Fried Chicken and Gravy

The other night, I made possibly the best fried chicken and gravy that I've ever made. I followed a recipe from Taste of Home - April/May 2009 issue.

My father is from the south and he taught me how to make gravy. It's not difficult but you can't rush it either. The past two times I've made gravy, I burnt it because I was trying to rush the thickening part. Doesn't work. You just have to stand there stirring it until it decides to thicken on it's own. The other part is fat. You have to have some kind of fat. I use bacon fat mostly and keep a jar of it in the fridge for this reason. Last night, I used a couple of tablespoons of the drippings from frying the chicken. I also scraped all the little "scrunchins" out of the fried chicken pan and put them in with the gravy. OMGoodness, it was heavenly!

Nothing screams comfort food to me like fried food covered in gravy! :) I guess that's why we can only enjoy it once in awhile lest we look like the broad side of a barn.

The recipe called for a whole chicken with skin on. I used chicken breasts minus the skin. It was still wonderful and I saved a few calories by omitting the skin.

In a large, resealable bag I combined these ingredients.
1 c flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp sage
1/4 tsp pepper

Add chicken a few pieces at a time and shake to coat.

In large skillet over medium high heat, heat 1/4 inch of oil. Fry chicken until browned on all sides. Reduce heat and cover. Cook for 30-35 minutes or until juices run clear. Remove chicken to paper towels and keep warm.

Gravy
2 Tbsp flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/3 c milk

Pour off the excess fat from the skillet and reserve 2 Tbsp. drippings and browned bits. Stir in flour and salt until blended. Gradually add the milk. Bring to a boil; cook for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. (this part usually takes longer for me and once it starts to boil I turn it down a bit so I don't burn the bottom.)

We have no pictures of the food as we inhaled it as quickly as it hit the table. I fried up 3 lbs of chicken and there were no leftovers for Dan to take to work the next day. Apparently, the kids liked it too. I served fried potatoes and coleslaw with the chicken and gravy, the perfect southern meal.

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I wanted to show you this great little pitcher I bought at a silent auction last week. I served the gravy in it the other night and it looked so pretty! It's a pottery pitcher that a friend of mine made. She has her own kiln and makes some really neat pieces. It's silly how much pleasure I get out of setting a pretty table and having nice dishes and plates.

The little ones learned all about clouds, snow and ice in school yesterday. We made paper snowflakes and taped them to the front window. I forgot how fun they are to make and what great designs show up when you open up the paper.

It's time for school. I'm fighting a headache and a restless spirit today. I would like to be on the road to anywhere. It would be fun to be able to put the family in the car and go. Friends are taking their spring breaks this week so that doesn't help. Oh, well, buckle down girl. Get something done.

I'm standing here at my computer listening to my red beans and rice cook on the stove. Dan and the kiddos are all in the living room watching Canonball Run.

I worked each night this weekend. Dan and Shelby had a date night Friday night in Duluth to see one of Shelby's favorite bands - Barlow Girl. So, I checked with my boss and was able to take the three little ones with me for a sleep over at work. They thought it was the greatest thing in quite some time. I popped popcorn for them and they were able to watch real, live tv which totally captivated them.

I had a totally grateful moment - not like I'm ungrateful the rest of the time but I can have my moments. If I have to be working, how cool is it that I can do things like that when circumstances dictate it? I am still in awe of all God has done for us and how he orchestrated this job for us. It really couldn't be any better for our lives right now.

We took the kids to the sled dog races in town this weekend. It was fun to watch. After seeing the junior race that featured all girls, our eldest is trying to figure out how she can become a musher. Don't think Samson is going to qualify unless it's a quick run to his dog bowl and back to his favorite napping spot! The dogs that raced were so excited when they got to the starting line. They couldn't contain themselves and they barked constantly until the race began.



Otherwise, today has been very low key. After church, Dan started building a new sofa table/cabinet thingy for me. It will house all of our homeschool books that are being stored in laundry baskets under our current sofa table. It will be so nice to have that all behind closed doors. Each child will have their own shelf and there will be room for all our paper, pencils, scissors, glue and other paraphernalia.

