If you’re on Pinterest or Facebook, I’d dearly appreciate it if you could use one of those buttons above, thanks!

Today I’m going to show you a fuss free way to fry chicken in your oven. No, this isn’t oven fry chicken as most folks think of it, where chicken is baked to resembled being fried. This is a way to actually fry chicken, in oil, in your oven. The beauty of it is that once you get your chicken breaded, it is pretty much a hands off process so rather than watching over a frying pan, you can be free to set the table, pick up the house a bit, or drink a nice glass of iced tea.

Susie Braund, my mother’s friend who is known for her kindness, amazing housekeeping skills, and great food, passed on this cooking method and from the moment Mama told me about it I couldn’t wait to try it. I think you’ll enjoy it too!

P.S. If you’re looking for a great chicken finger recipe that will have teenagers and other assorted children staking out your house for supper, check out my chicken planks recipe by clicking here.

You’ll need: Flour, Oil, Chicken (bone in, skin on), a deep cast iron skillet (a cast iron dutch oven will work), and if you want to season your flour like I did, some ranch dressing mix. Oh, and milk. Pretend there is milk here. I used regular milk but you can use buttermilk, skim milk, whatever you have. 

A note on seasoning: All you need to make fried chicken is flour, salt, and pepper. You do not have to use ranch dressing mix to season your flour if you don’t want to. If you’d rather just use plain flour, add about a tablespoon salt and a 1/2 tablespoon of pepper to two cups of flour and stir. That’s all you need. Of course, more or less salt and pepper to suit your taste.

The main purpose of this post is to show you this fuss free method of frying chicken so feel free to use your favorite breading recipe or try mine. I happened to use the ranch dressing mix this time but I usually do it a different way each time, depending on my mood. I am a big fan of garlic powder, paprika, and parsley in my flour along with the salt and pepper.

About Brining:

A lot of recipes will tell you to brine your chicken before you fry it. I don’t for a several reasons.

1. I don’t want to.
2. I don’t usually plan my meals far enough in advance to.
3. I don’t have time. When I’m ready to cook supper, I’m ready right then and I generally don’t lollygag around in the kitchen hours beforehand looking for something to do.
4. I can’t stand the thought of wasting buttermilk (what a lot of folks brine it in).
5. Granny didn’t do it.
6. See #1.

Having said this, if you prefer to brine your chicken I think that is awesome and I salute you. Do it your way – more on doing it your way later in this post

Before we get started, and this is VERY important, put about a 1/2 inch of oil in the bottom of your skillet and place that in the oven.

Turn the oven on 450 so that the oil is heating up as the oven heats up.

Hot oil is crucial for frying chicken because if your oil is hot enough, it sears the breading as soon as contact is made and creates an instant coating. If your oil isn’t hot enough, your chicken pieces end up soaking up far more oil, ending up with greasy chicken.

Sidenote: Raise your hand if you’ve ever worked at Sears! I sold Hardware for them when I was a teenager.

Oven Temperature: It is important that you know the accurate temperature of your oven for this recipe. Over time, ovens get off and may not be accurate. A way to test this is to buy a simple oven thermometer on the kitchen gadget aisle for a few dollars. Preheat your oven with the thermometer in it and once it is preheated, see if the thermometer and the oven agree on temperature. If not, adjust accordingly. If you are cooking this at 450 and your oven is actually 500, of course it is gonna burn. If you’re cooking this at 450 and your oven is actually 400, it will take a little longer to cook and your chicken may end up a wee bit on the greasy side because your oil isn’t hot enough.

Place your flour in a shallow dish and season it.

I’m using two packages of ranch dressing mix but you can just use salt and pepper if you like. This is totally up to you.

Stir that up.

Pour some milk into your other baking dish and get ready to dredge

 Place chicken in milk first…

 then breading mixture…

then milk again ….

 Then breading mixture.

This double dipping method gets you a lot more deliciousness on your final fried chicken.

You can, of course, just dip it in milk once and breading once if you want. 

Again, this is totally up to you. Despite what some folks tell you, there are no rules governing how you want to cook in your own kitchen.

So have fun with it and do it your way! 

Here are all of our breaded pieces on a gorgeous restaurantware platter I found at an antique mall.

~waits for you to look at the photo real good~

Y’all like my three legged chicken?

I just did that to mess with y’all but hey, if I didn’t mess with ya, you wouldn’t think I loved ya!

(that’s the excuse my family always gives at least)

Take your hot, hot, hot skillet with the hot, hot, hot oil in it out of the oven and carefully put your chicken pieces in it.

They will begin to bubble and sizzle as soon as they get in there. Try not to let them touch but do what you gotta do. I ended up not being able to fit all of my chicken in this photo so I’m doing two batches.

Place this in the oven for 40 minutes and go do whatever it is you’d rather be doing.

After 40 minutes, carefully remove skillet from oven, turn all of the pieces over, and place it back in the oven for 15 minutes.

Remove chicken to paper towel lined plate.

Now I know some of y’all are looking at that cooking time and thinking “Christy is crazy.” Well of course I’m crazy, but that is besides the point entirely. The chicken you see pictured at the start and finish of this post was cooked at that exact amount of time at 450 and was gooder than gold. That’s a Southern saying. I know that gooder isn’t actually a word although, technically it is since I just said it but still…you get my point.

 Enjoy your three legged chicken  

Isn’t that a pretty plate of chicken? I’m in love with the platter it’s on, too. That is a pattern from a company called Jackson China and this particular pattern was manufactured for restaurants in the early seventies. So far I’ve been unable to locate any plates that match it so it may have just been serving pieces. Either way, it is sturdy restaurantware that has stood the test of time very well.

Please note: Mama wants me to let you know that I did wash the platter before I put the cooked chicken on it since I used it for the raw chicken as well. Thanks for looking out for us, Mama!

Now y’all get out there and squeeze all the good out of this day!

“The only limits to the possibilities of my life tomorrow are the ‘buts‘ I use today.”

