Sunday, January 30, 2011

Easy Risottos--a snap!

I have long been intending to write a post on one of my favorite meals to prepare--risotto.  You can pack a whole meal into this one dish, and it is pretty darn impressive.

I also thought it was fitting to write another post involving rice with the success of good old Baked Brown Rice.  My friend Heather was kind enough to try it out and post the process on her blog.

This is a pretty basic recipe for chicken risotto with some vegetables.  An excellent go-to dish.

You can always double this recipe, but here goes:

Easy Chicken Risotto

2 T. butter
2 T. olive oil
1/2 cup onion (optional)
1 cup of arborio rice
2 cups homemade or prepared chicken stock
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cooked chicken, cut into cubes or chunks


First, melt the butter and heat the oil in a large dutch oven or saucepan.  Add the onions and saute them until translucent.   Add your rice and stir it into  the oils.  Let it brown for 1-2 minutes, until it is fragrant.

While you are browning your rice, heat up your chicken stock in a separate pan on the stove.

Add the stock to the rice mixture a ladle full at a time, waiting for the liquid to absorb before adding more.  Once you have used all stock and all liquid is absorbed, add the parmesan cheese (my mom always used Velveeta--whatever suits your fancy would work just fine).

Next, add your chicken and stir to combine.  Finally, add any (pre-cooked) vegetables that you desire.  In fact, you don't even have to add meat!

Now, stir to combine and ENJOY!!

Here are some photos of the process:


Adding chicken stock to the browned rice

Preparing the chicken

Adding the chix!

Adding frozen veggies?  Too easy! 
Parmesan!!  So delectable!


Finished product!




Indeed, folks, risotto is one of the simpler, easier meals to make, with all sorts of delicious options!  You could be more distinctive about your cheese choice--adding gruyere or some special type of cheddar.  

You could add mushrooms instead of veggies, or you could use wine to brown the rice with.  So many delicious options!

I urge all of you to try out a risotto.  And, don't forget--if at first you don't succeed, try again!  Sometimes different rice requires different amounts of liquid.  

Stick with it and you will impress all your friends.  At least that's what I imagine happening at my imaginary dinner party tonight.  Would you like to join me?

Monday, January 24, 2011

Fajitas!

Check out these babies!

So you remember when I cooked a chicken a while back?  We've been reaping the benefits of that baby for a while now. . . We had some excellent chicken sandwiches with sour dough bread from my favorite Logan Square bakery, La Boulangerie, something I can't remember, and fajitas!  Fajitas are a staple around this apartment, like an about every two week kind of staple.  Why?  Because the are cheap, easy, and flipping delicious.  When I have no idea what to make, I am tired, and I am really hungry I make fajitas.  Let me tell you how. . . .


Meat (or not) choice and marinade
You can choose what ever kind of meat you want. . .chicken, steak, no meat, whateves.  I go with chicken a lot and since I had the precooked chickie in my fridge, you better believe that is what I used.  I used about a pound. Alright, so let's say you know you are going to make fajitas and have the meat 1 - 24 hours prior to dinner time, I suggest you marinade it for a bit.  If you don't have time, don't sweat it, I don't.  Just cover the meat in some olive oil, put a chopped jalapeno (for some kick) in there, add about a teaspoon of hot sauce, and a bunch of seasoning.  I use this Fajita Seasoning from La Criolla, which seems to be a mix of salt, garlic, lemon pepper, and black pepper, so you could go that route too. 

Veggies 
Like I said earlier, you don't really need meat because the veggies in fajitas are where it is at.   I like to go heavy on the veggies and light on the meat in most fajitas scenarios (unless I feel like I need some blood to feed my blood).  Anyway, you need a couple peppers.  In this case I used 2 green peps and 2 red.  You will also need an onion.

Sliced onion

Cook it up. 
Dump your meat, marinade, and jalapenos in a steamy hot skillet and sear the outside of the meat.  When the meat is seared turn the heat down.  Add in your pretty peppers.  Saute all these goods together until the peppers are al dente.  Then throw in the onions.  Cook about 5 minutes more for some sweet fajitas. If you are living with someone like my boyfriend, Max, they will randomly sneak in to put more hot sauce into the mix.  Typical.

pretty peppers


Top it
Wrap your fajitas in warm tortillas, I like corn and top with cilantro and sour cream.

Damn I need to make these again soon.  Let's just revisit that delectable photo. 



Enjoy. 

