Oven Fried Chicken Tenders

In my efforts to get rid of boxed/convenience mixes in my house along with reducing some of the fat in our diet, I decided to take a recipe that my friend, Lisa, had given me a while ago and give it a try with using fresh chicken tenders and making some homemade breaded chicken tenders.

Ingredients are: "spiced flour", egg wash, and fresh chicken tenders. Basically items that you would have in the pantry.

In the flour, I put in some onion powder, garlic powder, a few dashes of black pepper and paprika, and a tad of poultry seasoning. Now how is that for measuring?!?! You can put together any spices that you would prefer for flavoring and what you have in your pantry. I put approximate measurements with the full instructions down below.

Once I dipped all the chicken tenders into the egg wash and the spiced flour, I put a couple of pads of margarine(you can use butter too) on all the tenders.

Then I put them in the oven at 400° for an hour and then came out golden brown and a little bit crispy.

My family loved them!! The leftovers were easy to reheat in the oven at 400° for about 10 minutes.

OVEN FRIED CHICKEN

24 chicken tenders (I usually use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but bone-in will work too!)
2 c. flour
1 1/4 tsp. salt*
1 tsp. pepper*
1/2 tsp. paprika*
1 tsp. poultry seasoning*

2 tsp. garlic powder*

3 tsp. onion powder*

margarine slices

Egg Wash

3 eggs

2 tsp. water

Combine flour and spices together in one bowl. Combine the egg and water in another bowl. Dip chicken pieces in the egg wash first and then in the spiced flour mixture. Place pads of margarine on top of each piece of chicken. (This is the secret to it tasting so delicious.) Bake 400 for 1 hour. I don't worry about spraying or oiling the pan as the pads of margarine work in keeping the chicken from sticking to the pan.

*the spice amounts are approximate!

This post is linked at:

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed with Grace!
  
• Kitchen tip Tuesday, over at Tammy's Recipes!
• Tasty Tuesday at Forever, Wherever
  
• I am Blissfully Domestic at Blissfully Domestic!

Menu Plan Monday 4/5-4/11

Last week's menu plan went pretty smoothly despite the busyness of the week!Now that spring soccer and church drama practice is in full swing for three out of five kids, I think I have a pretty good handle on getting meals ready before that 4pm hour hits each day.

This week’s shopping trip was purchasing items that I need for meals as I am working at doing a pantry & freezer spring cleaning event for the month of April. I have been in need of using different items that I have stockpiled before they expire so April is going to be my month to get rid of those items. Anyone else looking to do spring cleaning in their pantry & freezer, I would love for you to leave me a comment!

This week’s menus is the first full week of my spring cleaning event. I chose seven dinner meals out of the eleven meals that I have listed from the items that I have on hand to use. I have everything on hand that I need for this week, the only items from the store I will need is milk. I am also keeping things relatively simple this week as it is another busy week of practices.

Lunches listed are for the kids & me. Unless we are having leftovers, our lunches are served with apple slices or baby carrots along with fruit juice or water. Hubby usually takes a dinner leftover along with various snacks for his work lunch.

A special thanks to Laura-Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday! Need help with your menus; go check the over 400 other delicious meal plans that have been linked at Laura-Organizing Junkie’s site or look down in my right sidebar for my menu suggestion lists!

Sunday (4-5)

Breakfast: eggs, sausage or bacon, hash browns, and jiffy muffins

Lunch: pizza rolls

Dinner: breaded chicken tenders served with fries and corn

Snack: snack basket

Monday (4-6)

Breakfast: cereal, toaster strudel, yogurt

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner: spaghetti and garlic toast (I made enough for two meals last week—instead of putting it in the freezer I am just going to do another meal.)

