Act II of the Rotisserie Chicken

If you read last weeks post, you know I purchased one of those rotisserie chickens from my local supermarket for $4.99. I understand the price has gone up to $5.29 (.30 more). Still a good price for the amount of meals I made from that one little chicken. _______________________________________________________________________ I am cooking for one, so if there's more people to feed at your house, the chicken will not be as good a deal as it is for me. But even if you get 2 meals from it, it's roughly $2.50 a meal. I had at least four meals of chicken tortellini soup, three meals of chicken salad, and one meal of chicken quesadilla. That's eight meals from one little rotisserie chicken. About .63 a meal. _______________________________________________________________________ My recipe for chicken salad - I use only the white meat or breast portion - I shred that into a quart glass measuring bowl (with a cover). Dice a couple ribs of celery - a handful (1/3 cup) of halved grapes or white raisins - a handfull of chopped pecans. Mix that all together. Use enough mayonaise (I use light) to moisten the salad. Before mixing the mayonaise through the salad, I add a sprinkle or two of curry powder to the mayo. In the picture, I have served the chicken salad in a toast cup. But it can also be served on a lettuce leaf or in a sandwich. _____________________________________________________________________ For the toast cup, I buttered both sides of a piece of white bread, put it in a ramekin sprayed with Pam, into a 400 degree over for about 10 minutes.

Meals for One

Anything to do with the kitchen is exciting, stimulating, enjoyment for me. I love everything about it. Presentation, table setting, table linens, cookware, peeling, dicing, chopping, shredding, simmering, broiling, frying, roasting, grilling, sauteing - yes........even shopping. _____________________________________________________________________ Preparing dinner for a crowd of 30 people has me on high alert, making lists, preparing and freezing, rearranging furniture so everyone is comfortable while they eat. I draw up menus, make a time table, get out seldom used serving ware, think about decor (candles, paperware, beverages, etc.) And, all the while, I'm on cloud nine. ______________________________________________________________________ I have arranged a meal for all the faculty and staff in our local Christian School. I recruited a cooking-serving-decorating team. It was a lovely meal, consisting of a first course of chicken soup, chicken parmesan, stuffed shells, salad, Lemon ice for dessert. Backstage, it operated like a well-oiled machine. _______________________________________________________________________ But my current life situation has caught me off guard (a bit). I expected to be preparing meals, at least, for two, until I died. This has not been the case. My precious husband and dear companion went to be with Jesus a little over two years ago. I find myself in this "cooking for one" situation without much practice. But, I think I am finally getting the hang of it and I want to share it with you. Please send the link to this post to those you know who may be struggling with a similar situation and making do with "fast food" or prepared meals, when cooking for one is so rewarding and delicious. ________________________________________________________________________ When you're cooking for one, you usually make a whole bunch of servings - have one of them for dinner, separate the remainder into "one meal" portions and freeze. How lovely to peek into your freezer like you're looking at an array spread out at a sumptuous buffet. ________________________________________________________________________ Here's a START. Buy one of those rotisserie chickens at the supermarket. Choose the least spiced up one. (I usually get the lemon chicken). For tonight's meal - pull a little of the breast off - shred that - set it aside - cover a large tortilla with tex/mex shredded cheese - nuke for about 20 seconds (til the cheese melts)- lay your shredded chicken onto the top half of the tortilla on top of the melted cheese - then add whatever trimmings you like - I like medium hot salsa, sour cream, guacamole, a few scallion bits - roll up the tortilla by first rolling it over the filling, then tuck in the sides, then finish up rolling it, nice and neat. Cut in half crosswize on the diagonal. Serve with a tall glass of iced tea. And, perhaps a bit of dessert. This is very satisfying and meets the RDA food pyramid guide lines. _________________________________________________________________________ After dinner, remove the entire container with chicken to the fridge for tomorrows meal.On the following afternoon, remove remaining breast meat from the rotisserie chicken to make chicken salad from it for tonight's dinner (recipe on next week's post) After making chicken salad with the remaining breast meat, take the chicken carcass with the dark meat on it, wrap it in saran, tuck into a plastic zipper bag and freeze it. Also any juices in the bottom of the supermarket container. Pour them into a small container and freeze. Those will be for the wonderful chicken tortellini soup you'll make for meal #3.