P.S. Jeffy, don't worry, I've got chicken in the freezer for pot pies.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

A New Year's Appetizer Party!

This Christmas, I spent a lot of time at my sister-in-law's house.  As they had been hosting us for a week, when New Year's Eve rolled around, Jaime and I offered to make some party snacks to celebrate with.

It was really fun for us for several reasons:
a. We were in Portland and could find anything we wanted at the grocery store.
b. I got to make some sweets
c. We got to do something nice for our wonderful hosts!

I decided to just make some things that taste good and I thought everyone would like.  The "appetizer" menu?

-brownies
-drop sugar cookies
-ham and cheese puff pastry
-savory palmiers

The sweet treats were (of course) family recipes.  The savory treats come from none other than the Barefoot Contessa herself.  Check out the links above to see the recipes.

Here are some shots of the cooking process.  It was so fun to bake for the newest members of my family--especially my mother-in-law.  She was very appreciative.  By the way--these photos are in the order I made things---so there is going to be a back and forth.

Mixing up the sugar cookies



Pretty sugar cookie dough
Alas--what are these?  Ingredients for savory palmiers!  Puff pastry, goat cheese, pesto, and sun-dried tomatoes!



Back to the cookies--you just drop them on the sheet and sprinkle some sugar on top!

Palmiers in action--rolling out the puff pastry


It was a tough job!








Jaime gets in on the palmier action 

Spread that pesto!  Yummy!


Adding the sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese

A festive holiday delight

Fold the side in toward the center

Now fold the other side

Fold both sides over once more


Roll it in parchment paper and refrigerate

This is the first step of the ham and cheese puff pastry--roll out the puff pastry to fit your pan and spread it with mustard.

Here is Aura adding some ham to the puff pastry

Then put some cheese on top!  We used gouda (I think)

Put the second sheet of puff pastry on top

Add an egg wash to the border and crimp it with a fork


Fresh cookies, anyone?

I didn't get the brownies in progress, but here's my mom-in-law arranging everything on a tray!

Puff pastry anyone?  


Here are the palmiers sliced and on the pound

Check out this!  The little containers are full of grapes--there are 12 in each.  You eat one grape for each month of the year and make a wish for the month before you eat it!

The spread!

Champagne, anyone?

Happy New Year to you all!  I will post the super secret recipes later!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Cloth Diapering...the essentials






Ah, yes, the question that comes to every new mothers mind; cloth or disposable diapers? I say, cloth all the way! When I first knew I was pregnant I began to research cloth diapers. I wanted to make the right choice about the brand and style of diaper I was going to get, after all, these diapers were going to have to last a long time.
To make a long story short (let me just tell I looked at a lot of diapers!) I decided on the BumGenius 3.0 pocket diaper. (See above). The great thing about this diaper was it had a cloth insert and it would easily grow with the baby over time (notice the snaps on the front of the diaper). Needless to say, I am very happy about my decision.
If you are thinking that cloth diapers are a hassle and not worth the time and effort, I'm here to prove you wrong. In the next few weeks I will show you just how convenient and easy cloth diapers are to use. Let's begin with the basics: what you need in order to get started. This is the nitty gritty of cloth diapering and it ain't too complicated, so let's get started.

First, you need a supply of BumGenius 3.0 pocket diapers or whatever cloth diaper you choose. I have 12, which is good, but I launder them everyday so if you plan on washing every other day, I would recommend about 15 or so, but you can make do with whatever.

Each diaper comes with two inserts, a newborn insert, which is of course smaller and thinner (shown here) and a regular insert which is larger and more porous. The larger has snaps on it which can be adjusted as your baby grows. Currently, I use the newborn insert during the day and the regular insert at night. Both do an excellent job of soaking up moisture and folks, this is no lie, I have never had a blow out in a cloth diaper. (who can say that about a disposable diaper!)





Now, you have your diapers, but there are some essentials every cloth diapering pro must have. Let's move into the good stuff.

#1
Biokleen BAC-OUT - This spray is a natural, non-toxic enzyme cleaner that you spray on both the diaper and the insert after the diaper has been soiled, so to speak. It basically eliminates the odors of the diaper and leaves a lovely lime scent in the room.
I was actually able to purchase this at a natural food store here in town (which is amazing in Norfolk!), but you should be able to find it in the big city easily. BumGenius also carries an odor eliminator. This bottle is a great size though and lasts for a good amount of time. I've put the solution in a smaller spray bottle on the changing table which works very well. (see below)
















#2
The WET bag
This needs little explanation. A wet bag keeps the wet diapers from leaking out, well, wetness for lack of a better word. I have two wet bags so when one is washing the other is working. I use my wet bags as a trash can liner (shown below.), but you can put them just about anywhere and they come in many sizes. I purchased mine at a cloth diapering specialty shop.




















