at first I thought of blogs as time wasted- who would read it? And then when I really thought about my love of food and sharing that with the world in a small way- i realized..who cares?
If one person-even just one of my friends reads it- at least I know they may have learned one thing from an entry. People are always asking me for recipes and a lot of the time I just make it up- so here is a place where I plan to start recording my cooking adventures and mishaps (we all have them) even if it just for one person- whoever you are- thank you for reading and maybe I can entertain you on some level.
Cooking has always been more to me than a chore- how some people see it that way-I have no idea, cooking for me is a way of expressing myself, showing people I care about them, a stress reliever, and creative outlet. I LOVE TO COOK and if I could do anything for the rest of my life- it would be cooking. My husband has told people that I would feed the mail man if he was hungry or if he asked- and rightly so i probably would! I get such joy from feeding people its ridiculous- when someone tells me they don't want to impose on me for dinner- its not an imposition- its a treat. Of course don't get me wrong sometimes i just want to be alone we all have those days- but the majority of the time- I am ready to feed the world!
Cooking 24 hours a day 7 days a week does cause some obvious problems
a) If i cook- I eat- and I have zero self control with food- so not a good idea
- this is why I always want to feed people! To spread the wealth!
b) I need to make a living so some obvious time needs to be dedicated here
So instead: this will be the solution for a while- I know that in the near future I will have to take some sort of schooling in culinary arts but for right now I will settle for teaching my students as much as grade 1's and 2's can learn about cooking. What I really want to teach them- is that cooking is fun, its a way of learning, a way of communicating, a way to express yourself, and something to be enjoyed!
How good does it feel to eat something amazing and know that you put your love into that? How good is it to go to a friends house and know that they were thinking of you while they cooked you a meal? Those kinds of things are beyond words to me- I don't think many people understand it but that's the great thing about a blog- I can now tell them!
My earliest memories of cooking come from visiting my beloved auntie. She would bring a chair over to the oven for me (the oven was off don't worry) hand me a wooden spoon, fill a pan with water and let me dump in spices. It wasn't much but it was just imagining what I could create that thrilled me. When I got a bit older - she taught me how to chop vegetables which were added to my random concoctions, and slowly but surely it evolved to us cooking together, and shaped me into the crazy cook that I and many consider myself today.
If anything maybe I can ignite a love of cooking or experimenting in the kitchen for anyone who sees my blog- or reignite some one's passion for it, when life gets in the way. We have so many cook books- twenty minutes till dinner, five ingredients, blah blah blah- just have fun- cook with things you like- and you cant go wrong! Things in restaurants taste amazing but think about that chicken, pasta or sandwich you like to eat so much at _________(name of restaurant) and try to make it yourself! You might totally fail and it might taste like absolute junk- but you took a risk and you tried! Laugh at yourself- have fun- and along the way you might discover something great. Sharing that something great takes a recipe from simple to amazing!
So I'll tell you about my latest project: Cook a chicken on Sunday and eat all week!
It's so easy, you cant find an excuse not to!
All you do is take:
- a 5-6 pound chicken
- three or four russet potatoes
- 4 to five carrots
- 2 onions
- 3 garlic cloves
After you drizzle and season your veggies and use your best kitchen tools: your hands- and toss them!
Veggies= done!
Now take your chicken and pat it dry with a paper towel- make sure its defrosted at this point- if it is from frozen defrost it overnight in the refrigerator and you will be good to go!
Move your veggies to the sides of the roasting pan (surrounding the chicken) and put it in the middle. If you love onions i suggest sticking a whole onion inside the chicken- sound gross but its true- it will make a difference- or take a whole head of garlic chop off the top so the cloves are exposed and shove that on in there- the flavor will be crazy good!
I put that into a 425 degree oven, lid off, for about 25 minutes. The reason I do this is I am letting my skin crisp up- and yes i eat the chicken skin- its awesome- and if you don't your missing out -no joke. After the 25 minutes i turn the temperature down to 375, put the lid back on, and let it go for about an hour and a half.
Your house will smell amazing- your dinner is done with not a lot of effort- and you have the base for the next five meals on the menu. It really could not be easier- and this will start to be a favorite staple recipe- i guarantee it.
Day 1: Chicken with roasted vegetables
After dinner is all done and you have some time: you are going to use all of the parts of your chicken now- and they will benefit you later- take the chicken meat off the bones and chop roughly into bite size pieces, into a storage container and the fridge and done! Take your bones and put them into a labeled ziploc and stick them in the freezer for the one day that I tell you how to make chicken stock- its easy and will take more bones so start a collection bag- it takes no effort and there is no waste from this recipe so its a bonus!
