$1 White Boy Samosas

I realized the other day that almost every recipe I try invovles chicken in some way, so I decided to try to break out of that for a little while. Plus, I have a bunch of veggies and ground beef in my kitchen just waiting to be used! When I was in New Orleans last summer, one of the other summer missionary girls I worked with had gone to India the summer before and introduced me and the girls at the camp we were putting on to samosas. I figured I would do some research and give it a try. But, boy, did those recipes call for tons of spices! Not only did I not have half of them, but I was also afraid of what those spices would do to my very White-palated husband. So I took some and left out some ingredients to create these samosas for about $1 for the whole batch.

Ingredients:

Dough:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
7 tbsp. water

Filling:
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large Russet potato
1 large carrot
1/2 cup of peas
1 large clove of garlic, diced
1 tsp. ground coriander seeds
2 tsps. minced ginger
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt

How did this cost $1? Well, the I got a 10 lb. bag of potatoes for .99, carrots for .33/lb., two bulbs of garlic for $1, the peas I got for .99 for a 16 oz. frozen bag and used very little. The rest I have around for all kinds of recipes and got for pennies when you consider what you use for the meal. And this recipe makes 16 samosas! We had enough for the both of us tonight and for leftovers for lunch the next couple of days. I call that a deal :)

Anywho, directions:

Start by sifting together the flour and salt for the dough. Pour in the vegetable oil and mix as well as possible. Next, add the water and mix the dough until it sticks together. Place the dough on a floured surface, cover, and let rest while making the filling.
Peel the potato and carrot and boil in water until just tender. Pull out, and chop into about 1/2 inch pieces. Pour 1/2 cup of the vegetable oil into a pan and heat the oil on medium heat. First, add the coriander seeds and ginger and sautee for about 5 minutes before adding the garlic. Once the garlic starts turning a golden color, add potatoes. Cook the potatoes for about 5 minutes before adding the carrots and peas. Sautee these for an additional 5 minutes. Once cooked, spoon the mixture into a bowl to cool and toss with the lemon juice.

 

 

Go back to the dough and knead for about 1 minute. Break the dough into 16 equal balls. Roll out each ball into about 5 inch circles and stick a spoonful of the filler in the center.

 

 

 

Pull one side of the dough over and seal it to the other with water, pinching and turning up the edges as you go.

 



Pour the oil you used to sautee the veggies and the additional oil into a pot and heat at medium. I was able to place about 4 samosas in the pot at a time. Flip after about 3 minutes and cook until golden brown all over. Pull out and place on a paper towel. Let cool, and feast!

 



Mexican Night

Last night Sam and I had our friends, Adam and Janessa, over for some Mexican-style themed dinner. 80 count Guerrero white corn tortillas were on sale this weekend for $1.99 and I got avacadoes for .25 a piece, so it was a good time to try and make some guacamole! I actually got the avacadoes a week ago and stuck them in the fridge, so I was worried I would have to run to the store to get new ones if they had gone bad. Oddly enough, 2 of the 4 acvetually had not ripened yet. Hard as rocks, which I only found out after I tried mixing them with the good avacado. So, needless to say, no guacamole for us last night. But Tapatio and some Riverwalk Salsa were good substitutes :) Last night, I decided to try out my Green Southwest Chicken Casserole once again and wanted to make homemade corn tortilla chips for the first time.

White Corn Tortilla Chips

Ingredients:
10-20 small white corn tortillas (depending on how many you are serving)
1.5 cups vegetable oil
Salt to tast

Ok, so this was super easy. Pour the oil into a pan and heat it at a little over medium. Once you start seeing lines in the oil, it is getting hot. Cut the tortillas into quarters and put in the pan. We put about 4 in at a time. Leave in until golden brown, to taste. Cool on a paper towel and add salt (or cinnamon and sugar... but that's for another time). See, simple! Shoutout to Adam who whipped out most of these!

Green Southwest Chicken Casserole
This is a recipe I put together while trying to figure out what to do with the stuff in my fridge. I didn't have the right stuff for classic enchiladas, but this turned out pretty darn tasty!

Ingredients:
 9 white corn tortillas
1 lb baked, shreaded chicken breast
1 avacado
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Vegetable oil

I fried the tortillas in the same oil that I was using to make the chips and made them quite a bit lighter than you would chips. Next, combine the shredded chicken, sour cream, and massed avacado. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with canola oil and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place 3 fried torillas on the bottom of the dish, breaking one in half to cover the sides. Spread 1/3 of the enchilada sauce over the tortillas and cover with 1/2 of the chicken mixture. Add another layer of tortillas, enchilada sauce, and chicken mixture. Top it off with the last layer of tortillas and enchilada sauce. Add the cheese to the top.

Stick the casserole in the oven for about 15 minutes or until warm all the way through and the cheese has melted. It don't look purty, but it tastes purty!