#3
A Natural Detergent

Yes, you know you have to wash those diapers often, so be sure to have your detergent at the ready. I again did a lot of research on detergent and chose Rockin' Green (don't you just love the name. I confess that might be part of the reason I chose this detergent.) because it is natural and free of dyes.
Always use a natural detergent in order to keep residue out of the diapers. Residue build up can cause the diapers to become less porous over time. I did have to go to the big city to find this detergent, but it will last a long time considering you only use about a teaspoon of detergent for each load.

Be sure to get the correct type of detergent. I had to get soft rock because I have soft water.






Now, if you have your diapers and these three essential items you will be ready to begin cloth diapering. It doesn't take much and believe me, over time, it is a lot less expensive then buying those disposable diapers! Stay tuned for more on the process of laundering diapers.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Invest Big in Homemade Chicken Stock

As you may have noticed, we ladies at the test nest like our house smelling homey and delicious with baked and cooked goods. My love, Max, much prefers it to the random scented candles I occasionally think I need to purchase. I tend to agree. Cooking a chicken is one of those aromatic delights that can assure special interest in the kitchen from Max, and I'm all for that. So anyway, it was a cold Sunday afternoon in Chicago and I had quite a bit of planning to do for my squirrley freshman, so I decided to cook a chicken while I planned.

What's nice about cooking a chicken is you get a whole lot of chicken for not much money and you get a nice stock pile of chicken stock for soups or what have you. Also, you don't need much to do it. Of course you need a chicken (but eventually you won't even need that), but in this case I had some potatoes (notice the stems) that were about to go bad, some celery, carrots, garlic, some fresh and dried herbs, and a couple of shallots. That is what I had, so that is what I used. 

Chicken stock ingredients

So first you need to chop up the ingredients.   What is awesome about this is that there is no peeling and no fine chopping involved.   I just cut the shallots in half and left the skin on them, the carrots were cut into about threes, the garlic was cut in half lengthwise with the skin still on, which looked really cool, celery keeps the leaves and everything.  Easy breezy, just like CoverGirl.

Celery Stocks

Now throw all that into a big pot and cover with water.  As you can see mine is full to the brim, which isn't a problem.  The last step is to add some salt, pepper, and herbs.  I added some dried dill and thyme with some fresh parsley.  We've got a great south facing window in the kitchen, so some winters we can get our summer herbs to hold on for a while.  As you can see, the parsley is thriving! 

Chicken stock parsley

Here is everything.   Check out that garlic!  Yes!  Notice how I didn't even cut of the stems of the parsley.  All of those stems and stocks have good flavors so that is why we want to leave them on.

chicken stock in a pot

Now, turn the burner on high and bring to a boil.  Once it boils for a couple of minutes, turn the heat down and let simmer for about 4 hours.  This is where the house gets warm and cozy, and I focus on my plans for the freshman.  I intermittently check on my goods, give it a stir, and flip the chickie over.  After about 4 hours, I am done with my planning and it is time to get the chicken out.  If you have some extra hands in the house, use them.  Nobody wants a chicken on the floor!

IMG_1232

Using a colander strain out the stock from the discards.  Put the stock in some sort of freezable container and let sit out for about an hour.  Meanwhile take the chicken off the bone, this is pretty easy since the chicken is nice and tender by now.  I save and freeze my bones and skins so I can use them, along with peels of veggies, stocks of celery, etc. that accumulate in the kitchen to use in future chicken stocks, that way you can do process this with no chicken, plus I use all those scraps that I always feel guilty about throwing away.  

chicken stock disgards


Finally, after about an hour, you will notice a thin layer of fat forming on the top of your stocks.  Skim that off so you don't have any unnecessary fats.

And check out the reaping you end up with! Wonderful.  I've already got a chicken sandwich ready for my lunch tomorrow, and thoughts of chicken pot pies in the week ahead. 

Delights of a chicken

Don't be afraid of cooking a chicken.  You don't need to follow what I did, the point is, your grandma probably did something similar to this back in the old days.  She used whatever she had around (which was probably never the same twice) to make something tasty, nutritious, and at that would serve the family for a while.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Easy Risottos--a snap!