Snack: snack basket

Tuesday (4-7)

Breakfast: waffles and sausage

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner: homemade chicken pot pie served with homemade bread

Snack: cookies & milk

Wednesday (4-8)

Breakfast: mini cinnamon bites, eggs and yogurt

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner: Taco Bar

Snack: snack basket

Thursday (4-2)

Breakfast: Pancakes

Lunch: pizza rolls

Dinner: skillet pork chops served with rice and peas or salad

Snack: snack basket

Friday (4-3)

Breakfast: cereal and banana bread

Lunch: sandwich & chips

Dinner: cube steak served with baked potatoes and corn

Snack: ice cream night

Saturday (4-4)

Breakfast: “Cook’s Choice”

Lunch: frozen mini pizzas

Dinner: pork loin roast served with mashed potatoes & gravy and green beans

Snack: snack basket or popcorn

Singing Sunday

Lead Me To The Cross

by Brooke Fraser--Hillsong United

Savior I come
Quiet my soul remember
Redemptions hill
Where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost

Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Lead me, lead me to the cross

You were as I
Tempted and trialed
You are
The word became flesh
Bore my sin and death
Now you're risen

To your heart
To your heart
Lead me to your heart
Lead me to your heart

Weekly Shopping Trip---Savings $86.23

This week, I started my pantry & freezer spring cleaning event, so I did not do any stockpiling(other than some meat) and  just worked at getting the necessities to finish meals for this next week.   I was trying to only have to shop one day this week but I ended up forgetting a few things on my list, so I had to venture out again to get the remaining items.   It actually worked to my advantage having to go out a second time during the week because I was able to score some ground chuck for $1.65/lb!  I haven't seen it that low for sometime!  It would be nice for it to hit 99¢/lb again! 

Anyway, here is the breakdown for the week...

Family Fare:

• 5.06lb pork loin $9.06
• 1/2 gallon buttermilk $2.59
• 20lbs potatoes $3.98
• 3-18ct eggs $4.47

Total OOP: $20.10

Total Savings: $22.29

Total: $42.39

Aunt Millie's Bakery Outlet: 

• 2 loaves sandwich bread $1.78
• 6-8ct. hamburger buns $4.14
• 1 bag-24 ct mini bagels 99¢

Total: $6.91

Total Savings: priceless---I love shopping at the bakery outlet for my bread!!

Aldis: 

• 3lbs. baby carrots $2.07(69¢ each)
• 1 head lettuce 89¢
• 2 boxes taco shells $1.98
• 1-32oz beef broth $1.29

Total: $6.23

Total Savings: priceless!!

Meijer(1st round):

• 2 bars Johnson buddies soap 34¢
• 2 tubes Kids Crest toothpaste $1.98
• Cascade Rinse Aid FREE(with coupon)
• 1 bottle Suave body wash $1.21
• 2 bottles Suave kids shampoo $2.42
• 2 containers Land O Lakes butter $1.45
• 7 bags frozen veggies $7.00
• 10 cups Yoplait yogurt $3.60
• 2 boxes Post cereal $3.45
• 3 bags Meijer hashbrowns $5.00

Total OOP: $27.36

Total Savings: $22.86

Total: $50.22

Meijer(2nd trip):

• 10.77lbs ground chuck $17.77
• 2 bags Doritos $3.98
• 1 family size bag tortilla chips $3.88

Total OOP: $25.63

Total Savings: $22.77

Total: $48.40

GRAND OOP TOTAL: $86.23

GRAND SAVINGS TOTAL: $67.92

GRAND TOTAL: $154.15

For more savings stories head over to MoneySavingMom's Super Saturday Savings or to BeCentsAble's Centsable Savings Stories.

Frugal Friday---Color Dying Eggs

With Easter right around the corner, it is time to decorate those eggs!  You could go out and buy those dying kits in the stores or you can use items around the house to dye your eggs.  I have found a couple of different ways that you can dye your eggs the natural way.

Pale Red: Fresh beets or cranberries, frozen raspberries

Orange: Yellow onion skins

Light yellow: Orange or lemon peels, carrot tops, celery seed or ground cumin

Yellow: Ground turmeric

Pale green: Spinach leaves

Green-gold: Yellow Delicious apple peels

Blue: Canned blueberries or red cabbage leaves

Beige to brown: Strong brewed coffee

One way to get these colors, I found over at Taste of Home: 

Before you begin, you'll need hard-cooked eggs that are completely dry and room temperature.

