Best, crunchiest chicken ever!

I love the Pioneer Woman.  All her recipes turn out so delicious.  Her chicken strips recipe is one of my favorites.

I made just a few tweaks but mostly follow it as written. Because it's that good.

Just looking at this makes me want to go make another batch.  Now.

The secret to the crunch is adding buttermilk to the batter.  I was a little hesitant at first but it makes is so, so good.

Here's the recipe with my changes.

1lb of chicken breast, cut into strips

1 cup buttermilk **see tip on making a buttermilk substitute

hot sauce

additional 1/2 cup buttermilk

2 cups of flour

1 Tablespoon seasoning salt or seasoning of your choice

1 inch of vegetable oil

Place chicken strips in a ziplock bag or bowl with 1 cup buttermilk and 3-4 dashes of hot sauce (more or less, depending on your tastes). Marinate for at least an hour.

**Tip for making a buttermilk substitute - combine 1 cup milk with a tablespoon of vinegar and let sit for about 15 minutes.  I never have actual buttermilk at home, so this is always what I do instead.

Next combine flour, seasoning salt and mix.  Next add the buttermilk and stir with a fork to combine. Trust me.

Coat each chicken strip in the flour mix.  When oil is hot (medium heat) add the chicken strips, just a few at a time.

Don't crowd the pan.  Cook it in batches

Cook (in batches) until nice and brown then flip and do the same to the other side.  You want them nice and brown so don't rush it. Depending on the size of your pan, it may take 3-4 batches to get them all done but it's worth the time and effort.

Make sure you leave it in long enough to get that golden delicious crust

Place on a plate covered with a few paper towels. Eat.  Every last one of them.

I served the chicken with baby lima beans, collard greens, mashed potatoes, and homemade bread.  

Apple Crisp

My go to dessert will always have chocolate in it.  But my husband loves dessert with fruits. He's especially fond of apple crisps, so I decided to try my hand at it.  I looked at a lot of different recipes and combined them and changed them based on what I had in my pantry.  I love the results and will definitely make it again soon.

Apple mix

5 cups apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (I used Granny Smith)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

juice from 1/2 med lemon

topping

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). 

Mix the apples, sugars (1/4 each brown and white), flour (1 1/2 teaspoon), and cinnamon together and place in a 8x8 pan. Sprinkle lemon juice on top. 

For the topping, combine oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and butter together.  Crumble evenly over apple mixture.  Bake about 45 minutes.

Serve with a big scoop of ice cream.

Meatloaf

Lately, I've been craving comfort foods.  I'm sure it's because I'm so far from home and everything familiar to me.  Fine.  Comfort foods it is!  And this meat loaf is awesome! The sauce is so yummy that I doubled it and put half on the meatloaf and heated the other half and added more to the finished product once it was on my plate.  Delicious!

meat loaf
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1/3 c panko bread crumbs
1 egg
1 small onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 garlic cloved, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons ketchup
dash worcheshire sauce
1/3 cup whole milk

Sauce
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed firm (to taste)
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon cumin
1 dash worcheshire
1 dash hot sauce

 Preheat oven to 350°F.  Saute onion, carrot, and garlic until soft.  Cool then combine with remaining meat loaf ingredients and place into a loaf baking dish. Combine sauce ingredients and pour on top of meatloaf. Bake at 350°F about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes/ until done.

Benfica Market trip

I went to a great local arts/crafts market this weekend.  It is full of handmade items - paintings, sculptures, jewelry, animal skins, ivory, food and more.  

Some of the ivory products available for purchase which is illegal to buy or sell. (new article about it here)

masks

baskets

paintings

prepping the fish 

Grilled octopus, whole fish, and more available for purchase.  Sadly, I ran out of time and didn't  get to sample the food.  But I will be back!

Preparing funge, a local porridge-like side dish

Garlic Parmesan Biscuits

This is an easy, delicious drop biscuit recipe.  That means no rolling, no kneading, no worries.  These are way better than Red Lobster biscuits.  I promise.

Topping
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon oil
 1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 teaspoons fresh herbs (I used parsley and tarragon)

Biscuits
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
 5 tablespoons cold butter
 1 cup milk
 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced


Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon  oil over med high heat.  Once melted add the minced garlic and stir for about a minute.  Remove from heat and add the fresh herbs. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of flour mixture. Add the milk, garlic, and parmesan cheese and stir just until combined. Drop batter by spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. (Mine stuff a little so will probably use parchment paper next time)
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes then brush garlic/herb butter over tops.  Return to oven for 2-5 more minutes, until lightly browned.

Unbelievably good and super easy.  Enjoy!

Photos from Luanda (July)

Kind of a lazy post because it's mostly just pictures.  We are pretty much all set up now.  We have pictures hung and boxes are empty/gone. We have a favorite grocery store (although, we are still grocery store-hopping to make sure).  We also have several go-to restaurants near our house that we walk to on the weekends (Lebanese, Chinese, bakery, ice cream). We are hoping to get plates on the car soon so we can explore more soon.  Here are a few pictures I've taken recently (some are a little blurry because they were taken from a moving vehicle).  Enjoy!

Our church

Weeks worth of fruits/veggies after soaking in a bleach solution (very necessary)

Rooftop restaurant 

Amazing steakhouse

crazy banana I found 

roadside fútbol game

seafood at the grocery store

our favorite grocery store (so far).  It's as large as a Super Walmart.

Roadside fruits/veggies (you can find these everywhere here) 

Women here carry crazy amounts of stuff on their heads.  It is amazing to see!

Our home

Kookoo Kadoo (Persian Zucchini Frittata)

I'm a big fan of frittatas.  When I saw an email about a persian frittata, that got me googling recipes for a while.  After reading several that sounded really good and then figuring out what ingredients I had on hand, this is what I came up with.  It is really good.  The only thing I will change for next time is to use a smaller baking dish.  I used a 9x13 and it was a little too thin for me.  I would love to use more cayenne too but a certain little five year old I know would complain about it being too spicy.  Ah, such is life.

3 large zucchini, washed, peeled and grated
4 large eggs
1 medium onion, peeled and grated, discard juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cumin
cayenne pepper to taste
Salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 375F.  Sprinkle the grated zucchini with salt and let sit in a colander for 15 minutes to get the moisture out and drain.
In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients.  Mix thoroughly.

Pour the mixture in a greased oven-proof dish and bake for about 30-40 minutes till it starts to set and the edges turn brown.

Easy and delicious!