A Bird in the Oven is Worth Two in the Grocery Store

I ascribe to the motto-Cook once, eat twice.  Sometimes, I can even get 3 or 4 meal ideas out of one cooking session.  Today I’d love to share my roast chicken recipe with you.  It is the start for chicken tacos, chicken casseroles, soups, or salads.

I start with a whole chicken, actually TWO whole chickens.  If you have the time to bake one, beIieve me,  you have time to bake 2!!--One to eat now and the other heads to the freezer for another day.

I line my roasting pan with foil.  I then wash the outside plastic wrap of the chicken.  I know this sounds strange, but food experts can’t seems to agree whether the actual chicken should be rinsed or not due to the potential for contamination and splattering of chicken juice around the kitchen. 

Washing the packaging, then using scissors to cut the plastic and slide it off the chicken while it sits in the foil lined pan allows all the juices to end up in the roaster pan.  Splattering is minimal.  I pitch the package and lay my chickens- breast side down and side by side.  I season liberally with salt, pepper, and lemon pepper or garlic powder. 

I believe I have mentioned chicken soup base in the past as a seasoning ingredient and making broth.  I add a tsp or 2 to a cup of water and pour that into the bottom of the roasting pan. I cover the pan with a piece of foil tented over the chickens.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and place the chicken in the oven.  Turn over one hour into the cooking time and season this side of the chicken breast side up.

Two to 2 1/2 hours later for a 4-5 lb bird and an internal temp of 180 degrees, you will remove the nicely browned roasted chicken from the oven.  I serve it with roasted potatoes and green beans the first night.

Remove the rest of the chicken meat from the bone.  If you have time, do the same to the second chicken.  Freeze the meat in amounts appropriate for your family.

 I place the chicken bones, the juices in the pan, and the skin into a pot and cover with water. Add an onion, 2-3 stalks celery-leaves and all, and a couple of roughly chopped carrots.   Season with pepper and a Tbsp or 2 of chicken soup base.  Simmer for an hour or so. Allow to cool & remove all the solids from the broth.  Refrigerate and the fat will solidify and can be easily removed.

You can even do this in a crockpot and just let it simmer all day.  Freeze for up to 3 months or use as a base for chicken soup, chicken pot pie or fettuccini Alfredo. 

Here is another option......

ROASTED LEMON CHICKEN

1 whole chicken, 3-5 lbs. 
1-2 tsp. lemon -pepper seasoning
1 lemon
salt and black pepper, to taste
1/4 c. butter, softened
Preheat oven to 425°. Remove zest from lemon and mix with softened butter. Squeeze  juice out of lemon and mix 1 T. with the butter and zest. Salt and pepper the mixture as desired. Place chicken in a roasting pan and remove the neck and gizzard; discard.

Separate the skin from the chicken starting at the neck. Avoid piercing the skin, if you can. Using your fingers, slide most of the butter under the skin. (This is messy work.)

Rub the rest of the butter all over the surface of the chicken. Place in roasting pan, breast side down. Sprinkle liberally with the lemon-pepper, and season with the salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes; then turn the chicken over. Sprinkle the rest of the lemon juice over the top and season with this side the lemon pepper and salt.

 Bake for 1 hour, until meat thermometer registers 170° or until juices run clear when the meat is pierced. Allow chicken to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Leftovers are good for sandwiches, pot pies or salads.

Note: I also like to roast a chicken using only garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Sometimes simple is the best. De-fat the drippings by skimming the fat off the top or refrigerating until the fat solidifies. Add to a gravy mix as part or all of the required liquid and you will have a topping for mashed potatoes that will be
hard to beat.

                                         Confectionately  Yours,

Sue

My Favorite Cheeseball

As I was making my favorite cheese ball, I was reminded of my favorite cheese story.

My son is now 21 years old, but when he was 4, he was invited to a birthday party at a kiddy restaurant that I consider is the nightmare of all nightmares for parents. There was annoying non-stop singing from puppet characters and over excited kids running in all directions. The decibel level was unbelievable!!

My son was enthralled with the guy in the giant rat costume. He chased him all over the place. The character guy finally left the play area to get away from my son and his playmates. I can still visualize the picture of that small boy with the pink cheeks and glowing eyes as he ran up to me and said, “Oh, Mommy, I just met Chucky Jesus.”

We laugh over that story every time I tell it. Now I DID talk to Andrew later and clear up his misconceptions. There WAS a difference between the guy in the rat suit and the Savior of the world, but for a few glorious moments my son thought this Jesus person he had heard about lived in an amazing place where you could play non-stop and have pizza for every meal.

