Hey y'all! Welcome to the Jackson Pine Farm Kitchen. In case you're new around here, we want to welcome you to the JPF Family {If you're not a member of our facebook community, we'd love for you to join in and chat with us, grab a seat at our free, LIVE fb events and never miss a blog by subscribing above}. We love to share all of the good things in life with our followers from kitchen recipes to arts and crafts. We are a small family business that supports other small family businesses through our online market. But we are more than business, we are family!
We are a big believer in quality time for family. That's why we want to help equip you to bring fun and laughter into your home and the heart of the home, your kitchen. This week, we have created daily blogs for Back-to-School Survival Week Freezer Meals. These fun meals can be frozen and help you prep for the back-to-school madness. We will also host a LIVE facebook cooking event on Tuesday, August 7th from the JPF Kitchen.
Here are the fun meals for the week:
We are first time parents with an {ahhhh} almost 14 year old and this year will be our first year adjusting to a "school schedule" {even though we are homeschooling}. My boys (Joel and Freddie) don't love leftovers, so meal prepping to us means freezer meals. Freezer meals are either cooked or prepped ahead of time to be cooked fresh, rather than re-heated like leftovers. Today, Sunday the 5th: It's our weekly Sunday breakfast for dinner featuring Homemade Cajun Chicken and Waffles with Bumberry Butter (YES... it's frozen say what?)
Monday the 6th: Country Crock Pot Chicken Pot
Pie
Tuesday the 7th: Create your own Playful Pizza {LIVE Event at 4pm EST}
Wednesday the 8th: Chicken Gnocchi Soulful Soup
Thursday the 9th: Super Stuffed Poppin' Peppers
Friday the 10th: Loads of Fun Layering Lasagna
Can't wait... see y'all there! Share our blog and these events all week long with your friends and have your kids join in for loads of fun!
So here's the back story: My friend Emily introduced me to a sweet little restaurant in central Florida that had the best Cajun Chicken and Waffles. I searched tirelessly for a copy-cat recipe so I could make this scrumptious dish from home, but I came up empty handed. So, I have been working on perfecting this recipe for 3 years.
We are Southern, in case you don't know. We love extra butter, extra sugar, and extra love with all our meals. Haha. So the yummier, the better {don't get me wrong, we do love healthy, wholesome food, but Southern food has us partial as a treat}. We like it extra spicy, tangy, and smack-ya-momma good.
Long story short I had to find some way to cajun-fy my sweet breakfast for dinner meal {a weekly tradition we started for when we had kids}. I found the secret. Tabasco- not only in the brine, but also in the syrup... YES the syrup! The end. But wait, it needs something to level that heat, and that's the Bumberry Butter. Ok, there's a story behind that too. As I was prepping this dinner, our son Freddie walked in to ask me what we were having for dinner as he does every day and I told him "Cajun chicken and waffles with blueberry butter"! I guess I spoke too fast, but there's a greater chance I was mumbling. He said "Bumberry?! What is that? It sounds awful!" I died laughing and said well I guess my blueberry butter has a new name! So our blueberries are now known as bumberries in the Jackson house.
So here's the goodness. And I promise all of them won't be this complex, but Sundays are when we plan to be in the kitchen TOGETHER as a family, so we are all hands on deck and we make it fun.
Cajun Chicken and Waffles with Bumberry Butter:
Serves: a family of 4-5
Pre-Prep Time: 5 minutes for chicken brine and 35 minutes for butter, Allow to refrigerate overnight
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Post-Freezer to Table: 15-20 minutes
Grocery List:
10 thawed or fresh chicken strips Buttermilk
Milk (your choice-whole, or 2%) Tabasco Salt Pepper
Eggs
Flour
Waffle Mix (complete pancake mix- Look we are all busy mommas, I just cheat and use pancake mix. To me the chicken is much better homemade, so I focus on it rather than frozen fried chicken strips. But if you're in a real hurry, you can use that too. )
Vegetable Oil
Butter
Cream Cheese
Fresh Blueberries
Sugar
One Lemon
Special Tools:
Freezer bags
Waffle Maker
Fryer or Frying Pan
Mixing Bowl
2 Shallow Bowls
Measuring Cup with spout
Pre-prep {Night before}
Chicken Brine Ingredients: 10 thawed or fresh chicken strips 1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk (your choice-whole, or 2%) 2 tsp Tabasco (or to your liking) 2 tsp Salt 2 tsp Pepper
Instructions:
Add all ingredients and shake to coat in freezer bag. Leave overnight in fridge (in case you don't know that's short for refrigerator).
Bumberry Butter Compote Ingredients:
1 Cup Blueberries
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 Lemon (cut in half and use a fork to juice or use hand juicer)
Instructions: Place all ingredients in small sauce pot. Simmer for 30 minutes and then refrigerate overnight.
Fresh Cooking {to eat fresh or freeze for a meal}
Bumberrry Butter Ingredients:
1/2 of your pre-made blueberry compote (use the rest to top the finished product if you want)
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup of cream cheese
Bumberry Butter Instructions:
Whip all ingredients with stand mixer or hand mixer on medium high. Don't worry about a few small chunks here and there. Return to refrigerator until waffles and chicken are complete.
Waffle Ingredients (please refer to box for amounts):
Pancake Mix
Egg
Water
Vegetable Oil
Waffle Prep:
Prepare waffles by instructions on pancake box and heat waffle maker and fryer for chicken (350 degrees Fahrenheit). Set aside.
Chicken Battering Ingredients:
Pre-brined Chicken
1 Egg
1/4 Cup of Milk
1-2 Cups of Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
Chicken Instructions:
Grab the chicken out of the fridge as you prepare the wet and dry batters. You'll need to have 2 shallow bowls. In the "wet" one put an egg and a little milk in, 1/4 cup is just fine, and mix til egg is broken up in milk. In your "dry" bowl, place 1 cup of flour in bowl with salt and pepper and mix with fork.
Once fryer is up to temp, grab one piece of chicken at a time and dredge it through the dry batter and then the wet batter then to the fryer/frying pan. Letting the fryer acclimate to the desired temp each time, add chicken one at a time. Flip once and allow to cook til golden brown. May take 8-10 minutes each depending on size of chicken. Make sure to cook thoroughly.
Waffle Instructions:
Meanwhile, as the fryer gets full jump back over to your waffle batter. I usually use a liquid measuring cup with a spout to help me put just under a cup of batter into my waffle maker at a time, so not to over fill. Cook waffles to desired brownness.
Helpful Freezing Tip:
You can eat and save the rest for a freezer meal for another day. Simply let cool and place chicken and waffles in separate freezer bags.
Optional Toppings:
Cajun Syrup kick: When food is done, grab your syrup- probably about a half to 3/4 cup and place in a microwave safe bowl or cream cup. Add a half tsp of tabasco sauce and heat for 30 seconds in the microwave.
To Heat from Freezer:
Simply throw the chicken in the oven on 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes. And the waffles in the oven for up to 5 minutes. Remove and top! Eat up!
Happy Waffling,
Lauren Jackson
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