Kids Are The Funniest People On Earth

When I had granchildren, I realized what a treasure trove of stories I had missed out on because I didn't keep an orderly record of the funny things my children said and did. I remember lots of those episodes and do have some jotted down on anything I could get my hands on at the moment. Some are on torn out tablet pages, some on the backs of envelopes, even some on a scrap of unknown origin. I made a promise to myself that I'd keep an orderly record in a journal of the funny things my grandchildren said and did. I have been faithful to that promise. Here is the journal I used.

Their moms would also share with me the funny sayings that these little munchkins said and did while away from my presence. As you can see, my collection has greatly exploded out of the journal. They began to give me copies of their school report cards. They also made me Mother's Day cards, Easter cards, Christmas cards, Valentine's cards. They wrote me notes, they received honors, etc. All that is overflowing the basket I had decided to save them in. Now I need a bigger container.

I want to encourage you too, if you're a gramma or a mamma, to keep a record of your children's or grandchildren's innocent early dhildhood sayings. They are too precious to forget. You'll so enjoy reading over these entries in years to come. And the best part.............those children who you've journaled about get multiplied joy and amusement when they're grown up and visiting Grammy and drag out that journal, sit on the couch and roll over in infectious laughter while reading this record of their babyhood. I'll share with you a story about Melissa, just turning 3 and embarking upon a program she had been avoiding for a long time - potty training. One evening after supper, she, her big brother and her Dad went on a bike ride over to the playground. She rode in the child seat on her Dad's bike and big brother had his own bike. While enjoying the playground equipment, Melissa got that "funny look" on her face and her Dad asked her if she had to go potty. "No" she said. He thought better of that and said "c'mon, let's get you up here in the seat and we'll go home so you can go potty". All the while he's speaking, she's backing up, further and further away from him. Then she ceremoniously replys to his invitation to be lifted up onto the bike baby seat, saying, "no thanks, I'll walk". Can you guess why?

Fear Not

When Tuesdays roll around, I usually am at a loss what to blog about. This morning I prayed about it. This is what the Lord impressed upon me to share. It is actually from a little devotional booklet that I use every day, called OUR DAILY BREAD. It's amazing to me how these little lessons are often so "right on". They seem to apply directly to something I need to hear or to know, exactly right then. The devotion for each day has a scripture portion along with a life illustration. Today, the scripture was Isaiah 43:1-4. The life lesson that was the other half of today's devotion, was shared by a husband whose wife had a very difficult pregnancy. She became weaker and weaker. There was danger that he would lose both his wife and newborn child. The promise in this scripture was a great comfort to him at that time - just knowing that the Lord was there with him, had not abandoned him - knew what was happening in his life. At one time in my life, the Lord made this portion of scripture very personal and real to me. I was a new believer at the time and didn't even know there was an Isaiah 43. But, somehow, He took me there and showed me His heart and it lifted me out of a very scary place. There were several times in my life (before I was a believer) where I was so frightened that I literally couldn't think straight. During those fearful times, I didn't eat, had no appetite (for me this is VERY unusual), just moved about on "automatic pilot". Nothing registered in my mind. My mind was so focused on what I feared. Drove places and had no memory of how I got there. As a new believer, again walking through a dark place once again, I had confidence that I never had before. I KNEW the Lord was with me, He was carrying me and I was lifted. I mean, I, literately FELT, lifted up. I did not feel that disconnected effect I had in the past. It's never returned. I had a vision of what these experiences looked like. As an unbeliever, walking through these kinds events, I felt like I was drowning, in dark, swirling, murkey water up to my shoulders and rising. After I was rescued, walking through some of the same kinds of events, I saw myself running through ankle deep, clear, refreshing water. All the while splashing like a child in a kiddie pool.

