Go-To Meals: Mama's "Easiest Ever" Fried Chicken Meal

Hey y'all!
As I mentioned in my last post, we are starting off a new segment today: Go-to Friday. Every Friday, I will be bringing you a new, easy, cheap recipe to add to your menu lists for those times when you just don't have inspiration to come up with something new... or when a good, tried-and-true meal is all you need.

Today's meal is 

Mama's Easiest-Ever Fried Chicken, Too Fast Sweet Taters, and Sauteed Green Beans. 

Let's get started with the grocery list:
From the pantry - Vegetable Oil, Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Garlic, Cinnamon, Brown Sugar, and Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs

And the rest - Milk, Chicken Tenders, a bag of Green Beans, half an Onion, Sweet Potatoes, and butter (or margarine).

Now, there is a little extra prep you need to do on the morning that you intend to make this meal. Don't skip this step because it really adds a lot of flavor and makes for nice, tender, super moist chicken. Are you ready for this? You are going to soak your chicken in a milk bath. Sounds weird, right? Just trust mama and go with it. 

In a medium bowl that can be tightly covered, add 2 cups milk, a tablespoon minced garlic, 2 tablespoons paprika, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir the mixture until it is as combined as possible, then add your chicken and toss until all the meat is coated. Place the lid (or Press-n-Seal) on it so no air can get in or out, and stick it in the fridge. When you are ready to cook in the evening, just take it out, remove the covering, and pop it on the counter by the oven. Here's where the fun starts.

Pour around 2 cups (or more) of the Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs in a separate bowl, and place both bowls by your stove. On the stove, start a large skillet warming on medium heat. Add enough oil to the skillet to make it come up about a half inch on the side.  While that is warming, shake off a bit of the excess milk bath from two or three pieces of chicken and start rolling them around in the breadcrumbs. You'll be ready to start frying when you start to see consistent rippling in your oil, like in the photo below.

Dangle your chicken over the breadcrumbs for a second before you put it into the oil. You don't want to take a bunch of loose breading into the oil where it will just burn and cloud things up. Cleanly fried chicken is yummy fried chicken. Another thing... When you place the chicken gently into the oil, you should hear a soft sizzle and see bubbles moving all around the meat. If you hear and see nothing, your oil isn't ready. Remove that piece, re-bread it, and wait a bit. If oil flies everywhere and the sizzling can be heard from the other room over your shrieks of fear, it's too durn hot. Remove the pan from the heat for a minute and let it cool before you try again. Frying isn't hard, but it does take a little patience and awareness. You've got this.

When the tender starts to look white around the edge, you are ready to turn it. Go easy. If it clings to the bottom, give it another second or two. It should come away from the pan easily.

Once you have golden brown awesomeness on one side, give the other side about the same amount of time. Look at that loveliness!! That, dear hearts, is awesome-sauce. I like to warm a plate in the microwave and leave it in there to catch every finished piece. That helps the chicken stay warm, moist, and locked away, while still within easy reach. (At this point, I had already made my Too-Fast Sweet Potatoes, so I just left them in the microwave with the chicken. They were a hot, cozy, little family.)

Now that that is finished, we switch gears to our Sauteed Green Beans.

All you need is a skillet (I like cast iron for this, but whatever you have will work), olive oil, balsamic, salt, pepper, green beans, and half an onion (sliced thin like you see above).

Warm a little olive oil in the pan on medium heat. Olive oil smokes at a relatively low heat, so we just want it to get it going, not let it go wild. As soon as you feel heat coming off the pan, toss in your onions and green beans. Salt and pepper liberally, and toss them about to get them completely coated.

Cover the beans loosely, stirring now and then, until your onions clear and your green beans are nicely done. You want them tender, not squeaky-snappy or soggy-floppy. Once they hit that stage, you are ready to remove the lid and add a splash of the balsamic vinegar. Not too much. This is a bold flavor, so a little goes a long way. Toss that about and let it cook for a 3-5 minutes more.  Stir it up again, taste a bean. Does it need more salt? If so, add it. Trust your nose and your tongue, always. Those two are your best friends in cooking. If you think it's good, it is!

