Blogiversary and Chicken and Waffles!

Wow, I can't believe I've been blogging for a year now! Where has the time gone?! In celebration for my blog's first anniversary, I wanted something a little extra special. One of our kiddos has been asking for chicken and waffles for some time now as it is one of her favorites, but I've never been able to make it because I lacked the one main thing you need to make it - a waffle maker. I decided it was time to do something about that and got myself a waffle maker so I could finally make what I've heard is an amazing meal. It was totally worth the investment! I do have to admit the waffle recipe is not my own, it is just a basic waffle recipe that I found, however, they are awesome. Everyone loved this dinner, including an extra kiddo we had over this weekend. The kiddo who's been asking for this said it was the best chicken and waffles she has ever had and the waffles were nice and fluffy. Actually, more than one kiddo said the waffles were nice and fluffy! Even the hubby who doesn't like particularly sweet things enjoyed this meal - probably because fried chicken is so awesome. Make this the next time you are wanting something extra special for your family and they will be sure to love it!

What's cooking in my kitchen this week:
Chicken and waffles

What you'll need:
Fried chicken
3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cup buttermilk
dash hot sauce
2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp paprika
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
4 eggs
1/2 Tbsp milk
oil for frying

Waffles*
2 cup flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 vegetable oil
2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
syrup

*Note: for my army, I doubled this recipe which gave me 11 waffles. 

How to make it:
Here it is, in all it's glory, my new waffle maker!

First, you want to get the chicken soaking in a bath of buttermilk. This helps to make the chicken extra tender and juicy. If you don't have buttermilk, you can just take regular milk and add 1 tsp vinegar per cup and whisk around. Add dash of hot sauce and whisk to mix all around.

Place chicken thighs in buttermilk mixture and let soak, covered and refrigerated, for at least an hour.

Once the chicken has soaked, it is ready to be breaded. Combine flour, baking powder (this allows you to skip buying self-rising flour and I think it actually works better), paprika, salt, ground black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder in large container. 

Whisk to make sure all the seasonings are fully incorporated in the flour. Next, crack eggs in flat dish (I find glass pie dishes work really nice) and add milk and season with some salt and ground black pepper. Beat eggs and milk together.

Get a breading station set up with the chicken in the buttermilk bath, flour mix, egg wash, and tray to put breaded chicken on. Take chicken from buttermilk bath and place in flour mixture and coat all the sides.

Then place chicken in egg wash and coat all sides.

Then put the chicken back into the flour mixture and coat all sides.

And finally put breaded piece of chicken on tray. Repeat until all the chicken is breaded and set to the side.

Now you need to get the waffle batter made up so it can sit while the chicken is frying - this is one of the secrets to fluffy waffles. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in large bowl.

Measure out milk, crack eggs into coffee mug and add oil and vanilla extract to eggs. Pour milk and egg mix into flour mix.

Now beat the holy heck out of the waffle batter to incorporate all ingredients - this is the other secret to fluffy waffles. Let batter sit while you fry up the chicken.

Now it's time to fry up the chicken. Place oil in pan so it's about an inch or so deep, you want it to mainly cover the chicken while frying, but it doesn't need to cover it all. Turn stove on to medium-high heat and once oil is hot, place chicken pieces in. Let cook about 4-5 minutes per side, until breading is golden brown.

Once chicken is done, put on tray with paper towels to catch excess oil. Repeat until all the chicken in fried.

Now it's time to make those waffles! Spray waffle maker with non-stick spray and pour a little more than 2/3 cup waffle batter into hot waffle maker.

Close lid and let the waffle maker do its work! On mine you can adjust to how golden brown you want your waffles to be. Once the green light says it's done, open lid and remove waffle to plate.

Put waffle on plate, place fried chicken on top of waffle, and drizzle with syrup. Serve and enjoy!

Did you know?
On this day in 1893, Hawaii's monarchy was overthrown when businessmen and sugar planters forced Queen Liliuokalani to abdicate.