Chicken recipes that everyone enjoys!

Chicken recipes are a stable in many people’s diets. Many of them are recipes we have made time and time again and others, are special recipes, maybe a favorite Christmas recipe or even a special fondue recipe using chicken. Americans consume more chicken then any other meat, but we still want new recipes to use! Spicing up old recipes or creating new ones is easy when you have the right tools. Finding new free recipes is easy if you are using the Internet. Simply searching for recipes in your favorite search engine will produce many sites you can choose from. Within those sites, you can search for chicken recipes or any other that you may be looking for. Most of the time, you will receive many choices to choose from. Choose those that you have the ingredients for or are willing to purchase. If you do not have the ability to search online, check your local library for books and magazines on chicken recipes. How will you cook the chicken? Bake it? Grill it? Stir fry? You can even use a slow cooker recipe to cook your chicken. There are many ways to prepare the chicken. There are also many types of cuts of chicken. Will you use a whole chicken? Half? Just thighs or wings? Maybe you will want it boneless or skin less. A good tool to invest in is a How To Cookbook. A book like this will teach you how to know these differences. It will teach you many important techniques you will use over and over in any baking or cooking you do. Another aspect to consider is when or how you will serve the chicken recipe. Will you prepare an appetizer recipe?Will you make a soup or will it be a main dish? You have many questions to ask yourself. Once you come to these conclusions and know what your goals are, you will be able to find the perfect chicken recipes. Cooking with chicken you also need to understand how to prepare chicken safely. Chicken does contain bacteria that you need to avoid exposing yourself and your diners too. Always wash hands thoroughly after touching or handling chicken. Use the hottest water you can and an antibacterial soap as well. Ensure that you do not touch any equipment or items before washing your hands. This will prevent cross contamination as well. When cooking chicken, make sure to cook it until it reaches the proper temperature. Chicken cannot be eaten raw. But, cooking it thoroughly will kill any bacteria that may be on your chicken. Again, make sure to use utensils that are clean and sanitary each time you touch the chicken. Following your directions correctly will provide you with the best possible outcome for your chicken recipes. Using the correct ingredients, properly cut and thoroughly clean, will deliver a great meal for whoever you are cooking for and whatever you make!

10 Smoky Tips To BBQ Food Safely

Cooking outdoors was once only a summer activity shared with family and friends. Now more than half of Americans say they are cooking outdoors year round. Use these simple guidelines for grilling food safely to prevent harmful bacteria from multiplying and causing food-borne illness.
1. Defrosting
Completely defrost meat and poultry before grilling so it cooks more evenly. Use the refrigerator for slow, safe thawing or thaw sealed packages in cold water. You can microwave defrost if the food will be placed immediately on the grill.
2. Marinating
Meat and poultry can be marinated for several hours or days to tenderize or add flavor. Be sure to marinate food in the refrigerator, not on the counter. If some of the marinade is to be used as a sauce on the cooked food, reserve a portion of the marinade before putting raw meat and poultry in it. However, if the marinade used on raw meat or poultry is to be reused, make sure to let it come to a boil first to destroy any harmful bacteria.
3. Transporting
When carrying food to another location, keep it cold to minimize bacterial growth. Use an insulated cooler with sufficient ice or ice packs to keep the food at 40В° F or below. Pack food right from the refrigerator into the cooler immediately before leaving home. Keep the cooler in the coolest part of the car.
4. Keep Cold Food Cold
When using a cooler, keep it out of the direct sun by placing it in the shade or shelter. Avoid opening the lid too often, which lets cold air out and warm air in. Pack beverages in one cooler & perishables in a separate cooler.
5. Keep Everything Clean
Be sure there are plenty of clean utensils and platters. To prevent food-borne illness, don’t use the same platter and utensils for raw and cooked meat and poultry. Harmful bacteria present in raw meat and poultry and their juices can contaminate safely cooked food.
6. Cook Thoroughly
Cook food to a safe internal temperature to destroy harmful bacteria. Meat and poultry cooked on a grill often browns very fast on the outside. Use a food thermometer to be sure the food has reached a safe internal temperature. Whole poultry should reach 180В° F; breasts, 170В° F. Hamburgers made of ground beef should reach 160В° F; ground poultry, 165В° F. Beef, veal, and lamb steaks, roasts and chops can be cooked to 145В° F. All cuts of pork should reach 160В° F. NEVER partially grill meat or poultry and finish cooking later.
7. Keep Hot Food Hot
After cooking meat and poultry on the grill, keep it hot until served — at 140В° F or warmer. Keep cooked meats hot by setting them to the side of the grill rack, not directly over the coals where they could overcook. At home, the cooked meat can be kept hot in a warm oven (approximately 200В° F), in a chafing dish or slow cooker, or on a warming tray.
8. Serving Safely
When taking food off the grill, use a clean platter. Don’t put cooked food on the same platter that held raw meat or poultry. Any harmful bacteria present in the raw meat juices could contaminate safely cooked food.
9. Safe Smoking
Smoking is done much more slowly than grilling, so less tender meats benefit from this method, and a natural smoke flavoring permeates the meat. The temperature in the smoker should be maintained at 250В° F to 300В° F for safety. Use a food thermometer to be sure the food has reached a safe internal temperature.
10. Pit Roasting
Cooking may require 10 to 12 hours or more and is difficult to estimate. A meat thermometer must be used to determine the meat’s safety and doneness. There are many variables such as outdoor temperature, the size and thickness of the meat, and how fast the coals are cooking.

