quick breakfast

English muffin with white cheese...

Frying Chicken

1 whole chicken, cut up into 10 pieces (2 legs, 2 thighs, 4 breast quarters, and 2 wings)

canola oil for frying


Chicken Marinade


2-3 cups buttermilk


1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
   
Chicken coating  

2 cups milk

3 cups flour

½ - 1 tablespoon garlic powder

½ - 1 tablespoon onion powder

½ tablespoon salt

½ tablespoon ground black pepper

½ - 1 tablespoon cayenne powder
 

In a large bowl enough to fit all the chicken pieces in add the buttermilk, salt, pepper, and cayene. Use your hand to mix and combine the spices with the buttermilk.


Add the chicken pieces into the buttermilk mixture, making sure that most of the chicken is covered with the buttermilk (add more buttermilk if necessary).
Cover and refrigerate for 12-24 hours. The longer the chicken marinates, the juicier it will be.

Take the marinated chicken from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before frying and leave to come to room temperature a bit.

In a large bowl, add milk. In a shallow pan or plate, add flour, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper.
Remove a piece of chicken from the buttermilk and dip into the milk, shaking off the excess milk. Then dip chicken into the flour mixture and shake off the excess flour. placing on a baking sheet lined with paper and repeat with other pieces of chicken.

Fill a cast iron frying pan with 1.5-2 inches of oil. Heat up the oil until it reaches 160-170C. Place  the chicken pieces into the hot oil working in batches to prevent overcrowding. Fry the chicken for five minutes until the bottom side is golden, turn the chicken pieces over and continue to fry for another five minutes until it is golden. Turning the chicken pieces over again five minutes more until the chicken is a deep golden brown, cooked through and crisp. This should take around 15 minutes.

Hoe Cakes

When I was a child. I remember eating these little corn cake with black eyed peas and some good mess of Greens... as the old folk with say. Now I eat them with everything..I mean with all kinds of food dishes.

1 cup of self rising flour

1 cup of self rising corn meal

2 eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup whole milk

1/4 cup of canola oil

1/2 cup of canola in a skillet for frying,


In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal.adding the whole milk, buttermilk and oil in a bowl blending well. Add eggs and mix well combine with dry ingredients. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high and drop batter by about 1/2 pancake size.

Fry until brown and crisp, turn and brown the other side. Remove and let drain on paper towels.

Frito Pie

Adapted from Homesick Texan Cookbook by Lisa Fain

You can add in a can of diced tomatoes (I like Rotel) and/or a can of beans. If you add diced tomatoes, you can omit the lime juice.

Other toppings: dollop of sour cream, chopped pickled jalepeno, fresh diced tomatoes

ingredients:
6 dried ancho chilies, stems and seeds removed
2 dried chipotle chilies, stems and seeds removed
1 tablespoon cooking oil, bacon grease or lard
1 onion, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 dried pequin chilies
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons kosher salt (1 teaspoon table salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds ground beef
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 big bags Fritos or individual snack-sized Fritos, at least for each person
8 ounces shredded cheese
directions:
1. In a bowl, soak the ancho and the chipotle chilies in 1 cup of hot water for 10 minutes.

2. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the cooking oil over medium heat. Add the onions and brown for 3 minutes. Throw in the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Place the onions and garlic in the blender.

3. Add the soaking chiles with the water into to the blender. Add in the pequin chilies (no need to soak these). Add in cumin, oregano, clove, cinnamon, salt, pepper. Blend until smooth.

4. In the same large pot (as step 2) - cook the ground beef, stirring occassionally until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chili puree and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil then turn the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occassionally.

5. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. (At this step I added an additional teaspoon of kosher salt and more black pepper). Stir in lime juice. Serve over Fritos and top with shredded cheese.