‘Ritz-y’ Chicken Strips

Hi there friends!

I’m posting a recipe today for chicken using a method that I very rarely use for it’s preparation.  Frying.  Yep.  I hardly ever, and I mean pretty much never, fry chicken.  Why?

There are a couple reasons.  Number one, I am not a big fan of fried chicken.  I prefer baked, roasted, slow-cooked or grilled chicken.  Number two, I hate frying indoors because of the grease and the hard to remove odor it leaves behind.

So, why did I decide to fry chicken this time?  Well, Hubby and the boys have been talking about fried chicken quite frequently lately and they’ve been hinting that they would like me to make some.  I decided to take the hint and enjoy the surprise on their faces when they realized what was in store for dinner.

Now, the question was…what kind of fried chicken to make?

I knew that I would be using boneless, skinless chicken breast, so I figured that cutting it into strips would make for quick, simple frying.  Plus I didn’t have to worry about the chicken not being cooked thoroughly at the end of frying.

The decision for the breading was quite simple as well.  I still had quite a few Ritz crackers left from my fabulous buy that I mentioned last week, so I decided that they would make a great crispy crust.  For the spice, I decided to use my ol’ faithful, Old Bay Seasoning.  I chopped, dredged and fried and dredged and fried again and then sprinkled them with a little Parmesan cheese before serving.

They tasted great!  And that’s coming from someone that isn’t a big fan of fried chicken. 🙂  My fried chicken fans (the men in my house) absolutely loved them!  I will definitely make them again, but it won’t be until we can have the windows open again to dissipate the ‘fry smell’.  Lol.

Here’s the recipe…

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Ingredients:
Canola oil for frying	3 eggs
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast	2 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed
Flour	3 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
Salt and pepper	Parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Heat oil over medium to medium high heat.
• Slice chicken into strips.
• Set up three dishes… #1. Flour mixed with some salt and pepper. #2. Eggs mixed with some salt and pepper.  #3. Ritz cracker crumbs with Old Bay seasoning.
• Dredge chicken strips in the flour mixture, the egg mixture and finish with the Ritz mixture.
• Place carefully in oil and fry for 5 minutes on each side.
• Remove from oil, drain and keep warm in oven until all chicken is fried and ready to serve.
• Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese before serving.

Enjoy! ❤

Shoo-Fly Pie

Hi there friends!

I hope you all had a great weekend!  Hubby, the boys and I were able to spend some of the afternoon and have dinner with my mother-in-law on Saturday.  We had a nice time and it was a little cooler where she lives, which was very much appreciated at this point of the summer. 🙂

Unfortunately, I was unable to snap some pictures of  the dishes that I made for the dinner, so I’ll have to remake them at some point (oh, darn) and post those recipes later.  For today’s post, I pulled a picture from my saved pictures of a pie that I made for ‘Pie Day’ back in March.

Yes, the name of the pie really is Shoo-Fly Pie.  I know it sounds goofy to anyone that wasn’t raised in my part of the world.  Why is it called Shoo-Fly Pie?  The answer is quite simple.  The filling is made from ingredients that would attract almost every fly in the universe, molasses and brown sugar.

It is a very simple, Pennsylvania Dutch recipe from my Pennsylvania Dutch Cookbook.  For those of you that may not be familiar with the cuisine, Pennsylvania Dutch cooking and baking typically use very simple and tasty ingredients that most of us already have in our pantries or refrigerators.  Definitely helpful for the frugal grocery budget! 🙂

I made the following changes to the recipe…

• I divided the recipe in half because I only needed one pie for my family.
• I used dark molasses while the original recipe calls for light molasses.  The dark is less sweet and gives the flavor a little more “bite”.

Here’s how I made it…

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Ingredients:
1 (1 layer) unbaked pie crust	½ cup molasses
¾ cup flour	¼ cup hot water
½ cup packed brown sugar	¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place pie crust in pie dish.
• Combine the flour and sugar in a bowl and cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or two forks until the mixture resembles crumbs. Set aside.
• Whisk together the molasses, hot water and baking soda. Pour into the pie crust.
• Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top of the liquid mixture.
• Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 20 minutes longer or until filling is firm.