".......Fear not for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you..............." Isaiah 43: 1-2

A Visit To The Canal

When Sammy visits Grammy, we usually include a visit to the canal. I'm speaking of the Erie Canal, built in 1825 and opening up points west to economic development. The canal cut the cost of transportation by 95% and was a monumental feat of engineering with its locks to move the water through varying elevations. The canal brought goods and services from Albany NY to Buffalo NY, a distance of 363 miles. The barges were pulled by mules which walked along the canal banks pulling their precious cargo. None of this means a hill of beans to Sammy though. To her, it's a wonderful place to visit because there's an ice cream store that sells fresh homemade icecream................plus she gets to feed the ducks who make their home in the canal's waters. Grammy empties her cupboards of every half finished bag of crackers, pretzels, gold fish, stale bread, cereal, etc. and we set out for the canal. We usually run out of our own duck food and end up buying some from the shops along the canal. Sammy runs like a tornado along the banks, bag of "duck food" in hand, shouting to her sister, "c'mon Megan, there's a thousand pieces of duck". (This is the terminology Sammy uses to describe a huge amount of anything)

There are many points of interest along the canal which runs through several small towns in our locality, including our own town. There are restaurants whose tables overlook the canal, icecream shops which have tables and gazebos on the banks so you can lick and gaze at the peaceful waters. In my town, all along the downtown, our town has set up water and electricity connections so that touring water craft can hook up and spend a few days touring our town. Our Philharmonic Orchestra gives concerts there in the Summertime and there's also an annual duck race, but this time it's yellow rubber duckies. I'm at a loss to imagine how anyone gets those duckies to race.......but they do. To me, the Erie Canal remains a charming piece of local history. I love to visit along its banks...............and most especially with my precious girls ♥ ♥ ♥

House Tour

A couple weeks ago my brother and sister-in-law came to visit for a couple days. He's a semi-retired radiologist and had a week of freedom from reading x-rays. They arrived on Tuesday at lunchtime. We headed directly for Wegman's for lunch. Strange to eat at a grocery store. You usually buy food there and bring it home to prepare it and have meals. But Wegman's offers something extra. During lunch hour there's a section right in the front of the store where a chef with a huge hot grill does his act from 11:30 until 2:30 every day. It's always a surprise what lunch is going to be. The Tuesday afternoon we went it was a Greek gyro. The main ingredient is that wonderful combination of beef and lamb that is used for gyros. Then the "fixin's" are all your choice. Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and tzizicki sauce. If you don't like one, just say so, if you like a lot of one, again, just say so. It's made to order. We took our lunch up the elevator (an elevator in a grocery store??????) We ate on the balcony overlooking the shopping area. Nirvana......... While we were visiting with the chef, we told him we were hoping that today would be the day for Philly cheese steaks. He said, "no, that's tomorrow". So, naturally, lunch on Wednesday would also be at Wegman's. I'll leave the rest of our adventures for another post and get to the point of this post, which is a house tour. My brother loves to shoot, shoot, shoot with his smart phone. He walked through my house shooting pictures. He sent me all the pictures of our very busy two and a half day mini vacation and I made him a paper bag scrapbook as a remembrance. Come along with me on a tour of my home.............

Sandal Toes

Sandals are my shoe of choice all the time. The only exception is when there is fresh, cold snow on the ground. Then I'll wear boots. Just had to do that one time this past winter - hooray...... I think some of you may just now be starting to think about breaking out your sandals. If so, you need snazzy sandal toes. I often give myself a $50.00 pedicure right in my own bedroom. I start by putting a huge beach towel on the floor because I have been known to dump over a bottle of turquoise nail polish on the white carpet (not good). I have an vintage enamel basin that I use as a footbath. I fill it up with bubble bath warm water and have a nice soak. Next come the pumice for nice smooth baby skin, followed by a soothing rub of cream. I attend to the cuticles and nail length. Then the fun part. After a base coat, I pick a color. I've been using a lot of turquoise and also very dark, dark purple (almost black). But for Springtime and Summer...........strawberries.

Hot pink polish with white polka dots. OK, OK, I know strawberries don't have white dots. The strawberry seeds, which are on the outside of strawberries, are sort of black. I tried that and I didn't like it. I like white dots better. If you happen to hang out with any little girls and they see these strawberry toes, they'll want them too. Go ahead and give them a treat.