Fried apples are good at every meal or simply by themselves.  They can be cooked either with or with out the skin and served hot or cold. 

Grandmother Susie’s Apples

INGREDIENTS

1 cast iron skillet

7 apples (3 Fuji, 2 Granny smiths, 2 Macintosh)

3  tbs  Smart Balance Omega Buttery spread (made with extra virgin olive oil)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tbs  honey or brown sugar

1 tbs  of pure maple syrup

DIRECTIONS

• Thoroughly  wash apples and cut into quarters, leaving the skin on
• Remove seeds and cut each quarter into fours, length wise
• Melt butter in pan and add apples,  toss with a wooden spoon until browned on all sides (about 12 minutes)
• Add spices and cover and simmer, with heat turned down to low
• How long you cook these is entirely up to you, and really depends on how soft you like your apples.  I always cook two different batches and prefer mine slightly firm and a little bit burnt with the sweet stuff carmelized.  To get make them that way I use only 2 tbs of the  butter and cook them on a higher flame with the lid off.  But my kids like theirs completely soft and not burnt at all,  which requires longer cooking on a lower flame and a cover after they brown.
• Serve hot and garnish with vanilla yogurt, sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg.

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Breakfast blender drink

This drink is extremely nutritional and contains everything the body needs for a healthy boost of energy. You can vary the fruits depending on the season. The main body of the drink is the juice, the banana and the spirulina. You will feel immediate positive changes in your body when you drink this. It will give you a burst of energy, cleanse your bowel track and help you lose weight if those are your concerns.  It’s easy to make, convenient to take along and it can stand alone as a meal.

INGREDIENTS

One large blender

• One quart  of Orange juice (with or without pulp)  or unfiltered apple juice
• One ripe banana
• One mango skinned and seeded
• One  quarter  of a ripe melon

(we prefer honeydew and cantaloupe)

• One cup of  either ripe strawberries, blue berries or watermelon
• 1  kiwi

(or all three depending on how thick you want the drink)

• Two tbs of powdered  spirulina
• ½ cup of plain or vanilla yogurt
• 1 tbs of honey
• 2 Vitamin supplement tablets

DIRECTIONS

• Wash all fruits thoroughly
• Crush the vitamin supplements with either a mortar and pestle or the flat side of a wooden spoon and set aside
• Peel the banana and cut it into three
• Skin and remove seeds from the melons and cut them into medium sized wedges
• Pick the stems  from blueberries
• cut off tops of the strawberries
• skin and seed the mango
• Peel the kiwi
• Blend juice and all of the fruits, starting with the banana until liquid
• Carefully remove blender top and add in the honey, yogurt,  spirulina and vitamins and blend until smooth.

(You can add in ¼  cup of ice, but we prefer not to because it waters it down)

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Muddie’s Southern fried Chicken

Note: l  love  Michelle  Obama’s  10% rule and  have adopted it in my own kitchen.  That  means  that by eating healthy foods 90 % of the time, we don’t feel so guilty when we allow ourselves  the luxury of eating  all time favorites like fried chicken the other 10% of the time.  Although I usually prefer baked over fried,  every once and awhile I do yearn  for something crispy,  ignore my  cholesterol  and fill my junk  craving with fried chicken.

• One large cast iron frying pan
• One  18 – piece  fryer pack of chicken
• Two  cups  of 100% vegetable oil
• Heat oil  on medium flame and turn to medium-high when the chicken is prepared

INGREDIENTS

1. ½  tsp kosher  sea salt
2. tsp black pepper ( white or cayenne  for spicy)
3. tsp paprika
4. tsp onion powder
5. ½  tsp garlic powder
6. tbsp Italian seasoning
7. 1½  cups of  flour
8. 1 tsp curry powder (optional)

DIRECTIONS

- Wash and pat dry each piece of chicken and clip off any excess hanging fat

- Mix four and seasonings  in a one gallon zip lock bag

- Shake chicken in zip lock bag, three pieces at a time until evenly coated, shake off excess

- Test  oil  with a sprinkling of flour which sizzles when it’s hot enough

- Gently place chicken in a pan (so the grease doesn’t pop), leaving ¼ inch between each piece (discard flour mixture when finished)

- Fry   chicken on med- high burner for 12-15 minutes on each side, depending on the size of pieces.

- When both sides are golden brown, turn flame down to medium low heat and cover (this will soften the skin,  but  ensures that it’s done inside)  Cook  for                another seven minutes on med-low heat and then remove cover the last five minutes  so the  chicken can breathe and crisp up again.

* Chicken should never be eaten pink

Remove pieces and drain on a paper towel or brown paper bag

Served best  with  coleslaw.

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Oven baked teriyaki chicken

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Make sure chicken is througoughly washed, taking care to discard extra fat and pat dry with a tea towel, or a paper towel

INGREDIENTS

One 18 piece package of fryer chicken cut up

One bottle of  pre-made  teriyaki   sauce   (I prefer  Trader Ming’s  Soyaki, because it has sesame seeds and no preservatives)

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp season salt

2 envelopes  of  Sazon

1/2 cup of unbleached flour

1/4 cup Virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Mix all dry ingredients with four and set aside

Coat a baking pan with olive oil and set aside

Coat each piece of chicken with flour mixture and then lightly brush them each with olive oil.

bake in oven 20-30 minutes on each side until brown

Add  teriyaki  sauce and make sure that each piece is thoroughly coated

cover tightly with aluminum foil and turn oven down to 250

Bake covered for another 8-10 minutes until the chicken falls off of the bone

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Healthy scottish eggs

Scottish Eggs are a meal in one. Traditionally, they call for pork sausage and are fried. But we’re trying to cut down on cholesterol and we don’t eat pork sausage, so we’ve adapted them to be healthier by using ground turkey and frying them in the oven.

They can be served with a nice salad or a side of spinach tossed with garlic and olive oil. They also taste great with any number of sauces, white or red on the side.

INGREDIENTS

One dozen eggs, hard-boiled and peeled

2 pounds of  ground turkey

3 eggs beaten with 2 tbsp spring water

1/2 cup of unbleached flour

1-1/2 cups of bread crumbs

1 tsp finely ground sea salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Non-stick olive oil spray

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix dry seasonings and bread crumbs and set aside.

Coat hard-boiled eggs with flour and refrigerate  for 15 minutes.

Mix ground turkey with seasonings and wrap around hard-boiled eggs.

Coat with beaten eggs and then roll in seasoned bread crumbs.

Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and spray eggs slightly with non-stick olive oil.

Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes, turning them as they brown,  making sure they brown on all sides.

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