Make sure to keep covered after cooling, so you don’t have to ‘shoo’ the flies away! 🙂

Enjoy! ❤

 

My “Ritz-y” Pineapple-Coconut Dream

Hi there friends!!

I hope you’re having another great summer weekend!  It’s been a little on the warm side here in the desert, so I’ve been trying to make as many cool meals and treats as possible.

I found the idea for this dessert on Pinterest while looking for something to do with some of the numerous boxes of Ritz crackers that I was able to purchase for mere pennies thanks to a great sale and awesome coupons.  I have made desserts with graham cracker crumbs many times, but had never thought to use Ritz crackers before.  I’ve been accustomed to using cracker crumbs for savory dishes.  But then, I’m always up to trying something new. 🙂

I do have to confess something about my experience making this yummy dessert.  I totally messed it up!!  I read the ingredients on the recipe wrong, or should I say, not thoroughly.  I made a mistake on the amount of whipped topping that was needed for the recipe.  I realized my mistake as I was spreading the mixture on to the crust.  I went back to the recipe because it just “didn’t look right” and discovered that I had only used half of the amount needed.  To make it worse, I didn’t have another tub.  Ugh!! 😐

That’s when Hubby came to my rescue!  I texted him a picture of what I needed and he dropped by the supermarket and picked it up on his way home for his lunch hour.  I have a great guy, don’t I?  Since he knew it was for his dessert, I don’t think he would have said no. 😉

With the second half of the whipped topping in hand, I had to figure out how to fix my mistake.  At that point, the only thing I could do was turn a single layer dessert into a two layer dessert.

And guess what!  It worked!  Whew!

The following recipe is for how I made the dessert (the mistake).  If you would like to have it the way it is usually made, just mix the second half of the whipped topping in with the rest of the filling ingredients.  Trust me, it’s going to be yummy either way!

Here you go…

Ritz-y Pineapple-Coconut Dream

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Ingredients:
2 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed	1 large box instant vanilla pudding
½ cup butter, melted	1 (16 ounce) tub whipped topping, thawed, divided in half
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple in heavy syrup	Toasted coconut

Directions:

• In a small bowl, stir cracker crumbs and butter together until well combined. Spread in bottom of 13×9 cake pan.
• In large bowl, combine pineapple (with syrup), vanilla pudding and ½ (8 ounces) of the whipped topping. Stir until well combined.  Spread on top of crust.
• Spread remaining whipped topping on top of filling and sprinkle coconut on top.
• Refrigerate for 4-6 hours before serving.

Enjoy! ❤

 

Frugal Friday – Wall Decor on the Cheap

Hi there friends!

It’s Frugal Friday and I’m so excited!  I’ve been waiting for a Frugal Friday post to share this with you!

A couple of weeks ago, Hubby and the boys took me out for the day to celebrate my birthday.  It was an awesome day!  I was instructed by all three of my guys that it was my day and that I was to choose where we went and what we did.  I have some pretty great men in my life, don’t I? ❤

One of the things I chose to do was to take a gander through Hobby Lobby.  We have to drive at least an hour and a half to the closest location, so it’s a treat that only happens every so often. Since I don’t get to shop there on a regular basis, I have a very specific method of how go about a Hobby Lobby visit…

1. This is always the first step…shop the clearance section.  This usually takes most of my time because they always seem to have great stuff on clearance.  I’m talking about aisles and aisles of clearance with a wide variety of items and they don’t hold back on clearance prices.  My discounts on this trip varied from 66% – 90%.  Yes!  That says NINETY percent.
2. After the clearance shopping, I check the items on the weekly sale.  This is where I’ll get something that isn’t seasonal and most likely won’t go on clearance.  That is, if I haven’t spent all of my small budget on clearance items.  Lol. 🙂
3. Lastly, I’ll look at the other items I like and hope they’re on sale or clearance the next trip.

I know it sounds like a process, but honestly, I do this in most stores, not just Hobby Lobby.  It has become second nature to me and it has saved me a lot of money.  I do have one major rule- I don’t buy anything that I don’t need or won’t use.  Basically, I don’t just buy something because it’s “a great deal”.

