1FrugalMom

Easy, delicious, fried pickles!  Below is what I used when I made my fried pickles; however, you can choose to use, or not use, whatever you like.  Feel free to add, or eliminate, anything; as long as you have at least flour or cornmeal, and 2 or 3 other seasonings, plus some black pepper and salt of some type, everything will turn out fine.  Basically, use what you have available on hand.  Don't be afraid to experiment; this dish is very forgiving.

Ingredients:

•  Pickle slices, drained & lightly patted dry with paper towels
• 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/3 cup all purpose, or bread, flour
• 1/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs (I used Italian)
• 1/2 tbs. paprika
• 1/2 tbs. chili powder
• 1/2 tbs. ground cumin
• 1/2 tbs. ground mustard
• 1/2 tbs. black pepper
• 1/2 tbs. onion powder
• 1/2 tbs. Cajun/Creole seasoning
• 1/2 tbs. garlic salt
• 1 tbs. garlic powder
• canola, vegetable, or peanut, oil, for frying (I used canola oil) 

Instructions:

1. Mix together dry ingredients, and slice pickles if necessary.
2. Heat oil in a large, heavy, skillet over medium heat.  I used a cast iron pan about 2 inches deep, with about 1 inch of oil in it.
3. While oil is heating up, lightly pat the pickle slices dry with paper towels.
4. In small batches, coat pickle slices in dry mixture.
5. Fry the pickle slices in the hot oil for about 2 to 3 minutes (total cooking time) until golden brown on each side.  Note: Don't put too many pickles in the oil at once or the oil temperature will drop.  Do them in small batches.
6. Place fried pickles on a plate with a paper towel to drain.
7. Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce.  We used Buttermilk Ranch Dressing.

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Ingredients:

4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (approx. 2lbs.)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning

1/3 cup butter

2 lemons, sliced

4 tablespoons lemon juice

Hot cooked rice, or pilaf (optional)

Directions: 

- Place the chicken breasts in a large Ziploc bag, and cover w/ a dish rag to prevent splatter.

- Lightly pound until about about 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick, and remove from bag.

- In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and 3 tsp lemon pepper.

- Coat the chicken breasts with the flour mixture.

- Sprinkle chicken breasts with remaining 3 tsp lemon pepper.

In a large skillet cook the chicken breasts in the hot butter over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes on each side or until brown and no longer pink.  Remove chicken from skillet.  Add lemon slices to skillet; cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly browned, turning once.  Return all of the chicken to the skillet, overlapping chicken breasts slightly.  Drizzle lemon juice over the chicken breasts.  Cook for 2 to 3 minutes more or until pan juices are slightly reduced. Serve chicken, lemon slices, and pan juices over hot cooked rice or pilaf, if desired.

Source: Adapted Lemon Butter Chicken recipe from Better Homes & Gardens.  Special thanks to my friend, Tabitha, for sharing this recipe w/ her friends on Facebook & Pinterest; otherwise, I would have never discovered it!  

Re-Pin this recipe HERE.

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If you're looking for an easy, tasty, slowcooker recipe, this one is for you!  Try this super simple, yummy, Crockpot Root Beer BBQ Chicken recipe! 

Ingredients:

- approx. 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used 3 large chicken breasts)

- 2 tsp onion powder

- 3 tsp garlic powder

- 3 tsp chili powder

- 2 tsp black pepper

- 1 tsp salt 

- 3 tsp parsley flakes (optional)

- approx. 1 & 1/4 cup BBQ sauce - any variety

- approx. 1 & 1/4 cup root beer - any variety

Directions:

- Combine dry ingredients

- Sprinkle dry ingredient mixture on each chicken breast 

- Pour 3/4 cup root beer, and 3/4 cup BBQ, in Crockpot and stir

- Place seasoned chicken breasts in Crockpot

- Pour remaining BBQ sauce (approx. 1/2 cup), and root beer (approx. 1/2 cup) on top of seasoned chicken breasts in Crockpot

- Sprinkle parsley flakes on top (optional)

- Cook on low heat setting for approx. 8 hours (give or take an hour or two)

- Using two forks, shred the chicken in the sauce mixture, and cook an additional 30 minutes before serving

** All meaurements can be adjusted to taste.  Don't forget the buns (I used onion rolls).

Re-Pin this recipe HERE.

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I came across this recipe on Facebook.  I tried it, and it turned out great; so I thought I would share it with you!  SOURCES:  Photo credit & adapted recipe found here.  Original recipe found here.

Fried Apple Cinnamon Rings!

For the Apple Rings:  

4 large apples - ANY variety  (I used green apples, not pictured)

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 large egg, beaten

1 cup buttermilk

approx. 1 cup of either canola or vegetable oil for frying

For the cinnamon sugar topping:

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Instructions:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Set aside.  In a small bowl combine the egg and buttermilk.  In a third dish, make your cinnamon-sugar topping by combining the sugar and cinnamon.  Set that aside also.