I have long been intending to write a post on one of my favorite meals to prepare--risotto.  You can pack a whole meal into this one dish, and it is pretty darn impressive.

I also thought it was fitting to write another post involving rice with the success of good old Baked Brown Rice.  My friend Heather was kind enough to try it out and post the process on her blog.

This is a pretty basic recipe for chicken risotto with some vegetables.  An excellent go-to dish.

You can always double this recipe, but here goes:

Easy Chicken Risotto

2 T. butter
2 T. olive oil
1/2 cup onion (optional)
1 cup of arborio rice
2 cups homemade or prepared chicken stock
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cooked chicken, cut into cubes or chunks


First, melt the butter and heat the oil in a large dutch oven or saucepan.  Add the onions and saute them until translucent.   Add your rice and stir it into  the oils.  Let it brown for 1-2 minutes, until it is fragrant.

While you are browning your rice, heat up your chicken stock in a separate pan on the stove.

Add the stock to the rice mixture a ladle full at a time, waiting for the liquid to absorb before adding more.  Once you have used all stock and all liquid is absorbed, add the parmesan cheese (my mom always used Velveeta--whatever suits your fancy would work just fine).

Next, add your chicken and stir to combine.  Finally, add any (pre-cooked) vegetables that you desire.  In fact, you don't even have to add meat!

Now, stir to combine and ENJOY!!

Here are some photos of the process:


Adding chicken stock to the browned rice

Preparing the chicken

Adding the chix!

Adding frozen veggies?  Too easy! 
Parmesan!!  So delectable!


Finished product!




Indeed, folks, risotto is one of the simpler, easier meals to make, with all sorts of delicious options!  You could be more distinctive about your cheese choice--adding gruyere or some special type of cheddar.  

You could add mushrooms instead of veggies, or you could use wine to brown the rice with.  So many delicious options!

I urge all of you to try out a risotto.  And, don't forget--if at first you don't succeed, try again!  Sometimes different rice requires different amounts of liquid.  

Stick with it and you will impress all your friends.  At least that's what I imagine happening at my imaginary dinner party tonight.  Would you like to join me?

Monday, January 24, 2011

Fajitas!

Check out these babies!

So you remember when I cooked a chicken a while back?  We've been reaping the benefits of that baby for a while now. . . We had some excellent chicken sandwiches with sour dough bread from my favorite Logan Square bakery, La Boulangerie, something I can't remember, and fajitas!  Fajitas are a staple around this apartment, like an about every two week kind of staple.  Why?  Because the are cheap, easy, and flipping delicious.  When I have no idea what to make, I am tired, and I am really hungry I make fajitas.  Let me tell you how. . . .


Meat (or not) choice and marinade
You can choose what ever kind of meat you want. . .chicken, steak, no meat, whateves.  I go with chicken a lot and since I had the precooked chickie in my fridge, you better believe that is what I used.  I used about a pound. Alright, so let's say you know you are going to make fajitas and have the meat 1 - 24 hours prior to dinner time, I suggest you marinade it for a bit.  If you don't have time, don't sweat it, I don't.  Just cover the meat in some olive oil, put a chopped jalapeno (for some kick) in there, add about a teaspoon of hot sauce, and a bunch of seasoning.  I use this Fajita Seasoning from La Criolla, which seems to be a mix of salt, garlic, lemon pepper, and black pepper, so you could go that route too. 

Veggies 
Like I said earlier, you don't really need meat because the veggies in fajitas are where it is at.   I like to go heavy on the veggies and light on the meat in most fajitas scenarios (unless I feel like I need some blood to feed my blood).  Anyway, you need a couple peppers.  In this case I used 2 green peps and 2 red.  You will also need an onion.

Sliced onion

Cook it up. 
Dump your meat, marinade, and jalapenos in a steamy hot skillet and sear the outside of the meat.  When the meat is seared turn the heat down.  Add in your pretty peppers.  Saute all these goods together until the peppers are al dente.  Then throw in the onions.  Cook about 5 minutes more for some sweet fajitas. If you are living with someone like my boyfriend, Max, they will randomly sneak in to put more hot sauce into the mix.  Typical.

pretty peppers


Top it
Wrap your fajitas in warm tortillas, I like corn and top with cilantro and sour cream.

Damn I need to make these again soon.  Let's just revisit that delectable photo. 



Enjoy. 

