Free Hand Painted Saints Glass Giveaway

Don't forget to post a comment so you'll be entered in my giveaway. Be sure to tell your friends, especially any that might be Saints fans. Drawing is Thursday. Click here  for details and to post your comment, even if it just says "enter me." Anonymous posters,  be sure to let me know who you are so I can contact you if you win.

March Giveaway

March is my birthday month and I'm celebrating by giving gifts to you.I often get dizzy reading the rules for some of the online giveaways, so I'm going to make this as simple as I can. Here's the way it is. Comment on this blog entry or facebook page, including the words "enter me". Any comment = an entry. Get someone else to follow or comment= an entry. First giveaway:

One of my hand-painted New Orleans Saints pilsner glasses

More giveways are coming. Stay tuned!

The rules: If you leave a comment on the blog, be sure to say who you are if you are commenting anonymously. Random drawing will be Thursday, March 11 at 10:00 AM, CST. All entries posted by that time will be included. If you win, but I don't have a way to contact you within 48 hours, an alternate winner will be chosen.

A Sewing Day

I spent much of yesterday sewing. You already saw the first towel I did. Here are a few of the other things I made yesterday.

Two bibs for my great niece.

 

A towel for my sister and her husband (our wine buddies).

A much needed cover for my grill .

(Look for the tutorial on how to make this cover coming soon-- as soon as I can find time to upload all the photos and write it.)

March is National Craft Month and I am doing my share of crafting. What are you making?

My first embroidery project

This is going to be so much fun! My new sewing machine does embroidery. After playing with it for the past few days, I thought I'd dive in and try an actual project. I made this towel today, using a flour sack towel.

Fried Chicken Recipe

My fried chicken-- whether oven-fried, pan-fried, or deep-fried-- starts with marinating about 5 lbs. of chicken drumsticks and bone-in breasts (which I cut in half) in seasoned buttermilk for 4-24 hours, then coating with dry mix. From there, follow the baking or frying directions below.

A few pointers before we proceed. I remove the skin because it's just so bad for you, but that step is entirely up to you. I can tell you, you won't miss that skin at all-- the coating is so crunchy and good. I don't recommend using boneless breasts for this recipe because they require far less cooking time which means there is probably not enough time to get the outside crisp before completely drying out the inside.

Buttermilk "bath"
Combine the following in a very large bowl, then add chicken pieces:
1 quart low fat buttermilk
1/3 cup hot sauce (not Tabasco-- it will be way too hot. I use Frank's.)
1 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne

 Coating Mix
Mix the following in a gallon sized ziplock bag:
2 c. flour
2 c. bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1 Tbs. onion powder
2 Tbs. garlic powder
1 Tbs. salt
2 tsp. pepper



Remove a few pieces of chicken at a time from the buttermilk. Put into coating mix ingredients, close ziplock, shake to coat. Repeat until all pieces are coated. As pieces are coated, lay them on a cookie sheet (or sheets) that you've sprayed with Pam or similar cooking spray.

To Bake:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Leave chicken on cookie sheets. Spray chicken with a light even coating of Pam. Bake for 1 hour, turning every 20 minutes. After the first turn, spray again with Pam.

To Pan-fry:
To me, this is the most dangerous way to cook the chicken and I don't recommend it unless you're an experienced cook. Use a very large skillet (cast iron is great), and fill about 1/4 full with canola oil. Heat to 325 degrees. Add chicken, skin side down, (even if you're using skinless, put the side that should have skin down first.) Do not crowd pieces in skillet or you'll bring the temperature down too much, and do not let oil level in pan get too high-- this is so dangerous, so be careful. Turn pieces at 10 minute intervals as necessary until internal temperature (use a thermometer, preferably instant read) reaches 180 degrees. Remove pieces and lay on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

To Deep-fry:
Use a large, deep pot filled 1/3 to 1/2 full with canola oil. Heat to 300 degrees. Carefully add chicken pieces, being careful not to overcrowd the pot or overflow the oil. How do you know the pot is over-crowded? Check the oil temperature. If you over-crowd the pot, the temp will drop significantly and you'll have soggy chicken. Maintaining a 300 degree oil temp, as closely as you can, cook breast for about 10-12 minutes each, and legs (probably thighs too)for about 18-20 minutes each. Remove pieces from oil and lay on paper towels to absorb excess oil. If you're not sure if pieces are done, just check them with a thermometer and be sure they're 180 degrees.

