Food!!!

Calltaker · Sep 28, 2006

Now that I have your attention. Was doing some blogging tonihgt and thought, why not share with everyone? Anyways, the backstory is thatI was asked to share a couple recipes online by some friends, and was posting them in my blog. As I was doing it tonihgt, I was thinking... why not share with more of my friends and drop them here too?

So, the first three are here, all together, they make a GREAT dinner, feel free to play with them and customize to taste. Theere are no measures as I learned to cook by feel from my Italian grandmother many years ago, so plseas don;t ask for measures

Enjoy:

Chicken ala Salsa:

For this recipe, you will need the following: Chicken Breasts (boneless and skinless), I get mine at Aldi's or Save-A-Lot as they are cheaper there; A jar of medium salsa (hot or mild will work too, I just like the medium for cooking); Cheese (preferably shredded) I prefer to use Cheddar or the taco mix; Breading mixture (Bread crumbs, flour, and spices to taste); a tub of sour cream; and 2 eggs for each 6 pieces of chicken.

Now, first, make sure that your chicken is thawed if you got it frozen, and then you want to make up your breading mix. I pour a goodly amount of bread crumbs into a bowl, then add some flour and the spices (you may want to start with a little flour and ten add until it has a smooth consistency, sorry, I don't use measuring cups). Stir the breading mixture up well to ensure even distribution of all ingredients. Next, in a small bowl, crack and scramble the eggs.

Before you start breading the chicken, make sure you have your oven set to 350 and have a broiler rack or something with slots in it for the chicken to bake on. Dip the chicken into the egg, making sure it is fully covered, then set it into the breading mixture and cover it with breading. Gently press the breading into the chicken, making sure that the entire piece is covered with the mixture, placing the breaded chicken onto the rack/cooking space. When all the chicken is breaded and on the rack, put the rack in the oven and set the time for 30-35 minutes depending on how thick the chicken is. When the timer goes off, check the chicken by cutting the thickest one at the thickest point, you should not see any pink. If you do, give it another 5-10 minutes. Then, remove from the over, and spoon out a nice generous coating to each piece of chicken of the salsa. You the top covered, but try not to have it slopping over the edges. Then cover the top with the shredded cheese and put it back in the oven until the cheese is melted and just starting to turn brown.

Now, when you take this out of the oven, a hefty dollop of sour cream on the top will make this the centerpiece of any dinner. The best part is that it is fairly simple and easy to do. If you are watching your diet, you can use just egg whites, low-fat or skim cheese and sour cream. The salsa is a no fat food, and the carbs are negligible.

What you serve with the chicken is up to you, but I usually make home made tortilla chips to go with it and have extra salsa and sour cream for the chips. This is one of those recopies that you can use to wow your friends are when you have a sudden dinner party dropped in your lap, as it is easily expandable to the number of people you have coming for dinner.
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Homemade Tortilla Chips:

OK, I have had a few requests for how I make my tortilla chips, so I am going to drop that one on you tonight. Here is what you need: A deep fryer (Or a deep pot with oil in it on the stove), Corn tortillas, salt.

First, I get my tortillas at Aldi’s, because I can get a big old pack for $.89, and they work well. I take a stack out of the bag (about 10-20 tortillas) start small and work your way up as you get comfortable with the cutting. Make sure that the stack is lined up all the way around, then using a cleaver type knife (a smooth flat edge to it) cut the stack in half, across the circle. St one half aside, then take the other half and cut it in half, then quarters, and repeat with the second half. You should now have 8 stacks of triangle shaped tortilla pieces.

Make sure that your deep fryer or oil is up to heat. If it isn't, your chips will suck. Sorry, no other way to put it. Now, take one of those 8 piles and slip the pieces in 1 at a time, but fairly quickly so they will all cook together. Leave them in until they turn a nice shade of golden brown and remove with tongs or a fry scooper. Place them in a large bowl lined with paper towels (to soak up excess oil) and sprinkle liberally with salt (optional of course). Repeat until you have used all 8 piles and repeat if you need more chips. You may need to practice a few times to get it just right, but in the end, you will be making chips for pennies and enjoying a great snack. Plus, it looks really neat when you serve home made chips.
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And finally the Salsa:

Jim’s Homemade Ass Kickin’ Salsa

What you need:
2-3 Ripe tomatoes
1 medium white onion
10-15 stalks of cilantro (fresh is best)
Balsamic Vinegar
Your favorite Hot Sauce (If you don’t have one, Frank’s Red Hot is great)
A Cuisineart or food processor of some type (Hand powered works too)

First, Cube the tomatoes and the onion and pop them in the processor. Next chop the stalks off the Cilantro and put the tops into the processor. Add in about 1 tablespoon of the vinegar. Now, whirl up that processor and get everything to a nice smooth consistency (not soup, but still chunky). Now, stir in your hot sauce a little at a time until the flavor is just want you want. Cover and refrigerate. Best served chilled with fresh homemade chips.

If you don’t have a food processor, then just dice the hell outta all the above and mix them together in a big bowl. More labor intensive, but still just as good.
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calltaker

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Food!!!

Calltaker MajorGeek

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Food!!!

Calltaker MajorGeek

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