breadcrumbs

How to Make Breadcrumbs

Posted on
Follow Me on PinterestPin It

One thing I like to make is breadcrumbs. We have a bread machine, and I don’t always make bread I enjoy because I try out new recipes. One recipe I tried, the bread came out too dense for me. I like my bread light and fluffy. So I decided to make breadcrumbs out of it so it wasn’t a waste.

Need:

  • bread
  • cookie sheet
  • food processor
  • seasonings

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 275°

  2. cut the bread into 1-2 inch cubes

  3. place on a cookie sheet, I like to use one with a lip all the way around it to prevent cubes accidentally sliding off of the sheetbreadcrumbs

  4. place in the oven for about 20 minutes, the goal is to dry out the bread

  5. after the bread is dried out, place the cubes into the food processor in small batches. This will be very loud!makecrumbs

  6. Season and use immediately or freeze. They’ll go bad quickly if you don’t freeze them. I try to use my breadcrumbs within a month.breadcrumbs

I sometimes add seasoning and sometimes don’t. I add italian seasonings to the breadcrumbs if I want to make chicken parm or something similar. If I want to make chicken bites or fried pickles I season the breadcrumbs with red and black pepper, cumin, salt and garlic.

 


fried chicken

How to Make Fried Chicken Bites

Posted on
Follow Me on PinterestPin It

I love fried foods. As I’ve said before, I don’t own a frier because that would be so bad for me. But sometimes I just need some fried chicken. Is that just me? I made fried chicken bites for dinner and I thought I’d share.

I think my version is pretty easy. It can be a bit messy though. This time I used breadcrumbs I made from a loaf of bread from Panera, but I have used Panko and Progresso breadcrumbs as well as crushed Ritz crackers. I think I actually prefer the Ritz with some seasoning mixed into them and mixed into the flour/cornstarch bowl.

I could have left the chicken in bigger pieces or in stripes for chicken fingers but I like to chop it into smaller pieces because it cooks faster. Also, since it is the same thickness I don’t have to worry as much about some parts of the chicken being cooked and other parts still being raw.

For this recipe, the amount of everything depends upon how much you want to make. I was frying two chicken tender strips.

Ingredients:

  • boneless, skinless, chicken chopped up into bite sized pieces
  • corn starch
  • all-purpose flour
  • milk
  • egg
  • breadcrumbs
  • oil

1. In a small sauce pan, pour oil, I used canola, enough to make it about an inch or more deep. Again this depends upon your amount of chicken you’re frying.

2. Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces

3. In a bowl, mix 3 parts flour to 1 part cornstarch.  The cornstarch helps everything stick to the chicken better as opposed to just flour.

4. In another bowl, with a fork, whisk 1 egg with 1/4 cup milk

5. In yet another bowl have a lot of breadcrumbs.

fried chicken

The order is going right to left because my saucepan is to the left of the breadcrumbs and yes my counter is that tiny!

6. Now, coat in the flour, dunk in the egg wash, and cover with breadcrumbs the pieces of chicken.

7. Carefully drop the chicken in the oil to fry or else the oil could splash up.

fried chicken

cooking in oil

Now my chicken wasn’t completely submerged in the oil, so I let it cook to a golden brown on the bottom, about 4 minutes and flipped them over with my tongs so the other side could fry an get a golden brown color as well.

7. With a slotted spoon, remove the fried chicken bites.

fried chicken

Yum!

Now it’s time to enjoy the fried deliciousness. I prefer to dip mine in a ketchup ranch combo. Am I the only one who does that?

I know the coat, dunk, and coat mixtures work pretty well for fried pickles too. I wonder if they work for cheese balls. I need to try it because I am missing some Culver’s cheese curds.