Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Bevan Chicken (aka Rice Crispy Chicken)

BEVAN CHICKEN 
(Aka Rice Crispy Chicken) 

I've been eating this since I was a kid.  Nobody makes it like my father (Bevan) does (even though it's REALLY SIMPLE, go figure!) So half the members of my family call it Bevan Chicken, while we usually call it Rice Crispy Chicken.  I don't cook much but I figured I'd try this easy recipe and see if I could make it as good as my father (Bevan) makes it. 

All you need is three ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

1.) Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast 
(fresh chicken preferred, but frozen is fine) 

2.) A cube of butter 
(real butter preferred but you can use margarine)

3.) Rice Crispy's 
(brand does not matter)

Optional: Salt and Pepper 

AMOUNT OF INGREDIENTS: 

Note: The amount of chicken, butter and crispies needed will vary depending on how many people you are feeding and how much you want to make.  The pictures shown are: 

1 1/2 lbs of chicken.  

1 cube of butter 
(I had some left over which you can see below). 

And about 4-6 cups of rice crispies 
(I didn't measure it.  It was two full food processors full).  

My family can really chow down so this fed 
4 HUNGRY people :) 





PREPARATION

Step 1: Cut your Chicken up into small pieces (f not already that size).  About 2-3 inches by 1/2-1 inch



Step 2: Melt the butter in a bowl 


Step 3: Crunch up the rice crispy's in either a food processor OR you can use a zip lock bag and a rolling pin. If using the zip lock bag method make sure the zip is locked tightly! You can use a rolling pin or anything else that will crunch them up. 

Optional: You can put salt and pepper into your crispy mix.  (I did...we like it better that way).


Note: THIS is just the top of the crispies.  They are more finely ground and powdery underneath.  Make sure you don't OVER crunch them up or else you'll get mush.  This is supposed to be a crispy breading.  


Line a pan with tinfoil (this makes clean up easy!)  This is a 13x9 pan.  It was a "tiny" bit big for the 1 1/2lbs of chicken I used but that was okay.  



Put all your ingredients in one place so you can begin! 



CREATE:

Optional Additional Step One: Line the bottom of your pan with a thin layer of crispies (see notes on the bottom of the blog). 

Step 1: Dip each piece of chicken into the melted butter.  Try to get a decent amount of butter on each piece of chicken. (this helps adhere more crispies to the chicken and it's delicious)

Step 2: Place the buttered piece into the plate of crunched up crispies.  Roll it around really good.  When you grab the chicken make sure you also grab a small hand full of crispies with it.  (This makes it extra crispy as well) 

Step 3: Place each piece into the pan. Snug them up next to each other so they are all touching.  Do this until all of them are in your pan.  


Step 4: Use the rest of the crispies on the plate and pour them over your chicken in the pan.  This helps make the chicken taste really good and it also helps the chicken taste better and be chrispier.  

Once you're done it should look something like this: 


Look at those beautiful crispies all filled into that pan! 

Now onto baking! 

BAKE: 

Note: Baking degree and time will depend on the oven.   For this oven, and 1 1/2lbs of chicken in a metal 13x9 pan lined with tin foil the total cook time was 1 hour at 350 degrees.  

Step 1:  Set the oven at 350 degrees. Once heated go to step 2. 

Step 2: Place chicken in oven.  Set a piece of tin foil over the chicken (don't tuck it in, just set it on top).  This will help the crispies from browning too fast.  Set timer for 30 minutes.  (for extra crispy chicken) OR 40 minutes (for slightly less crispy chicken). 



Step 3: After timer goes off, go back and remove the tin foil and let the chicken continue to bake.  Total time should be one hour.  So set the timer for 30 minutes (if your first timer was only set for 30 minutes).  OR set your timer for 20 minutes (if your first timer was set for 40 minutes).   Let it continue to cook.  



VOILA: BEVAN CHICKEN/RICE CRISPY CHICKEN: 


All Crispy and Delicious! 

Pair it with anything you'd like! I added garlic bread and a fresh fruit salad.  It was DELICIOUS! 



The final Verdict: SUCCESS!!! It was good.  Not as good at Bevan (Dad) makes it.  But still really good.  Bevan has big man hands to get the crispies on the bottom.  When I make this again, i'll line the bottom with a thin layer of crispies before I start.  I'd also make sure I got a little extra butter on each piece.  I think that is the "Bevan" secret.  

CLEAN UP: 

The cool thing is that there really is not that much to clean up because it's so simple! Just this plus the pan! WOOHOO! Easy dinner! 




Saturday, June 2, 2012

T-Shirt to Tank EPIC FAIL


I decided to try that cool, "T-Shirt to Tank Top" idea.  I chose a shirt that I never wear because I hate how it fits.  Then I followed the SIMPLE instructions provided here. http://pinterest.com/pin/46584177365992751/


I started slicing and dicing with these little midget scissors (I'm in the process of moving so they were the only ones that I had).  Not exactly like the picture I was following...but what are ya going to do?


Then I scooped out the back a little more.



Next I tried my creation on! It still fit horribly, so I went back and sliced and diced some more!


What did I get? An EPIC T-Shirt to Tank Top Fail.  It actually does not look that bad in this picture.  However, due to the poor fit to begin with and my unfortunate bust size, this was probably never going to be a great idea anyways.


I held the top together to show what a ribbon wrapped around it "would" look like and it would basically make me look like I was having a "back baby." Haha! 



Needless to say, if you want to try this I would HIGHLY recommend getting a bigger T-shirt that has really soft material. Then cutting it up with big girl scissors.  Also, I would recommend not having a hefty load up front because I think these types of shirts don't flatter bigger girls, BUT you have to wear what you feel comfortable in.  So if you like it, wear it! 

IT WAS FUN TO TRY....But this shirt is probably going in the trash :)