Cracker Fried Chicken

Last night, I was needing some comfort food and was trying to find a way to use the last of my frozen chicken drumsticks. So, I did a very bad thing... I decided to learn how to make fried chicken! Why is that so bad? Because it turned out soooo good that I think I'm going to have to make it over and over again, and fried chicken probably (definitely) not the healthiest meal in the world. Again, I needed some comfort food.
So a really cool thing about this recipe is that you don't have to have a lot of special ingredients. I had a sleeve of saltines left in my pantry from forever ago when I was sick and finally got to use them up! Here's how to make this fried chicken:

Ingredients:
6 Chicken Drumsticks (I pulled the skin off before cooking)
1 sleeve of Saltine Crackers
1 cup all-purpose Flour
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 cup Milk
2 Eggs
1 1/2 tsps. Pepper
1 tsp. Salt
Vegetable Oil

After taking the skin off the drumsticks, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Crush the crackers into small crumbs and combine with flour, baking powder, and remaining salt and pepper. Next, whisk together the milk and eggs. Pour the oil in a pan so that fills up the pan about 1/2 inch and start heating the oil at slightly over medium heat. Take a drumstick and cover it in the flour mixture, dunk the drumstick in the egg mixture, and then back into the flour mixture.

Take the drumstick and place it in the hot oil, repeat. Leave the chicken on one side for about five minutes or until it starts getting golden brown, then flip and let cook another five minutes. In order to cook more thoroughly, continue flipping them over until they have cooked for 15-20 minutes.

(I had a problem with pulling out my first two drumsticks too soon and they weren't cooked all the way through, so be sure to check the center.) If your drumsticks start to burn while cooking, turn down the heat so they can cook more slowly.

 

 

I believe this is one of my new favorite recipes because it was very straightforward and had delicious results. I hope you enjoy trying this one and bringing out your inner Southern woman!

A New Spin on Nuggets!

Tonight I was in the mood for something a little different but wanted to make Sam one of his favorites, my lemon chicken. So I whipped together this new little recipe I call Lemon Chicken Nuggets! And they actually turned out pretty awesome if I do say so myself ;) Below is the recipe, and please note, I have pictures finally! w00t.
As a side dish, I tried to do the Pinterest potato deal where you make really thin slices and bake them so that you practically get a potato full of potato chips. This was my third attempt, and yet again, the "chips" came out like mushy potato slices. I tried individually covering the slices with olive oil and pulling them apart, I tried baking them extra long, I tried at a high temperature, and nothing seems to work! Am I missing something here, or has everyone else had issues? Let me know!

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless Chicken Breast Tenderloins (or their equivalent)
2 slices of Bread (older is probably better)
Adobo seasoning (or a similar all-purpose seasoning)
2 finely diced cloves of Garlic
3 Tbsps. melted Butter
2 Tbsps. Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Grated Parmesean Cheese

First, break apart the bread pieces into small chunks, place them on a baking sheet, and sprinkle with the Adobo seasoning. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees until crunchy, or for about 10 minutes.

Take your bread chunkss and smash them to smithereens (I like to use the bottom side of a cup)! Mix the bread crumbs, diced garlic, and cheese in a small bowl. Combine the melted butter and lemon juice in a separate small bowl. Next, cut your chicken into nugget pieces about 1inch long/wide.

 

 

Take the pieces of chicken, cover them with the butter/lemon mixture, and then roll in the bread crumb mixture. Place in a greased glass baking dish and repeat.

 

 



Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until juices run clear. Eat fresh and enjoy!

 

 



Sometimes Bread is a 4-Letter Word :(

Everybody has their limitations, I know this. But I really, really, really don't like to admit it! One of my major limitations is making homemade bread, especially bread requiring yeast. The sadness of this fact is compounded by my husband adoring good homemade bread. So I try and try and try new recipes and have come to the conclusion that the common factor in these disasters is yours truly. A couple of weeks ago I let myself be convinced that it was just the yeast, even though a couple recipes I had tried didn't call for yeast.
So today at Wally World, I picked up some new yeast, tossed it in warm water, and saw for the first time what it meant for yeast to froth! I decided it was time to take a second stab at a delicious sounding Pinterest recipe that had failed in the past due to inactive yeast. Sam and I had some friends over for dinner tonight (shout out to the Murphys!), so it was a perfect time to try. And fail. Again. But not so horrendously as the first time, but I guarantee they did not turn out as beautifully as the picutre promised. Here's the recipe for Texas Roadhouse style rolls from the blog eatcakefordinner.blogspot.com:

4 tsp. active dry yeast

1/2 c. warm water

2 c. milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm

3 Tbl. of melted butter, slightly cooled

1/2 c. sugar

2 quarts all purpose flour (7-8 cups)

2 whole eggs

2 tsp. salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water with a teaspoon of sugar; let stand until frothy. Combine yeast mixture, milk, 1/2 cup sugar and enough flour to make a medium batter (about the consistency of pancake batter). Beat thoroughly. Add melted butter, eggs and salt. Beat well. Add enough flour to form a soft dough. Sprinkle a small amount of flour onto counter and let dough rest. Meanwhile, grease a large bowl. Knead dough until smooth and satiny and put in greased bowl; turn over to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk. Punch down. Turn out onto a floured board. Divide into portions for shaping; let rest 10 minutes. Shape dough into desired forms. Place on greased baking sheets. Let rise until doubled.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Baste immediately with butter. Yield: 5 to 6 dozen. Serve with Cinnamon Honey Butter. 

