Nana’s Kitchen: Three ingredient recipes

Nana’s Kitchen: Three ingredient recipes

Greeting, home cooks, welcome to Nana’s Kitchen.

With everyone busy this summer gardening, tending flowers, traveling, camping, yard work and keeping up with children in various activities having a few simple recipes makes meal time easier. These three recipes are simple and quick with just a little pre planning. Most items already on hand. The three ingredients do not include the salt, pepper, or other spices you may need as well as oils or dressing.

Fried chicken pieces (or nuggets)
Ingredients- chicken breast or chicken tenderloin (tenders). Buttermilk- full fat. Flour- plain or self rising. Cooking oil- corn oil, olive oil, vegetable oil, etc. you choose. Salt,pepper, garlic powder(optional),paprika (optional), or any other spices you like.
If using chicken breast slice in strips then pieces. Chicken tenders only need sliced in pieces. Place the pieces in a bowl of buttermilk to marinate for 15 minutes. Remove pieces and transfer to a bowl or plate for dredging. Coat pieces well. To a frying pan of hot oil add pieces carefully. Fry till first side is browned and turn. Pieces should be browned on both sides. Remove when done to a plate with paper towels or drain on a rack to remove excess oil.
Hints- there is a tendon in chicken tenderloins that some folks do not care for. Theses can be easily removed by grabbing visible piece of tendon with a paper towel and stripping it on a fork, with tendon between two tines. Discard tendon. Lay out tender and slice for the nuggets. You might need a splatter screen for the popping hot oil. Do not overcrowd the pan so pieces cook more evenly. About 1/2 pound of chicken makes 18 nuggets. Depends on size. If you are unsure your nuggets are cooked through, an internal temperature of 165 degrees assures they are. Have some sauces available for dipping if you like.

Lettuce Wedge
Ingredients- head iceberg lettuce, cherry or grape tomatoes, bacon crumbles, dressing, pepper.
Rinse lettuce and tomatoes, drain well. Core lettuce, slice into wedges. Slice tomatoes in half. Have cooked crumbled bacon ready, three or four slices. Plate the wedge, add tomatoe and bacon. Drizzle with dressing and a little fresh ground pepper. Dressing of choice- blue cheese is traditional however ranch tastes good, too.
Hints- ingredients can be prepped ahead of time. Croutons or red onion may be added for extra flavor.

Berries and Honey
Ingredients- blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and honey. Choose the amount of cleaned berries you may need, depending on number of people to be served. Add berries to bowl, slicing strawberries. Chill, covered, in refrigerator till ready to serve. Spoon out individual servings to small bowls. Drizzle with honey and enjoy.

Hints- to keep your berries fresh longer and kill bacteria soak them in 1 cup of vinegarand 4 cups of cold water. Soak five minutes. Gentley rinse with cold water. Drain well. Lay out on towels or paper towels to soak up excess moisture. Place in sealed containers till ready to use. Blackberries are fragile and need to be used quickly as has been my experience. There is no residual taste from the vinegar. Lighter colored honey tastes better than darker versions. The lighter flavor is more decadent. The darker honey seems to over power the fruit. Just a drizzle per serving will do. This is a healthy dessert option.

Enjoy!

“Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.” – Miles Kingston (1941–2008)