Today is one of my best friend’s birthdays. I’ve been lucky enough to celebrate the past 5 birthdays with her as we are two days apart. Chick Fil A is her favorite food, so in honor of my dear friend Kelly’s birthday I bring you the Chick Fil A Chicken Sandwich.
This is doubly delicious as I now know the secret to making this at home and I can share it with all of you!
So without further ado I bring you the best chicken sandwich you will ever eat:
Recipe
via fromaway.com
Ingredients
- 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (or the thinly sliced kind OR perfect portions pounded out a bit)
- Kosher salt and ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Peanut oil, for frying (I used vegetable oil and they were just fine, though I would like to try peanut oil next time!)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour (I left this out)
- 1 tablespoon dry milk (I left this out)
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar (I used granulated sugar)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 sour pickle, cut into eight slices
- soft hamburger buns, split
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Directions
- Place each piece between parchment paper, and pound to uniform thickness with a rolling pin. Season the chicken with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon paprika.
- In a shallow baking dish, whisk together egg and milk. In another baking dish, whisk together flour, dry milk, powdered sugar, baking soda, dry mustard, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Meanwhile, heat about two inches of oil to 325 degrees in a heavy-bottomed pot or cast iron skillet. While oil heats, slice pickle, and set aside.
- Working in batches, dip chicken in the egg mixture, turning to coat, then dredge in flour mixture and shake off any excess. Fry the chicken in hot oil, using a candy thermometer to monitor oil temperature, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spread the cut side of the buns with some butter, and lightly toast in the skillet, buttered-side down. To assemble sandwiches, spread grilled buns with more butter, dip 2 pickle slices in jarred pickle juice to moisten and place on the bottom bun. Top with a piece of fried chicken and the bun top.
Serve to your honey and devour!
Happy birthday Kel! I hope your day is as wonderful as you are! 
Hello there! Boy do I have a treat for you guys today. You may remember back when I had my JMU Foodbuzz dinner that I made buffalo mash. Now I will dive into how amazing this really is and how easy it is to make at home.
This dish was a specialty where I went to school. It was never permanently on the lunch rotation, like Grilled Cheese Thursdays, so when the dining hall fairies decided it was time for Buffalo Mash, we ate it and all was good. Unfortunately for me, it took me a few years to discover and try this treat but now I can make it whenever I want
The basics are these: breaded chicken pan fried, mashed potatoes, buffalo sauce and bleu cheese dressing. Done and done. I highly recommend Frank’s Hot Sauce and a nice homemade bleu cheese dressing to go with it.
Without further ado… the process:
Recipe
adapted from the culinary experts at James Madison University
The Chicken.
- 3/4 – 1 cup flour
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp ground pepper
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 – 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1 package thinly sliced chicken breasts (if you want to buy full size chicken breasts and slice them and pound them out yourself go for it)
- [three medium sized shallow bowls]
- Clean and dry the chicken and reserve on a plate. If you are going for more of a chicken “tender” piece then slice the chicken into smaller pieces or in half. (This will make the frying a bit easier too)
- Arrange the three bowls on your counter. Add the flour, salt and pepper to one bowl and mix together. Add the two eggs to another bowl and beat together. Add the breadcrumbs to the third bowl.
- Take a piece of chicken and coat in the flour mixture. Tap off excess clumps.
- Dip the floured chicken into the egg and let excess drip off.
- Dip the floured and egg-dipped chicken into the breadcrumbs to coat.
- Place the breaded chicken piece on a clean plate.
- Repeat with all your chicken.
- Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the pan.
- Cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes per side or until golden.
- Place the cooked chicken on a paper towel lined plate.
Serve with mashed potatoes, hot sauce, and bleu cheese dressing. Share with all your friends and family!
I use the following recipes for the other parts of the meal.
I love a good salad as much as the next person but sometimes the dressing is really what makes the dish instead of the healthy foods that hide under the dressing. This is one of those dressings. I can’t believe I haven’t been making my own dressings. Well, I can. I don’t usually make them because I don’t eat them fast enough. Hopefully I don’t run into that problem anytime soon
This is a game-changer here folks. It all started Sunday afternoon as I perused the cheese display at Safeway. I picked up a big wedge of Gorgonzola and threw it in my cart. By the time I got home I had planned to make buffalo mash for my work lunches this week. Best decision EVER. I also knew I was going to make the bleu cheese dressing I just wasn’t sure how that would turn out. Well, as luck would have it, the interwebs were at my disposal and Ina Garten swooped in on her magic cookbook and told me she had the best dressing recipe. I listened carefully and went to work. As luck would have it, I bought heavy cream for my mashed potatoes and her recipe (of course) included some cream, but I balanced it out with 1% milk. We can’t all be jolly souls living in the Hamptons year round.