For each color of dye, find a container that won't get stained or that you can discard when finished. Make sure it is big enough to completely submerge an egg or several eggs.

Place an egg in the container. Pour dye over the egg, covering completely. Refrigerate until the desired color is achieved. (The longer the egg sits in the dye, the darker the color.) Remove the egg and let dry; refrigerate.

Decorated eggs can be displayed in egg cups or simply set on the table. You can also make a nest egg centerpiece (as in the photo above) by placing the dyed eggs on an excelsior-lined grapevine wreath.

Don't eat hard-cooked eggs that have stood at room temperature for more than 2 hours. If you plan on displaying eggs, it's best to cook extra eggs for eating.

Onion Skin Dye

To make dye from yellow onion skins, place several skins in a large pot of water. Bring to a boil; let cool and discard skins. Based on the number of onion skins used and the amount of time the eggs soak, you'll get warm tones that can range from gold to a rich terra cotta.

Brewed Coffee Dye

Simply brew a pot of strong coffee and cool. The color can range from a light speckled tan to a more solid dark tan depending on how strong the coffee is and how long the egg soaks.

Cranberry Dye

To make a dye from fresh cranberries, boil 4 cups cranberries in 2 cups cold water until the berries burst. Let cool. Drain the mixture, saving the liquid and discarding the cranberries. To create a light blue-toned egg, soak for only a short time. We found that soaking an egg longer results in a dark gray color.  

Another way, I found was in an article called "Dying Easter Eggs--the Natural way!" by Jenny Wanderscheid:

To dye the perfect Easter eggs the natural way, here's what to do:

Put eggs in a single layer in a pan. Pour water in pan until the eggs are covered.

Add about a teaspoon of vinegar.

Add the natural dye appropriate to the color you want your eggs to be. (The more eggs you are dying at a time, the more dye you will need to use.)

Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove the substance you used to color the eggs. Put eggs in a bowl.

If you want your eggs to be a darker shade, cover them with the dye and let them stand overnight in the refrigerator. The longer you let them stand the darker the colors will be on the eggs. 

Onion Skin Eggs

One of my favorite egg dyes is with onion skins! Gather lots of onion skins; the dry outer layers. (try to get a good variety of colors--I like plain brown best; red onion also makes a good color) Gently wrap them around*raw* eggs and hold them in place with rubber bands. Hard boil the eggs like usual. Unwrap them and WOW! Beautiful colors and designs! You may polish with vegetable oil for a nice gloss. This is a natural dye and the eggs are still quite edible. Happy eggs-ploration!

Wax Eggs

It's fun to write something on the egg with a light colored crayon - white is the most fun. The dye doesn't stick to the wax crayoned letters and they appear white (or brown if it's a brown egg) after the egg is dyed.

Rubber Band Wraps

Materials:

Egg dye: For and extra bright color use food coloring paste, available at party supply shops. Dissolve a dab of paste or 6 drops of regular liquid food coloring in a cup of hot water. Stir in 1/4 cup of vinegar

Rubber bands, cut in various length widths long enough go around the egg several times

Wrap rubber bands around the egg, covering it completely. When you dip the covered egg, the dye will seep under the bands in some areas and be blocked out in other areas. Remove from the dye when the color is bright enough. Blot dry with paper towels and remove the rubber bands. If you wish, repeat with a new color. If the rubber bands pop off the egg, try using thicker ones.

Marbelized Eggs

Materials:

Egg dye

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

Lightly stir the oil into a bowl of egg dye. Immediately dip the egg into the liquid. Or stand the egg in a small cup and slowly spoon the oil-water mixture over it. When the egg dries, repeat the steps with another color for an interesting color combining effect. TIP: For cleanup, wash all dipping containers in hot soapy water and rinse with vinegar to get rid of oil.

