AMA Go To Meal

[mrsdee1982]

Fall/Winter - Lasagna, garlic bread and salad

Spring/Summer - Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans

[beersandweirs]

Macaroni and cheese

[belle0720]

Pasta Salad (Tri-Color Rotini, Italian Dressing, Slice Olives, Cherry Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella, and Artichoke Hearts)

[txngrl31]

Enchiladas, salad, and dessert. This is my go- to meal. I write the heat up instructions on the pan lid.

[mrsdee1982]

Aug 25, 2016 12:54:09 GMT -5 carrots said:

mrsdee1982 do you make your own fried chicken? I've never made it before and it really intimates me (bad southern cook here).

Yep.  My granny and grandad owned a chicken ranch in TX.  Fried chicken is a family specialty.  

[mcp6286]

Meatballs & sausage in red sauce with pasta & rolls (carb lover here!)

Chicken divan - super easy casserole and always a hit. I serve with rice www.campbellskitchen.com/recipes/chicken-broccoli-divan-24320

[tiffbot]

It was chili, but I recently started making some amazing sweet and sour meatballs that are easy to make and easy to freeze, so I think that may be my new thing.

Plus my husband's reviews of them are everything ("I wish the pool was filled in this sauce and the pool was actually my mouth", is one that I'll always remember)

www.melskitchencafe.com/sweet-and-sour-meatballs/

I usually at least double the sauce recipe too.

[tiffbot]

And speaking of my husband, he makes banana bread as his go to gift/donation food.

[ashbash]

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans

Enchiladas

Munchies gift basket - muffins, oatmeal bars, cookies, trail mix, popcorn

[blueskiessmiling]

I typically will make some type of baked ziti dish. If I know they're getting a lot of meals and want to mix things up a bit for them, I'll sometimes make taco dip and take that over with nachos. Super easy, requires no heating up, and good for snacking too.

[ashbash]

Aug 25, 2016 13:59:02 GMT -5 michyme123 said:

I feel weird admitting this since you ladies all came up with some great ideas! But my main go to is getting them a gift card for a local restaurant so they can get delivery lol I need to step up my meal prep game apparently!

We have something here called GrubSouth and they deliver for like 20+ local restaurants, we got a few gift cards for them and I loved having that mixed with homemade meals!

[shahoi]

Aug 25, 2016 15:12:33 GMT -5 @badwolf321 said:

carrots, don't be afraid of fried chicken. Channel some Julia Child and confidence. You got it. I'm a horrible cook, and its actually one of my favorite things to do.

I've only attempted making it once. The inside was raw and the outside was burnt! I haven't tried since.

[sugarkissed]

michyme123, I do the same, because terrible cook over here. Haha.

[mrsdee1982]

Aug 25, 2016 20:06:37 GMT -5 shahoi said:

Aug 25, 2016 15:12:33 GMT -5 @badwolf321 said:

carrots , don't be afraid of fried chicken. Channel some Julia Child and confidence. You got it. I'm a horrible cook, and its actually one of my favorite things to do.

I've only attempted making it once. The inside was raw and the outside was burnt! I haven't tried since.

Your chicken was probably too thick and your oil was probably too hot.  Easy problem to fix.

[mrsdee1982]

Aug 25, 2016 13:46:02 GMT -5 Kristykristyleelee said:

Aug 25, 2016 13:22:49 GMT -5 mrsdee1982 said:

Yep.  My granny and grandad owned a chicken ranch in TX.  Fried chicken is a family specialty.  

Have you shared your fried chicken recipe with us before?

If not, ROOD!

Either way, please share!

Here you go love!

We make it one of two ways.  Now, no real measurements, but it's really pretty easy to figure out.  You just want to make sure that none of your pieces are too thick.  We also double dip ours.  You get a better, crisper coating that way. 

I prefer to use skinless chicken breast, but you can use any piece of chicken you'd like.  My DH like drumsticks, so when I make it, I throw in a few for him too.  Skin, no skin, your preference.

Way 1, spicy with an egg wash:

Crack 3 eggs into a medium bowl and add in Tabasco sauce.  The mix should be orange.
Add flour into a pie dish
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet or fry basket.  (You'll know your oil is ready when a drop of egg wash sizzles when dropped in)
Season chicken with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper
Dip in egg wash
Dredge in flour
Dip back in egg wash
Dredge back in flour
Add to oil (flip if needed 1/2 way through cooking).  Cook for about 10 minutes or until done

Way 2, traditional buttermilk 
Place chicken in large bowl, cover in buttermilk.  Add about a tsp of salt.  Refrigerate for a few hours.
In a pie dish, sift together flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika (be generous with your spices) 
Take chicken from buttermilk and dredge in flour
Dip back into buttermilk and then dredge back in the flour
Add to hot oil (oil will be ready when buttermilk sizzles when dropped in)
Cook, flipping if needed, until done, about 10 minutes or so.

We always serve ours with mashed potatoes and bacon fried green beans.  Not the healthiest of meals, but damn does it hit the spot.  

ETA - when making the buttermilk version, I also serve it with a chicken gravy.  (melt butter, mix in some flour, add in chicken broth.  cook until thick).  

[heartofglass]

Im a casserole person. I've got an easy breakfast casserole that is easily reheated by portions and cheesy hash brown casserole. I also make huge batches of Brunswick stew at a time to freeze so I'll take over a few packs of those.

I'm not sure about during summer months but we just had a friend bring a great fruit dish to dinner. It's a mix of apples, strawberries, raisins, sour cream, whip cream and Frosted Flakes.

[purple]

This is such a lovely idea. It isn't a thing over here. Ive never cooked a meal for anyone nor been given one, in any circumstances. It's a particularly great idea for post-partum!

[mrsdee1982]

Aug 25, 2016 22:42:21 GMT -5 heartofglass said:

Im a casserole person. I've got an easy breakfast casserole that is easily reheated by portions and cheesy hash brown casserole. I also make huge batches of Brunswick stew at a time to freeze so I'll take over a few packs of those.

I'm not sure about during summer months but we just had a friend bring a great fruit dish to dinner. It's a mix of apples, strawberries, raisins, sour cream, whip cream and Frosted Flakes.

A breakfast casserole is a great idea.  People often overlook breakfast.  

[hannahl201477]

Sausage squares with hashbrown casserole or poppyseed chicken

[mcp6286]

Aug 26, 2016 10:59:06 GMT -5 @imapenguin said:

I usually pick up BBQ to take over. #lazy

You would win at my house!