When all the ingredients were done taking a run in my food processor I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. I knew it would be good but I was not prepared for the love fest that happened after I made this. I had to wrap it up as quick as possible so that I didn’t drink the whole thing. Seriously. I know that’s gross, but I thought about it.
So before you go get all judgmental on whether or not you like bleu cheese let me just say that Gorgonzola is the perfect alternative. It’s smooth and creamy and there isn’t much stinky going on there either. So without further ado… I give you the dressing recipe. Make sure you have something in your house to eat this with. Bare fingers are just as legit a vehicle as crudite.
Recipe
Adapted from Foodnetwork.com
Ingredients
- 4 ounces good bleu cheese
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup cream
- 3/4 cup 1% milk
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Add all ingredients to a food process and BLEND!
Serve with salad or buffalo mash!
(Buffalo mash recipe coming soon!)
These are my favorite cookies. Ever. The end.
Just kidding! How could I not share the recipe to pure bliss?!
I was checking out recipes for these babies online when I called my mom to double check proportions and then she was all like, “USE MINE!” how dare I not use hers?! Sheesh.
Oh and when you’re done making these, serve them like this:
…and then you can die in peace.
Recipe
via My Mother.
Ingredients
- 3.5 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks – room temperature)
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat to keep from sticking
- Cream sugars and butter together until fluffy.
- Add peanut butter and mix until smooth
- Add salt, vanilla, and baking powder and mix in
- Add eggs one at a time and mix until blended
- Add flour in small increments until thick dough forms
- Add about 1/2 cup of plain sugar to a bowl, roll dough into small balls and roll into sugar. Place on baking sheet 2 inches apart from each other.
- Bake for 10-12 mins (I pulled them out after 10)
- Place a kiss (unwrapped !) in the center of each cookie and press into warm dough
- Let cool on a cooling rack.
- Eat with milk
I added all the flour and my batter was dry and crumbly so if it’s starting to look like that you can always add a drop of milk to the batter to keep it to stick together.
I used my hand mixer but this dough would probably be perfect in a pretty stand mixer as well.
Shovel in face. Pass out. Wake up. Repeat.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
turkey medley
You are looking at a waffle sandwich. Not just any waffle sandwich, a Wicked Waffle sandwich. What you see here is turkey, bacon, cheese, and russian dressing all on a crispy waffle. Lucky for me LivingSocial had a deal recently for Wicked Waffle and I picked one up as I found myself wanting to try this place out. It was good, not amazing, but definitely warmed me up on a chilly afternoon. I liked the combo that I got and I would definitely go back to try one of their sweet waffles or breakfast varieties as well. It’s worth a shot to see if it’s your style. Check out their menu to see all their sandwiches. Next on my list will be anything with Nutella!
We all know it takes one good day of planning and prepping to make a great week of meals. That’s all you need. Just a few hours on a Sunday and you’re set. Luckily I found a great mashed tater side dish to go with my chicken for lunch a few times a few weeks ago.
Now I’m not a fan of Rachael Ray as a personality but sometimes she whips up some decent combos of food. For example, the above photographed broccoli, cheddar mashed potatoes. Score one for RR. These were so good I could have eaten the whole pot immediately.
This was definitely a great way for me to use up my broccoli and potatoes from my produce delivery.
Recipe
via FoodNetwork
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds small potatoes (I used red potatoes and kept the skin on)
- 1 small head broccoli
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Halve the potatoes and add to a large pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the potatoes for 10 minutes while you trim and chop broccoli into 1/2-inch dice. Add the broccoli to the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes more. Drain and return to the hot pot to dry. Stir in the milk, butter and cheese and mash until the cheese melts into potatoes and broccoli (Add more butter or milk as needed). Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Tip: As you cut the potatoes, place them in a bowl with cool water. Drain and rinse at least once more. This will remove some of the starch so you don’t wind up with a gummy consistency.
Reheat with lunches or serve to hungry guests. Either way this is a definite winner!