Submitted by Rick. Click here to submit your positive or encouraging quote, or to read more!

Oh my goodness! Guess what? Later on this week (or next if the kids keep me hopping, but soon either way) I’m going to be sharing photos with you from my newly renovated kitchen My daddy got some cabinets out of a house that was remodeling and he put them in this empty corner in my kitchen. All we had to do was buy a piece of countertop to go over it and now I have a whole big new section of cabinets and countertop but the NEATEST part is, we reworked the upper cabinets so that they are actually a display area for pyrex and vintage dishes. It is so beautiful and cheerful and I can’t WAIT to share it with you. I’ve got some minor painting to do first and a few other little details to take care of but I’m just about dying for you to see! I’ll be doing a special pyrex and vintage dish post sometime by the end of next week so stay tuned! I’m going to include tips and tricks for displaying it, too. Just in case anyone would like them.  ]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2013/01/fuss-free-fried-chicken.html/feed 158 http://www.southernplate.com/2012/06/sticky-chicken.html http://www.southernplate.com/2012/06/sticky-chicken.html#comments Wed, 06 Jun 2012 15:14:28 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=19446 If you’re on Facebook of Pinterest, I’d sure appreciate it if you have time to use one of the buttons above Thank you and be sure and drop a howdy in the comments below!

This is one of those dishes that, somedays, you just gotta have. Sticky Chicken has been around about as long as folks have been cooking. The recipe has evolved and been tweaked over the years but the flavorful sticky marinade that clings to the chicken is still every bit as good as folks remember from the days when Granny used to make it for Sunday dinner.

This recipe for sticky chicken is pretty simple, mix up some ingredients, bring them to a boil, pour them over chicken pieces and bake. It’s a home run with kids as well as adults, too!

You’ll need: Brown sugar (dark or light, whatever you have), garlic powder, ketchup, honey, and soy sauce. 

You’re also going to need about 3-5 pounds of bone in chicken with the skin still on it.

Traditionally, folks use legs and thighs for this but my Kroger had bone in split chicken breasts for buy one get one free – so I have four HUGE Chicken breasts halves that cost me about $2.50 and that is what we’re using! 

Put everything in a sauce pot and stir it up really good. Place over medium high heat. 

You can do medium heat but I like to get things rolling. 

Patience is a virtue and all that but I find that my patience is best used in dealing with people, critters, and my spotty internet connection.

Bring it just to a boil and then remove from heat. 

Place your chicken pieces in a 9×13 baking dish and pour all of the sauce over. 

In my last post, we sang Leslie Gore around about this time. So today, we need to sing Buddy Holly.

Every day, it’s a getting closer! Going faster than a roller coaster! love like yours will surely come my way. hey hey hey hey hey!

This has nothing whatsoever to do with Sticky Chicken so I’m not even gonna try to tie it in.

If staying on point was a requirement of my job, I’da lasted one blog post.

Not good with the whole monotony thing. I gotta sparkle a bit

If you tuned in to the Leslie Gore Video in my Fried Dill Pickles Post and now my Buddy Holly video you may be wondering why someone born whenever I was born (sometime in the past 20-50 years or so) is such a huge fan of music from an era I wasn’t actually present in.

Simple: I have exquisite taste in music.

Oh, and also My Mama and Daddy took good care of their records . My brother, sister, and I spent half of our childhoods rocking out to Leslie Gore, Buddy Holly, and then Elvis. In between we were big fans of Disco Duck just to keep it well rounded.

What music did you listen to growing up?

I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

Place this in a 350 degree oven and bake, uncovered, for 90 minutes total.

After 45 minutes…flip all of the chicken over in the dish.

An hour and fifteen minutes into cooking, flip pieces again and baste with some of the sauce in the pan. Bake another fifteen minutes.

NOTE: cooking time is the same if you use legs and thighs.

Booyah! Sticky chicken!

This dish was extremely difficult to photograph because I really just wanted to eat it.

“Click click, ok, photo session is done! Let’s eat!”

I’m serving some green beans with it (recipe coming soon) and simple Mahatma Saffron Rice. Rice goes great with this because the chicken is so flavorful.

It’s almost newsletter time again!

Each Friday I sent my email subscribers a newsletter with links to the week’s most popular recipes, latest recipes, inspiring quotes, Q&A, and more! If you’d like to subscribe by email click here.  No one will ever see your email but me and I typically send anywhere from 2-4 emails a week.

UPDATE: Can I make this with boneless skinless breasts?

I’ve had so many people ask this question that I finally got around to trying it last night. I threw a few boneless skinless chicken breasts in the baking dish with my bone in, skin on pieces. I basted it just like the other pieces and flipped and cooked it the same way. It was good and it can certainly be done but it doesn’t come out like sticky chicken. You’ll have a good tasting chicken breasts, but the sauce doesn’t stick to it or form a glaze on it. You’re pretty much just cooking chicken in the sauce. It is good, but it really isn’t sticky chicken. I would suggest holding out until you have the bone in/skin on pieces

Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap,

but by the seeds you plant.

~Robert Louis Stevenson

Submitted by Diane. Submit your quote by clicking here.

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2012/06/sticky-chicken.html/feed 255 http://www.southernplate.com/2012/02/chinese-chicken-salad-from-the-southern-fried-radio-show.html http://www.southernplate.com/2012/02/chinese-chicken-salad-from-the-southern-fried-radio-show.html#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 01:56:20 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=18431

I had planned on saving this recipe for the cookbook I’m currently writing but we had so many people ask about it that I just had to go ahead and share it with you now. This is super easy and a take on a popular salad that you’ve probably had before. What I like about it is that it keeps in the fridge really well so I can make a batch on the weekend and eat it for lunch for three or four days and it just gets better every day the flavors are allowed to marinate and blend.

