"Turkey Fried' Whole Fried Chickens!

So, we deep fried our extra Turkey we got from Thanksgiving in our new indoor butterball fryer.  It was great!  I hated to throw all the oil away after one use, so we all wanted to see how whole fried chickens would turn out~ in a word, AWESOME!  SO easy!  SO yummy!  We will do this every time after we fry up our turkeys!   It is strange though, because the chickens are to be cooked longer per pound than the turkeys.  I didn't believe it, but it is so.  They say to cook 5-7 minutes a pound for chickens.  I took them out of fryer at 5 minutes a pound, pricked the thigh to see if the juices ran clear, but it was pink.  I threw them back into fryer for another minute a pound, and it was perfect!  I had 2, 5 pound chickens and cooked them for 30 minutes~ 6 minutes a pound!  Melt in your mouth chicken!!

'Turkey Fried' Whole Fried Chickens!

Our new Butterball Indoor Electric Fryer XL~  Works like a charm, and seems much safer than our old outdoor fryer that used twice as much oil.  Put 2 gallons of peanut oil into fryer~ more if using an outdoor fryer.  Set heat to 350 degrees.  Will take about 30-45 minutes to heat oil to proper temperature.

Rinse, then completely dry chickens inside and out, with paper towels.  Be sure to remove neck and gizzards.  Both these chickens are 5 pounders, and I deep fried them for 30 minutes after I seasoned them with onion powder, black pepper, and Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning.

DONE Deep frying!  Take them out of fryer, and put them on carving platter and loosely cover with foil.  Tent it for 10 minutes before you carve into it.  It should be so very juicy!  Ours melted in our mouths!!  AMAZING!! 

Roast Beef Appetizer Bundles! LOW Carb, and YUMMY for the New Year!

OK~  it's the NEW YEAR so most of us are on diets to take off the extra pounds we gained during our FUN Holidays!  (and they were FUN!! :)  Just went to my cousin Jean's house for a party, and since I, and most of my family, are officially on a diet, I had to find some appetizer to make and bring, that all of us could enjoy and eat!!  I found an appetizer idea that sounded great, and it was!  I adjusted it a bit, as any of you can as well!  SO basic, and great!  They flew off the plate!  (by the way~ Cousin Jean's party ROCKED!  Just sayin'!  :)

Roast Beef Appetizer Bundles!  Low Carb, Greatness!! 

1 pound rare roast beef~ cut thick from deli

1 tub Boursin Spreadable cheese~ Vermont White Cheddar and sage

About 1 Oz. baby Arugula, or more to your preference

1 large red, or orange sweet pepper~ cleaned, seeded, and cut into small strips

Small drizzle of olive oil~ optional

Fresh cracked pepper

Take each slice of roast beef, and then cut them in half, lengthwise.  Spread about 1-2 tsps Boursin Cheese into each middle, then place sprigs of Arugula and sliced sweet pepper piece over that...roll up, and place onto serving dish, seam-side down! 

All assembled, and ready to be eaten!  I was surprised that even the people who are not watching their waste lines, nor diets attacked these as well!  They are a win-win appetizer!!  So easy, tasty, and GREAT!!  I sprinkled these with a bit of Olive Oil and fresh cracked pepper before I served (very little Olive oil!!  :) Tee Hee~

Roasted Chestnuts in Buttered Rosemary!

I was going through my usual Christmas magazines, and came across a great recipe for Roasting up Chestnuts!  I have always loved Chestnuts, but never mixed them with anything...I just roasted them over an open fire, like the song says! LOL~ these roasted chestnuts are by far the superior way to make them! This is a recipe I pulled from the December Bon Appetite!  I changed the recipe a bit, however! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Roasted Chestnuts in Buttered Rosemary!

1 pound of chestnuts, with an X cut into rounded side of nuts.
1 large sprig of rosemary~ leaves taken off
1/2 stick of melted butter
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
dash of ground cloves
1/2 tsp black pepper
Pinch of sugar

Soak chestnuts in X cut into them for a few minutes in water.  Take them out of water and put into bowl with all the other ingredients, stir well.  Place onto aluminum foil, and sprinkle, lightly with a bit of sugar.

Wrap them all up in aluminum foil and put into a dish and bake at 425 for 30-45 minutes, depending on size of nuts.

These chestnuts are magical, just like the Christmas season!! 

All roasted up, and ready to be devoured!  We cracked some more fresh salt on them, after roasting!  My boys loved them roasted up this way!  The rosemary butter is finger licking great!!

Cheesy Chicken Florentine Casserole!

Another VERY EASY, but very tasty weekday dinner!!  My boys are going through finals in school right now, so it's a more focused time on their studies!  No time for major cooking! This afternoon, I threw boneless chicken breasts into a big pot of boiling water and poached them for 20 minutes, then took them out and shredded them. Put shredded chicken into a gallon ziplock, then into fridge to keep fresh and moist, til I mixed chicken up later with all other ingredients.  (You can do this early, or right before you make the whole dish.)  The boys were all in the mood for a warm, hearty comfort food for dinner, and they got it!  This ones a quick, tasty 'KEEPER'!  :)  Half recipe for a smaller family!  (we had leftovers, even though they loved it, but they love having leftovers in the fridge!)