The Taffy Pull

One year when I was growing up on our Wisconsin dairy farm, the Brownie leaders had announced we were going to make some extra-special candy at our next meeting.
So ‘А”  when school let out one winter afternoon ‘А” I lost no time getting to the gym where we always had our meetings.
For once nobody was late, and when we entered the gym, the Brownie leaders already had everything set up.
“What’s in the pans?” asked one girl.
On the table were several square cake pans full of some clear caramel-colored stuff.
“That’s our taffy,” explained one of the leaders.
The questions came fast and furious then.
“What do we have to do?”
“What’s taffy, anyway?”
“But I thought WE were going to make candy”
“You are,” one of the leaders said. “This is called saltwater taffy. Cooking it is the very hardest part but now just the fun part is left ‘А” making it.”
We looked back and forth amongst ourselves. If the candy was already cooked, what else was there?
“First we want you to wash your hands. And use lots of soap and warm water. Don’t just rinse, either,” the other leader continued.
One girl spoke up. “Why do we have to wash our hands like that?”
“Because you’re going to put them in the taffy, so they have to be very clean,” the leader answered.
Put our hands IN the candy? Hmmm, maybe the fun part WASN’T already done
A little while later when we returned from our hand-washing expedition, the leader was busily working something back and forth between her hands.
“What’s THAT?” asked one  girl.
“This,” she said, “is taffy. And it’s almost ready.”
The mass of stuff she held was light and cream-colored.
“Where’d it come from?” another girl asked.
“There,” the leader replied, nodding toward the table.
The cream-colored glob in no way resembled what was in the pans.
“How’d it get like THAT?” another girl asked.
Both the leaders laughed.
“It’s what happens to taffy when you pull it like this.”
We watched for another five minutes.
“There,” she said, “it’s done.” She laid the taffy on a piece of wax paper, rolled it into a rope, and then quickly cut it into sections with a pair of scissors.
“Now I want you to taste it,” she instructed.
No problem there
“This is good!”
“Chewy.”
“Tastes a little like caramel.”
The leader smiled. “Rub butter on your hands,” she instructed, “then grab some taffyand start pulling.”
In no time at all, a dozen little girls wearing Brownie uniforms were industriously manipulating handsful of taffy.
“This is FUN!” declared one girl.
“The funnest thing we’ve EVER done!” exclaimed another, nodding vigorously.
“Can we do it NEXT week, too?” asked a third.
“I told you just the fun part was left,” the Brownie leader said.
When the taffy had reached the right consistency we cut it into pieces. Then the leaders produced some Baggies, and a little while later it was time to go home.
“Did you have fun today?” my mother asked as I got into the car. She had ridden into town with Dad to pick me up from the Brownie meeting.
“Look what we made!” I exclaimed.
My mother squinted at the bag of candy. “Why, that looks like the taffy we used to make in school. Wonder if it tastes the same.”
I stared at my mother. She had gone to school in a one-room country schoolhouse about a mile from our dairy farm.
“You’ve made taffy?” I said.
She smiled. “Of course. We used to make it for Christmas. Wasn’t much left by the time Christmas rolled around, though.”
I held the bag toward her.
She popped a piece into her mouth and then nodded. “Tastes just the same.”
Dad thought it was good, too.
And apparently so did everyone else in the family.
The next morning as I sadly contemplated the empty Baggie, I decided the Brownie leaders had been dead wrong.
Making the taffy wasn’t the best part ‘А” eating it was.
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Saltwater Taffy
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
2/3 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla (or another flavoring, such as peppermint or anise)
In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients except the vanilla. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until the mixture reaches 256 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer (or until a small amount dropped into a cup of cold water forms a hard ball).
Stir in vanilla. Pour into a buttered 8×8 square pan. Let cool.
Note: if you would like to make colored taffy, stir in a few drops of food coloring just before you add the vanilla or other flavoring.
When the mixture is cool enough to handle, rub a small amount of soft butter between your palms, take a handful of taffy and pull until it becomes stiff and lighter in color. Pull or roll into ropes and cut into pieces with a scissors.
To store the candy, let it sit for an hour or so and then wrap the individual pieces in plastic wrap or waxed paper.