So as I’m headed off to Ecuador, here is one more recipe post until I get back. Be sure and stay up to date with my travels by clicking here or following me on the Southern Plate Family Facebook Page. (note, this post was written in Feb of 2012)

Lets make some salad real quick because I gotta pack and hunt down my passport…

 You’ll need: Vegetable oil, Rice Vinegar, Cole Slaw Mix (or shred your own cabbage, see recipe for how much), Matchstick Carrots, Cooked Chicken breasts, Chicken flavored Ramen, Salt, Pepper, green onions, and 1 Cup Sliced Almonds (not pictured, they were camera shy).  

*I know the Rice Vinegar isn’t one of those ingredients that most folks have on hand and I started to substitute it but it costs less than $2 at my grocery store and is easy to find in the Asian Foods section. 

To start with, lets take two packages of Chicken Flavored Ramen Noodles, set the seasoning packets aside (You’ll use those in our dressing) and crumble them up coarsely. Place those on a rimmed baking sheet along with about a cup of slivered almonds.

Stir them up a bit.

Now place that in a 350 degree oven for about ten minutes or so, until lightly browned.

Stir it up again about five minutes into the toasting.

Take your oil, Rice Vinegar, Sugar, Seasoning Packets from the packages of Ramen Noodles, Salt, and Pepper and put them all in a big old mason jar.

Put the lid on that jar and shake for all you’re worth.

Set this aside.

You could also use a blender for this but a mason jar is usually handy around my house.

Get a REALLY BIG BOWL and place your cabbage, carrots, and chopped chicken in it.

You should also chop up your green onions and put them in it but I forgot those so I’m gonna add them at the end just before I take the photo.

If you don’t have a REALLY Big bowl, use a dishpan. I would have used my dishpan but it is temporarily lost in the abyss that is my home.

Here is our dressing. Now just pour that over our salad mixture.

I know you may be thinking “This is cabbage, this isn’t a salad” but really, by the time we add this dressing and let it marinate a bit, it will feel much more like lettuce, but it won’t get all soft and nasty like lettuce would.

Give that a really good stir to get everything coated well. This is gonna be a HUGE bowl.

THEN - You can make it fit in a 9×13 pan or your biggest Pyrex mixing bowl (it will shrink down a bit after a few hours) and then cover it and place it in the fridge.

It really needs to sit in the fridge for several hours, or overnight, to allow the flavors to blend and develop.

Here are our Ramen and Almonds, all nicely toasted

Don’t put this on the salad until you are ready to serve it. I store it in a plastic bag and put it on the individual servings. 

And voila! Our beautiful Chinese Chicken Salad – that I scarf down for lunch several days a week

One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.

~Anonymous

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2012/02/chinese-chicken-salad-from-the-southern-fried-radio-show.html/feed 69 http://www.southernplate.com/2012/01/chicken-pot-pie-flowers-vs-weeds.html http://www.southernplate.com/2012/01/chicken-pot-pie-flowers-vs-weeds.html#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:34:30 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=17812

Today I have a guest post for you for Chicken Pot Pie from one of the head chef’s at UNA’s Culinary Department. But before I hand over the reins, I’m feeling chatty so I thought I’d spend a few minutes visiting with you if I may…. Y’all know how I am when I get chatty. Not much that can shut me up

I have some great friends and each one seems to have a specialty when it comes to the friendship department. Jyl is good as a sounding board. She lets me do my “brain dumps” and then she helps me put the pieces of the puzzle together until they make sense. Jason is good for talking things out to. When I get a thought in my head that I want to think more on and examine from all angles, Jason is always good for a few other perspectives.

Yesterday, I was working on a story that I’ve had in my head to write for well over a year now and I needed to go meet Jyl in nearby Scottsboro. So I asked Jason if he’d mind going along since I wouldn’t be back home til after dark and …oh yeah, did I mention Jason is a very good driver and used to staying up late at night? Well that’s one of his gifts, too.

We share a Southern heritage and a friendship that started back in high school when he was editor of the literary magazine and I was junior editor. He also fills the role of our “Adopted pitiful bachelor who needs to be fed” in the family. We always had a few of those hanging around my mother’s kitchen growing up and so I’d feel a little empty if my family didn’t have one, too. So you see, Jason is a handy feller.

So we get in the car and I immediately started in (The beauty of good friends is that you can skip the niceties and greetings and just begin your thought waves wherever they are at that given moment)  “Okay, so George Washington. You know what he did, right? He was actually offered the throne of the United States, they offered to make him KING of the US and he turned it down because he felt it was in the best interest of the country…”

He didn’t miss a beat as he adjusted the driver’s seat of my car to accommodate his legs when he replied, “Oh yeah, I know that! And did you also know that he was the one who first introduced the idea of term limits and that they used to be voluntary until it was written into the constitution in 1947″

This is a pretty typical conversation between me and Jason.

From there we somehow took a detour and got into talking about our childhoods and attitudes and the kind of people we look up to, from there we went to our culture and how it has changed in our lifetime.

And that is where he told me the story.

It was in a book he had as a child, a collection of fairy tales and fables that his mother used to read to him. This one had stuck out to him, it had struck a note in his heart that still rang true today. He didn’t know it word for word but he knew the premise enough to tell me and for me to recreate the premise for you now.

There once was a king.

One day this King chose a man and assigned him the task of going out into the kingdom and picking the most beautiful flowers he could find to bring back to him. Another man was dispatched on the same day to pick the most noxious weeds he could find and bring them back.

And so each set about their assigned tasks and at the end of the day they returned, one with a wagon full of beautiful flowers and one with a wagon full of terribly noxious weeds.

The wise king called them before his throne and he asked the one who had brought the flowers “Tell me, did you find any weeds?” The man replied “No my king, I was too busy looking for flowers, I didn’t see any weeds at all.”

The king smiled and turned to the man who had gathered the large load of weeds, which were most assuredly resting amidst the beautiful flowers and asked “Tell me, did you find any flowers?” “No my king, I was too busy looking for noxious weeds. I didn’t see any flowers at all.”

