Chocolate Covered Strawberries

1-2 pkg Strawberries
1 cup Melting Chocolate (dark or milk)
1/2 cup White Melting Chocolate
1/2 cup medium shredded coconut (optional)
Directions:

Place dark chocolate into a double broiler, and simmer on low. Allow the chocolate to melt completely and transfer to a glass bowl. Allow to cool slightly. (place a glass mixing bowl over the pot, and then transfer the bowl to a hot plate)

Do the same with the white chocolate. Then pour the white chocolate into a piping bag, and snip off a tiny bit. You can also reserve some white chocolate to dip the strawberries into as well.
Wash the strawberries and dry them completely. You’ll want them slightly cool, to help cool the chocolate faster. Dip them one by one into the melted chocolate and place onto a tray, lined in parchment paper or saran wrap. Once you’ve finished all of them place the tray into the fridge to harden the chocolate. I placed them into the fridge one by one onto the tray so they would cool faster and harden while I made the others.

You can if you like also dip them/roll them/or sprinkle them with coconut after you have dipped them into the chocolate.

Once they have set, using the white chocolate piping bag, drizzle the white chocolate over the dark and place back into the fridge.

Once they have set completely, you can package them up.

You can keep the little container that the strawberries come in as well, they make a cute little box to deliver your sweets in!

Fried Chicken

Pioneer Woman’s Buttermilk Fried Chicken

recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cookbook: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl by Ree Drummond

There are a few secrets that I learned from Ree. The first is the buttermilk bath overnight (no, not you, the chicken). Second, mixing the flour with a bit of the buttermilk makes the breading a little shaggy, which is perfect for maximum crispiness volume. Lastly, baking the chicken after frying ensures that the chicken is cooked through without burning the skin.

serves 6-8 hungry ranch hands (halve recipe if you you’re feedin’ normal city folk)

2 cut-up fryer chickens
1 quart plus 1/4 cup buttermilk
5 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons seasoned salt (like Lawry’s)
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup milk
canola or vegetable oil for frying

1. In a large bowl (or 2 freezer bags) add the chicken with 1 quart buttermilk. Refrigerate overnight. When ready to fry, remove chicken from bowl and let sit on counter for 30 minutes to take chill off.

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Stir together the flour, seasoned salt, pepper, thyme, paprika and cayenne in a very large bowl. In a small bowl combine the 1/4 cup buttermilk and the milk. Pour the milk mixture into the flour and use a fork to mix until little lumps throughout.

3. Heat 1 1/2 inches of oil in a deep skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat to 365F. Working in batches, thoroughly coat each buttermilk-soaked chicken piece with the breading, pressing to adhere the breading. Add the chicken to the oil 3-4 pieces at a time. Cover pan and fry 5-7 minutes, checking to make sure chicken isn’t getting too brown. Turn, cover and cook additional 3-5 minutes more. Monitor temperature of oil to make sure chicken doesn’t burn. Keep in mind chicken will finish cooking in oven.

4. Place chicken on baking sheet and continue frying rest of chicken. When done, bake the chicken for 10-15 minutes, until chicken cooked through.

WW Bread

bread recipe... so easy. enjoy!

this makes two loaves.
2 pkg. yeast
1/2 C. warm water
1 T. salt
3 T. sugar
2 C. warm water
6 C. flour (white or whole wheat)
1 egg white mixed with 1 T. water
cornmeal

disolve yeast in 1/2 C. warm water. add sugar, salt, 2 cups water and 2 cups flour, beat well and let rest for 15 min. add remaining flour and knead until smooth and shiny. let rise until doubled (about and hour and 1/2) in a buttered bowl lightly covered. divide in two and then let rest for 10 min. roll each section into a 12"x15" rectangle and then roll them into long rolls. cut top 1/4" deep every 2 inches, and place on sheet sprinkled with the cornmeal, let rise until doubled again. brush with egg mixture and bake at 375 for about 35 min. or until golden brown.

Cilantro Lime Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa, rinsed in strainer
fresh lime juice
cilantro
olive oil
salt

lettuce or spinach
avacado, diced or sliced
green peppers, diced
diced tomatoes
black beans

Rinse quinoa well under running water (to get rid of funny taste/scent). Pour rinsed quinoa into 2 cups boiling water then reduce heat to medium. Cook about 10 minutes and then turn off the heat and let it sit. When you turn off the heat it might look oatmeally, but give it 15+ minutes and it will become light and fluffy. Transfer Quinoa to a large bowl.

Add chopped cilantro. Squeeze fresh lime into quinoa mixture (I usually use one lime). Add salt and olive oil to taste. The rest of the ingredients can be thrown into quinoa