Two (2) Ingredient Whole, Roasted Chicken

 

Am I 'back'?  No... not really.  I'm still pondering whether I have the time and the urge to bring An American Housewife (housewifebarbie.com) back up or not.  But in the meantime I had a couple pictures from my cellphone I could upload of our whole roasted chicken this week from dinner and thought I'd post because it is SO good and literally is just 2 ingredients.

Yes, two.

Two Ingredient Whole Roasted Chicken

1 whole chicken
Dale's Seasoning Marinade and Sauce

Place the chicken into your roasting container (pan, dish, etc) and pour over about 3/4 cup of Dale's.  Pop it into the oven and roast until done according to weight and size of your chicken. Visit the oven a few times during roasting to spoon some of the marinade/drippings from the bottom of the pan over the top of the chicken.  You can also flip your chicken over half way through cooking to get both sides browned and seasoned deeply.

 

 

 

Here is where I'm going to say you don't have to use Dale's if you don't want.  You can find it in many grocery stores, Walmart has it, even Amazon of course... but the reason I started to buy it a few years ago is I realized it tasted almost exactly like MY homemade steak marinade that I've made for years (decades now) and loved; but since it tastes like mine, I might as well just buy a big container of it and I wouldn't have to mix up my own.  

In December 2006 I included it on my site (it's actually been posted numerous times).

https://www.housewifebarbie.com/2006/12/steak-marinade.html

You can play with the amounts in it to suite your taste.  
When I first starting making this recipe it was so many years ago we still used vegetable oil and real sugar (eek!)  So for the past 2 years I've always substituted other options.  I'm not a big fan of ginger so I go really light on that one.  We don't use sugar much so I use low carb or keto options.  Also sometimes add a smidgen of worchestershire sauce sometimes, etc.  I also sometimes add hickory smoke liquid.  I can tell you I always add extra fresh, minced garlic - so healthy and so good.  Play with it. 

STEAK MARINADE (works for chicken)
(use the brands and types of ingredients you like best - and amounts)

1/3 c soy sauce, (or coconut aminos, liquid aminos, etc.)
2 T vegetable oil, (or canola oil, olive oil, avocado oil, etc.)
1+ T brown sugar (or brown sugar sweetener equivalent)
3/4 t garlic, minced, (or use garlic powder)
1 t ginger
1 t seasoned salt (Lawry's etc)
 

 

2026.... My blog's 20 year Anniversary. A rare blog post on An American Housewife - It might be time to make An American Housewife active again

It is this site's 20th Anniversary!  

If you are new here or never knew the history of the site An American Housewife... here is a quick blurb; 

The name "American Housewife" stems from an idea for a cookbook I'd always wanted to put out in the 90's and early 2000's.  I never had the funds to make it happen... but then the internet came along and the chance to have a recipe website presented itself to me. 

The name American Housewife was a natural. As for the url of the site; housewifebarbie - well, that stems from a joke that I kind of regret now.

I was a full time Mommy with three children under the age of 5. I loved cooking, baking, sewing, crafts and everything to do with babies and children. My friends dubbed me the Original Housewife Barbie... after the Barbie doll that had done everything from being an astronaut to a doctor to a teacher, but never 'just a housewife'.  

During some joking conversation one day, I was deemed the original Housewife Barbie and when I had to think of an original url for a blog in 2006, it seemed only natural to use it since it was just a personal little blog for myself and who cares?  Right?

This site is a collection of recipes I've gained over the years since I was in Junior High. Some from the 1,000 recipe books and magazines I have, some from the internet, some from friends, family members, my grandmothers old handwritten school notebook from cooking class and various other places. It's a collection of recipes that also includes those that I've made up myself for my own family.

 

This site was started in 2006 and for quite awhile was my 'part time job' and was much, much busier, bigger and had links and affiliates and ads.  Was continuously updated, had a very high ranking and had about 2 million visits when I put it in 'standby' mode to focus on a lot of things going on in our life at the time.