This Hobby Lobby trip was definitely a birthday treat!!  My total (with 8% sales tax) was $20.58 for all the items pictured below.

A couple cute wall hangings for my boys’ room.  Both were 90% off!

A little addition for Hubby’s grill area.  With the 66% discount, it was only $3.06.

Cute little shelf block.  I love when I find anything with the “Q” for our last name!  Ninety percent off just sweetens the deal.

A nice, large picture for our bedroom.  Regularly $39.99. but it came home with me for only $8.00!

And the last little trinket.  I just couldn’t pass on the ice cream cone!  For $1.70, it was less expensive than most real ice cream cones. 🙂

Remember, always check the clearance section if you enjoy saving your hard-earned money.  You may not always find something, but it doesn’t hurt to check and sometimes you may hit “pay dirt”!

Enjoy! ❤

Two Meatloaf Dinners – Half the Time

Hi there friends!

I hope you’re having a great week!  It sure has passed by quickly.  It seems as if time passes more quickly each year.

Along with saving money, I think the other thing that we are most concerned with saving is time.  Don’t we all want to complete our daily and weekly tasks as simply and quickly as possible so that we have more time for the activities we love?

Well, I have a time saving tip that is so quick and simple that if you’re not already doing it, you may be asking yourself why you haven’t done it before.  Don’t fret over the past; there’s always next time. 🙂

Here you go…

Are you ready?

The next time you make meatloaf for your family, make a double batch.  After mixing all of your ingredients together, split the mixture in half, bake one half and freeze the other half.  All you have to do for the second dinner is defrost and bake.  The second loaf is freshly baked without all the fuss of putting it together a second time.

So easy, right?

The hard part?  Deciding which recipe to use each time. 🙂   What’s your favorite kind of meatloaf?

The meatloaf pictured was made with ground turkey, panko, onion, egg and barbecue sauce.  So simple, but so yummy!  I just threw together some Garlic-Pepper Parmesan Egg Noodles and steamed some green beans and we had some great weeknight comfort food.

Enjoy! ❤

 

South of the Border Celery Salad

Hi there friends!

I have a question for you.

Do you like celery?  I mean, really like celery?

Well, I LOVE celery!  When I was a little girl, my mom would make me celery with peanut butter and I was in heaven!  I still love a nice big, green piece of celery with peanut butter, but I have definitely broadened my use of celery since becoming an adult.  I use it anytime I can by adding it to soups, salads, stir-frys and stuffing.

Along with taste and cost benefits, celery has many health benefits as well.  Celery is one of the foods highlighted in my 100 Best Health Foods book.  The following are the benefits that the book lists…

• it is low in calories and fat and high in fiber
• it is a good source of potassium
• it’s calcium content protects bones and may help regulate blood pressure
• and, it may offer protection from inflammation

Plus, a couple of benefits I have personally found are…

• it’s high water content helps me stay hydrated and feel full
• the crunchiness helps me eat slower, which benefits digestion and helps me to eat less overall

Now, on to the celery salad.  I know that usually celery is an addition to a salad, not the base of the salad, but we all know that I don’t always follow the “usual”. 🙂

I got this idea from a large head of celery that seemed to be staring me down from the bottom shelf of my fridge, as if it was just begging to be used.  I needed to use the entire head, so that’s where the idea of using it as the base of the salad came from.  The remaining ingredients were compiled from a “a little of this and a little of that” from my veggie drawer and a dressing made from some mayonnaise, lime juice and my Homemade Ranch Dip Mix.

I chopped, whisked, stirred and then came the taste test.  I loved it!!  And so did Hubby!  It was cold, creamy, light and refreshing…definitely a great summer salad.

Here’s how I made it…

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Ingredients:
1 head celery, chopped	1 cup mayonnaise
½ – ¾ pint grape tomatoes, halved	1 tablespoon ranch dressing mix
3 green onions, chopped	Juice of 1 lime
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped	Salt and pepper to taste
2 jalapenos, minced

Directions:

• Combine celery, tomatoes, green onions, cilantro and jalapenos in large bowl.
• In smaller bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, ranch dressing mix, lime juice and salt and pepper.
• Pour dressing over salad and stir until well combined.
• Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Enjoy! ❤

Poston Memorial Monument

Poston Memorial Monument, Poston, Arizona

Hi there friends!