Meal Planning Help: Meal One

It’s nice when I find a meal where the foods compliment each other because it simplifies my life by knowing what to serve with what. Of course I don’t have to stick to any one meal plan; I can mix and match the main dishes and sides, but a lot of the time I’m in a hurry and don’t have a lot of time to think about it. I already have quite a few meals like this up my sleeve, but when I find a NEW one to add to my collection I get happy because it adds a little more variety to our meal choices. I’d like to share some of my new and old meal plans with you in hopes of helping you with the question `what do I make for dinner’. Here’s a meal that we have tried lately where the foods complimented each other really well. The food items aren’t necessarily new for us, but the flavors are and that makes a big difference.
The Meal:
Honey Barbecue Meatloaf Ranch Mashed Potatoes Your choice of vegetable (I just heat up a can of green beans or corn) Apple Cinnamon Muffins with Honey Cinnamon Butter
Make Ahead Tips: You can make the Honey Cinnamon Butter ahead of time and refrigerate until serving. You can also prepare the meat loaf and refrigerate it before baking.
The Recipes: Honey Barbecue Meat Loaf I’m not usually a meat loaf eater but I love this one and the family does too.
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 egg
1/2 cup oats — quick cooking
1/3 cup barbecue sauce — honey flavored
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon mustard — prepared
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 pound ground beef
ketchup
In a large bowl, stir together soup mix, egg, oats, barbecue sauce, onion, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic powder, salt, pepper and chili powder. Add beef and mix well. Press into an ungreased 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350* for 1 hour. Top with ketchup. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until meat is no longer pink and a meat thermometer reads 160*. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Ranch Mashed Potatoes Make mashed potatoes as you usually do but omit the butter and add ranch dressing and cream cheese to taste along with less milk than usual. Top with grated cheddar cheese.
Apple Cinnamon Muffins My kids love these (so do I) and there’s never any leftovers because of this. We also make them for breakfast. Be sure to try them with `Honey Cinnamon Butter’ (recipe follows).
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons applesauce
1 medium tart apple — peeled & grated
topping:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter or margarine — cold
1/2-cup oatmeal — old fashioned
In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Add the egg, milk, oil and applesauce and stir until just moistened. Fold in apple. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. For topping, combine brown sugar and flour. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in oats. Sprinkle over muffins. Bake at 400* for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm with Honey Cinnamon Butter (recipe follows). Yield: 1 dozen.
Honey Cinnamon Butter
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Serve with muffins, toast, bagels, French toast or pancakes. Refrigerate any leftovers. Yield: 1 1/3 cups. In the meantime, keep your eyes open for Meal Two.