Time to dish

So I am a bragger big time especially on facebook. I have been sharing my ideas, frustrations, successes and lots of pictures from my kitchen with all of my friends that literally has them drooling. So today I am going to share a bit about the last two great meals that I posted about and the recipes to go with them.

First the fried chicken I said I was going to make last night turned out great. I have to confess though I hate making fried chicken, at least the bone in kind, I just can not get it to taste quite right ever. I can make killer fried steak, I can fry up a mean catfish but for some reason chicken has not been kind to me. Last night I searched for tips on how to fry chicken found one that I liked and got started.

Now the breading is simple my own concoction I mixed about two cups of flour with a lot and I mean a lot of Old Bay seasoning in a big ziplock bag took the freshly rinsed and dried thigh put it in the bag shook it up real good then dipped it in a wash made of 1 1/2 cups milk and two eggs then back into the flour and Old Bay bag for another good shake and onto a plate so I could do the same to all 7 pieces.

After they were all breaded I plopped two pieces into 3 cups of hot oil, too hot it got dark to fast and was still clucking in the center not good! Shoot ok turned down the oil to try again and went back to the trusty internet to search on how to fix this fried chicken mess expressing my frustrations on facebook so friends could share tips as I searched. I found my fix even the two dark pieces turned out great so that is what I am going to share with you.

Fry the chicken on low on my stove top it was the number 3 setting for about five minutes on each side till a nice golden brown while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I know what you are thinking oven fried chicken is NOT fried chicken it is just a soggy mess because that is what I was thinking practically in tears as I contemplated scrapping the whole dinner and running to Chick-Fil-A you are just going to have to trust me. As you take the chicken out of the oil put it right into a 13 x 9 x 2 glass pan and once all your chicken is in the pan pour 1/4 cup of water into the pan and pop it in the oven for 35 minutes.

The result is a super crispy outside, a moist juicy inside, perfectly cooked piece of fried then baked chicken! It was delicious my entire family loved it and my husband had two pieces. So what I thought was going to be a complete disaster turned out to be something  wonderfully delicious that I plan on making again. The next time I buy the wrong kind of chicken I may just find a way to cure world hunger but if not at the very least I now have another great recipe to add to the family favorites.

Ok next the lasagna that Skylar and I made two days ago turned out wonderfully as well. The original recipe comes from The Taste of Home Cookbook page 296 Traditional Lasagna. I however made a few changes that resulted in a meal the entire family enjoyed so I am going to share my version with you and if you want to make the original then by all means go for it.


1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb Italian sausage
3 8oz cans tomato sauce
2 6 oz cans tomato paste
2 clove minced garlic (I use the already minced in a jar kind it was a little over 1 tsp)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 eggs
heavy dash of Italian seasoning
24 oz small curd cottage cheese
8 oz ricotta cheese
1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
9 lasagna noodles
6 slices provolone cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet brown the beef and sausage until cooked through and drain. Add in tomato sauce, tomato paste, garlic, sugar, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil reduce heat and simmer uncovered for one hour stirring occasionally. After about 30 minutes it starts to smell really good so go ahead and taste it!

 Prepare your lasagna noodles at this time as directed on the package and store them on a plate in the fridge until it is time to use them.

While the noodles boil make your cheese filling. In a large bowl combine your eggs with the heavy dash of Italian seasoning and whisk. Mix in the cottage cheese, ricotta and Parmesan. Store covered in the fridge until meat sauce is done.

Once the meat sauce is done preheat your oven to 375. Side note I boiled the noodles first then started the meat sauce and made the cheese filling so we made cookies during the remaining 30 minutes the meat sauce had left to cook so our oven was already at 375 and ready to go. Now you get to layer your lasagna.
 
Start with one cup of meat sauce spread thin over the bottom of your 13x9x2 pan do not worry about getting close to the sides focus on the middle of the pan and it will spread real well. Next layer with three noodles, the provolone cheese, 2 cups of the cottage cheese mixture and one cup of mozzarella. For the mozzarella I used a 1/2 cup measuring cup as my scoop and took two generous scoops spread evenly over the cottage cheese mixture. Another layer of three noodles, 2 cups of meat sauce, remaining cottage cheese mixture and another generous one cup layer of mozzarella. Top with last three noodles, meat sauce and mozzarella your pan will be very full.

Cover with aluminum foil tent it up a bit so the cheese does not stick to it and bake for 50 minutes. To keep any cheese fat from boiling over onto the bottom of your stove place a cookie sheet on the rack beneath the rack you have the lasagna on and it will catch all the drips. I thought of that a few minutes to late but my stove did ok a bit smoky but it was only one or two small drips. Uncover the lasagna and bake an additional 20 minutes till it is heated through. Let it stand about 15 minutes or so before you cut into it and serve.

I hope you get the chance to try these recipes out and enjoy them as much as we did!