Lemon Chicken

Everyone loves takeout. I don't care if you're willing to admit it but I know it's true. Come on, you're a foodie I would never hold that against you. I do, however, recognize the drawbacks of the usual takeout foods like that they're greasy, full of MSG, fat, and everything else that makes them good. So how can you resist a recipe that is homemade and BETTER than what you get for $8.00 a portion at a restaurant? I don't think you could.

I'm posting a few more pictures here because the steps are pretty specific. Hope they help.

What You'll Need:

2 1/2 lbs of chicken breast

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 cup cornstartch 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

pepper

Oil for frying
(recipe for sauce is below)

1. Start by cutting your chicken into cubes. We're going for bite-size here.

2. Add the soy sauce and salt to the chicken. Cover and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Don't be afraid of the soy sauce here because you're not going to be adding any salt later. Now's the time to get salty.

3. When the chicken is almost ready get your oil hot. You'll need about 2 inches of oil. You can also get your batter ready.

4. In a bowl mix your cornstarch and baking powder. When it's mixed add your eggs and pepper. It's going to be hard to mix because of the cornstarch so you'll have to mix pretty fast in order to get everything incorporated. It's kind of like a science project.

5. Put your chicken in and get it all coated.

6. Put small batches of chicken in the oil in order to control cooking temperature. We were able to get everything done in two batches. Cook until the chicken is "the right color" (Mike's words, not mine) then use a meat thermometer to make sure chicken is fully cooked. Put it on a paper towel covered plate to drain any excess oil.

Lemon Sauce

What You'll Need: 

1 cup chicken broth
2 Tblsp of cornstarch

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp lemon juice

3/4 tsp salt

2 Tbsp oil

1. In a small sauce pan (which is appropriate) combine your chicken broth, sugar, lemon juice and salt and warm over low heat.

2. Remove this sauce and place in a bowl so you can add the cornstarch. Whisk it together. 

3. When it's all mixed heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in the sauce pan so it get's really hot. When it's ready add the sauce back into the pan and mix frequently until it thickens. If you want make the sauce pop a little more add two drops of yellow food coloring

The sauce pre-food coloring and thickened.

With the food coloring added. A little really goes a long way.

4. Pour the sauce over the chicken and coat it evenly. Mmmmm.....

5. Serve with your favorite sides and ENJOY!

We usually serve this dish with rice and broccoli. Honestly the chicken is great base for any sauce or just as-is. The soy sauce marinade gives the chicken a really great seasoned flavor that makes it hard to resist eating the chicken on the spot (hard until the sauce is ready, anyway). The sauce is really sweet and has a great tang. It really is the best homemade takeout dish and better than what you find at a restaurant.

Buffalo Wings and Spicy Seasoned Garlic Fries

Like most people know, the Superbowl is around the corner and even though I'm not a huge fan of football (unless it's the SF 49ers) I'm always a fan of an excuse for lots of food and drinks. Now don't get me wrong, this recipe can totally be made anytime of the year and I know you all will have no problem throwing down, I mean come on, THEY'RE BUFFALO WINGS!!! They're really great and spicy - just the way we like them. We use to go to this place in my hometown that had habanero wings that were completely delicious with a level of spiciness that could make you question your own sanity. These aren't even close to that but it's probably a good thing and the reason why we can make these more frequently. We also wanted garlic fries to go with our bar-food theme which ended up turning into seasoned spicy garlic fries. The recipe for those is at the bottom.

Buffalo Wings

What You'll Need:

1/2 C All purpose flour

1/4 tsp paprika 

1/4 tsp salt

10 chicken wings

oil for frying

1/4 C of butter

1/4 C hot sauce

garlic powder 

pepper 

Start by mixing the flour, paprika and salt. Toss the chicken in the flour mixture and let it sit the fridge for 60 to 90 minutes, or longer if you can wait that long. I read a lot of reviews online and they all said the same thing that I'm going to say - don't skip this step. It helps to make the wings more magical and I wouldn't want you to miss out on that.

When the wings come out they're ready for the 375 degree oil.

When the oil is ready shake off some of the flour from the wings to ensure you don't just burn it. Put a few wings in at a time and cook them for 10 to 15 minutes. Place them on a paper towel to absorb the extra oil.

 

Now it's time to get the sauce ready. And trust me, this is a glorious moment. There's a lot of flexibility with the sauce and the amount of spice that goes into it but one thing that should never be changed is Frank's RedHot Sauce! Just sayin'...

To get the sauce base down (that's what we'll call the simple sauce recipe that can be adjusted). Combine the butter, hot sauce, garlic, and pepper in a pot. After tasting it I added more hot sauce and a little paprika. Just a bit for some more spice.

When all of the wings are cooked and cooled I poured the sauce over them then tossed them around in a large bowl.

We also made some seasoned garlic fries because...well... we were hungry :)

 Garlic Seasoned Fries

The seasoned wings are super easy to make and are a really good addition. Besides they help keep with the theme of appetizer, easy-to-eat food that you could easily make for a game or just for fun.

What You'll Need:

8 cloves of garlic

6 Tbl of garlic olive oil

3 T cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Start by cutting up a bunch of potatoes, pouring the olive oil on them and putting them in the microwave for 3 to 6 minutes.

