Friday, December 10, 2010

Frugal Feasting Friday

Shake-N-Bake pork chop / chicken coating was a household staple in my mom's pantry when I was a girl. Yup, my mom was a "modern" cook who utilized ALL the prepared and quick fix products available at the time. (Just for the record I learned all my basic cooking skills while living with my uncle and aunt during my early teen aged years. My aunt J was / is a fabulous home cook. ) As a young girl I LOVED pork chops and chicken baked in shake-n-bake. But once I left my mom's house, I never ate it again. Mostly because my aunt J didn't cook with the stuff and once I was out on my own, I couldn't afford the stuff. As the years passed, I forgot about it.

Recently, I ran across a homemade recipe that claimed one couldn't tell the difference between this recipe and the store bought shake-n-bake. This evening I decided I'd give it a try and after a bit of tweaking (you know me, I can't leave any recipe in its original form), this homemade shake-n-bake REALLY DOES taste exactly like I remember it as a child!!

I don't know if making it yourself is any cheaper than the name brand, but whenever I have every single ingredient already on hand, it makes absolutely no sense in my mind to go out and purchase a boxed product made out of the same ingredients sitting on my own pantry shelf. So, here's my tweaked version of the homemade shake-n-bake recipe I recently came across (sorry, I don't' remember the web-site I gleaned this from - but I don't want anyone to think I've taken credit for a recipe that isn't my own).

HOMEMADE SHAKE-N-BAKE

3/4 c. cornflake crumbs
2 tsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until ground into course powder. Mixture will coat 4 pork chops or 4 pieces of chicken. I think this recipe would double or triple very well.
To Use:
Place homemade shake-n-bake in a gallon sized plastic bag. Add pork chops or chicken. Shake vigorously. Place meat on a lightly greased baking sheet. Lightly spray meat with with olive oil or other baking spray. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until juices run clear.
Serves 4

P.S. tonight was the first time the littles have ever had shake-n-bake, the big boys have never tried it, and it seems the littles LOVED this stuff as much as I did when I was a kid.

1 comment:

  1. This is a little off your delicious subject,

    but I wanted to respond to a comment that you made on another blog about the believers eternal security.

    I just wanted to give you a BIG AMEN for standing up and telling the Truth.

    Anybody can get a huge audience of fans if you tell people what they want to hear. But we're not here to please Men but God, or has Everybody forgotten that one little detail, in today's crazy world?
    God Bless you for your courage,

    Gerie

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking time to read my blog and leave a comment. I try my best to respond to each one. God Bless You, Mrs.B