Chick-fil-A Nugget Knock Off

300 Recipes in 1 Year

Recipe #2

I'm not going to lie to you, these are not as good as the perfect piece of chicken Chick-fil-A produces. But, they are not that far behind. A fairly easy recipe too if you don't mind the whole frying thing. I think I'm going to try and bake them next time. I can tell you 100% that I will NEVER fry another piece of food again until I get one of those fancy wire cage things that you can just dip into the oil. Ugh :/ Zoe did not appreciate that I  had the oil too hot at first, she barked and then immediately hid. 

Here are the goods you need!

Serves about 4 people {35ish nuggs} 

2-4 Hour prep time

4 chicken breasts

2 cups of milk

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups of flour

4 TBSP of powdered sugar {for sure the special ingredient!!}

4 TSP of salt

2 TSP of pepper

Peanut Oil

First you will need to whisk your eggs and slowly pour in the milk into a bowl. Then cut up your chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and trim off any fat.

Put cut up chicken into the egg and milk mixture for 2-4 hours and just keep it in the fridge. I took mine out and left it on the counter for the last 30 minutes so that it wasn't so cold going into the oil.

After the chicken is finished marinating you will want to start heating about 2 inches of oil on medium heat. {This is where Zoe went crazy because the directions I used said that if you drip a little water into the oil and just sizzles a little and doesn't pop it is at the right temp, but if it pops a lot it is too hot. Well, mine popped A LOT!! I suggest buying a handy thermometer and wait until it becomes 350 degrees.} combine your dry ingredients into a bowl and mix them pretty well.

Take your chicken and coat them with the flour mixture, making sure to get it all covered. 

Depending on how big your pot is, put in about 8-10 nuggs at a time turning them over after about 1 minute. 

After a few minutes take them out {check the bigger ones to make sure there isn't any pink in the middle} and drain them on a paper towel covered plate. 

These guys were delicious and I was very excited that I had some left over packets of CFA's Honey Roasted BBQ Sauce, my absolute FAVE!!! Like I said, not quite as good as Chick-fils, my guess is something in the batter... but anyways you can definitely taste the powdered sugar and the extra touch of sweet was very good! 

French Breakfast Puffs

300 Recipes in 1 Year

Recipe #1

I've had these on my mind ever since I first flipped through Pioneer Woman's cookbook. They remind me of the "Cinnamon Puffs" we get at the Chinese Food places, except more like a muffin. They are super delicious and easier than I thought which is a nice added bonus. Another thing I love....everything was in my pantry all ready...SCORE! It is a wonderful breakfast/dessert muffin that everyone should try. Today. I didn't do anything differently, but PW's says it makes 12, and mine made 16. Ugh, I just HATE when that happens, it's the absolute worst :/ Well, enjoy!! Here is my very first recipe of the year! Yeah me :) 1 down, 299 more to go!

Pioneer Woman's French Breakfast Puffs

300 Recipes in 1 Year Challenge

Happy 2012 Everyone! I'm excited for this one. I've got a lot to be thankful for and a lot to look forward to in this upcoming year....new business prospects with Zoe Lane {woo HOO!!} and some fun resolutions that I'm going to try out. Normally I'm not a huge "rez" person, but last year's "non-rez" worked out very well for me. It is all about not setting yourself up to fail. Last year I simply said, I'm going to cook more. More than never cooking is a good start, and I tried a lot, failed a little and definitely enjoyed my way around the kitchen. 

On NYE we kept it low key and decided for a game night, and our friends Kev & Ash cooked us dinner. For dinner they made all new things that none of us had tried before. Everything was delicious. Our steak included a new marinade, we had grilled squash with feta cheese, a corn and mac n' cheese casserole and a soft sangria. It was fun trying new things, and it led to a discussion with Jake about how this year we are going to support each other more and have a year of Trying New Things!! :) 

Well, that being said, I really wanted to go through a cookbook this year; but I just couldn't decide on one...there are so many good ones out there! My "trying new things" year includes trying & mastering meat dishes. I'm the worst at cooking chicken and I'm too scared to try anything crazy like ribs, brisket or anything else that doesn't include browning hamburger or sausage. I also wanted to master the art of the crock pot, and learn more about spices, seasoning and marinades. ALL OF THAT PLUS I wanted to try a lot more healthy recipes. So if you know of that cookbook you just let me know!! 