It was a 4 year olds idea of heaven.

I have an idea of heaven myself and a pretty good imagination, but I don’t think I can grasp just how wonderful heaven is going to be. When I see a beautiful tree blossoming in the Spring, mountains, or an ocean view, I marvel at the ability of the Lord to create such beauty. It reminds me of Him, but then I realize….God has saved the best for last. I have heaven to look forward to.

If you know Jesus as your Savior, you do, too. Hang in there ya’ll….the best is yet to come!!!
Sometimes I roll the cheese ball in nuts, sometimes I pack it in a country style crock. Serve with crackers and garnish with some beautiful grapes and a bunch of parsley for a pretty presentation.

MY FAVORITE CHEESE BALL

10 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
soy sauce, to taste(about 1 Tbs.)
garlic powder, to taste(start with about 1/4 tsp.)
onion powder, to taste
chopped toasted pecans, 1-2 cups

Beat cream cheese until soft and creamy. Add seasonings, then add grated cheese, a little at a time until it is incorporated. Roll into a ball and then into toasted nuts.

Refrigerate, but allow to soften before serving. Can be made 2-3 days before serving.

Toasted nuts

pecans, any amount
salt, optional

Spread onto a cookie sheet and place in preheated 350° oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly toasted. Stir often, every 3-4 minutes and watch closely as they can quickly go from toasted to burned. Remove from cookie sheet immediately after taking out of oven. Season if desired. The nuts will continue to toast if left on hot cookie sheet.

Note: I serve this recipe in shape of a pinecone at Christmastime. Make cheese ball into a tear drop shape. Use whole roasted almonds to simulate the 'petals' of a pinecone. Start at the pointed end of cheese ball and insert one end of the whole or sliced nut. Overlap one row onto the first until the cheese is covered. Use artificial pine greenery to garnish the top.

                                         Confectionately  Yours,

Egg Rolls with Plum Sauce

Hi WEEC listeners,

Please forgive me!!  I totally forgot to post last week's egg roll recipe.  Since today's segment was a repeat & you can find the recipe if you just scroll down, I will post the Egg Roll with Plum Sauce...a little late. (smiling sheepishly)



Red Plum Sauce
1 (20-oz.) can crushed pineapple in its own juice 
1 c. white vinegar
1 c. sugar
1 c. water
1 tsp. soy sauce
2 T. cornstarch dissolved in 2 tsp. water 

1 c. red plum jam

Mix sugar, water, vinegar, soy sauce, and pineapple in saucepan until boiling. Mix 

cornstarch and 2 tsp water until smooth and add to heated ingredients. Stir until thick.  

Add plum jam and stir to incorporate. Serve warm with egg rolls.

Egg Rolls
1 lb. lean ground pork 
2 carrots, grated
1-2 c. cabbage finely shredded
2-3 T. oyster sauce (in oriental food section)
1 pkg. egg roll wrappers  (about 15

 wrappers)

vegetable oil, for frying


Brown ground pork, breaking meat up into very small pieces as it cooks. Drain well.
Add cabbage and carrots to warmed meat. The cabbage will wilt a bit. Add enough 

oyster sauce to coat, but not saturate meat mixture.

Lay egg roll wrapper on counter 

with point of square toward you. Place a heaping tbs of meat mixture on middle of

wrapper. Carefully fold the point toward you over the meat, pulling it slightly toward 

you to tighten the wrapper around the meat. Fold in the sides to the middle and roll 

the wrapper toward the last point.

Dip your finger in water and dab it onto the last

point and press it onto the wrapper. It will stick to itself. Continue until all meat is 

used. 

Heat 2 inches of oil in skillet. Test oil for frying by dropping a little piece of 

wrapper into it. 

When it has turned golden brown, start adding egg rolls into the hot 

oil. Do not crowd the pan or leave it unattended. They brown very quickly. Turn over 

when browned on one side. 

Drain browned egg rolls on paper towels and keep warm

in oven until all fried. Serve hot with plum sauce.

Note: This is the first recipe I asked for as a new bride after sharing a meal with a new 

friend from Hawaii. I've made them for 30+ years. Please make the sauce when you 

make these. They really make this dish special. The egg rolls and sauce may be 

frozen.

 Heat in a 350° oven until hot and the wrapper is crisp.

Confectionately  Yours,

Sue