Jason’s point was that more people used to look for flowers. We talked about this a while and he thinks Watergate was a turning point. Now I know full well what Watergate is but I prefer Jason not bring it up because it just makes me want that green goopy salad with marshmallows in it. I’m not sure if Watergate was the turning point but it definitely stands one of those times in which the record skipped, the party stopped, and the lights were turned on.

I guess it doesn’t really matter when or why it started, the end effect is the same. At some point a majority of media outlets (news, tv networks, filmmakers  etc) stopped looking to Little House on the Prairie and started looking to the National Enquirer to set the standard for behavior – and once the pied piper started playing that flute all the rats just followed along behind and ran right off the cliff together. Note: My use of rats here is a pied piper reference, not calling people rats. People are hope and potential filled individuals, regardless.

At that point, they decided that the business of looking for flowers held little appeal in terms of ratings or shock value and instead began the search for noxious weeds.

And after our talk yesterday, I finally understand reality tv.

Today, as I’m writing on my second book (You can purchase my first book by clicking here) Chef Lewis from my Alma Mater has graciously agreed to share with you a simple recipe for Chicken Pot Pie. I asked him specifically to do a guest post on Chicken Pot Pie because I’ve received so many requests for one that I’ve lost count. Why haven’t I ever brought you a recipe for chicken pot pie? The same reason I won’t be bringing you a recipe for seafood. ~giggles~ Take it away, Chef! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi there, I’m Chef Lewis from the University of North Alabama’s Culinary Department in Florence, Al. I was asked to do a guest post to share some of our recipes for the holidays, and I was more than happy to do so. We’re very happy to have Christy as one of our departments alumni’s, and we’re happy that we can share some of our ideas with all of you. This recipe was done by myself and my team Kenny and Devon.

The ingredients you’ll need for the pot pie are chicken breasts, cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, corn, peas and carrots, butter, white pepper, diced yellow onion, and buttermilk biscuits.

I will give easy instructions for making a smaller quantity  below as well.

Begin by boiling the chicken breasts in 4 cups of water with ½ of your diced onion until they are fork-tender (this will be around 20 minutes).

Remove the chicken from the water, keeping the water for later. Strain the onion out of the water with a colander or strainer, and let it cool.

Next you’ll brown the other half of your diced onions in the butter until they’re soft (around 8 minutes).

Then you take the cans of mushroom soup, chicken soup, the browned onion, and the white pepper and combine all of that in a big bowl.

Then you add about 1/2 (2 cups) of the chicken broth (the leftover water you boiled the chicken in) to thin out the soup mixture.

After that you open up the can of peas and carrots and the corn, and drain the liquid out of them, then pour that into the soup mix as well.

By now the chicken breasts should have cooled down enough that you can cut them up into bit-sized pieces.

The chicken goes into the soup mix as well. Just stir it all together and make sure it’s evenly mixed up.

All of the soup mix then goes into a deep greased 13×9 inch pan.

For the topping, you take the biscuits out of the can and flatten them out (you can use either a rolling pin or your hands).

Then stick the biscuits on the top of the chicken soup mix, till they’re covered.

Then you just stick it in the oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for around 20 minutes, and the top should be golden brown.

Enjoy! 

Today’s quote will likely make most of y’all giggle!

“Any mother could perform the jobs of several air traffic controllers with ease.”

~Lisa Alther

Submitted by Louise. Click here to add your quote to the collection.

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2012/01/chicken-pot-pie-flowers-vs-weeds.html/feed 50 http://www.southernplate.com/2012/01/chicken-and-wild-rice-casserole-and-becoming-the-crazy-daffodil-lady.html http://www.southernplate.com/2012/01/chicken-and-wild-rice-casserole-and-becoming-the-crazy-daffodil-lady.html#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:57:27 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=17939

I’m honored to have been asked to be a judge at this year’s National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburg, Tennessee! If you’re planning on coming to this fun event, be sure and RSVP on my Facebook page by clicking here  so I can keep you updated on my whereabouts because I’d love to get to meet you!

Christmas and New Years behind us, and most folks are in the middle of winter, snuggling within their quilts and homes, cooking up stews and cobblers. Oh I’m doing the cooking part but not the rest of it, my mind is on other things.  You see, soon as January hits, I get to expecting spring.

I can’t help it, it is my absolute most favorite time of year for a number of reasons but one in particular – I get to see my daffodils. Now before you go to thinking that I’m looking pretty far off you gotta understand that daffodils are usually in bloom here by February and the first sign of yellow, my heart up and declares SPRING!

I go by my own time table with the seasons, I’m just a wild woman that way.  

I love flowers of all sorts, I am female after all. Oh Alright, I’ll confess to not being a huge red rose fan but toss a pink one my way and I’ll throw that sucker in my teeth and do one heck of a tango. Okay, not really. If anyone shouts out requests for a tango at my next speaking engagement I’m afraid you’re gonna be let down. Holler out that you want me to sing instead, I can’t refuse that, of course you might still be let down once you hear me but that wasn’t my point…

When we moved here to Bountiful a few years back, I was delighted to find a well thought out and beautifully planted ring of spring flowers around each tree in our front yard. Tete a tete daffodils, crocus, and hyacinth came up in unison, presenting the perfect blend of spring colors and fragrance. It really warmed my heart to walk around those trees, kneeling by them and lovingly taking in the flowers, knowing that someone had once cared so dearly for this house.

So that very first fall, I ordered more bulbs. King Alfred, tete a tete, orange throat,  every variety I could find (and afford). I ordered around a hundred that year and got out with my little shovel and planted each and every one of them myself. The following spring the beautiful flower rings around my trees were joined by others out and about in the yard. I had planted them as my mother advised, randomly, with no set pattern so they just popped up in the yard like little surprise blooms of sunshine. They were absolutely breathtaking and I dearly love those few weeks of looking out my window and seeing the happy little flowers waving back at me in the breeze.

A few months back I was in Lowe’s and walked by a bag of 100 more bulbs. They hopped in my buggy and came home with me where Katy Rose and I went about planting them, wherever she felt we needed them to be.