 Combine the dry ingredients and toss with the microwaved potatoes.

Place them on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle the crushed garlic on them. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes at 225 degrees.

Delish right?

Serve them with the wings and a beer (or margarita if you're like me) and kick back. I promise you'll absolutely love these too!

Classic Avocado Cheeseburgers and Fries

It's not a secret that we eat organic as much as we possibly can. The only problem with eating meat that's not mass-produced and mostly meat-filler is that it's expensive. Being college students, we can't exactly spend a lot of money on meat, especially when I can make a lot of tasty dishes that don't need it.

However, I was relieved when my mom sent a care package of grocery essentials that included hamburger meat. Right away I started thinking of all the recipes I could make - anything but meatloaf or Hamburger Helper. We also don't get the chance to eat out often (even though we think of every reason why we should) so what better thing to make than cheeseburgers? My mom gave us a pound of meat, but since there's only two of us I only used half. The problem was that I didn't think just the burger would be enough after a long day at work, so I decided to make fries too.

Beware, this is not a healthy meal. The thing is, well, I didn't try to make it one - if you can believe that. I think some meals should just be what they are. This is one of them.

French Fries

What You'll Need:

 4 Potatoes 

Vegetable Oil
salt

Start the fries first. Peel about 4 potatoes and cut them into your favorite fry shape. I chose to go with long fries that would get crispy.

Heat about 2 1/2 inches of oil in a large pot. After a few minutes on medium heat, the oil should be hot enough. Put a small fry in and see if it sizzles. If it just sits there and no bubbles are coming out, it's not hot enough. So when it is put just a few fries in. Make sure they're all submerged in oil so that they all cook evenly. Use tongs to flip them after 4 minutes.

When they are golden brown take them out and put them on a plate with two layers of paper towels to absorb the oil. Sprinkle salt on them right away. Remember to cook these in small batches, it may take a little longer but they will cook evenly. You can also put any other kinds of seasonings on your fries at this point. This is just my basic recipe but lot's of stuff would be awesome - but all that's for another post...

Classic Avocado Cheeseburgers

What You'll Need:

1/2 - 1 pound Hamburger Meat

 Pepper

Garlic Powder

Season All

1 Avocado

 American cheese

Tomato

Lettuce

Mustard

Mayonnaise

2 Hamburger buns

Before you get your hands germy and dirty get out your grill and preheat it. We don't have a BBQ (yet) but we do have a grill/griddle thing that's a lot like a George Foreman. Get your 1/2 pound of meat and separate that into two pieces. I'm super phobic about raw meat!! I probably washed my hands five times just caring the meat from place to place. I hate the amount of mess raw meat leaves behind and I hate knowing how sick it can make people so please be careful!

 

You can use your own seasonings for burgers but I didn't have the opportunity to go out and by special stuff so I made my own "grill mix." Season All is my favorite seasoning to put on chicken or beef. Add the amounts of stuff you like onto each soon-to-be-patty. 

Roll each half into a ball making sure to mix the seasonings in well. Pat those down into patties. Wash your hands. Done.

By now your grill should be hot. Throw those babies on. While they're cooking cut your avocados, mayo-up your buns, and wash the lettuce. After about 8 minutes the patties should be done. I actually lowered the heat because I was afraid I would burn them or something. So just cook them until they're not pink in the middle anymore. Mine are a little dark from some of the extra seasoning I put while they were on the grill but they were totally juicy and delish!

 Assemble your burgers and serve the fries. And don't worry about the fact that you're eating a burger - enjoy it... it's awesome and you know it!

Deep Fried Avocado

 When you grow up in California like us, it's hard to not have a small addiction to avocados. (Calories? Sorry, I can't hear you). Here in California you can find avocados on everything; pizzas, burgers, salads, pasta, and even in drinks. When you pair the awesome fruit (though I'm convinced it's a vegetable, tree or no tree) with hot oil - aka fat - you can't deny what you get. I can eat avocado out of the peel and definitely served deep fried. Every bite is creamy, crunchy and worth every calorie - or whatever that word was. To top it off they're easy to make. 

You will need:

3/4 C milk

1 C flour

2 eggs beaten w/ 2 T water

2 avocados 

vegetable oil

Start with your dipping stations. I know I watch too much Top Chef.

Next, cut your avocados in half and take out the pit. Make sure you have a big, strong man to do this for you.

 All I had was this weirdo...

Cut the halves into slices. Around this big.

TIME TO START DIPPING! It's about to get messy. It's an easy drill - milk, flour, egg, flour, egg. The double-dip is essential. You want them completely coated so they fry evenly. Before you get your hands dirty get about an inch and half of oil on low heat in a medium size pot.

 Place all of the dipped pieces on a plate so that you can deep fry them at once. After about a minute and a half use a fork to flip them.

Get a plate with, a paper towel on it, to place them on when they're cooked. As soon as they're on the plate sprinkle them with salt - you won't regret it. Let them cool for about 5 minutes, dip them in your favorite ranch, then devour. 

If you're eating them with someone (and I don't blame you if you're not) be prepared for several minutes of silence while you enjoy your deep fried treats - we won't blame you for that either! Enjoy!