Scrumptious Oven-Fried Chicken

I love fried chicken, but rarely allow myself to indulge in it, so my curiosity was definitely peaked when I saw this lovely recipe by my good blogging friend, Lark at

Lark's Country Heart.

Yepper - another one of Lark's awesome recipes being shared here!

Believe me when I say I have learned to trust her judgement. 

We think a lot alike in the kitchen, and she's proven to me that she's a great one to create dishes on her own.

This is a combination of a few recipes that she put together and we really enjoyed it.

The only thing I added is a little bit of parmesan to the bisquick mix.

Subway has their version of oven-crisp chicken...now you can make your own at home!

I prefer Lark's photo...I took more, but mine didn't turn out, so I'll share hers as well.

Photo credit: Lark's Country Heart

OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN

6 Tbsp. margarine (I used light)

2/3 c. bisquick

1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese, optional

1-1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

1-1/2 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. cumin (I didn't use)

1-1/4 tsp. salt (I used salt substitute)

1/2 tsp. pepper (I used more)

1/4 tsp. garlic powder (I used a tad more)

1/4 tsp. onion powder

4 lbs. chicken (I used boneless skinless breasts)

Preheat oven to 425. Place margarine in 9" X 13" X 2" pan and put in oven to melt.

Mix all dry ingredients together until well blended.

When margarine melts, remove from oven.  Set aside.

(Lark keeps the chicken in a bowl of water. Removing one piece at a time, lightly shake off water, but do not pat dry.)

If using skin on chicken, place skin side down in pan.

Bake uncovered for 35 minutes.  Then turn each piece over and return to oven for another 15 - 20 minutes more, making sure chicken is cooked thoroughly.

(Chicken breasts bake faster - about 40 minutes total, but be sure to check yours as oven temps vary).

Laundry Day

   

OH HOW THANKFUL I AM THAT I DON'T HAVE TO GO TO THE RIVER TO WASH MY CLOTHES!!

Can I get an "Amen"?

************

I do enjoy doing laundry...with a washer & dryer! 

I love folding warm clothes, and love the fragrance of the soap and the softener...MMM!

It's a little embarrassing to admit this, but when we were first married, if I didn't have enough dirty clothes for a load, I would pull clean ones out of the drawer to add to the washer. (RED face - I know!)

I DON'T DO THAT ANY MORE!

We lived in military housing and they furnished a washer/dryer for us and I didn't work outside the home, so doing laundry was a 'chore' that I really did enjoy doing.

I want to share some easy and helpful hints to help you with the process of drying your laundry.

Be sure to shake and untwist items before tossing in the dryer. This not only reduces wrinkling, but allows the clothes to dry a bit faster, and this saves energy.

 

I love using liquid softener, but just recently began using it in a different way, after my sis-in-love suggested this idea that works well for me. In a plastic container with a lid, I mixed the softener with twice the amount of water, cut a sponge in half and put it in the liquid. When I throw the clothes in the dryer, I lightly wring out one of the sponges and toss it in the dryer. The clothes will not have static, and the product lasts much longer. I think it's a wonderful money-saving tip.

{Caution: Be careful to squeeze the sponge enough when drying white clothes, so you don't get little blue spots on them=}

 

Cleaning your lint filter before drying every load reduces drying time significantly - another money saving idea.

Don't overfill the dryer - it will take much longer to dry and things will be more wrinkled.

 

Dry loads back to back so the dryer doesn't have time to cool down, then heat up again.

A general rule for drying: If clothes were washed in hot water, most likely they can be dried on high, but if they were washed on permanent press/cooler water cycle, they should be dried at 'medium' or 'permanent press' setting also.

 

I believe one of the most important things to remember when drying clothes, is removing them from the dryer right away so they don't have time to get wrinkled.

Keep clothes hangers handy and don't ball everything into the basket when removing, as that can add a lot of wrinkles too. When I don't get right to my dryer when it stops, I turn it on to reheat the clothes a little bit before I remove them. Makes the task of folding the clothes a little nicer when they are warm.

 

HAVE A HAPPY LAUNDRY DAY!!

(Remind yourself of the women at the river, and maybe it won't seem like such a daunting task?=)

Blueberry Morning Muffins

I had been eyeballing some blueberries in my freezer...just hearing them call my name...when I spotted this lovely recipe at Country Cooks Across America posted by my sweet friend &

co-blogger, Lark.

I really love blueberries and I spose my body was 'hankerin' for them cause it had been a while since I'd made anything with blueberries, so I hopped right on this recipe.

I'm partial to muffins too, so this recipe was perfect to satisfy my longing.

The muffins were perfect too!  Very light and fluffy.