 

 

I halved the recipe but double checked to make sure that all my ingredients were measured correctly. So what do you say? What am I doing wrong? Any advice for this poor girl? Ok, I'll stop begging now, but feel free to help a sister out! However, I have to admit that the Cinnamon Honey Butter was super delicious, especially considering how easy it was to make!

Garlic!

Hello, my name is Kamber, and I'm a garlicholic. It's true. I firmly believe that a freshly minced clove of garlic can make just about any dish better! Tonight, after a long day of work and classes, I was going to tell my poor husband that we were going to microwave some chicken patties and heat up some biscuits. But then it happened. My craving for garlic roared! So I made both myself and Sam happy and pulled out the cutting board.
However, I couldn't just make some chicken breasts. I need carbs! And what's another craving that I get all the time? Smashfries. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the awesomeness that is Smashburger, smashfries are french cut fries tossed with olive oil and rosemary and are quite expensive (at least on my budget). However, they are actually fairly simple to make yourself!
Here are the recipes! Both originated somewhere off of Pinterest, but I added a few ingredients (like the rosemary to the french fries) myself.

Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:
2 Chicken Breasts
3 tbs. Olive Oil
2 minced cloves Garlic
2 tbs. Brown Sugar

Super easy and already in the kitchen, right?!

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. In a sauce pan, heat the olive oil while chopping away at the garlic, and add in when ready. Sautee the garlic until it turns a golden brown and remove from heat. Quickly add the brown sugar and stir in. Cover a pan with aluminum foil (it will get black!). Place the chicken breasts in the pan and spoon the garlic/sugar mixture over the chicken. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until juices run clear.

Out will pop super juicy and sweet chicken!

Smashfries

Ingredients:
2 Russett Potatoes
2 tbs. Olive Oil
dash of salt and pepper
Rosemary

Cut the potatoes into french fry shapes. It can take awhile, but I've noticed that thinner cut fries work better. Place the fries into a bowl of ice cold water and a dash of salt (I usually actually add ice). Strain the fries and dry thoroughly on paper towels. Add to a bowl with the olive oil, pepper, and some more salt. Cover the bowl and toss until thoroughly coated. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread with olive oil. It is helpful to crinkle the aluminum foil so that air can flow all around the fries as they bake. Lay the fries across the pan in a single layer and bake. I wanted mine to cook with the chicken, so I through them in at 500 degrees, also. In ten minutes, pull out the fries and turn them over. Stick back in for ten minutes or until they are golden brown. When they are ready to come out, pour them back in the bowl you tossed them in, add rosemary to taste, and toss again. If you time it right, your chicken should be ready with the fries!

I hope you enjoy trying out these recipes! They are very simple, easy to make, and use ingredients you probably already have in the pantry! That's what I call a great meal :) If you try them out, let me know how it goes!

Late Night Snack

Ok, so when I wrote that there would be a few laughs along the way, I didn't expect one to come so quickly! I like to think of myself as a pretty good cook, but I know that I am a pretty bad baker. And what do I do when I know I am bad at something? Do it over and over again until I get pretty good at it! Breads especially have been difficult for me.
So the other night when the hubby was on the phone, I decided to hop on Pinterest. I quickly found a very simple, basic recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Bread, and I had all the ingredients! I hopped up to go make it and had it in the oven in five minutes flat. Easy, peasy thought I! 45 minutes later, a beautiful bread pan of deliciousness came out of the oven and I was pretty proud of myself (as was my drooling husband). We cut great big pieces for ourselves and started getting in bed to watch some Felicity, our new favorite series.
That's when it happened. I bit into the thick slice and immediately felt something was off. The texture was way too dense and spongy. And the taste! Something was sour about it. I look over at Sam and he is chomping away. Did I just get a bad bite? I took another and spit it out! I asked Sam what he thought about the taste. He said it wasn't bad, but it tasted a lot like baking soda. Well, of course, I thought. I put a tablespoon of baking soda in just like the recipe . . . Oh, wait. I jumped out of bed, went to look at the recipe, and to my extreme amusement (and not so slight frustration) saw that the recipe called for 1 tablespoon of baking powder. Into the trash with the loaf!
Anywho, I still think the recipe would have been delicious if I hadn't tried to spruce it up with a heaping spoon of baking soda, so here it is, courtesy of "A Whisk and A Prayer."

Ingredients

(1) 1/3 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup white sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and 1 cup sugar. Add egg, milk, and oil to flour mixture.

Stir until just moistened.

Pour half of the batter into pan.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and 1/3 cup sugar (you can mix together cinnamon and sugar before hand, I didn't though I just sprinkled away).

Cover with remaining batter.

Top with more cinnamon/sugar if desired.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.