Fried Chicken Strips

Folks-
Guess what? It's time for Fried Chicken Recipe III! This one is based on my last one, modified (you knew that was coming!) and tested on my family. This time they may not let me further modify it.
I served it this evening with mashed potatoes, gravy made from the oil from the chicken, fresh biscuits, and steamed asparagus spears. It was possibly the best meal I have ever made featuring chicken!
Here's my recipe:
Edly Fried Chicken Strips

1-Cup All-purpose Flour 
1/2-Cup Italian Bread Crumbs 
1/2-Cup Corn Flour or Masa
1-Tsp Salt
1-1/2-Tsp Italian Seasonings
1-Tsp Celery Salt
1-Tsp Black Pepper
1-Tsp Dried Mustard
4-Tsp Paprika
2-Tsp Garlic Salt
1-Tsp Ground Ginger
3-Tsp White Pepper
1-Tsp Turmeric
1/2-Tsp Chili Powder
1/2-Tsp Garlic Powder
1-Tsp Chicken Bouillon 
1/2-Tsp Baking Soda
2-Eggs
1/2-Cup Buttermilk
2-8 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (about 2.5 to 3.5 lbs)
Enough cooking oil to fill a large frying pan 1/2" deep

Put all dry ingredients into a gallon sized Ziploc or similar bag and shake it to mix them together. Wash chicken breasts and cut into strips about  2 CM wide (1/2 inch). Beat eggs and mix with the buttermilk. Throw chicken strips, a few at a time, into the Ziploc bag and toss them in the powder to coat them.  Dip the chicken strips into the egg and buttermilk mixture, and throw them back into the Ziploc bag a few at a time and shake it to coat them. Place them on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator to cool for 1 to 2 hours (No joke. Don't skip this step or the coating won't stick.)
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before frying. Heat about 1/2 inch (1-2cm) of cooking oil in a large skillet over medium heat to 350-380 degrees (use a thermometer). Put several strips into the oil. Fry until medium brown, about 4-5 minutes on the first side, flip and cook another 3-4 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet (not on a plate with paper towels!) This keeps the chicken coating crispy. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Crumb Cake

Folks-

I wanted to power out another recipe or two while I still have my Zap 190 cookbook out. This one is my mom's crumb cake and crumb cake topping recipes. They are very good together, and I just may fix them tomorrow. We'll just have to see...

-Edly

Updated 1/12/2022:

I decided to make this tonight due to having a whole lot of milk on hand (it takes over a quart!) So, I decided to make some changes to the recipe. I used coconut oil instead of margarine or shortening, and half of the 2 teaspoons of vanilla without changing the flavor of the pudding just by changing the order of adding ingredients. I've updated the recipe below.

Crumb Cake
E. Perl

Ingredients:

3 Cups Flour

1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Margarine, Shortening or coconut oil
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Cup to 1-1/2 Cups Milk (approximately)

Mix together flour and sugar and cut in margarine, shortening, or coconut oil (I recommend blending shortening with the coconut oil to keep it from being overwhelming) until crumbly. Save one cup of the crumbs for later. Add the baking powder and salt, then add the milk and vanilla extract and mix until it is the consistency of drop biscuit batter. Spread the batter into a greased cake pan and top with the saved crumbs from earlier. Cook at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until done in the middle.

Crumb Cake Topping

E. Perl

Ingredients:

1 Cup Sugar

5 Tablespoons Flour

4 Cups Milk

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Mix together all ingredients except vanilla extract in a pot. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring vigorously and continuously all the way to the bottom to prevent it from burning (warning! It wants to burn! Like really wants to burn!) until it starts to thicken to the consistency of pudding (at about 200 degrees F.) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract, and then serve warm on a slice of the crumb cake.

Fool Proof Pie Crust

Folks-
It's been a while since I've updated the site with a new recipe, and that's because I use the site as my own personal recipe card file. If I haven't needed an old recipe, have been experimenting much in the kitchen, and haven't found a new recipe that I need to add to the old card file, then I don't update.
Well, one of Zhenie's old high-school friends (she went to school in The Philippines, so how did one of her old friends end up living only a mile away?) dropped off a whole bunch of pairs at our house. I was thinking pie, but didn't find my mom's old pie crust recipe online. Time to fix that.
Here's a recipe that my mom got from one of the cooks at the school she retired from:

Fool Proof Pie Crust

Ingredients:
4 Cups Flour
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 Teaspoons Salt
1 ¾ Cups or 335g *Shortening
½ Cup Cold Water
1 Tablespoon Vinegar
1 Large Egg

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the shortening using a pastry blender just until mixed in and crumbly. Do not overdo it or the liquids won't mix in! In a separate bowl, mix together the water, vinegar, and egg. Add liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients just until a kneadable dough forms. Roll out on a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. If making an uncooked pie, be sure to poke the bottom of the pie crust multiple times with a fork before cooking to prevent bubbles.

Notes:
1. Shortening is getting harder to find these days. I intend to experiment with a coconut oil soon as a replacement. If I do, I'll let you know the results. Update: It works, but gives it a strong coconut flavor. This might work for some pies. I recommend sticking with shortening or maybe ghee.

2. It is best to get the liquids ready first then leave them in the refrigerator until ready. In fact, it's best to make this recipe when it's cold, and store it in the fridge until ready to roll out.

3. I made this for hand-pies recently using lard instead of vegetable shortening and it came out stronger than using the regular shortening. It still refused to seal (especially around the blueberry filled ones.) I may try a completely different recipe for hand-pies. (7/5/25)

Egg Noodles

Folks-
My chicken and Turkey noodle soups are well known in my circle. The real secret to them is the homemade noodles. Since I haven't figured out the measurements for the soup ingredients yet, I'll post the recipe for the noodles first. It's my moms recipe, with a variation at the end from my dad. I prefer the egg yolk version over the whole egg, but it takes so dang many eggs! Both versions are easier than most people would think. Give them both a try and see which you prefer!

Here it is, my mom's homemade noodle recipe!


Egg Noodles
E. Pearl

6 Egg Yolks
1 Whole Egg
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 1/2 Cups Flour

Mix together in the order above until very stiff. Roll out dough on a well floured board to 1/8" thickness. Cover with a towel and allow to dry for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Roll the dough into a cylinder and slice first once along the length of the cylinder, and then across the cylinder to make noodles of about 1/4" width. Boil for up to 45 minutes.
You can substitute 3 whole eggs for 6 egg yolks and 1 whole egg.