Homemade Fried Chicken & Steak Fries

Today's Dinner is Homemade Fried Chicken and Steak Fries... made from scratch! This recipe is not for the faint hearted and takes quite a bit of prep work, but is totally worth it. Ready? Go!

You will need:

- 4 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed

- 2-3 large eggs

- 2 gallon size ziplock bags

- 6 cups Pure Vegetable Oil

- 2 cups of all purpose flour

- 4 & 1/2 tsp sea salt

- 3 tsp chili powder

- 2 tsp onion powder

- 1 tsp garlic powder

- 1 & 1/2 tsp garlic salt

- 1 tsp black pepper

- 1/2 tsp ceyanne pepper

- 1/2 tsp thyme

- metal tongs or something alike

- wire splatter guard

- 2 plates and napkins

- 3 to 5 medium potatoes, depending on how big your family size is. 4 potatoes made enough fries for my family of 4.

- season salt

What to do:

-Once your chicken breasts are fully thawed, drain the juice and set on your meat cutting board. Cut into 1-inch strips and place back in the bag. In a small bowl beat 2-3 eggs (depending on what size they are) and add 1 tsp salt. Add that tho the bag you just put the chicken back in, close it and set it aside.

-In your other gallon size bag, combine flour and all seasonings. Close the bag nice and tight and shake it in all directions to mix all the seasonings together.

-Pour your oil into a large pot and slowly bring it up to about 365 degrees on medium heat. (optimal oil temp for frying chicken is 355-375 degrees) If you don't have a thermometer wait about 5-10 minutes and then try adding a small piece of bread to the oil. If it browns in less than 60 seconds then your oil is at the right temp. If not give it a few more minutes to heat and try another piece of bread.

-While you're waiting for the oil to heat up, peel your potatoes and cut them in half long ways. Slice them into about 1 in x 1 in strips as you see fit and set them aside.

-Slowly and carefully add your chicken one piece at a time and give it ample time to brown on the outside. If your oil is at the right temp, it should cook the chicken through by the time the outside is completely browned. When you take chicken strips out place them on a plate that has a couple of napkins/paper towels spread out on it (to soak up any excess oil) and let them cool before serving.

-Once all your chicken strips are cooked it's time to start your french fries. You can put your chicken strips in a container to keep in the heat, but allow some venting so the breading doesn't become moist to the point of loosing it's crispiness.

-Drop a couple handfulls of potatoes in the oil. French fries take longer to fry than the chicken does so be patient. It's worth the wait! When they start to float you are getting close. Let them start to get brown and then they are done. Pull them out with your tongs or a slitted scoop and set them on a plate covered with a napkin/paper towel like you did with the chicken. Allow to cool a minute or two and then serve everything nice and warm with Ketchup and BBQ sauce. I also love serving fried chicken with corn on the cob.

Good luck!

Easy Cheap (and dairy free!) Tostadas

I'm one of those moms that is constantly on the go with tons of stuff to do during the day. With my oldest daughter starting school in August, I will be even more busy driving back and forth every day. So when it comes to cooking dinner in the evening I'm all for food that tastes good, doesn't take too much prep time, and is easy to make and cheap to buy. Actually, most of these ingredients you will already have in your fridge! These tostadas are fun for the kids (my oldest called it crunchy taco pizza) and easy for me so it's a win all around. I hope you enjoy them!

You will need:

1 or 2 pkgs Tostada Shells (Mexican Food section at your local grocery store, $.99/ea.)

1 Roma tomato (diced)

Shredded Cheddar Cheese (I used this and also had Veggie Shreds on hand for the dairy allergies in the family)

1 to 2 lbs ground turkey burger (you can also use ground beef or shredded chicken may even work), depending on the size of your family or your husband's appetite

Taco seasoning, 1 packet per 1 lb of meat or however much it says to use on the container

Tofutti Brand Regular Imitation Sour Cream-

dried chives, mayonaise, nutritional yeast, onion powder (for the cream cheese to make dip for a topping)

1/2 a medium green bell pepper, chopped (I was out at the time so there's none in the picture, but it makes a great topping)

1/2 a small white onion, chopped

Your favorite salsa and/or hot sauce (i.e. my hubby loves Tobasco)

1 can plain black beans (and a pot to cook them in)

salt and pepper (for the beans)

Cook your meat til fully brown and season w/ the Taco seasoning according to your taste and set that aside.

Next, empty your can of beans into a pot on the stove and let it come to a good solid boil. Once it's boiling, drain and rinse the beans and put them in your trusty food processor with plentiful salt and pepper to taste. (I'd say about a 1/2 tsp of pepper and salt both) Grind them up really well. If the bean paste is too thick for your liking, add a little bit of water at a time till you get a consistency you're happy with.

For your Tofu Sour Cream dip, empty the entire container of sour cream into a bigger bowl (not huge, but bigger than the container so you can stir things in without making a mess) and add two whopping tablespoons of Mayo. Stir that in well. Add a few pinches of chives, about a small tsp of onion powder and a couple tsp of nutritional yeast. Stir that all together and there is your dip, simple and easy.

Prepare all your veggies and set everything out in a salad bar fashion. Let your family go to town and make their own "crunchy taco pizzas" that they will totally love. This recipe can have plenty of dairy, or none at all which is wonderful and it is low cost and easy to whip up in a short amount of time. I'd say a total prep and cook time of less than a half hour.

*Health conscience moms... one tostada shell has only 10g of Carbs so feel free to go a little crazy!