Dinner's On!

In an attempt to cut back on our food budget, my shopping has gotten a little boring.  But thanks to some decent planning and the fact that I'm a stay-at-home parent, the food has actually gotten better!  I've decided to go all 50's style and make most of what we eat from scratch.  Homemade breads, mac n' cheese, chili, etc.  Yummy!

Today I made Southern Style Biscuits (Alton Brown's Recipe) to go with our Chicken Fried Chicken and gravy, mashed potatoes and steamed carrots.  I ended up just shaping the biscuits as best as I could by hand because I'm one of those people who will overwork bread dough until it's dead.  So, my biscuits aren't pretty, but damn they turned out GREAT!

I posted my chicken frying technique on my old blog, but I'll give it to y'all again.  I prefer to cut boneless/skinless chicken breasts into strips. They're just easier to handle and the kids don't have to cut anything!  I take 2 egg whites and 2T of water and beat together in a bowl.  In a separate, larger bowl I crush a stack of saltines (or you can use flour or bread crumbs, the saltines just add a nice crunch) and mix in pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika (or just season to your taste).  You can also add some finely shredded cheese to make it extra delicious, but not extra healthy! 

Now, dip the chicken in the egg whites and then coat in the saltines or flour.  Now, here's the important part: refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before frying!  It helps the breading stick!  And I prefer to fry in a non-stick skillet so the breading doesn't get stuck and I can use far less oil.  Depending on the thickness of the chicken, it takes anywhere from 5-10 minutes on each side.

Well, we're not eating very healthy tonight, but sometimes you just have to have some good fried chicken and gravy!  Yum!