveeta is completely melted, add all of meat and stir in.

When meat is mixed with Velveeta and noodles, pour noodles partially into casserole dish. Add some of the grated sharp cheddar and some of the grated Parmesan cheese to layer on top of noodles. Pour second layer of noodles and add more sharp cheddar and Parmesan. Pour the remainder of noodles into dish.

Beat eggs and milk together and pour generously over casserole dish. Then, cover top of dish with the rest of grated cheese.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes on 350 heat.

_______________________________________

Tzatsiki and Greek Pitas

I spent 2 months in Greece this summer, and one of my favorite dips/snacks was definitely tzatsiki, which is a garlicy, cucumbery, cool yogurt dip that goes perfectly with some fried and grilled Greek pitas. This might be a recipe to use during spring time or summer time, but it's good to have around in case you've got to whip up a quick appetizer for guests.

________________________________

Prep:
8 oz Greek-style unflavored yogurt
1 cucumber
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
1 bag flour pitas

Shave cucumber into fine, almost transparent slices and cut into slivers. Crush or finely chop garlic clove. Mix yogurt, cucumber, garlic, and oil well.

Cut pitas like a pizza. Fill frying pan with olive oil, and place pita in oil for 2 minutes. Then bake in oven or grill until crispy. Serve tzatsiki chilled.

__________________________________

Honey-Lemon Thanksgiving Turkey

Since it's about time for Thanksgiving, I thought I'd share the turkey recipe that I plan to make for my family. I have made this recipe before, and it turns out to be just delicious!

The measurements listed here are arbitrary. I usually do not measure anything...just make sure you have enough juice/oil to cover the turkey each time you baste and enough honey to rub all over the turkey 3-4 times.

____________________________________
The Turkey

Prep:
1 Butterball fresh whole turkey (pick size depending upon how many people you want to feed)
1 container honey
salt
sugar
ground black pepper
3/4 stick butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil or virgin olive oil
2 cups chicken stock
1 lemon (juice and zest)

Remove packaging and plastic bags containing neck and giblets. Wash turkey in sink, drain the turkey, and dry the cavity with paper towels. Stuff turkey if desired. Place turkey in large roasting pan. Tie back legs together and place tin foil over tip of wings.

Mix oil, melted butter, chicken stock, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and 1 teaspoon sugar in small bowl by stirring. Brush mixture onto the skin of the entire turkey and pour rest of mixture into bottom of pan. Drizzle 1/3 cup of honey over the turkey, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and sugar, and place in oven at 375 heat. Here is a useful calculator for how long you should cook the turkey depending upon its size.

Along the course of the cooking time, remove the turkey 3-4 times to baste. Take in juice at bottom of pan and drizzle it over turkey until skin is re-soaked. Each time, drizzle 1/3 cup of honey over top and dust lightly with salt, sugar, and pepper. The sugar and honey will caramelize on the skin of the turkey and turn a dark brown.

If turkey browns too much, cover lightly with tin foil. If contents at bottom of pan begin to burn, add chicken stock or water accordingly.

Remove turkey from oven when done and baste with juices from bottom of pan one last time. Remove stuffing if you decided to stuff the turkey. Place turkey on platter and zest a lemon over top.
______________________________________


Our 12 pound turkey that fed 6 people with plenty of leftovers. Meat was juicy and flavor was very good!

Southern Sweet Iced Tea

Nothing is better than some southern sweet tea on a hot day (or any day for that matter)! I know how to make tea, but I thought I would just write it down in case someone wanted to know or just to jog my own memory...

_________________________________________

2 large Lipton "yellow-label" tea bags (black or orange Peko tea)
3/4 cups sugar
1 beverage container
2-3 cups water

Boil water on highest setting of stove. While waiting for water to boil, sugar in beverage container. Use a clothespin to secure tea bags to side of container. When water is ready, pour into beverage container (watch out for the steam!).

Stir water for 1 minute until sugar is dissolved and bob tea bags in water for additional 1 minute to release more antioxidants. Let steep for 1 hour, then remove tea bags.