One of the things that I love about blogging is having the ability to learn about places of interest where fellow bloggers live and visit.  Of course I can learn many of these things through books and the internet, but I enjoy learning what others see through their pictures and thoughts.  So, I thought I would share my travels (however limited they are at this point) with you.

Since we moved here, three years ago, I have driven from our home in Blythe, California to Parker, Arizona to shop at Walmart once a month.  On the way to Parker, I drive through a small farming community called Poston.  Alongside the road in Poston is a memorial monument.  Every time I have driven by this monument, I have wondered why the monument is there, but I’ve always been in a hurry to get shopping done and get home.  Until a couple of weeks ago…

My boys and I were on our way to do the “monthly Walmart run” and I figured that it would be the perfect time to stop since they were with me.  They enjoy an adventure and I love sharing my love of history and learning with them.

So, out of the car we went.  Luckily, it was mid-morning so the temperature was still tolerable (about 96 degrees)  for the short time it would take to learn about the monument.

We learned that the monument is there as a memorial to all of the Japanese-Americans that were evacuated to interment camps during World War II.  Poston was one of the sites of these camps, although there is virtually no evidence remaining of the camp with the exception of the memorial.  To learn more about the monument and see more pictures, visit  http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=32258 .  It is very interesting and I wasn’t able to take very many pictures due to the uncooperative placement of the sun at the time. 🙂

I can’t tell you how glad I am that we stopped and learned why the monument is there.  It became such an awesome conversation and teaching moment for my boys and myself.  I was so proud and impressed by my fourteen year old son when he was able to immediately take a historical event that took place before his grandparents were born and relate it to attitudes and events that are taking place in our world today. It’s sad that more adults can’t see current events with the same sense that my son does. 😦

So, while Poston, Arizona is now just a little dot on the map, it does hold a significant piece of our past that should never be forgotten.  I know I’ll never forget the memorial to our fellow Americans and the precious memories it gave me by sharing it with my boys. ❤

Enjoy! ❤

 

 

Strawberry – Chocolate Chip Cake

 

Hi there friends!  Happy Monday!

I know that a lot of people have nicknamed the day Meatless Monday.  Well, I have a recipe for you…I promise that this recipe contains no meat.  On my honor. 🙂

All joking aside, I’m not downplaying meatless meals in any way.  In fact, I prepare and eat many meatless meals.  They definitely have many health benefits along with budget benefits.

I just don’t necessarily go meatless on any particular day of the week.  I guess I’m more of a Taco Tuesday girl. 🙂  Plus, my youngest son has nicknamed it Meatloaf or Meatball Monday.  He has said it’s up to me whether we have meatloaf or meatballs because “either one is good with him”.  What mom can argue with that?  Lol.

Although this recipe isn’t really appropriate for a dinner meal for Meatless (or meatloaf) Monday, it would be a great dessert to follow your meal.  It’s easy on the budget as well since strawberries are in season and on sale almost everywhere.

I found this recipe on Pinterest when I had a lot of strawberries just waiting to be used and adapted it to the ingredients I had on hand at the time.  It is absolutely delicious and you could use all kinds of berries and have awesome results!

Here’s the recipe…

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Ingredients:
1 ½ cup flour	1 egg
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder	½ cup milk
1/8 teaspoon salt	1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons butter, softened	1/3 cup chocolate chips + more for top of cake
1 cup sugar	1 pound strawberries, hulled and sliced in half

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8×8 cake pan.
• Stir dry ingredients together and set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix well; then add milk and vanilla and mix well.  Add dry ingredients and mix until combined.
• Pour into greased cake pan and arrange strawberries and sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
• Bake for 45-50 minutes or until done.
• Cool completely.

It’s pretty, even prior to baking!