What I finally decided was that I'm just going for a set number of recipes. Ready for this number: 300. Scary just to type it.... but its doable. Honestly it is a goal, if I miss it by twenty or so, I won't see that as a fail {That's 280, uh hello, I'll be THRILLED!} By the way, did I mention that they have to be 300 NEW recipes? Haha, wish me luck!! And if you have any that you want me to taste test before you give it a go, let me know!! :) Get ready for a lot of Pinterest inspired dishes and the rest of Pioneer Woman's thing I haven't tried yet. I'm positive that they won't all be the best, but I sure do hope that this will be a fun and challenging year around the kitchen. Again, WISH ME LUCK!!!!

Cinnamon Roll Knock Off

God was thinking of me {and my fam} when he came up with cinnamon rolls. I've had several over the years and I'm very picky...which is unfortunate because the ones I LOVE take forever to make....but Pioneer Woman got it 100% right!!! You can see my post of them here.

One day {or night, or while at work, or while at a stop light, or while at the store, basically every moment of my life} As I was cruising through the bountiful pages of pinterest, I stumbled upon "Cinnamon Roll Cake". WHAT?!?! Had to pin it!! Well, I tried it and it is the bomb{dot com}! I still love PW cinnamon rolls, and they can't be beat. BUT this is a lovely "cakey" alternative that is super easy!! 

Here is the Link: Cinnamon Roll Cake 

Another thing I loved was that I didn't have to buy anything! It was all in my cabinet!! LOVE!! 

Try this. You'll love it. Make sure you have some extra milk, this is very rich!!! 

Cinnamon & Sugar Pumpkin Bread

If you are anything like me you are a rusher...don't look both ways before crossing the street, don't always adequately prepare yourself for the bumps ahead... OK, I definitely look both ways but I NEVER read recipes all the way through before starting them. It has kicked me in the butt several times. Whether I have to marinate that chicken for 24 hours {24 hours?!? Who thinks that far ahead?? NOT ME!!} or dough raising and raising for hours at a time. Also, room temp things like butter, milk or eggs. I'm slowly learning and getting better at it. In time I suppose. :)

So, let me begin this wonderful and delicious recipe off by saying/warning the following:

1. Milk will need to be room temp

2. Dough will need to rise at two separate times: first for 60-90 minutes and again for 30-45 minutes

3. Cook time is about 35 minutes 

4. Have your kitchen clean. I have a pretty small kitchen, and with several recipes I have needed to use my counter tops to roll the dough, etc. Besides the obvious of just working in a clean kitchen, before this recipe I did some major scrubbing to my counter tops. 

The Goods:

Bread Ingredients:

2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
1 pkg active dry yeast
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups of bread flour


1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
2 tbsp butter

Icing Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter
1/8 cup of brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp milk
3/4 cup of powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Let's Get Started!!!

Brown 2 tbsp of butter over med-high heat in a saucepan {let it bubble and make sure it doesn't turn black}

Once browned, remove from heat and carefully add the {room temp} milk, the milk will curdle if is too cold vs the heat of the butter. Then, return to the stove and heat through. 

Pour that into your mixing bowl {a dough hook would be VERY helpful here, or get ready for an arm workout!!} Allowing it to cool to about 100-110 degrees.

Once cooled add your active dry yeast and 1/4 cup of sugar and allow to proof for about 8 minutes. {It will be foamy and the liquid will be cloudy}.

Now we are going to add the pumpkin, salt and 1 cup of flour. Stir until combined and then add the rest of your flour 1/2 a cup at a time. 

Knead the dough for 6 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic and slightly sticky. If the dough is really moist, add extra flour 1 tbsp at a time. 

Move dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean towel and allow to rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes, or until doubled in size. 

While dough is rising, you will need to brown 2 more tbsp of butter. 

In a small bowl add your sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix well. 

Once your dough is finished rising, take it out and punch it down a little bit and knead for about a minute. On your nice and clean counters {sprinkled with flour} roll our your dough to a 12x20 inch rectangle. Take you butter and pour over the dough and spread over all the dough.

Take your cinnamon and sugar mixture and sprinkle evenly onto the dough, then with your fingers, press the mixture into the dough. Now take a knife or a pizza cutter and cut the dough into 6 strips horizontally and vertically.

Stack the strips into a greased loaf pan. {See all that sugar and cinnamon on your counter top? I just swiped mine on top, the more the merrier!!} 

Cover with a clean towel and let rise for 30-45 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. After rising, let it bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until the top is a deep golden brown. 

While baking, prepare your icing. 

Heat the milk, butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and then immediately remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and powdered sugar. 

Pour icing over the loaf once it is finish and ENJOY!!!

It is such a scrumptious dessert & the pumpkin is not that strong of a flavor. {You could actually add more if you want more of a pumpkin presence}

It's ooey and gooey and great! Its a perfect dessert for the upcoming holidays!