I didn't roll them in butter after baking or dip them in cinnamon/sugar mixture. 

Instead I just sprinkled them with cinnamon/sugar prior to baking.  It was great!

Hope you'll give them a try.  They're great for breakfast, snack, or anytime. 

You'll want M.O.R.E....

BLUEBERRY MORNING MUFFINS

2 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

1 Tb. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 c. milk (I used skim)

1/2 c. margarine, room temp (I melted it)

1 c. frozen blueberries

lemon zest

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.

In medium mixing bowl, stir together all dry ingredients and set aside.  Beat together egg, milk and margarine.  Stir in berries.  Add dry ingredients plus lemon zest.  Do not over beat.

Drop batter evenly into prepared muffin pan. (I like using my large spring-loaded scoop).  Bake 20 - 25 minutes.

Remove muffins from pan to cool on wire rack for 15 minutes.

While muffins are cooling, mix the following:

In a separate bowl mix: 1 Tb. lemon juice & 1/2 c. melted margarine or butter

Blend 1 c. sugar mixed with 2 Tb. cinnamon in bowl.

When muffins are cool, dip into melted margarine and then roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture. 

Payday Cookies

(This gorgeous cutting board was a recent gift from my sweet friend Janean.

I just LOOOVE it! I love her more;-)

Oh how cool to find this fun recipe at Shugary Sweets!

My granddaughters were glad to help decorate these cookies as they came out of the oven. 

A tasty and perfect cookie for this time of year.

Adding chopped peanuts AND candy corn to a delicious cookie?

What could say FALL any better? 

I reduced the amount of sugar just a tad. With the addition of candy to the recipe, I thought there was plenty of sugar to go around here...

This recipe is easily divided in half if you don't want as many.

Enjoy every lip-smackin' bite!

PAYDAY COOKIES

1-1/2 c. butter, melted

2 c. brown sugar

(I used 1-1/2)

1 c. sugar

(I used 3/4 c.)

3 eggs

1 TB. vanilla extract (yes TB.)

4-1/2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 c. unsalted peanuts, chopped

2 - 11.4 ozs. bags of M &M Peanut Butter candies (not Peanut...Peanut Butter)

1-1/2 bags (12 ozs each) candy corn

Preheat oven to 375. In large bowl, combine butter and sugars.  Beat for about 2 minutes until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla.  Beat in flour, baking soda and salt. Fold in the peanuts and M & M's.

Drop by Tablespoonsful onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 - 11 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press in candy corn (point first so it goes in easily).  Allow to cool and enjoy!

Yield: 4 - 5 dozen

Linked to Friday Potluck
Sweets for a Saturday
Totally Tasty Tuesday
Grandma Loy's Kitchen
Weekend Potluck

Crockpot Hash Brown Soup

Isn't it amazing how this time of year makes us think more about soup?? 

I know I've been having thoughts of soup slosh around in my head for sure!!!

Soup is good for chasing away the chills on these cooler autumn days!

And I've been using my crockpot...a.lot!  I have some great recipes waiting to be shared with you in the days and weeks ahead.

This is a wonderfully simple, and simply wonderful soup!

I found the recipe in a desk calendar from Taste of Home.

And we ALL know what great recipes they have to share!

This dish is just sooooo versatile & it's a Healthy Option besides!

There are so many ways you can 'change this up' to suit your family's taste buds.

I added diced Canandian bacon and let it simmer all day with the frozen hash browns.

I considered adding peas and carrots toward the end of cooking time, but then I found some leftover fresh cooked green beans in the fridge, so I cut them into bite size pieces and added them.

I also had a tad bit of leftover canned mushroom soup, so I diluted it just a bit and added it at the start.

You can top it with bacon & cheese, or add cheese to the soup itself. Use cheddar, swiss, Velveeta or pepper jack.

It's also easy to throw together.

Enjoy it for dinner tonight!

HASH BROWN SOUP

2 - 3 green onions, chopped

2 tsp. canola oil

1 pkg. (28 ozs) frozen O'Brien potatoes

(I think because of the length of time this soup cooks, it's best to use the chunky-not shredded-hashbrowns)

2 c. 2% milk

(I used 1%)

(I think it needed closer to 3 c.)

1 can (10-3/4 ozs) reduced-fat reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup, undiluted

6 turkey bacon strips, diced and cooked

1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

In a small skillet, saute the onions in oil until tender.  In a 5-qt. crockpot, combine the potatoes, milk, soup and onion mixture. 

Cover and cook on low for 5 - 6 hours or until heated through. Top each serving with 2 TB. bacon and 1 TB. cheese

Yield: 8 servings

Linked to Eat at Home Ingredient Spotlight
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