My goal is to eventually have an entire yard filled with daffodils for a few weeks out of each year. They’ll slowly spread from the road right up to my front doorstep . After a few decades of this, and with my kids moving out and more cats coming to live with me (isn’t that the natural evolution of things?) no doubt people will start to talk. I’ll begin wearing a hat with a  giant silk daffodil in it and trade in my preferred red shoes for daffodil yellow ones to match. Folks will start calling me the Crazy Daffodil Lady as I walk around town in my finest daffodil yellow regalia. But hey, I can think of worst things to be called.  By then I’ll have so many that I can make large bouquets and deliver them to nursing homes and other spots around town that need brightening and then come back home to a yard still filled to the brim. We all gotta have dreams.

If you’ll excuse me, I found some daffodil bulbs at Wal Mart yesterday and I think I’ll plant a few before the sun goes down. I know that technically this isn’t the time of year to plant daffodils but I like to live life outside the lines. Heck, I even wear my watch on my right hand, even though I’m right handed and my engagement ring is on my finger first, THEN my wedding band (I’ve gotten more emails on this than I can count).

You see, at the end of the day, I’m just a rebel to the core. Oh yeah, I even eat raw cake batter. I do shocking things like that…and I plant daffodil bulbs in December.

And THAT, my friends, is why I’m gonna make a great Crazy Daffodil Lady someday! I hope I can count on your vote

While I am still pretending to be partially sane, let me bring you a casserole today. There are so many variations on this casserole that you could throw a rock at the internet and hit fifty on any given day. This is mine, it’s pretty easy and awfully good. Modify it, play with it, make it your own. Just let me know what time it is served and try to have plenty of tea when I show up, please Or Diet Dr Pepper…Diet Dr pepper is always good, too!

You’ll need: Long Grain and Wild Rice (with seasoning, such as Uncle Ben’s), Cream of Mushroom Soup (can use fat free), French Style Green Beans, Chicken, almonds, and Ritz crackers and a wee bit of butter to pour over the top, which isn’t pictured. 

If you don’t like Cream of mushroom soup, just use Cream of chicken, cream of celery, or cream of whatever-cranks-your-tractor. You can also use fat free or low fat or i-don’t-wanna-get-fat, if you can find it . For those of us already there, just go with the recipe because it tastes so good .

Nowadays Uncle Ben’s make quick cooking long grain and wild rice as well as the traditional featured here. Use whichever you pick up first.

The almonds are optional but I gotta tell you, I love what they do to this dish!

NOTE: You can also add a cup of sour cream to this and it will be wonderful! This is completely optional, but I love it. I’m not including it in this tutorial but I will list it as optional in the recipe below.

Cook chicken until done.

Note: Normally I wouldn’t have used chicken tenders for this because they are a little more expensive. This is a great recipe to use cooked chicken leg quarters (deboned and shredded), leftover chicken, or a whole fryer (cooked, deboned, and shredded) in, but since I did have this chicken on hand and company was a coming (did I mention I like to make this for company) that is what I used.

Dump chicken, cooked rice, green beans, cream soup, and almonds into a big old bowl.

Give it all a stir until it is good and mixed.

Spray baking dish lightly with non stick cooking spray. 

Spoon casserole filling into baking dish. 

Sprinkle crushed crackers all over top.

Drizzle melted butter over the cracker crumb topping.

Bake at 350 for thirty minutes.

Eat up!

“Your family is important. They left your home this morning and spread out to spend a day making new memories, acquiring knowledge, and growing up without you! Make it a priority to sit down to supper tonight with them and find out who they became today.”

~Christy Jordan

I hope you’re having a great summer so far. I’m working more hours than ever but that just means that I am making time with my family and even bigger priority, which kind of evens it out. It’s amazing how little time we spend with those around us, even though we may be in the same house or even the same room. I’ve found that unless I make it a point, spend time with a purpose, I’m not really connecting with the kids.

I was reminded of that this morning when I was trying to take a quick shower and both kids kept coming into the bathroom to talk to me. I got a little frustrated for a moment and thought “Isn’t anything sacred?” and then that voice in my head answered “Yes, every moment of your time with them is sacred, so enjoy it now.”

It hit me in that moment how wonderful my life is that I have these two kids who want to talk to me so much that they can’t seem to go fifteen minutes without telling me about something, showing me something they drew, or giving me a hug. These are sacred moments. We may feel a little stressed  by them from time to time but whenever I do I try to take a moment to step back and imagine how awful it would be were any one of my blessings taken away. That job you complain about- What if you lost it today? Your mother who calls too much – one day you’d give anything to hear her voice one last time so savor it now. The dirty dishes in the kitchen – what if you didn’t have food to feed your family?

It all puts it in perspective. So if you find yourself, in the course of your busy day riddled with interruptions, thinking  “Is nothing sacred?” , just answer yourself right off “Yes, it sure is. So enjoy it.”

To give you more of that sacred time, and avoid heating up your house, here is one of my favorite summer supper recipes. It uses a microwave, which always surprises people when they taste it. I think folks expect a microwaved casserole to be tough and chewy, but you’ll find this one is cooked just right. I came upon this recipe in one of those little checkout cookbooks right after Ricky and I got married. Every recipe in that cookbook was good and wouldn’t you know, I lost it within the year ~laughs at her own disorganization~. Fortunately, I had this one memorized because I had made it so much! My husband and I love it and it also reheats well. Packed with flavor and ready to go from start to finish in under ten minutes.

Now let’s get cooking so we can get back enjoying all of those sacred moments!

You’ll need: Shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, two flour tortillas, chopped green chilies, taco seasoning, shredded chicken, and some french fried onions.

I like to pick up a rotisserie chicken for a quick lunch on those crazy days. I can usually get one for the same price of an uncooked fryer so it’s like someone did the work for me. I just have some for lunch and save the rest for this casserole! Another great way to get chicken on the cheap is to buy leg quarters in ten pound bags. I boil all of the leg quarters in a large stock pot, shred and bag the chicken, and then use the stock for chicken noodle soup or chicken stew.