Cheesy Chicken Florentine Casserole

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts- poached 20 minutes and shredded

2 tsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped small

20-24 oz. chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained well

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayo

2 tsp yellow curry

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2- 3/4 cup cooking sherry

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Top with

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Very Yummy!!

After you poach chicken breasts in boiling water for 20 minutes, drain all water and shed chicken.  Saute onions in same pot with some olive oil.  When mostly cooked through, add thawed spinach to warm. 

While sauteing onions, shred poached chicken.

To sautéed onions and spinach add the mushroom soup, sour cream, mayo, wine and spices~ 

After you mix well, add in the shredded cheddar cheese, mix well again! :) 

Add in shredded chicken, and stir~

Place into a 13X9 glass baking dish sprayed with pam.  Top with slivered almonds and parmesan cheese!  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes!

Comfort, yummy goodness ready for the table!  Very wonderful served with a chilled salad!!  My boys came back for seconds, saying it was a, "Thumbs up!"  MUSIC to my mom ears!!  <3

Football HURDLE!! Had to put on my blog!!

My eldest's senior year, classic football pic!   He is so very blessed athletically, and in many other ways by the Lord, and I pray Cole does him PROUD in the future!!  I LOVE YOU, Mookie!!!  Cole Christian McKeel~ ROCK ON, in his name!!

Football FUN! 

FLYING HIGH!

SOoooo FUN to watch!! 

Different games~ but, touchdowns,  just the same!

Cole is done with High School Football, and I am so VERY sad!  I will miss the FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, with him having the HONOR to be the town's starting running back!   ALL the excitement before the games!!  How he wanted to do so very well for them all!  (especially the elementary kids who were so behind him!!  He adored them!)  HAD SO MUCH FUN watching him and getting to know so many of his friends and players, through all the football dinners~ was SO great getting to know them all!  Great group of young men, that I will remember, forever!!
  

LOVE YOU, MOOK!!  (I KNOW your hair is sticking out some, but I still love this pic! Ha!  MOM rules!!  SOoooo very proud of you!!) 

Perfect Rib Eye Roast!

Our new Tom Thumb grocery store had a major sale on great cuts of beef, so I snatched up a rib eye roast, along with a lot of other cuts!  We LOVE rib eye roasts!  So juicy, and flavorful!  I usually take pictures of my after product, but it looked so yummy, I actually forgot to take a picture.  We just wanted to EAT IT!!  I found a pic, on the internet that looked just like mine, but it's not!  Mine was cooked perfectly, too, just like the pic!

 Perfect Rib Eye Roast!

Picture of a yummy roast, that looked just like mine!!  Perfectly cooked! Ree Drummond pic!  She's great!

5 lb rib eye roast- bone in
olive oil- to coat
garlic powder- to coat
salt- to coat
pepper- to coat
powdered beef bouillon- to coat
sugar- lightly coat with
Thyme- all over
Chopped Rosemary- all over

Season roast well, on all sides, including bottom of roast.  Place on a  roasting pan, fat side up, bones down.  Cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes, to maybe 1 hour 35 minutes,  for med-rare.  Temperature of roast should be 135!  Take out of oven, and loosely tent with foil for 10 minutes. (cooks more under tent, so 135 works well for medium rare!)   LOVE the flavor of the seasonings on this roast!  Hope you do too!  ENJOY!!

Rosemary, Garlic Roasted Potatoes with White Cheddar Cheese!

My boys love roasted potatoes, so I made my Rosemary-Garlic ones tonight and decided to add a delicious twist!  After they were out of the oven, I immediately shredded up some white cheddar cheese and added that right on top of the hot potatoes letting it melt into gooey yumminess!  They were the first things eaten off their plates!  I will make these again, and again!

Rosemary, Garlic Roasted Potatoes with White Cheddar Cheese!

YUMMY!

2 lbs yellow Klondike potatoes- cut into 4ths, or more for bigger ones

1/8- 1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp minced garlic

2 sprigs of rosemary- 1 1/2 of sprigs leaves removed from stem and chopped~ 1/2 of sprig kept whole (not chopped), but pulled off stem

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 cup, or more, shredded white cheddar

Place all, but cheese,  into big bowl and stir well to coat!

Place onto nice size cookie sheet, and spread out so they are not touching very much.  Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 50 minutes, stirring with spatula halfway through cooking.
  

When cooked to your desired 'crunchiness', take out and put onto platter.  Top with the shredded white cheddar and the 1/2 sprig of whole rosemary leaves for color and more fresh rosemary taste!  You're going to like these, my friends!! :)