Add cool water from sink until beverage fills the container and place in fridge until you're ready to drink!
________________________________________

Earl Grey Macaroon Sandwiches

I love all things tea--smell, taste, sound. I recently went to a dessert expo here at Duke and had some AMAZING Earl Grey Tea Cookies with chocolate in the middle...So I decided to try to find a recipe and create my own spin on it (which, of course, is modeled after the one that I tasted at the dessert expo).

The this recipe is adapted from this website.

________________________________

Prep:

3 oz almond flour (2/3 cup) or blanched sliced almonds (3/4 cup) or slivered almonds (2/3 cup)
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa
3 large egg whites, at room temperature for 30 minutes
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon Earl Grey tea (from 1 tea bag)

After cooked:
1-2 slabs of Chocolate Almond bark (melt as needed)

Grind almond flour or almonds with confectioners sugar and cocoa powder in food processor until powdery. Sift twice through a medium-mesh sieve into a bowl. If it's not fine enough for almost all of nuts to go through sieve, regrind.

Beat egg whites with salt in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks. Beat in granulated sugar, a little at a time. Increase speed to high and beat until meringue holds stiff, glossy peaks. Fold meringue into almond mixture with a rubber spatula until completely incorporated. (Meringue will deflate and batter will be loose.)

Grind tea to a fine powder in grinder.

Spoon half of batter into pastry bag (or gallon-sized bag with hole in corner). Holding bag vertically just above baking sheet, pipe 1 1/2-inch-wide mounds of batter about 1 inch apart, stopping pressure and flicking tip sideways to avoid peaks (tamp down any peaks with a wet finger). Refill pastry bag and repeat. Sprinkle tops with about 1/4 tsp tea powder (reserve remainder). Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature until a light crust forms, 20 to 30 minutes.

Bake at 300 heat for 22-28 minutes until crisp and interior does not give easily when a macaroon is gently pressed. Cool completely on baking sheets on racks, about 30 minutes. Loosen macaroons from parchment with offset spatula (they will be very fragile).

After cookies have cooled, melt Almond Bark and combine it with the remaining amount of ground tea leaves. Spread a very thin layer of melted chocolate onto flat side of cookie and sandwich it between another cookie.

Layer macaroons between sheets of parchment in an airtight container and let stand at room temperature at least 2 hours to soften before eating. Makes 2 1/2 dozen macaroon sandwiches.

________________________________

I will make this recipe during the holidays, and we'll see how it goes. Pictures to come.

Southern Cheddar Biscuits

Cheesy buttermilk buscuits: They have a Southern hominess about them that make them irresistible. The frame of the recipe is adapted from Alton Brown's recipe for Southern Biscuits, but I added a few of my own elements.

If you just want plain buscuits, take out the cheddar, Parmesan and garlic powder. They are delicious anyway!

____________________________________

Prep:
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup buttermilk, chilled
1 cup sharp yellow cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

After cooked:
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/8 teaspoon dried parsley flakes (optional)

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter, and shortening in large bowl with fork until sandy texture is achieved. Add milk, cheese, and garlic powder. Mix dough by hand until chunky, very sticky dough is achieved.

After placing dough on floured surface, sprinkling flour on it, and folding it over itself 3-4 times, spread dough into 1-inch thick layer over floured wax paper and cut dough into circles with a diameter no larger than 3 inches. Place biscuits close together on greased cookie sheet (they will not rise or expand much). Bake for 15-20 minutes on 450 heat until biscuits are light brown on top and until visible cheese is dark brown.

Remove biscuits from oven and brush melted butter with parsley flakes on top. Makes 10-12 biscuits.
____________________________________

Henry and I made 3 batches of these, refining them each time. This is the final recipe that we produced. We had these with sausage, egg, and (more) cheese, and it was delicious! This will definitely be a staple of our home-cooked meals and breakfast foods.

Pictures to come!

My Recipe Book

Hello y'all,

I am 20 years old, and have made the exciting discovery that I love to cook and that I want to learn how to cook better. Since I bough cable TV for myself in my dorm room, I have watched the food network religiously, and have really enjoyed hearing from Paula Dean and other chefs there.

I'd like this blog to be a place where I can record recipes that I would like to try to make or recipes that I have already made. This is mainly just for me to write down and record all of the recipes that I like (and that my boyfriend/family likes)...since I have been wanting to start a recipe book of my own.

So here starts a lifetime of cooking and recipes!

Cheers,
Hannah