You’ll also need some fresh cilantro.

This really makes the dish for me so I splurge and spend the dollar or so that it costs. You can also grow cilantro on your own if you like.

This year I’m growing basil and parsley out in my sunroom. I figure I’ll dip my toes in the water before going for an all out herb garden.

Now lets get started. This is SUPER easy and it’s gonna go fast so stay with me here .

Chop your fresh cilantro…

Then dump all of your ingredients into a large mixing bowl

Note: We’re saving half of the cheese and half of the onions for the topping. Exact measurements are at the bottom, of course.

Stir that all up until well combined – or close enough

It’s not like the world is gonna end if we don’t stir it just right.

Now take one of your tortillas and tear it into small pieces and add that to the bowl also.

Now stir it up again.

Place a tortilla in a microwave safe pie plate.

Spoon your mixture into it.

I love this tablecloth. I got it on clearance after Christmas at Target for under five dollars. I wash this thing several times a week and keep putting it right back on the table. I’m going to hate it when it finally suffers a stain I can’t wash out!

Microwave for five minutes.

Remove from Microwave and top with remaining french fried onions…

and cheese.

Return to the microwave for another minute or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy a flavor packed supper in a cool kitchen!

Microwave Chicken Tortilla Casserole

Ingredients

• 2 cups chicken (give or take, just use however much you have)
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 cup french fried onion, divided
• 4 ounce chopped green chilies
• 1 pkg taco seasoning
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 -10 inch flour tortillas

Instructions

1. Place chicken, sour cream, half of cheese, half of onions, chopped green chilies, taco seasoning, and chopped cilantro in a large mixing bowl. Stir well to combine. Tear one tortilla into small pieces and add to bowl, stirring again until well incorporated.
2. Line a pie plate with remaining tortilla and spoon mixture into it. Place in microwave for five minutes.* Remove and top with remaining onions and cheese. Microwave for one minute more, or until cheese is melted. Enjoy!
3. *Note: Microwave ovens vary widely in temperature so you may need to alter the cooking time to suit your microwave. Since the chicken is fully cooked, there isn't a danger of undercooking this meal so you can just go with these guidelines and give or take a minute or so if you feel it needs it. This is a VERY flavorful casserole and leftovers heat up really well.

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Next time a sunrise steals your breath or a meadow of flowers leaves you speechless, remain that way.

Say nothing, and listen as heaven whispers, “Do you like it? I did it just for you.”

- Max Lucado

“Mama, can I go sing in the sun room?”

“Of course you can, Katy Rose” I answered her from where I was standing at the sink, not taking the time to glance over.

“Well, can you open the door for me?”

“Can’t you open the sun room door by yourself?”

“Mama, I’m trying to carry my audience!”

I looked over to find her sporting a very serious face while struggling to hold a baby doll, Mickey Mouse, and  plush Tigger half her size. I melted.

What a wise girl. She gets ready to entertain and handpicks her audience to boot! As I finished working in the kitchen to the sound of her singing I couldn’t help but think there was a life lesson to be learned from my youngest.

~Pulls out her well worn soapbox and steps up as she clears her throat~

Katy's Cheering Section

We all need our own cheering section from time to time, to offer a little encouragement at the start of a new day or give us a consoling hug at the end of a particularly hectic one.

You know, its okay to want someone to cheer you on, to have someone to tell you at the end of the day that you “done good”. Its also perfectly okay to seek that out or to just come right out and say “I need a little encouragement today”.

So often  we’re tempted to say things like “I hate this day, I wish it would end”, expressing our frustration and inadvertently spreading negativity (it is contagious, you know) when I really think what we are trying to do is find that one person to offer a smile or a word of praise when we need it most.

Sometimes we forget how effective it can be to just say “Ya know, I could use some encouragement if you’ve got a minute”.

Needing encouragement is normal and it is expected, but I think its easier to lose sight of that in these days of interacting with the world from behind a computer screen. We don’t think to reach out and end up depriving ourselves of the chance to have our own cheering section when we need it most.

The thing is, when you let your family and friends encourage you, it puts you in a better place to give back to them. It’s not being selfish, it’s being human – and a better human at that. Anyway, just what was on my mind today courtesy of the wisdom of a five year old who has the foresight to handpick her audience.

Set up your own cheering section today and while you’re at it, make sure you’re a part of someone else’s cheering section as well.

~steps down and stows the soapbox back in the cabinet behind the pots and pans~

Now on to our recipe. Have you ever eaten something that just made your stomach happy? Well this one makes mine about as happy as a pig in slop! It’s just so good. It’s incredibly easy, too, and perfect for folks who head off to busy days and want a good supper waiting on them when they get home. The ingredients are simple, the recipe is easy, and the results are good. I reckon that just about says it all.

You’ll need: Chicken breasts, cream of mushroom soup, an onion (I’m using a Vidalia), and a box of long grain and wild rice with seasonings.

You can use bone in or boneless chicken breasts. If you find yourself a little low on chicken, cut each breast into three strips. That way just three chicken breasts will yield nine pieces of chicken, more than enough for four people.

Remember, in the good old days folks could stretch the scrawniest chicken to feed a family of ten!

*I am using the Uncle Ben’s long grain and wild rice here and I haven’t seen a generic for it that has the seasoning packet so I stick with name brand on this one because that seasoning packet seasons this dish to perfection and makes it just taste sooooooo good!

Place your chicken breasts in the bottom of your slow cooker and sprinkle your chopped onion over them.

Oh, I forgot to tell you to chop your onion…so I’m telling you to do that now. On second thought, I’m asking nicely .

Cover that with your cream of mushroom soup

I know it is strange for me to be using name brand soup here but I have a good reason. Last year around Thanksgiving I got cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups on sale for 50 cents a can so I bought a case of each. I have these hoarding issues when it comes to finding good deals, which have been passed down from my father, a man who once found tuna fish on sale and bought so much that we had an entire closet filled with nothing but canned tuna. This would have been a lot more helpful, of course, if we had been a family who actually ate tuna.

