Roast Chicken with Gravy and Mediterranean Stuffing

What a fancy title! For what will probably be one of my shortest posts ever...

I was in the mood for some thanksgiving-style turkey and stuffing one day, but I also had sort of a salt/savory craving. Also, I felt inordinately lazy (yes, I was pregnant.)



I had some pre-made "Mediterranean salad": the kind you find in the deli section at Jewel, near the hummus and pre-made meals. It had beans, couscous, carrots, parsley and other grains and seasonings in a vinaigrette dressing. I mixed up some Stouffer's stuffing, and added the bean salad to it. I also added some pitted and diced calamata olives to it. Voila! Mediterranean-style stuffing.

I continued on my cheating bender and purchased a rotisserie chicken. I made gravy by using the drippings in the bottom of the container. I added them to a pan, then sprinkled on flour to make a roux, and added chicken broth and seasoning until I liked the taste.



Scratched that itch, and with as little energy expended as a football-viewing couch potato might use to scratch his expanding midsection.

Crockpot BBQ and Easy Smashed Potatoes

I've been shopping at Costco more often, in an attempt to make several portions and thereby keep our food costs down. Neither of us mind leftovers, so that works out well.

A couple of weeks ago I grabbed some boneless beef ribs on sale that looked tasty. I decided to try to make some "Crockpot BBQ" out of them instead of slow-cooking them in the oven.



I seared the meat in a skillet first on all sides, using a nice hot pan and then I seasoned them at that time, as well (salt, pepper, garlic powder). Then I put them in the slow cooker with what has developed into my bar-b-que sauce recipe (I keep tweaking):

two cups of catsup, or ketchup if ya nasty
one cup of mustard, any kind
two capfuls of liquid smoke
about a quarter to a half cup of molasses
one cup of packed brown sugar
as much Red Hot sauce as you think you’ll like
one dark beer, or a couple of shots bourbon
half a medium onion, diced finely
two cloves diced garlic
a heavy shake of cumin (don't be shy) and a shake of coriander
salt and pepper (plenty of black pepper)
two small cans of tomato paste (this is the new part - my sauce was coming out too runny)

I cooked the beef for about six hours. I had to skim fat (oil) off the top, because the ribs were pretty fatty. However, after that was done the beef didn't have any big pieces of fat on it, because it had all been rendered and skimmed off the top. (Now I dunno if that's for everyone, but I happen to be what the epicurean ladies call a "real man" in my cooking.)

I made smashed 'taters, too. Several years ago I started making these based on something I saw Rachel Ray do with red potatoes. It works with those, but I like the Yukon Gold even better. If you haven't tried those potatoes, you really must. They're buttery, and the skins are light.

I scrub the potatoes (about 6-8 of them), then I dice them and boil them with plenty of salt in the water. I don't peel them (they're better for you this way, anyway), I just remove the bad bits and the "eyes." I drain them, then add one container of cream cheese (believe it or not, the fat-free works fine, too), and enough chicken broth a bit at a time until they are the consistency I want using a hand potato masher. Then I add salt and pepper to taste. Without the peeling and the whipping, making mashed potatoes this way is just as easy as making any other veggie.

I served it with green salad or a green veggie (taking back my "real man" status, perhaps), and DAMN. I have to say I just about sprained a muscle patting myself on the back over this one. Hoo doggie! I think it came to about $1.50 or $2 each serving. Lots of leftovers, too, and the taters just soak up that sauce.

Happy New Year, Everyone

Be careful, and resist any urge you may have to eat the cork!



Trust us on this one... You'll only regret it in the morning.

Rabbit rabbit rabbit! See you next year!

Fudge-O-Rama

Last year at Christmastime, we were home shopping, selling our condominium, and trying to get pregnant. It was a lot to deal with at one time. My brother tells me I'm always trying to do two or three life-changing things in one year, and I think he's right. But you know, we had to get out of that condo if we were going to raise children. It was a lovely place for the two of us to live for the first four years of our marriage, but have I ever showed you the microwave that we had?



The handle, where you see the chip at the top, fell into some soup I was making one day, and I had to fish it out (in a restaurant, you would have thrown the soup away, but that isn't happening at my house.) And note the classy repair at the bottom of the handle:



Do you have new respect for me as a cook, or what?

Anyway, of course we had to replace the microwave before we sold the place. We replaced closet doors, cabinet fixtures, had the carpet steam-cleaned, repainted chipped areas of the walls and all that home-selling stuff... But let me tell ya, none of that stuff would have mattered if there were rubber bands and garbage bag ties on the microwave, would it?

Needless to say, with all the repairs, closing costs, a fat down payment on the new place, paying a realtor and a couple of home inspectors (we had a couple of homes we decided not to buy after the inspection), we were kind of short on funds last year. So I gave a whole lotta fudge away as gifts.



I doubled, or possibly tripled, my favorite fudge recipe (be warned - you need a BIG pot and a strong stirring arm for that so that the chocolatey mass doesn't burn) and let it all cool. Then I cut it into squares, and put the squares on small cupcake liners with a holiday theme. Then I put several into a wax-lined baked goods bag (they have all this stuff at the regular grocery store) and kept all the bags in the fridge. Just be warned: use the plastic or waxy bags, or you'll have what looks from the outside like a bag o' grease, and no one wants that in their stocking.)

I gave one to the realtor, one to a neighbor, two to my husband's bosses, some to coworkers, one to my architect patient who looked at a house's foundation for us for free, etc. They make great presents to have on hand for those kind of folks, and what's better than a homemade gift? And let's face it, any time I can get sweets without baking is an ideal situation for me.