Your pan drippings which are delicious and so many people get rid of- put them in a twist top ziploc container and let it sit till cool. At this point the fat - which will look white- will float to the top- just skim that off and throw that ziploc into the freezer. You can use that any time to add amazing flavor to chicken soup, stock, or make gravy instantly!
I bet you never thought you would be freezing bones- or pan drippings but people- the time has come - and the amazing food you will be making will all be worth it!
Now for Day 2 (Monday):
That was today- i came home sick sick sick- and wanted something FAST, tasty and comforting and this is what i came up with:
Creamy mushroom vegetables over rice.
One of the best things you can ever invest in gadget wise in the kitchen is a rice cooker- its always perfect- and so fast! It took me forever to learn to make rice- and sure now I can but this is just too easy- so I will probably never make rice on the stove top again-i put my rice in, 1 1/2 times water to rice and hit on- it doesn't get simpler than that...
What i mean is- if i need 1 cup of rice which will feed 2 people with 1 dish of leftovers, I will need to add in 1 1/2 c of water. I know the directions on the rice cooker say to do it evenly but I'm sorry- crunchy rice is not appetizing to me.
So the rice cooker was doing the work and I started on my creamy mushroom vegetables.
I finely minced one onion, added 1 whole carrot (chopped), and a couple of mushrooms, chopped, to a pan that was heated through with about a tablespoon of olive oil, ans a teaspoon of butter. (The butter is flavor, and the oil is to keep it all from burning.) I let these guys go on medium heat until my onions started turning clear, I then added about a cup of chopped chicken, half a cup of frozen peas, and a whole can of mushroom soup that i had mixed with three tablespoons of milk. (You can use any kind of condensed soup- celery, or broccoli- whatever you like really! And if you don't like mushrooms- don't use them! Try broccoli instead, or asparagus, try different things out!)
I seasoned with: 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, and 1 tablespoon of cream cheese. (Yes cream cheese- it is the most undervalued of all cheeses in the kitchen- but I will save the rest of my rant for another entry.)
I kept this all going on medium heat until it bubbled and stirred constantly. Then literally after about ten minutes of everything going in one pot - the rice was done- my mixture was bubbling and in about 20 minutes I had a really comforting meal.
I put rice in bowls- covered it with a good spoon of my creamy chicken mixture and voila! Done!
I am happily writing this blog right now in bed- and there was not much effort in that! Yay for comforting meals that take no time. The Sunday chicken was so worth the effort!
The plan for the rest of the week is:
Day 3 Tuesday: Chicken Caesar Salad
Day 4 Wednesday: Chicken quesadillas with peppers onions, chicken, and cheese.
Day 5 Thursday: Easy Chicken soup: Take 1 onion, 2 carrots, and 2 celery stalks. Chop them all small and around the same size and saute them till the onions are clear in a tablespoon of olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper, and add 1-2 cups of the chicken. Let the mixture go for one minute once you have added the chicken and then add 1 liter carton of reduced sodium chicken broth and two cups of water. Turn the heat down low and let this simmer. Finish with fresh herbs such as parsley- and you have chicken soup! We don't have enough bones to do it from scratch yet- and no one will know the difference so just roll with it!
I would also add some egg noodles when serving but cook these on their own- I find when people cook noodles in a soup, they get kind of "soggy" and each time you reheat the soup its almost like re cooking the noodles, and in my opinions- its kind of gross. But hey if you like it- no judgment! Just be happy!
Day 6 Friday: chicken sandwich or wrap! It doesn't get more basic than this people- mayo or ranch, tomato, lettuce, cheese, maybe some bacon, avocado, and sprouts, if your feeling up to it and you have a killer meal!
Cooking doesn't have to be complicated!
Enjoy it!!!:)
And that is how easily 1 chicken can mean six dinners- on Saturday go out for supper because you were so dedicated! I encourage you to!
Hope you enjoyed it! Next time: The undervalued cheese...;)
Ps this is based on the servings for two people- mind you- its kind of like three because Kevin eats so much so if you have a family it might not last you as long- but you get the idea!:)
Nice work Sistah!!! I will be a faithful reader for sure (even though I won't be doing much, if at all any, cooking these next 10 months). Love you lots.
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