If you don’t have soup on hand, just go get generic. You’ll save anywhere from twenty to fifty cents a can (possibly more) and when you have a buggy full of groceries taking twenty cents off here and there can really add up fast!

Cook that on low for 7 – 8 hours.

Then, before serving make your rice according to package directions.

You can also make this rice the night before and put it in the fridge.

Before serving, stir in your rice.

Voila!

OH MY YUM!

This is so stinking good!

Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts (Can use fewer, can use bone-in or boneless)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 box Long Grain and Wild Rice with Seasonings (I use Uncle Ben's)

Instructions

1. Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker. Sprinkle chopped onion over top. Top with cream soup. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours. Cook rice according to package directions*. Before serving, stir rice in. Serve hot.
2. *Can cook rice the night before and place in refrigerator. Before serving, stir cold rice in and let cook for another ten minutes or until rice is heated through.

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“A hug is a great gift. One size fits all.

It can be given for any occasion &  it’s easy to exchange”

Submitted by Kolene. Submit your quote by clicking here.

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Alright so I’ll admit right off the bat that Chicken Lettuce Wraps aren’t exactly Southern, which is why I added a “y’all” on the end of this post title. That just made it look like it fit better on Southern Plate, didn’t it? ~grins~ I knew you’d agree.

I’ve developed a raving addiction to these things. You see, Ricky and I don’t get to go out much. We’ve actually been out twice without the kids in the past four or five years. What we do instead is pick a night each week and eat a very light supper, then after we send the kids to bed one of us (he usually draws the short straw here) goes to get takeout for our dinner. A Chinese restaurant is very near us and chicken lettuce wraps are one of their signature dishes. This is one of those things that didn’t sound too appealing to me at first but my mother kept insisting that I try them and once I did, I was about as hooked on that as I was the first time I tried poutine.

However, shelling out the money for them on a regular basis got old quick and last night I just up and decided that I could make these little suckers myself. Never stand in the way of a woman when she “up and decides” to do something. I looked up several recipes online and they all seemed far too complicated for what I felt should be a simple recipe so I just set out to wing it on my own.

We found the finished product to be every bit as good, a little more filling, and a WHOLE lot cheaper than the restaurant version. Even Bradybug, at ten years old, gave these a resounding thumbs up. They easily made enough for four people and the cool thing is that I had enough filling leftover to eat one now as I write this. ~grins~

You’ll need: Rice sticks*, Soy Sauce, Small can Water Chestnuts, Brown Sugar, Mushrooms, Green Onions, and a head of lettuce.

*Rice sticks aren’t nearly as hard to find these days as they used to be. I just picked these up at the grocery store in the Asian foods section. These add a lot of “coolness” to the recipe if you let your kids watch you cook them. Okay, so I think they’re pretty cool, too! I’ve even included a video later in this post to show you how they work!

You’ll also need chicken. I am using 3 boneless, skinless breasts but this is an excellent recipe to use leftover chicken on. I’d also keep it in mind for turkey leftovers as well!

Place a tablespoon of oil in a skillet and add your chicken. Cook on medium heat, stirring often, until cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking we can assemble our other ingredients. Chop mushrooms up really fine.

Add water chestnuts and continue chopping.

Until it looks like this

Chop and add green onions.

To our brown sugar, add about 3 Tablespoons of soy sauce and stir that up well.

Once your chicken is cooked, dice it up well.

Place all of that back in the skillet.

ADD SAUCE

Stir and cook over medium heat just until heated through.

I didn’t picture me adding the sauce because that picture needed editing a bit and my computer and I are not getting along very well right now. In fact, I am seriously considering asking Santa to leave coal in it’s stocking.

~purses her lips and narrows her eyes at her computer~

This is the cool part.

Place about an inch or two of oil into a small pot. Heat on medium heat for several minutes before using.

Break off some rice noodles, make sure they are small enough that they will fit entirely in your pot. You don’t want any part not going in the first batch because it won’t cook.

As soon as you put them in they will bubble and then PUFF up like this.

The Coolness of Rice Sticks from Christy SouthernPlate.com on Vimeo.

This is SO cool in my mind that I even did a video of it to show you.

This post is just filled with neat tricks! See this head of lettuce with the stem in the middle?

Turn that over and get a good hold of it and hit it on the counter really hard, right on that stem.

and it will just pop right out!

like this.

Place chicken mixture on lettuce leaves and sprinkle crispy rice noodles on the top.

Fold that up and eat it like a taco.

MY GOODNESS THESE ARE GOOD!

This recipe made enough chicken lettuce wraps for four people.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (can substitute leftover ckn or turkey - about three cups)
• 3 green onions
• Small can water chestnuts
• 1 Cup mushrooms
• 2 T brown sugar
• 3 T Soy Sauce
• Rice Sticks and oil to cook them in
• Head of lettuce to serve them in

Instructions

1. In large skillet, heat one tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add chicken, cut into pieces, and cook while stirring until cooked through. While chicken is cooking, finely dice mushrooms, water chestnuts, and green onions. Remove chicken from heat after it is done and dice.
2. Combine soy sauce and brown sugar, stir well. Add chicken, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and green onions back to skillet. Stir in sauce. Cook and stir over medium heat until heated through.
3. For Rice Sticks, Place one to two inches of oil in a small sauce pot. Heat over medium heat for several minutes. Break off a handful of rice noodles and drop into pot, immediately removing to a paper towel lined plate when they puff up.
4. Serve chicken mixture in lettuce leaves, topped with crunchy rice noodles. Eat like a taco. Repeat as necessary :) .

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Sometimes joy is the source of a smile-

sometimes your smile is the source of joy.

Submitted by Elaine. Submit yours by clicking here (and fuel up on a little encouragement while you’re at it!).