My favorite fudge recipe is the one on the back of the Marshmallow Fluff jar: "Never Fail Fudge." That's right! "Ancient Chinese Secret, huh?"

2 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup (1/8 lb.) butter or margarine
1 small can (5 oz.) evaporated milk
1 jar (7 1/2 oz.) Marshmallow FLUFF
3/4 tsp. salt
_________________________
3/4 tsp. vanilla
1 large (12 oz.) package semi-sweet chocolate pieces

Combine first five ingredients. Bring to a boil over a moderate heat, being careful not to mistake air bubbles for boiling. Then boil slowly, stiffing constantly, for five minutes (to soft ball stage.) Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate and vanilla until chocolate is melted. Then turn into a buttered 9 x 9 inch pan and cool (I prefer to put it into a foil-lined pan that has been sprayed with Pam, because it is easier to get it all out that way).



That old kitchen wasn't all bad... I sure do miss that gas stove! I'm still not used to the electric stove here. One day I will treat myself to a gas stove again. Until then, I will probably have several burned batches of fudge...

Open-Faced Chicken Cordon Bleu with Dill and Wine Sauce

Okay, if my efforts hit the mark, that sounds fancy - but it only took me about twenty minutes to make this dish.

I started with some pre-pounded chicken breasts (the Perdue Fit & Easy). I browned them (and cooked them through, because really, they're so thin) in a pan with a little olive oil, and seasoned them with salt and pepper. Then I removed them to a cookie sheet on some aluminum foil, and made the sauce in the same pan.

I started with a roux, with just a little butter and some flour added to the pan until it is combined (when it balls up and smells a little nutty. Can't wait to see what searches bring up THAT phrase).



Then I added some wine (nothing measured, of course), about enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Remember the salmon with dill sauce? Well, I had some leftover sauce, and I added it to the pan (or you could just add butter, dill, sour cream or milk, lemon juice and chicken stock to taste). If your sauce is too thick, you can thin it out with some chicken stock. If it is too thin, you can put some flour in a Pyrex cup, add some of the warm sauce (a few tablespoons) to the mix, whisk it, then add that back to the pan. But let your sauce come to a full, gentle boil before you judge the thickness: that's when the flour roux really kicks in.

Separately, I put the chicken breasts in the oven with some prosciutto and sliced ham (you can use either, I just happened to have both since we'd had company that week, and I was stocked up on pork products. Because when you come to my house? You generally get meat). Then I topped it with swiss cheese and melted it all together. You can do this while you're making the sauce, if you're super efficient.



Take the chicken out of the oven, pour the sauce on top and serve with asparagus and French bread. Why? Because it's "Frenchy." (Then, if you're a fan of "Better Off Dead," you can serve it at your holiday dinner with "Franch fries... AND, Franch dressing... AND, Franch bread. AND, to drink... PERU!")

Steaks, plus Grilled Salmon with Dill Sauce

Ah, summer, we hardly knew ye. Between morning sickness, and later on, simple intolerance of the summer heat in my huge-anic condition, I didn't get outside much this past summer. But we did manage to purchase a nice Weber gas grill. We spent a little extra just to get the Weber, and boy do we loves it.



The first thing we grilled were some simple steaks. I marinated some strip steaks in a plastic bag with soy sauce, olive oil, and some herbs from our garden. (And by garden, I mean two herb pots.) I salted and peppered them, and cooked them to a perfect medium as per the Weber instructions. I even let Chris turn them once. For the photo, of course.



They came out perfectly done, and with lots of flavor. Lets grill some more stuff, I shouted!



Over the summer we grilled chicken (several times), tri-color turkey burgers, and bratwurst. Every single one came out wonderfully well. But I think the salmon we grilled was my favorite.



I seasoned the fish very simply with olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Then I made an easy dill sauce that I sort of just made up on the fly. I squeezed the juice of two lemons into a Pyrex glass cup, and put a half-stick of butter into that, and melted it in the microwave in less than a minute. I added chopped dill, a smidge of sugar, and about two heaping tablespoons of sour cream and whisked it all together right in the Pyrex. I served the fish with cooked grains and steamed broccoli, and poured that sauce over everything.



Now that there is snow on the ground, I think we'll keep bundling up and going outside to grill. For four to eight minutes of freezing half to death, it's totally worth it!

Italian Quickie

...And no, I'm not talking about the night that resulted in our baby girl. Oh man, I am KILLING with these jokes lately. Hello? Is this thing on?

The last week of my pregnancy, I wanted three things: meat, cheese, and not to do any work. But I wanted to do something that might convince my husband I was someone resembling the woman he married, so I made one last big meal before the hospital stay.

When he walked in the door, I had created little parcel-like appetizers by wrapping buffalo mozzarella slices, tomato slices, and fresh basil in prosciutto. I found the prosciutto at HALF PRICE at my new favorite store, Valli produce in Arlington Heights.



And yeah, the mozzarella was pre-sliced. Think that's lazy? Oh wait, it gets better.



When I had crammed about four of those into my maw, I decided to make dinner. I used JAR spaghetti sauce, and JAR bechamel or alfredo sauce. And before you have that thought, do me one favor: strap a fifty-pound weight to your stomach. Then cinch it up so that it presses on your heart. Then get someone to kick it up into your ribcage every fifteen seconds. Climb the stairs a few times, go to work for the day, and THEN you judge me.



I alternated the layers of ricotta, egg, parsely and mozzarella mixture with layers of tomato sauce and layers of the alfredo sauce. It was also my first outing with the no-bake lasagna noodles. I'd always feared them in the past, but desperate times...



The result was nothing like homemade or from scratch, but it definitely scratched the itch, if you know what I mean. It was rich, warm, and right on time!