It's been quite warm here - in the 30s - and sunny. Our snow is starting to melt and the kids igloo now has a big hole in the side. Our snowman from Christmas is looking a bit decrepit out there. He's lost his eyes, his nose, his corncob pipe. The only thing left on the poor, old man is his scarf. I'm hoping for more snow but we know the bitter cold of January is gone for another year. When I'm outside, the sun feels warmer and the days are getting longer!

OH MY GOSH! I am boring myself to tears here! I won't post again until I have something really good! :)

Dude Looks Like a Lady

So I made a new playlist for my ipod and included some old songs on that playlist. We have been listening to it and the little ones decided they liked Areosmith's song, "Dude Looks Like a Lady".

Tonight, Dan and I You Tubed Aerosmith's video for this song to let the kids see what they looked like. First thing out of Shelby's mouth was, "Wow, that guy has a really big mouth". Yup, Steven Tyler has a huge mouth. Second thing we realized is that this video still isn't appropriate for kids even though it's 20 or so years old!

Anyway, Kylie and Macy immediately ran upstairs to dress like rock stars and then they wanted to do a "concert" for us. Here is a video clip.

snow fun

After suffering with with temps in the -30s, we got a Sunday where it reached 15 degrees....above zero. The kids started working on their dad for rides behind the snowmobile. We felt pretty happy sitting by the fireplace and snoozing but, lest our children mistake us for old people, we bundled up and went outside with them. Here's some video clips and pictures of the snow fun.





Great pic of Kylie - too bad her hair is stuck in her snot. She's got her new hunter orange cap on that she got for Christmas.



Shelby and her friend, Maria on the sled.



The only picture I have of Macy where she isn't eating snow.



Watch out girls, he's still mama's boy!

Is that poop...or just chocolate?

I was in the kitchen a few days ago, doing something kitcheny - I can't remember what. Anyway, I heard this, "Moooooooooooooom" coming from the basement. Since this a regular occurrence, I listened to it a few more times before I responded. I knew that Shelby and Kylie were downstairs in the laundry room doing laundry. I asked them what they needed and they said they needed me to come downstairs immediately!

I took my time going downstairs and I saw both of my daughters up on the washing machine and the folding table. "There's poop down here on the floor!" Sure enough, it looked like poop smashed on the floor of the laundry room. I guess sitting up on the table and washing machine helps in case there is The Attack of the Laundry Floor Poop!

I took a couple dryer sheets out of the trash and scraped it up all while the girls are making gagging noises and asking me, "How could you possibly do that?". I'm a mom, that's why. I've been greeted by poop paintings all over one's crib for heaven's sake. I can handle a little poop on the floor. Next, I stuck it up to my nose and sniffed and then I really heard some gagging noises.

So, how do I know if it's really poop or maybe chocolate if I don't give it the sniff test? If it's poop, then I need to check the rest of the laundry and see if there's anymore hidden somewhere in the piles of dirty clothes. If it's chocolate, then hey, it's not really too big of a deal.

It turned out to be chocolate. My eldest daughter had a moment of clarity where she remembered that she had been eating a Fudgescicle while scrounging through the laundry and some of it had dropped on the floor. And of course, she didn't bother to clean it up. So, we had the case of The Poop Caper solved.

Real life at the Edblads.

Lefse Making

For some reason, we thought it would be a good idea to try our hand at making lefse this year. For those of you who have no idea what lefse is, it is the Scandinavians idea of a tortilla. Made from riced potatoes and formed into a dough then cooked on a lefse grill. Once done, it's best to enjoy them with butter, cinnamon and sugar and then rolled up.

My mother-in-law Jo and I were relieved to watch the guys take lefse making and run with it. All we did was check in once in awhile to see how things progressed. Well, they did a splendid job and we enjoyed the lefse immensely. It was such a hit, that the guys made another batch a few days later.

As long as the men are willing, I think this should be a new Christmas tradition!

Notice the green Duct Tape. Can man do anthing without it? :)

They got so handy with the lefse sticks!

Happy 2010!

Happy New Year! We had a great time ringing in the new year. I found a template for the 2010 glasses pictured here at Familyfun.com. We had so much fun with them! Some of us looked a bit like Zorro but very handsome just the same. :)

I had to work at 11 so we rang in the new year a bit early. We snacked and played games and then threw shredded paper confetti all over at 10 p.m. It was new year somewhere! :-)

Hope your celebration was filled with family and fun!