Fried Chicken Dinner

One of my all-time country style meals is fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and homemade country gravy with sweet tea! Mmm, It makes my mouth water just thinking about it! This is one of the meals I had when I was a kid that my mom cooked, and I later cooked for my own kids!  It was a family favorite.  It was often asked for as a special birthday meal by my kids! The chicken is crispy and juicy, the mashed potatoes are creamy, and the green beans are bursting with flavor from the bacon. I’m sure this will become one of your family favorites too.

The green beans will take the longest amount of time to cook so start them about 30 minutes before the chicken.

Prep your chicken pieces by rinsing each piece with water and pat dry them with a paper towel. Salt and pepper each piece on both sides. Then roll in flower.  An easy way to do that is to put your flower in a large Ziplock baggy.  Put a couple of pieces of chicken at a time in the bag and shake until the pieces of chicken are evenly coated with flower. 

Pour vegetable oil in a skillet and bring to high heat.   My mom always used an iron skillet, but your favorite skillet will work!  Brown the chicken on both sides, then reduce the heat and cover the skillet with a lid. Let the chicken cook for about 30 minutes.  Uncover and turn up the heat once again and fry the chicken until crispy on each side.  The chicken must reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees even in the thickest parts.

Mashed Potatoes

Peel about 4 to 5 pounds of russet potatoes, rinse them and cut into 1-to-2-inch pieces.  Put the potatoes into a large pot, cover the potatoes with water and add 1 tablespoon of salt.  Turn the heat on high. Bring the potatoes to a boil and boil for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are soft and come apart easily with a fork.  Turn off heat.  Drain the potatoes and return to pot. Add 1 stick of real butter that is cut up into pieces.  Mash the potatoes with a hand masher. Add ½ cup of milk and continue to mash to potatoes. If you like creamier potatoes, continue to add milk until you get the consistency you like. It’s ok if there are a few lumps of potatoes. My kids lovingly called hand smashed potatoes homemade.  Add a couple of tablespoons of butter to the top to garnish and lightly sprinkle with pepper.

Green Beans

4 -14.5 0z cans of cut green beans

6 slices of cooked bacon

In a large pot add the green beans and freshly cooked bacon, cover with water, add a teaspoon each of salt and pepper and cook on high heat.  Stir the beans occasionally. Let the water cook down. Cook the beans for 45 minutes to an hour or until the water is mostly gone. If they are in season, fresh green beans are a great substitute for the canned ones.

Homemade White Gravy

4 Tablespoons of oil       2 cups of milk

4 Tablespoons of flower    Salt and Pepper  

Making gravy can be a little intimidating but it’s not as hard as you may think.  The key is to continually stir the gravy, so it won’t lump up.  It’s great on top of mashed potatoes and on the chicken.  Serve with biscuits for another layer of deliciousness!

 In the same skillet that you fried the chicken, drain all but 4 tablespoons of oil or add to it until you have 4 tablespoons of oil in the skillet.  4 tablespoons of butter can also be used in a skillet.

Combine equal parts of oil and flower in your pan over medium heat and stir until thoroughly mixed.  Add the milk into the mixture.  Whisk until there are no lumps. Heat the mixture, continuously whisking or stirring with a spatula or spoon until the mixture comes to a boil. Allow the mixture to boil for a minute or until it is the desired consistency.   Season with salt and pepper to taste.