Now, I didn't take any photos of the Too-Fast Sweet Taters... They were too fast for me. And, to be really honest, I had my 12 year old daughter do them for me. I promise you, it is the easiest thing in the world. All you do is poke some holes in your sweet potatoes, wrap each one in a damp paper towel, place them on a microwave safe plate, then nuke them for 10 minutes, or until they are nice and squishy.

Add a little butter, brown sugar, and a dash of cinnamon to your sweet potato, and you are ready to chow down! I hope y'all love it just as much as I do. I can't wait to hear some feedback on what you think. Like any good "Go-To" meal, it is cheap, easy, and delicious. Give it a try. And rememeber, Mama loves you!

Mama's Easiest-Ever Fried Chicken, Too Fast Sweet Taters, and Sauteed Green Beans

For the Chicken:
Vegetable Oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

2 tablespoons Paprika

1 tablespoon Minced Garlic

2 cups (or more) Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs

2 cups Milk

Chicken Tenders

2-8 hours before cooking, prepare a milk bath out of the milk, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper. Soak the chicken in a covered bowl in the fridge until time to cook.
Dredge the chicken in breadcrumbs, being careful to shake off and excess, and fry in the oil (on medium) until golden brown. 

For the Sauteed Green Beans:

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1/4 cup (approximately) Balsamic Vinegar

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

1 bag of Green Beans

1/2 Yellow Onion, sliced

Sautee onions and green beans in an oiled skillet on medium. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let cook until onions are clear and beans are tender. Remove lid. Add balsamic. Stir and allow to cook for 3-5 minutes more to intensify flavors.

For the Sweet Potatoes:

Cinnamon

Brown Sugar

Sweet Potatoes

butter (or margarine)

Pierce sweet potatoes with a fork several times all around. Wrap in damp paper towel and microwave for 10 minutes, or until the potato is soft. Split and serve with desired amounts of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

Broke Butt Grocery Lists & Menus

Ahhh, the dreaded Weekly Menu and it's sidekick the evil Grocery List... These two can strike fear into the hearts of homemakers everywhere. It's ok. Breathe deep; blow it all the way out. Mama's here. This can be virtually painless. No, seriously. Just watch.

The first mistake we all make in the beginning is not having a Pantry List. Having a go to listing of all the things you have to have on-hand on a regular basis is a must. Pin it on (or near) your fridge, right by the next two must-have things: a notepad and pen. These are seriously non-negotiable. (Unless you have a phone app that will do the same thing and are a super-techy person that prefers pixels to ink.)

Anytime that you run out of something that you know will need replenished, write it down immediately. This includes anything and everything that you keep on hand that can be purchased at the grocery store you frequent. AA batteries? Put them down. Bananas aren't on the pantry list, but you know you want them in the house constantly? Those go on there, too. Getting the picture?

Keeping this running list will keep you from having to go into the pantry and all over the house when it is list making time, trying to double check that you've not run out of anything. It will also keep you from having an embarrassing restroom moment when you realize (too late) that you forgot to buy more toilet paper on your last shopping trip. No body wants that for you. Just take the extra five seconds in the moment to jot down what you are out of or running low on. You will thank me later.

On your shopping day, you will need your running list, an extra sheet of paper for your menu, your calendar for the week, and your favorite cookbooks, blogs (hint), etc. I find that posting my menu on the fridge really helps me to stay on track. If there is anything that will need to be defrosted, or if I'm using a slow cooker, checking my menu each morning before the day begins gives me plenty of notice for what needs to be done. It also lets my hubby and kiddos know what they can expect for dinner and ends the endless barrage of, "What's for dinner?".

So, you are sitting there at the table, all your stuff is sitting around you... What next? Check your calendar. What is going on this week for you, your kids, or your spouse? Look at the whole day and not just that evening. There is nothing worse than planning to cook a fun Pinterest meal that you've been dying to try, buying all the stuff, then not having time or energy to actually make it. (By the way, I just linked that to my personal Pinterest page if you want to look at my boards.)

That leads us to the next point. Be realistic. Think about how much time, money, and energy you really have available at each mealtime. Consider the actual time it will take to prep and to actually cook each meal. Remember the fact that if this is your first time making a recipe, you will typically take longer than you would at a recipe you've completed several times.