P.S. Jeffy, don't worry, I've got chicken in the freezer for pot pies.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

A New Year's Appetizer Party!

This Christmas, I spent a lot of time at my sister-in-law's house.  As they had been hosting us for a week, when New Year's Eve rolled around, Jaime and I offered to make some party snacks to celebrate with.

It was really fun for us for several reasons:
a. We were in Portland and could find anything we wanted at the grocery store.
b. I got to make some sweets
c. We got to do something nice for our wonderful hosts!

I decided to just make some things that taste good and I thought everyone would like.  The "appetizer" menu?

-brownies
-drop sugar cookies
-ham and cheese puff pastry
-savory palmiers

The sweet treats were (of course) family recipes.  The savory treats come from none other than the Barefoot Contessa herself.  Check out the links above to see the recipes.

Here are some shots of the cooking process.  It was so fun to bake for the newest members of my family--especially my mother-in-law.  She was very appreciative.  By the way--these photos are in the order I made things---so there is going to be a back and forth.

Mixing up the sugar cookies



Pretty sugar cookie dough
Alas--what are these?  Ingredients for savory palmiers!  Puff pastry, goat cheese, pesto, and sun-dried tomatoes!



Back to the cookies--you just drop them on the sheet and sprinkle some sugar on top!

Palmiers in action--rolling out the puff pastry


It was a tough job!








Jaime gets in on the palmier action 

Spread that pesto!  Yummy!


Adding the sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese

A festive holiday delight

Fold the side in toward the center

Now fold the other side

Fold both sides over once more


Roll it in parchment paper and refrigerate

This is the first step of the ham and cheese puff pastry--roll out the puff pastry to fit your pan and spread it with mustard.

Here is Aura adding some ham to the puff pastry

Then put some cheese on top!  We used gouda (I think)

Put the second sheet of puff pastry on top

Add an egg wash to the border and crimp it with a fork


Fresh cookies, anyone?

I didn't get the brownies in progress, but here's my mom-in-law arranging everything on a tray!

Puff pastry anyone?  


Here are the palmiers sliced and on the pound

Check out this!  The little containers are full of grapes--there are 12 in each.  You eat one grape for each month of the year and make a wish for the month before you eat it!

The spread!

Champagne, anyone?

Happy New Year to you all!  I will post the super secret recipes later!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Cloth Diapering...the essentials






Ah, yes, the question that comes to every new mothers mind; cloth or disposable diapers? I say, cloth all the way! When I first knew I was pregnant I began to research cloth diapers. I wanted to make the right choice about the brand and style of diaper I was going to get, after all, these diapers were going to have to last a long time.
To make a long story short (let me just tell I looked at a lot of diapers!) I decided on the BumGenius 3.0 pocket diaper. (See above). The great thing about this diaper was it had a cloth insert and it would easily grow with the baby over time (notice the snaps on the front of the diaper). Needless to say, I am very happy about my decision.
If you are thinking that cloth diapers are a hassle and not worth the time and effort, I'm here to prove you wrong. In the next few weeks I will show you just how convenient and easy cloth diapers are to use. Let's begin with the basics: what you need in order to get started. This is the nitty gritty of cloth diapering and it ain't too complicated, so let's get started.

First, you need a supply of BumGenius 3.0 pocket diapers or whatever cloth diaper you choose. I have 12, which is good, but I launder them everyday so if you plan on washing every other day, I would recommend about 15 or so, but you can make do with whatever.

Each diaper comes with two inserts, a newborn insert, which is of course smaller and thinner (shown here) and a regular insert which is larger and more porous. The larger has snaps on it which can be adjusted as your baby grows. Currently, I use the newborn insert during the day and the regular insert at night. Both do an excellent job of soaking up moisture and folks, this is no lie, I have never had a blow out in a cloth diaper. (who can say that about a disposable diaper!)





Now, you have your diapers, but there are some essentials every cloth diapering pro must have. Let's move into the good stuff.

#1
Biokleen BAC-OUT - This spray is a natural, non-toxic enzyme cleaner that you spray on both the diaper and the insert after the diaper has been soiled, so to speak. It basically eliminates the odors of the diaper and leaves a lovely lime scent in the room.
I was actually able to purchase this at a natural food store here in town (which is amazing in Norfolk!), but you should be able to find it in the big city easily. BumGenius also carries an odor eliminator. This bottle is a great size though and lasts for a good amount of time. I've put the solution in a smaller spray bottle on the changing table which works very well. (see below)
















#2
The WET bag
This needs little explanation. A wet bag keeps the wet diapers from leaking out, well, wetness for lack of a better word. I have two wet bags so when one is washing the other is working. I use my wet bags as a trash can liner (shown below.), but you can put them just about anywhere and they come in many sizes. I purchased mine at a cloth diapering specialty shop.




