Fingerpaint Eggs

Materials:

Paper plates

Tempera paint

Put a few colors of paint on the paper plate. Hold the egg n the ends with your thumb and finger so you can rotate it while you're stamping. Dip your finger in the paint, dab off the excess on a paper towel, then gently press your finger onto the egg.

Crepe Paper Eggs

Materials:

Boiled Eggs

Tissue Paper or Crepe Paper

Wet the egg and place pieces of colored tissue paper on it. Set it aside to dry. When the egg dries the tissue paper falls off and the colors stay behind.

Polka Dot Eggs

Dip a boiled egg in yellow dye. When dry glue on hole punched dots. Great for improving fine motor skills!

If you want a glossy finish on the eggs, brush them with vegetable oil. 

For more Frugal Friday resources, head over to Life as Mom!

Thursday Thirteen--Freezing Meals

After talking about fixing and freezing individual meals for the elderly, I decided to give you thirteen guidelines to think about when putting together freezer meals.

1. Don't thaw frozen raw meat and then re-freeze it without cooking it thoroughly first.   This is why when I get purchase my meat in bulk, I take the time to cook or divide it into meal size portions. 
   
   
2. Hard boiled eggs tend to get rubbery after thawing.  If you are going to freeze them, chop them into very fine pieces and they should be okay.
   
   
3. Cornstarch-thickened sauces, cheese sauces, and gravies made with milk tend to separate when being reheated after freezing if they are frozen by themselves. However, if they are mixed with other ingredients they are fine. 
   
   
4. Don't freeze raw vegetables(except for diced onions, green pepper and celery) unless they have been blanched. Blanching is a short period of cooking that seals in color, texture, vitamins and flavor.   I like to just buy already frozen vegetables to stir into my recipes after the recipe has cooled and is ready for the freezer. 
   
   
5. Cured meats like ham or bacon should be eaten within a month of freezing.  After that they seem to lose color and flavor. 
   
   
6. Be aware that some seasonings change in intensity and flavor when frozen. Salt, green pepper and celery seem to lose some of their flavoring while black pepper, cloves, bay leaves, onions, sage, and artificial vanilla become more intense in flavor. 
   
   
7. Deep fried foods will not stay crispy after thawing and re-heating. 
   
   
8. Egg and milk substitutes freeze well in most recipes. 
   
   
9. Fully cooked pasta, dry beans and rice tend to turn mushy when frozen in liquids or sauces. Undercook them by half the time if you plan on stirring them into a sauce or broth before freezing.
   
   
10. Salad vegetables like lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and radishes don't freeze well.  Actually they freeze well it is the thawing of them that does them more harm!
    
    
11. When freezing a new recipe, only freeze one meal to see if it freezes well. You will not be saving yourself time or money if you freeze a meal that doesn't thaw and reheat well enough to be liked by your family. 
    
    
12. Don't put hot foods into freezer bags....completely cool the foods first!
    
    
13. In the event of a power outage, don't throw the food out because the food may still be safe to use. Without power, a full upright or chest freezer will keep everything frozen for 2 days. A half full freezer will keep food frozen for 1 day. However, anything over 6 hours it would be best to put blocks or bags of ice in the freezer until power is restored. 
    
    

For more lists, head over to Happy to be at Home.

Pantry & Freezer Spring Cleaning--Part 2

I have written down everything on my pantry shelves and in my freezers.  It took me about an hour to get the lists made and some what in categories so that I didn't have to look through the whole list to see if I had an item on hand. 

I have come up with at least 16 dinner meals that I can make from my lists.  In order to finish off those meals, I will need more veggies in the house.  As for breakfasts and lunches, I am pretty sure that I have enough items to match the 16 dinner meals.   

Most of the items that are on my list are things that I need to make homemade goodies, like yeast bread, quick breads, cakes, cookies, etc.   Now the next step is making a list of different goodies to make and making those items over the course of the month.

Next step is writing out the menus for next 2 weeks!!  Stay tuned those will be coming at the beginning of the week!