There used to be a little restaurant in Decatur, Alabama called The Iron Gate. My mother dearly loved that place. I remember her taking us to meet her sister there, who’d have my baby cousin with her (That baby is now a DJ in Little Rock, Arkansas – who let him grow up?!). We’d play in the lobby where they had all of these large leaf plants and Mama an her sister would wait for them to open so they could go inside and have Mama’s favorite dish – which she calls Chicken Poulet. The funny thing is, Poulet means “Chicken” in french so really, this dish is called Chicken Chicken.

Since it was a restaurant that catered primarily to adults, their menu didn’t have much that appealed to children so they allowed parents to bring in fast food for them to eat. Silly me, I thought I was lucky at the time as I sat there with my paper wrapped hamburger and Mama dined on Poulet and homemade rolls!

Nowadays, I don’t actually consider fast food edible by most counts – its just something you eat to keep from starving when you have no other choice. But this Poulet is actually pretty fast when it boils down to it because you assemble it the night before and stick it in your fridge. Come home from work or a day of running the errand rat race and just top it with your cream soup, pop it in the oven, and supper is on it’s way!

Now we’re talkin!

You’re gonna need: Chicken, cheese, mayo, green onions, eggs (You’ll need four so ignore the two in the pic), stick margarine, 1pkg peppridge farm stuffing, milk, cream of chicken soup, little bit of salt, and a can of chicken broth.

The chicken broth isn’t pictured. I tried to get him to hop on the table but he was camera shy .

Place your water and margarine in a cup and melt in the microwave until the margarine is completely liquefied.

Look at our pretty bowl we’re gonna use today! Isn’t it nice and sunshiney?

Okay, I’ll get back in the kitchen now…just had to show ya what had me grinning!

Place stuffing mix in a large bowl. Add water and melted margarine.

Stir

Add chicken broth

and eggs

Stir that up good, too.

In a separate bowl, place shredded chicken, mayo, and onions.

I just boiled a couple of chicken breasts for this but you can use leg quarters, a whole fryer, even canned chicken! Just cook it until done and remove and shred meat to use in this.

Stir that up good.

Place half of stuffing mix in the bottom of a 9×13 pan.

Top with all of the chicken mixture. Sprinkle with salt.

Top with the remaining stuffing mix.

In a measuring cup, beat two eggs. Pour in milk.

Stir that up a bit.

Pour over poulet

Like so

It will be a little runny but that’s okay!

Cover this up and stick it in the fridge for at least eight hours.

I just stick it in there the night before I plan on having it for supper.

Right before baking, spread the can of cream of mushroom soup over it.

Bake at 350, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with cheese.

Return to oven for about five minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Have ya a lil’ chicken chicken ~grins~

Mama’s Chicken Poulet, or “Chicken Chicken”

Ingredients

• Chicken Poulet
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1/2 C Mayo
• 1/4 C Green Onions
• 4 eggs
• 1 stick margarine
• 2 Cups Chicken Broth (a )) ounce can
• 16 ounce pkg Peppridge Farm corn bread stuffing mix
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• Sprinkling of salt

Instructions

1. Melt stick of margarine in cup of water by heating in the microwave. Place stuffing mix in bowl. Pour water and margarine over and stir. Add 2 eggs and chicken broth, stir.
2. In separate bowl, combine shredded chicken, mayo, and onions. Stir well.
3. Place 1/2 of stuffing mix in bottom of a 9x13 pan. Top with all of chicken mixture. Dash salt over chicken. Top with remaining stuffing mix. Beat together remaining two eggs and milk. Pour over mixture in pan. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least eight hours.
4. Before baking, remove cover and spread cream of mushroom soup over top. Place in 350 oven, uncovered, and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and top with shredded cheese. Return for another five minutes, or until cheese is melted.

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Be careful what you think because you will say it,
Be careful what you say because you will do it,
Be careful what you do because you will become it.

~Submitted by Kamilla. To submit your quote, click here.

I’m thrilled to introduce you to a new friend of mine, Rhoda from Southern Hospitality! I discovered Rhoda’s blog shortly after I began blogging and have stopped by whenever I could ever since! Her blog is one of those that makes you want to sit and stay a spell, growing more relaxed with each minute! I know you’ll enjoy her blog just as much as we will all enjoy this recipe!

Rhoda also graciously invited me to guest post for her blog today so be sure you pay her a visit and say hi! Her blog focuses on all the Southern staples: Decorating, Thrifting, Cooking and Gardening. The recipe she is sharing with us today is one of my mother’s favorite dishes. Thank you, Rhoda! ~Christy

Doesn’t that name sound fancy? Chicken divan…

If you’re from the South, you grew up with your share of casseroles. Made with cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup, is there any other kind of casserole? You see the 1984 church cookbook above that came out of my Pastor dad’s church at the time. The Women’s Ministry ladies decided they needed to do a cookbook for a couple of years and I’m so glad I snagged them. It is full of well-loved Southern recipes, good ole’ down home cooking and many of them have the above-mentioned creamy soup as a main ingredient. I’m quite sure there are probably some major differences between a church cookbook in the North and the South.

I’m just sayin’.

So, are you ready for this Chicken Divan? I have no idea where the name came from, if anyone knows, please let me know. I can see this on a Southern restaurant menu where little ladies go to lunch and chat up a storm. Have any of my Yankee friends (sorry, we just still call ya’ll that, old habits die hard you know!) heard of this recipe?

This recipe was contributed by my sister, Renee. I’ve made it quite a bit over the years. Main ingredient, chicken of course.

And cream of chicken soup mixed with mayo.

My hubby is not a casserole lover, but he does like this one a lot.

Broccoli layer goes first.

Shredded chicken on top of that

Creamy mixture next

Sprinkled with shredded cheddar cheese and bread crumbs mixed with butter.

I serve mine with brown rice cooked in chicken broth.

And it’s a cheesy, yummy meal.

Your kids would probably like it too. Comfort food at its best.

Here’s the official recipe:

Eat and enjoy!

~ Rhoda