#3
A Natural Detergent

Yes, you know you have to wash those diapers often, so be sure to have your detergent at the ready. I again did a lot of research on detergent and chose Rockin' Green (don't you just love the name. I confess that might be part of the reason I chose this detergent.) because it is natural and free of dyes.
Always use a natural detergent in order to keep residue out of the diapers. Residue build up can cause the diapers to become less porous over time. I did have to go to the big city to find this detergent, but it will last a long time considering you only use about a teaspoon of detergent for each load.

Be sure to get the correct type of detergent. I had to get soft rock because I have soft water.






Now, if you have your diapers and these three essential items you will be ready to begin cloth diapering. It doesn't take much and believe me, over time, it is a lot less expensive then buying those disposable diapers! Stay tuned for more on the process of laundering diapers.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Invest Big in Homemade Chicken Stock

As you may have noticed, we ladies at the test nest like our house smelling homey and delicious with baked and cooked goods. My love, Max, much prefers it to the random scented candles I occasionally think I need to purchase. I tend to agree. Cooking a chicken is one of those aromatic delights that can assure special interest in the kitchen from Max, and I'm all for that. So anyway, it was a cold Sunday afternoon in Chicago and I had quite a bit of planning to do for my squirrley freshman, so I decided to cook a chicken while I planned.

What's nice about cooking a chicken is you get a whole lot of chicken for not much money and you get a nice stock pile of chicken stock for soups or what have you. Also, you don't need much to do it. Of course you need a chicken (but eventually you won't even need that), but in this case I had some potatoes (notice the stems) that were about to go bad, some celery, carrots, garlic, some fresh and dried herbs, and a couple of shallots. That is what I had, so that is what I used. 

Chicken stock ingredients

So first you need to chop up the ingredients.   What is awesome about this is that there is no peeling and no fine chopping involved.   I just cut the shallots in half and left the skin on them, the carrots were cut into about threes, the garlic was cut in half lengthwise with the skin still on, which looked really cool, celery keeps the leaves and everything.  Easy breezy, just like CoverGirl.

Celery Stocks

Now throw all that into a big pot and cover with water.  As you can see mine is full to the brim, which isn't a problem.  The last step is to add some salt, pepper, and herbs.  I added some dried dill and thyme with some fresh parsley.  We've got a great south facing window in the kitchen, so some winters we can get our summer herbs to hold on for a while.  As you can see, the parsley is thriving! 

Chicken stock parsley

Here is everything.   Check out that garlic!  Yes!  Notice how I didn't even cut of the stems of the parsley.  All of those stems and stocks have good flavors so that is why we want to leave them on.

chicken stock in a pot

Now, turn the burner on high and bring to a boil.  Once it boils for a couple of minutes, turn the heat down and let simmer for about 4 hours.  This is where the house gets warm and cozy, and I focus on my plans for the freshman.  I intermittently check on my goods, give it a stir, and flip the chickie over.  After about 4 hours, I am done with my planning and it is time to get the chicken out.  If you have some extra hands in the house, use them.  Nobody wants a chicken on the floor!

IMG_1232

Using a colander strain out the stock from the discards.  Put the stock in some sort of freezable container and let sit out for about an hour.  Meanwhile take the chicken off the bone, this is pretty easy since the chicken is nice and tender by now.  I save and freeze my bones and skins so I can use them, along with peels of veggies, stocks of celery, etc. that accumulate in the kitchen to use in future chicken stocks, that way you can do process this with no chicken, plus I use all those scraps that I always feel guilty about throwing away.  

chicken stock disgards


Finally, after about an hour, you will notice a thin layer of fat forming on the top of your stocks.  Skim that off so you don't have any unnecessary fats.

And check out the reaping you end up with! Wonderful.  I've already got a chicken sandwich ready for my lunch tomorrow, and thoughts of chicken pot pies in the week ahead. 

Delights of a chicken

Don't be afraid of cooking a chicken.  You don't need to follow what I did, the point is, your grandma probably did something similar to this back in the old days.  She used whatever she had around (which was probably never the same twice) to make something tasty, nutritious, and at that would serve the family for a while.