Enjoy! ❤

My Homemade Coconut-Almond-Chocolate Bar

Hi there friends!!

I hope y’all have had a great weekend.  I’m finally getting around to reading and enjoying all of the new posts on WordPress.  I love reading all of your posts and keeping up with my blogging community!

All my reading is caught up and now it’s time for me to share an idea with you. 🙂

This idea is a bi-product of an item that I shared with you last weekend.  After I was finished making my Peanut Butter – Graham Chocolate Bars , I had a small amount of melted chocolate left that I didn’t want to discard.  Seriously, who would want to waste melted chocolate?  But, what to do with it?  I guess I could have just eaten it with the spoon.  Lol. 🙂

Instead of senselessly just eating the leftover chocolate, I had a brainstorm.  I could make a candy bar for Hubby. ❤  That way, I didn’t feel guilty about eating too many sweets and I had something special for my hardworking guy when he got home.  Win-win!

The next step was to figure out what I would add to the chocolate.  I wanted to make it more than just a plain chocolate bar.  This is when the small amount of sliced almonds, left over from sundaes, and a small amount of flaked coconut, left over from some baked goods, came in quite handy.  And…this is why I don’t throw away small amounts of ingredients that are left over from their original purpose.  Instead of “tossing” them in the garbage, I toss them in a small zipper bag and store them in a bin in my freezer.

So, I had the chocolate and additions ready to go, but I didn’t have a candy bar mold.  Or, did I?

Well, it wasn’t called a candy mold, and it wasn’t fancy by any means, but I did have something just waiting in my “Tupperware Cabinet” that would work for sure.  A used butter tub.  Yep.  While I store leftovers and freezer meals in better quality containers, I usually keep a couple of this kind of container around for projects for Hubby and the kids.  This time it was for Mom’s project. 🙂  I love that they are making the new tubs in a rectangular shape with rounded corners.  I know they did this for better refrigerator storage, which I love, but it makes a great candy bar shape as well!

After just a couple of minutes, I had everything I needed, so here’s what I did…

1. Layered some coconut in the bottom of the butter tub.
2. Poured the melted chocolate on top of the coconut.
3. Sprinkled the sliced almonds on top of the chocolate.
4. Placed the tub in the freezer until the bar was solid.
5. Removed the bar from the tub and placed in a zipper bag and stored it in the refrigerator.

Top

Bottom

So simple and yummy!  And, made from little leftover bits from here and there. 🙂

Enjoy! ❤

 

Leftovers for Breakfast? Number 2

Tamale Pie Breakfast

Hi there friends!  It’s Throwback Thursday! 🙂

During my research  for a “throwback post”, I found a post that I published about 6 months ago, Leftovers For Breakfast?.  I then checked my collection of pictures that I haven’t used yet for a post and remembered that I had planned for a follow-up to the Leftovers post.  I know it’s been a long time, but here’s the follow-up.  Finally! 🙂

First, I need to give my family credit…I am a very fortunate mom to have a family that loves leftovers.  They understand that eating leftovers reduces waste, helps our food budget and that some foods actually taste better the second time around.

This breakfast began the day before when I made Tamale Pie.  Hubby ate two sizable servings for dinner and still wanted some for the next meal…breakfast.  For some, it may have taken some time to come up with a way to incorporate Tamale Pie into breakfast, but this was pretty simple…Hubby loves a fried egg on anything.

Here’s what I did…

• First, I reheated a piece of the Tamale Pie in the microwave.
• Meanwhile I fried an egg to place on top of the Tamale Pie
• To finish it, I put a dollop of salsa on top and there you are!  Ready to go!

Start to finish, it took approximately 5 minutes along with making his cup of coffee.

Food for thought- Compared to a prepared breakfast, such as frozen or drive-thru, a leftover breakfast wins hands-down.  It takes the same (if not less) time, is much less expensive and helps reduce waste.  But that isn’t the best part…The best part is that you know every single ingredient that is in your meal when you begin with a homemade dinner.  I love that! ❤

Go ahead, get creative and try some leftovers for breakfast!

Breakfast Steak Sandwich for Leftovers for Breakfast #1

Enjoy! ❤