Another thing that helps me is to have a good list of "go-to" meals. These are quick and easy things that you know you can make with confidence, and that your crew will enjoy eating. There is no shame in spaghetti with store bought sauce that you've added some Italian sausage to. It's stinkin' delicious and soooo easy! They'll eat it and be happy. Yay, you! I'll help you add to that "go-to" list every Friday on this blog, too, with my "Go-To" Greats recipes. (Lord willing and the Creek don't rise.) Only ever try something new and a little challenging on days when you know you'll have the extra time that it will require.

Next, you want to think about budget. In other words, don't try to cook lamb on a ground beef budget. Be smart with how you build your menu. Try to share the same ingredients with a few of the meals to save money. Look up the sales at your local grocery and frame your list around the best deals. Don't forget to add one or two "Grab -n- Growl" days (a much more fun way of saying, "leftovers or bust"). Buy the lesser cut of meat, the fish that is on sale, and the store brand stuff as much as you can. (Except on toilet paper. Don't mess with my Cottonelle, people.) Use fresh or frozen veggies. Don't fall into the processed food trap. It might be a little easier, but you'll get more for your money if you fix it from scratch.

Finally, consider your health. Your body needs a variety of meats, fruit, vegetables, and dairy. I try to give my family each type of meat and every color of vegetable every week. Plus, variety keeps you from being bored, and no one wants boring meal times, so really it's a win-win. You can be really sneaky with vegetables, too. I'll show you all that later.

Now all there is to do after all your considerations are made is to write it out and put all your ingredients down on the list. You are ready to shop for the week.

Y'all, I hope this has been helpful for you. Please feel free to ask me some questions or make some suggestions if there is something you'd like to see me cover. Go make your lists and menus and get to cooking! Remember, Mama loves you!

Broke Butt Banana Bread: Baking is easy!

Today's recipe is a super simple little treat that always gets me lots of compliments. If you've used my handy-dandy Pantry List from the previous post, you'll also have just about every single bit of this on hand. You know what that means? It's easy and cheap. This Broke Butt Mama LOVES the sound of that!

Now, I know that bananas aren't on my Pantry List, but if you are like me, you are always buying them anyway. They are cheap, highly nutritious, and they have a multitude of uses (snacks, peanut butter sandwich filler, smoothie smoothers, etc.) Bananas are wonderful! But you know what else they are? Highly perishable. There are always those two or three that sit ignored on the counter until they look like this:

Totally gross, right? But, these little babies are about to rock your world. Prepare to meet Mama's Broke Butt Banana Bread! First, gather up all your ingredients. You'll need: All-Purpose Flour, salt, baking soda, brown sugar, vegetable oil, 2 eggs, and your over-ripe bananas. (They don't have to be THIS over-ripe, but the browner the better... to a point. You wouldn't want to use them after they pass the stage shown in my photo.) Your necessary hardware will be: 2 bowls (one small, one medium), measuring cups, measuring spoons, a fork, a loaf pan, a napkin, oven mitts, and an oven set to 350 degrees.

Peel those bananas and stick all their gooey goodness into your small bowl and mash them to smithereens. 

In your larger bowl, pour 1/2 cup vegetable oil and 1 cup brown sugar. Make sure that you really pack your brown sugar into the measuring cup well and that you level off the top as much as possible. You want exactly 1 cup, and not packing it down and getting rid of the excess on top will mess that up. Brown sugar is sneaky, y'all. It fluffs up all innocent like, but if you squish it in, you'll see that what you thought was a cup might only be 3/4! Squish it! Don't let it lie to you like that! After you've dumped it in the bowl, mix those two together.

Look how pretty that packed brown sugar sits on the oil in my bowl! It's been properly squished.

Now, mix those two together until they are completely combined, as shown the second picture above.
Next, you are going to add in the two eggs and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix that up, then add in 1 and 1 1/2 cups flour and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

After you've added your dry ingredients, (That means flour and other dry, powdery substances. You'll see me say that a lot on this blog.) Go ahead and start mixing again. At first it will look like it isn't wanting to stir in. Just keep going and soon it will be gorgeously smooth. Don't stop until it does.

