Covid Joural, Day 98: 5 Days of Roast Chicken

63 this morning, cloudy, then partly sunny, breezy, hot and humid.

How many ways can you use a roast chicken? A lot!

I roasted a chicken last week, and we are still eating it.

Day 1: sliced chicken breast with parsley potatoes and garden greens.

Day 2: fried rice with chicken added, garden salad. I make my fried rice with uncooked rice that's sauteed in oil with onions, then add water, chicken and some soy sauce. Added some quick scrambled eggs right at the end. So yummy.

Day 3: chicken salad wraps.  Salad made with diced chicken, chopped apple and celery, walnuts, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise. Sometimes I add raisins or grapes.

Day 4: chicken salad wraps again, since I made plenty.

Day 5: chicken alfredo with broccoli. Homemade alfredo sauce is easy and delicious

And there is still some chicken to be used! So, maybe soup is next?

I also made bone broth and put that in the freezer for later use.

I guess that one chicken could last us a whole week. We still have leftover chicken salad to use up!

I had a nice, quiet birthday today, sharing the glory with Larry as it's Father's Day too. He made me a cake, before breakfast! From a box, but delicious. Calls from all my sons and one of my sisters, always a pleasure.

We've been working on furniture projects since it's so hot outside; later our son Derek and his daughters will come over and Derek will make his famous barbecued chicken. A good day all around.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

The Falling Snow

For Snow

by Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965)

Oh the falling Snow!

Oh the falling Snow!

Where does it all come from?

Whither does it all go?

Never never laughing,

Never never weeping,

Falling in its Sleep,

Forever ever sleeping--

From what Sleep of Heaven

Does it flow, and go

Into what Sleep of Earth,

The falling, falling Snow?

--------------------------------------------

Farjeon had it right. Still it falls, and falls, and falls. Today's storm has added about 4 inches or more to the 2-3" already on the ground; the wind whipping around makes me wonder if the ridge road is drifting in. At least today has been warmer, up into the 20's even, which feels like a heat wave. Like yesterday, we've concentrated on home work. 

Today I tackled my work room once again. This room can get out of hand so quickly, which I suppose should not be a surprise considering the amount of business I do in here. I really could use more space, that's the truth, as I spill out of here frequently into other rooms, particularly to price and pack for the booths. Still, I feel fortunate to be able to work from my home, particularly in this kind of weather.

We had several packages waiting for us at the post office. Normally our mail carrier brings them to the house but not in snow. So today Larry took our truck to the top of the hill and left it there, and the mail carrier put the packages in the truck. More than one way to get it done!

I was cooking again too. I am on a mission to use up more of the food we have stored. Today I made parmesan-coated chicken, roasted seasoned potato wedges and steamed broccoli. The chicken recipe called for dijon mustard, wheat bread crumbs and fresh parsley. Since I had none of the above, I substituted and it was delicious! Here's how I made it:

8 boneless chicken breasts

2 slices rye bread

1 tsp dried Italian herbs

1 TBSP olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

horseradish sauce

Spray a baking pan with cooking oil and place the chicken on the pan.

Tear the bread into small pieces and place in a blender. Add the dried herbs, salt olive oil and cheese and pulse until the bread is crumbled and the ingredients are well blended. 

Pat the cheese mixture onto the chicken breasts and bake at 40 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until done.

We have plenty left for tomorrow, so I already have dinner made. 

We had a little scare when the gas went off in the middle of the afternoon. Larry went out and tinkered around with it and got it going pretty quickly but with the cold we've had lately and are expecting later this week we don't need the worry of the gas going off. I am not sure what caused it but we'll be keeping an eye on it for sure. Free gas is nice, but it can also be a headache--ours has frozen off once last year and once the year before so I am far from trusting it if we have to be away in cold weather. We do have backups in place--in the country a person needs to back up everything and always be planning ahead.

Stay warm!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

A Day of Baking and Cooking, and a Recipe

Today was one of those in-the-kitchen days. This coming weekend is fruitcake making with my sisters, and we also do a cookie swap so I needed to make cookies. I ended with three different kinds, and cooked dinner while I was at it. The pumpkins, cut up by Larry just before dark, will have to wait until tomorrow to be cooked down and put up. Right now, this granny is ready to be put up herself--on the couch, with her feet up!

I chose Chocolate Orange Shortbread and Italian Cookies to make for our swap, and then made a few brownie bites with Ghirardelli chocolate in the center. Good? Oh my yes. Of the three, the shortbread is my favorite--it's crisp, not too sweet and the blend of the two flavors is perfect. The Italian cookies are good too, very, very light and the glaze and sprinkles give them a festive touch. The brownie bites are delicious; maybe I was just sugared out after taste-testing all day.

I will share the recipes for the cookies tomorrow, but right now I wanted to share the recipe for what I made for dinner. It was delicious and even better, so easy. That scored high points with me today. And it was all in one pot too.

Here's the recipe:

About 2-3 cups cut-up, cooked chicken (or turkey)
One bag of egg noodles (or use your homemade ones)
1 package of frozen spinach, cooked and pressed to remove as much liquid as possible
1 pouch of onion soup mix (I try to always have this on hand for fast suppers)
1 small can of cut up mushrooms, or chop and saute fresh mushrooms (I keep canned mushrooms on hand for the same reason as the soup mix)
Corn starch for thickening
Water
Grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the noodles according to package directions; drain off most, but not all, of the cooking liquid (leave 1-2 cups in the pan). Add the cut up chicken, mushrooms, soup mix, and spinach. Heat to boiling. Mix about 3 tablespoons of corn starch with about 1/2 cup of warm water until dissolved; add to the other ingredients and cook to a boil. Cook one minute, until the liquid in the pot thickens. Remove from heat.

Serve immediately, sprinkling with the cheese if desired.

This makes enough for 6 people easily--for us, there are plenty of welcome leftovers.

My measurements are not exact but you can easily adjust them to suit your own taste.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.