So many life changes in the past few years... so many big, big things.  I had to pull back all recipe posts, reviews, affiliate links, ads, regular updates, etc. as I was expending all my time and energy elsewhere by   

As we enter 2026 I was really just going to update my site with the cookie list for Christmas 2025... (I made 24 recipes this holiday season and multiple batches of many of them).  I also thought about starting the website back up again... at least a bit... when I realized upon logging in that it is now 2026 and my site was started in 2006 and OMGOSH it's my 20th Anniversary of this site!  

It might be a grand time to make it active again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An American Housewife: Thanksgiving Pies for 2025! A different pie crust this year, and 3 pies; pumpkin, pecan and caramel apple (PIE CRUST RECIPE with sour cream)

I LOVE my regular pie crust and have been making it since my children were itty bitty babies, but this year, I was flipping through an old catalog of King Arthur I found tucked into one of my 1000 recipe binders, and saw a random pie crust recipe that used an addition of sour cream and baking powder.  Two items I don't typically use in my pie crusts.  But I had sour cream on hand that wasn't earmarked for any meal in particular and I was in a grumpy mood in which I did not feel like taking on any of the tasks at hand and making a pie would keep me busy and give me a reason for not doing 'all the things' I should have been doing.  I also had been given a can of caramel apple pie filling by someone who couldn't/wouldn't use it, a year or so ago (which we never use either), and have never used, and will never use... so it's just been sitting in the back of the pantry.  I decided to make a pie, and then gift the pie to someone.  

So that is the back story to why I tried a different pastry recipe this year and why I actually made a caramel apple pie using a store bought can of pie filling - which I've never done before.  I got rid of the odd-can of filling AND tried a new recipe.  

The pie crust made with sour cream and baking powder was... interesting.  Different, but good enough that I made it two more times and made all three (3) pies with it this year.  There is a bit of tang to it from the sour cream, but it's good, flaky, yet durable and easy to work with.

Here is the apple pie I gifted after it was baked... and was well received, and I asked for feedback on the pie crust from.   

 

Going into the oven to bake....

 

 

 

 

 

Pie Crusts 2025

2 c flour (Used a mixture of AP and flour I ground myself from soft white wheatberries)
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
2 sticks butter, cold
1/2 c sour cream

Put the dry ingredients in a food processor bowl (or a plain mixing bowl if you wish to mix by hand).  Give a couple whirls to mix the dry.  Cut the butter into dices, pats or pieces.  For a food processor, add and pulse until it is a crumb mixture.  If by hand, smoosh and blend with your fingers (or use a pastry cutter) until it it is a crumb mixture and bits of butter are throughout the flour.  Add the sour cream last, mixing in by hand or give a couple pulse whirls in the food processor just until the dough comes together.  

Turn out on parchment paper sprinkled with a bit of flour.  Divide dough into 2 disks.  If it's still cold, you can roll out immediately, or just form a disk, wrap in plastic and chill in fridge until you are ready to roll.  Make a circle just a bit larger than your pie dish, and lift in.  Finish the edges however you wish.  Can be pre-baked for cold or custard pies, or freeze them until needed for filling pies - or fill immediately and bake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making the pies for Thanksgiving... a traditional pumpkin pie this year except made with part raw, organic honey to cut back on the dreaded corn syrup it traditionally uses.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

And pecan... 

 

 

Which  you can leave like this after adding the pecans....  or you can quickly decorate the top with a design of whole pecans as well.

 

 

 

 

Coffeecake Muffins (low carb, keto, yada yada)

It's been a long, long time since I've posted.  Life is still... life-ing.
It's been a tough past couple years.  Most of the time I don't even think of my old cooking and recipe blog!