Guys, I am using a fork this whole time. You don't need a mixer or anything fancy for this. This is just an old fashioned, simple recipe. It is too easy! 

Now that you have that lovely, smooth batter, go ahead and dump in your bananas. Mix those up together.

Inspiration point: You aren't stuck with just bananas here. You can add in nuts, chocolate or peanut butter chips, anything your heart desires. You could also do any other fruit other than bananas... or even zucchini! When you get to this stage in the batter, it is yours to command. Go crazy! 

But, for now... let's go bananas.

 At this point, we will plop a drop of oil into our loaf pan and smear it all over the inside with a napkin. Then, we will pour... and then scrape all our battery fabulousness into the pan.

Notice the texture change after the bananas are added? It became a little looser. That is because we added moisture with the addition of fruit. We want that. It makes the bread light and moist when it is finished. Speaking of, pop that loaf pan into the oven you pre-heated to 350 degrees, on the middle rack for 1 hour. We are baking on a low temperature for a longer time to allow the bread time to gently rise and cook all the way through. When it is finished, use a clean butter knife to gently scrape around the sides of the pan. This helps to separate the loaf from the pan so it's easily removed. You can also leave it in the pan and skip that last step if you like.

I typically remove the bread from the pan, set it out on a cooling rack for a bit, then transfer it to my glass domed cake stand. It never lasts that long at my place. If you give it a try, feel free to let me know what you thought about it! 

Broke Butt Banana Bread

1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 cup Brown Sugar (light brown is all I ever use)
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil (plus a splash for greasing the pan)
2 eggs
2-3 over-ripe bananas

Pre-heat the oven to 350.
In a small bowl, mash bananas until very few lumps remain.
In a large bowl, combine brown sugar and oil. Add eggs and salt. Mix well. Add flour and baking soda. Stir until completely smooth. Add bananas next. Stir until combined.
Grease your pan, pour in the batter, and bake for 1 hour.

Y'all, I sure hope you try this recipe. I just know you're gonna love it if you do. Don't worry one bit about that hour bake time, either. Pop it in before you sit down to dinner and it'll be ready for dessert!
Our next post will come on Wednesday. In that post, I will share how I make my menu plans for the week and my grocery list tips and tricks.
Y'all have a great week, and remember... Mama loves ya!

Home Economics for Broke Butt Dummies

Yeah, you read that post title right. That is exactly what I intend for this blog to be. This will be a place where I can share all my tips and tricks on how to make life work on a budget, and look great while you do it. I will try cover everything on here! Recipes? You got it! Etiquette? Sure! DIY projects? You know it! Heck, I might even do a blow by blow on some Pinterest projects and recipes on occasion... even the ones that fail. (I don't know about y'all, but I've learned a lot more in my failures than I did on the things that came easy.)

The trigger that started all this today was a conversation I had with a dear, sweet friend who is newly married and broke. Bless her heart. Don't we all know that feeling? Neither her nor her husband know much at all about budgeting, much less trying to stock a pantry and settle up a menu for the week. Guys, if you aren't doing that, let me tell you... It makes a HUGE and wonderful difference in your life. I might go over that sometime soon, just to tell you how I do it.
Anyway, at the end of our conversation, we decided that I would create a Pantry Stocking List that she could print out to help her know what she really has to have on hand at home. (I'm also going to make a little, super fast, super easy recipe book for her, but I will tell you more about that later.) I've been managing my own home for going on twenty (yep, 20) years now. Knowing what I need to keep on hand is second nature to me. But, it dawned on me that that just isn't the case for a lot of people these days. There are so many of us that are completely frustrated and even down-right scared to death of all things kitchen related. So we say silly, un-true things like, "I can't______". Let me tell you right now that that is utter horse feathers and I'll not have any of it around here.
Y'all, WE CAN DO ANYTHING WE SET OUR MINDS TO DO. You heard me! Repeat it to yourself. I CAN. Now that you are properly motivated, let's get to doing it!
Here is a .png of the Pantry List I created for my friend. Feel free to use it, if you'd like.

Have a great day, y'all. Feel free to leave your comments on this post, ask me questions, or leave suggestions about something you'd like me to talk about.
But, above all that remember, Mama loves ya!