Potato Chip Chicken

This recipe will work with any kind of cut-up chicken: boneless breasts; quarters; legs; wings, etc. Just modify the cooking time -- if it's got a bone, it's going to take longer.

2 lbs chicken, skin removed (or however much your family will eat at dinner)

1 egg, beaten in a bowl

1/4 cup milk

1 cup flour

salt and pepper

2-3 cups potato chips, crushed (my kids also love the BBQ flavored ones)

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.
   
2. Mix flour, salt and pepper in a wide bowl. 
3. Combine egg and milk in a bowl.
4. Mix crushed potato chips and cheese in a wide bowl.
   
5. Dip chicken pieces in flour until covered. Then dip in the egg wash. Finally, place in the potato chips and turn making sure each piece is completely coated with chips. Place in single layer in a baking dish.
6. Bake until chicken is done -- 30-45 minutes for boneless breasts. Internal temperature should be around 150-160 degrees.

Carnitas

I made this last night for dinner and it was great. Everyone ate it! It's from the Chicago Tribune, although I modified it a bit.

Pork:

1 boneless pork butt or shoulder (butchers will tell you it's the same thing), 3 lbs, cut into 2" chunks

1 small onion, peeled, halved

2 cups water

2 bay leaves

1 tsp each: ground cumin, dried oregano, salt

2 Tbs. lemon juice or lime juice

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 orange, halved

Tacos:

36 soft corn tortillas, warmed (we probably only used around 10 tortillas)

Minced onion, fresh cilantro leaves, sour cream, lime wedges

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine pork, onion, and water in Dutch oven. Add bay leaves, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper and lemon/lime juice. Juice the orange into a bowl; remove seeds. Add juice and the juiced orange halves to the pan.
2. Heat mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Cover; place in the oven. Cook until an inserted fork meets little resistance, 2-2 1/2 hours.
3. Remove pan from oven; transfer pork to a bowl using a slotted spoon and cover. Discard the orange halves, onion and bay leaves. On the stove top, heat liquid to a simmer over medium-high heat; cook down, stirring often, to a syrupy glaze that measures about 1 cup, 10-15 minutes.
4. Using a fork or a spoon mash the pork -- it will fall apart easily. Add pork back to pan and stir to coat in the glaze.
5. At the table, spoon the pork into warm tortillas. We topped ours with cilantro and chopped onion, although I'll bet some sour cream would be good too.

Chicken and Dumplings

I've never made chicken and dumplings before, but these tasted great and the kids ate everything without complaint. It's based on a recipe I saw in the Chicago Tribune for Chicken Fricassee, but I modified it to fit what I had in the fridge. (The original recipe called for dill in the soup and the dumplings. I didn't add any because I was out, but it would probably be good in both.)

Makes about 8 servings.

Chicken:

1/4 c. flour

salt and pepper

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into quarters or thirds

1/4 c. olive oil

2 leeks, white part only, thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

4 ribs celery, sliced

1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and sliced

2 cans low sodium chicken broth (15 oz each)

1 c. apple juice

Dumplings:

1 1/4 c. flour (I used whole wheat)

1/3 c. cornmeal

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3 Tbs unsalted butter (frozen)

1 c. milk

1. Combine flour, salt and pepper in pie plate. Dredge chicken pieces. Heat 3 Tbs oil in Dutch oven. Cook the chicken in batches until browned, around 5 minutes per side. Remove to bowl.
2. Add remaining tablespoon of oil to Dutch oven. Add leeks and onions; cook unil lightly browned, scraping up the brown bits. Add the celery and apple slices; cook until slighly softened, 3-5 minutes. Add broth and apple juice, heat to a simmer. Return chicken pieces to the pan. Cover. Cook 10 minutes.
3. For the dumplings, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking power and salt in a bowl. Grate butter on largest side of a grater and add to flour. Stir with a fork until butter is coated. Add the milk , stirring until just combined.
4. Scoop the dumpling mixture with a large spoon (I used a soup spoon) onto the chicken mixture. Cover and cook over low heat until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean, 15-18 minutes.

Whole Wheat Biscuits

I probably make these once a week -- my kids LOVE them and they're really easy.

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

8 Tbs. unsalted butter, frozen and then grated on the largest side of the grater (or cut into 1/4-inch cubes)

1 1/2 Tbs. lemon juice

3/4 c. milk

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

2. Measure milk and add lemon juice; set aside to curdle.

3. Place dry ingredients in a bowl. Add grated butter and combine. (If you've cut the butter into cubes, place dry ingredients and butter in a food processor and process with six 1-second pulses -- it should resemble course meal.)

4. Add milk/lemon juice -- it will be kind of thick and lumpy and that's okay. Stir until just combined.

5. Scoop out a large spoonful and gently shape into a ball. Place on a cookie sheet. You should be able to make 12 biscuits.

6. At this point you can cover the biscuits and put them in the refrigerator until you're ready to bake them, or you can put them right in the oven.

7. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until light brown.