I hope you enjoy and I hope you'll try the oven-fried version. It's healthier, it's far less mess to clean up, and it gets rave reviews even from avid deep- and pan-fried chicken lovers.

What are you cooking today?

It's Sunday and that means family dinner night. Jessica requested fried chicken so that will be the star of our dinner tonight. I'm going to make an oven fried version as well as the real fried version.

The chicken is already marinating in seasoned buttermilk (low fat buttermilk, hot sauce, garlic, salt, pepper, cayenne) so that, by the time it arrives on the table tonight, it will be moist, juicy, and full of flavor.

Come back tomorrow for the recipes!

Fish Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa and Mexican-style Rice

As promised, here are the recipes (along with photos). Begin with the tomatillo salsa.

Tomatillo Salsa

2 pounds tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed, cubed
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
1 serrano pepper, finely chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 teaspoons oregano, ground
1 teaspoon salt
Pam Cooking Spray or Oil, to coat pan

Add enough oil to coat large skillet or spray with Pam. (Since I was doubling the recipe and didn't have a skillet that large, I used my wok.) Heat to medium high. Add onions, garlic, and peppers and saute until onions are golden and limp, 10-15 minutes.

Add tomatillos and cook until smooth, stirring occasionally and mashing tomatillos, about 15-20 minutes. If desired, puree in blender or with immersion blender.

Add oregano, salt, and cilantro. Cook until desired consistency, so that it's not watery.

Use as a dip with chips or to top fish tacos, enchiladas, and many other dishes.

Fish Tacos
One recipe for tomatillo salsa, cooked fish of your choice (I grilled red snapper), tortillas, sour cream, shredded cheese.
Simply warm tortillas, place fish in tortilla, top with salsa, sour cream, and cheese. Roll up burrito style and enjoy!


Mexican-Style Rice
1/2 c. diced celery
1/2 c. diced green bell pepper
1/2 c. diced onion
1 c. rice (I used Uncle Ben's)
1- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 c. water
3 chicken bouillon cubes
Pam Cooking Spray or Oil, enough to coat skillet

Heat skillet coated with spray or oil over medium high heat. Add veggies, cumin, and rice and saute until rice begins to brown. Slowly add 2 c. water, being careful not to splash yourself. Bring to a simmer and add bouillon cubes, stirring until dissolved. Add tomato sauce. Stir all to combine. Reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until liquids are absorbed.

Sunday Dinner

What's on the menu today? I'm making fish tacos and Mexcian rice. I don't make my fish tacos the way I see them in most restaurants. I have my own recipe made with an incredible home-made tomatillo salsa and fresh red snapper.

Come back tomorrow for the recipes, but tell me what you're making today, or this week. Any recipes to share? Post them in the comments section.

Anticipating My New Great Niece

I did a bit of sewing, making some things to welcome my great niece, Abby, into the world. She's due to arrive any day now, although her official due date is March 4. I really love these tiny pillowcase dresses. I can't wait to see her in them.

Please ignore the wrinkles in these blankets. I already had them all folded and in the box, ready to mail, when I realized I hadn't photographed them yet, hence the wrinkles. They're each double sided and very large (about 48"x 24") so Abby can use them for quite some time.

Painted Baby Frame

I'm currently teaching a class in how to paint this adorable frame with calico lettering, using this one for the promotional display. I made it with my soon-to-be great niece Abby in mind. (I'm going to reverse the first B and the A later, so it will say "ABBY.") The frame is a generous 12x12, with 4 inch letters, and an opening for a 4x4 photo. Isn't it cute?

I've also added it to my Etsy shop.