This afternoon I was taking a break from convincing myself NOT to do all the things my brain is telling me should get done.  I had Coffee Cake Muffins on the counter so I stood there eating one when I suddenly thought about the cooking blog, "An American Housewife" Cooks. No idea why but it popped in my head.  I was SURE I had posted this recipe... probably at least 2 or 3 times, as I've made it at least 50 times in the past 10 years.  I snapped a picture with my cellphone as I was eating, and then later, came online to see if it was here.

Well, I have no idea... because I didn't find it within the first 8 seconds of searching so I just opted to post again.

Carb count depends on the products and brands you use.  Also, when I first started to make this recipe, there were VERY FEW products available... so my original hand written recipe card calls for things like Splenda and I think (?) Brown Sugar Twin or something like that.  Because back then the market had almost no sugar-free, low carb, keto products.  So things change over the years.  Use what you use.  Count your carbs and sugar using your products. 

 

Coffeecake Muffins

Topping:

1/2 c almond flour
3 T brown sugar style natural sweetener
2 T coconut flour
3/4 t cinnamon
1/4 c melted butter

Mix the topping ingredients together to blend well and set aside.

 
Muffins:

2 c almond flour
1/3 c sweetener of choice
1/4 c whey protein powder (unflavored or vanilla - zero carb, zero sugar)
3 T coconut flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t cinnamon
1 t vanilla
1/4 t salt
1/2 c melted butter
4 eggs
1/2 unsweetened almond milk

Preheat your oven to 325.
Whisk together the dry ingredients for your muffins.
Stir in the butter, eggs, almond milk and vanilla.  Mix well by hand or briefly with mixer.

Fill lined muffin tins (makes 1 pan of 12-ish or about 6 jumbo with some leftover).  Place some of the crumble topping on each muffin tin of batter.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until done.  Cool complete in pans.  

If you wish at this point you can add a simple sugar free drizzle on top:
1/4 c powdered natural sweetener
2 T water or almond milk
1/2 t vanilla

Or top with a sugar free frosting.  I used a cinnamon flavored frosting on the ones in the photo above. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keto Brownies (Note to self: THIS ONE!!!!!!)

Last night, spur of the moment, decided to make brownies before bed.

I don't like chocolate and rarely crave sweets but I've been starting back on keto after a long, long time off  due to... things; and after a couple days, I was mentally craving foods I knew I didn't even really like. However, I know when I am re-starting keto or sugar free, low carb, I always start to crave crazy things around days 3 and 7 just because I want something sweet.  (25 years of eating mostly low carb/sugar free you start to know yourself!)

Chose a cast iron skillet this time for no particular reason.  When I was going to add the sweeteners, I grabbed my current mixture of allulose, monk fruit and stevia but saw a bag of Splenda Magic Blend I forgot I even had.  Used half that and half the allulose blend (that I'm trying to use up as it's used in so few recipes as it's a 'softer' finish so it's best in things like homemade ice cream... not baked goods that you like with a crisp edge).

I ended up eating it warm, straight from the oven, with a spoon.
Then I went to bed.

  
Brownies

3/4 c almond flour
1/2 c natural sweeteners (used Splenda Magic Blend, and Allulose, Monk Fruit and Stevia)
1/4 c cocoa powder
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
3 oz cream cheese
1/4 stick melted butter
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1/2 c sugar free chocolate chips (used Lily's this time)

Oven to 325.  Buttered pan.  Combine the dry, add the wet.  Mix.  Pour into pan and smooth the top.  Bake 30-35 minutes.  Let cool completely.

A really ugly photo of the brownies literally right out of the oven.  It was night time, and my kitchen lights always make things look ugly even in the day (with a yellow cast) but at night, even uglier.  They are actually a deep, deep dark chocolate color and were oh-so good!!!! A quick photo of one I ate at lunch today.

   And to make it easy to 'grab one' I sometimes do this with brownies or cheesecake... make them into little "brownie bites" or "cheesecake bites" so I can grab just one and not have to rely on myself for portion control.