I'm thinking I remember reading on here that when you add fresh you just make sure that you use the processing time for whatever needs processed the longest in the recipe As Carol said, that is a very old guideline and more often than not, no longer applicable due to the other variables involved. Like the others above, canning plain with just the salt gives the best results IMO. The few times wife or I ever tried adding other ingredients we always regretted it when the jars were opened. It always sounds good in theory to add those other flavors but doesn't work in actual practice. People just don't understand the effect that the PC processing is going to have on those added flavorings. But if she insists on doing it then dry herbs and spices only, not fresh, and only in small amounts. She can always add more after opening. If she wants garlic and onions then used dried garlic and onions. Dave

For crispy chicken sandwiches, I split a boneless chicken breasr, so it is only 1/2 as thick...then put it between plastic and with a meat mallet pound it to be 1/4 inch thick. I mix flour with seasonings...let's say 1 cup flour with 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp ground mild red chilis, 1 T dry parsley crumbled and 2T grated parmesan cheese. Beat an egg in a flat dish with 1 T milk or water... Pat the split chicken breast dry and dip into the egg and then into the flour....and fry it in a couple of T of oil in a non stick pan...brown on both sides, and turn down the heat and cook another 5 minutes. Sometimes I skip the chilis and add a teaspoon of grated lemon peel. The crisp will be gone when you serve them leftover...but they are still good. Linda C

Can't remember where I got this, but it's really good! I add a dash of crushed red pepper flakes to the breading for the steaks AND to the cream gravy, along with a dash of paprika to both Chicken-Fried Steak Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds of top-round steak 2 cups of flour 3 eggs 1/2 cup of milk or buttermilk 1/2 teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon of cracked black pepper (can also add cayenne to add more heat). Lard or vegetable oil Method: Cut your top-round steak into four pieces. Pound beef with a meat tenderizer until flattened and almost doubled in size. Place flour in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix eggs in another large bowl with milk. Take piece of tenderized beef and coat in flour. Dip coated beef into egg mixture and then dip back into flour again. Heat on medium enough oil or lard to fill halfway up the sides of a cast-iron skillet. When a drop of water makes the oil sizzle, it's ready for frying. Take the coated beef and place it in the skillet. When the blood (er, red-meat juice) starts bubbling out of the top of the steak (about three to four minutes) gently turn it over with a long fork (using a spatula can cause the oil to splash out of the skillet). Cook another five minutes and then take the chicken-fried steak out of the pan and drain on a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat process for remaining cutlets. And while you're frying the others, you can keep the cooked steaks warm in the oven. Cream gravy Ingredients: Two tablespoons of pan drippings, bacon grease or vegetable oil Two tablespoons of flour 1 1/2 cups of milk 1 teaspoon of cracked black pepper Salt to taste. Method: Combine fat with flour in a hot skillet, continuously stirring, cook on medium for a couple of minutes until a dark roux is formed. Add milk slowly to skillet, and mix with roux using either a whisk or wooden spoon (be sure and press out any lumps). Turn heat to low and continue stirring until mixture is thickened, a couple more minutes. Add pepper and salt to taste. If gravy is too thick for your taste, you can thin it by adding either more milk or water a tablespoon at a time. Goes great with mashed potatoes, fried chicken, biscuits, chicken fried steak, grits, vegetables, rice or anything else you can imagine.

Well, I've never eaten a chick-fil-a, so that's not an issue. I sometimes feel guilty throwing out the pickle juice though, and I thought if it made a different flavor for the chicken, it might be interesting. The chickens I buy are tender and don't need marinating, but my first thought if I needed to would be buttermilk or milk. I'll try to remember the half hour in pickle juice next time I have pickle juice. I'm wondering if it isn't just a way to get a lot of salt and garlic in, though. :) Flavoring isn't my issue. It was knowing the right proportions to the flour so that other people would think there was sufficient seasoning was what I needed. :) There's no way pickle juice is going to make it underseasoned!