Next, slice the apples into 1/4 inch thick slices, and use circle biscuit cutters in graduated sizes to make rings out of each slice.  Discard the center circles containing the apple core.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat to 350°F.  As the oil heats up, combine your first two bowls, of the liquid & dry ingredients, together.  This will be your batter.  Dip the apple rings in and out of the batter one at a time, remove any excess by tapping the rings against the side of the bowl.

Fry the rings in small batches, turning them to ensure browning on both sides.  Once the rings are golden & crispy, quickly transfer them, one by one, into the cinnamon-sugar mixture, coating evenly on both sides.  Serve warm (w/ a drizzle or small pot of caramel for dipping, if desired).

Note: Apples go a long way in this recipe.  And this dish doesn't keep well, so only make what you can eat right away.  Instead of using 4 large apples, I used about 6 small ones.  Half way through the recipe I realized I prepped more apples than we could eat, so I ended up sharing half of them with the neighbors.  This was a tasty treat everyone enjoyed, so I'll definitely be making it again!   

Re-Pin this recipe HERE.

Just made these yummy Sauerkraut Balls!  

Even non-sauerkraut fans will love this recipe! 

Here's the recipe...

Sauerkraut Ball Mix:

16 oz. bulk pork sausage, crumbled

1 large finely chopped yellow onion

1 - 2 pound bag of fresh sauerkraut, well-drained, and squeezed dry.

1 freshly grated green apple **optional, but if used, squeeze it dry w/ the sauerkraut.

5 tablespoons of Italian Panko/Italian Breadcrumb Mix (see below for portions)

1 - 8 oz. package cream cheese

5 tablespoons of snipped fresh curly parsley (finely cut)

5 cloves of fresh garlic, cleaned and pressed (or finely grated or minced)

1 1/2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Breading:

Roughly 1 cup all-purpose flour

4 well beaten eggs

1/2 cup milk

Roughly 1 3/4 cups of Italian Panko/Italian Breadcrumb Mix (8ozs. Italian Panko mixed with about 5 ozs. Italian breadcrumbs)

Directions: 

- In skillet, cook sausage and onions, drain and let cool.

- Add sauerkraut (& optional apple if used) and 5 tablespoons Panko/Breadcrumb Mix.

- Combine cream cheese, parsley, mustard, fresh garlic, garlic salt, and pepper.

- Stir the above combined ingredients into sauerkraut mixture.

- Let chill, it makes it easier to roll. Shape into 1 inch balls.

- Roll in flour. Whisk together eggs and milk. Roll floured balls in egg mixture, then in remaining panko/bread crumb mixture.

- Fry in oil until brown (I prefer Canola Oil, or Vegetable Oil). 

Note: If frying them in oil on the stove top, be careful not to fry them too fast, or your centers will be cold.  I prefer to fry mine in a FryDaddy (deep fryer) instead of in a pan on the stove top because they seem to cook more evenly and quicker that way; plus it's less messy, and in my opinion, a bit safer. 

* Makes about 2 dozen.  To reheat frozen sauerkraut balls, thaw first and bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Note: This dish is such a crowd pleaser that I like to double the recipe when making it.

Re-Pin this recipe HERE!  Step by step pics can be found HERE.

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I'm really excited to tell you about a Cajun Seasoning I recently discovered! Have you ever found something so awesome you want to tell everyone about it? Well for me, Fontenot and a Half Cajun Seasoning is one of those things! Oh my goodness!  Fontenot and a Half Cajun Seasoning is the BEST cooking item I've discovered in years! For years, I've been faithful to all of my old seasonings. And it took about a handful of my old seasonings to accomplish any meal. Well I'm extremely excited to say that Fontenot and a Half Cajun Seasoning has replaced ALL of those! That's right!  It takes the place of a handful of different items that I used to use and rely on for years!  

Fontenot and a Half Cajun Seasoning is simply amazing! It's the PERFECT blend! And it's low sodium, too! I absolutely LOVE it! It's like no other seasoning I've ever tasted! I only wish I would have discovered it sooner! The flavor is simply AMAZING! And I imagine I'll be saving $$, too, by not having to buy so many different seasoning items anymore since Fontenot and a Half Cajun Seasoning takes the place of them all! And the possibilities of what Fontenot and a Half Cajun Seasoning can be used in/on are endless! Last night I used it to make my signature dish, crawfish fettuccine (what goes into it is pictured below - recipe coming soon)!

For more information about Fontenot and a Half Cajun Seasoning, please visit their Facebook Fan Page, and their website. 

Re-PIN this post HERE.

Disclosure: I received Fontenot and a Half Cajun Seasoning as a gift. All opinions are 100% genuine, and my own.

"Do u love caramel apples but hate trying to eat them?  Try it this way!  Found this and could not keep it to myself!  I can't wait to try it!  Hollow out ur apples, (u can balance the apple halves in a muffin pan) fill will melted caramel, let the caramel harden and cut into slices! :-)  yummy!" ~A-Mouthful-of-Deliciousness

Too cute!  I saw these creative M&M Fish Cupcakes online here, but the site wouldn't let me pin it, so I'm reposting here.