As most of you discover, chicken is usually the least expensive meat on the market. When I have a busy day, I usually end up putting the chicke in the oven with wedges of potato and go about my other chores. This is a handy way to cope with dinner on a crazy day but the chicken doesn't always come out juicy and tender. I'm not saying it is bad but I don't like to settle for just okay.
Yesterday, I put the chicken pieces in a sturdy plastic bag and poured in the juice of two lemons and 1/4 cup soy sauce. I sealed it shut and put it in the refrigerator. During the day, I would flip over the bag to insure the marinade was reaching all the chicken.
For dinner preparations, I drained the chicken and patted off the excess marinade. I tossed each piece in seasoned flour and placed on a parchment paper lined baking pan. I also scrubbed and quartered some potatoes for the baking pan only I rubbed them with a bit of olive oil and then into the same seasoned flour. The fat from the chicken would crisp the flour coating whereas the potatoes didn't have that advantage. I baked it all at 350 degrees for about an hour but this depends on the size of your chicken pieces.
I was amazed at how tender and juicy the chicken turned out. My children actually ate it down to the bone and the visiting kittens didn't mind the scraps. What greater praise, right? :-)
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Like anything, it takes work!
There are countless ways of attaining greatness, but any road to reaching one's
maximum potential must be built on a bedrock of respect for the individual, a
commitment to excellence, and a rejection of mediocrity.
- Buck Rodgers
Howl, our visiting cat . . .
The cat is still skittish but welcomed a bit of yarn to play with today. Howl must have had a busy night as he was curled up on the porch this morning and sound asleep.
I like his/her markings with the Siamese coloring but the striped legs and tale. Howl's blue eyes don't show up well in the photos but they are a light, clear blue.
Right now, the cat is lurking under the bushes and eyeing the yarn so I closed the door to give her time to investigate the matter.
Where in the world is Garden Grove?
The computer is an amazing instrument and there are few people I know that aren't on some kind of social network, e-mail, etc. Besides the joys of connecting and meeting people, we still have to be careful. It is amazing how we will quickly bypass someone on the street who tries to befriend us out of the blue yet think nothing of chatting away with complete strangers who want to friend us on-line. I'm always surprised when people post pictures of their children and list home addresses for the world to see.
Someone told me that a good rule of thumb is to internet search your own name once in awhile and see what comes up. It lets you see what is out there in the world about yourself and you can check to see if it stems from something you are involved with or prompt you to check further if you don't recognize the source.
One search that I do from time to time is to run my name and my family members' names through those people finder sites. Without enrolling for money, all you can access is the name, age, and town of residence. Some of them list all the places you might have lived. That's all you need, however, because if it shows someplace you have never lived, you might have a reason for concern. With so much identity theft these days, any abnormality in anything you deal with, needs to be checked out.
Recently, I went through my protection ritual and along with the two places shown as my recent or former towns of resident, there was a third one! I was surprised and a bit shocked. It listed Garden Grove as a city where I either used to live or am now currently receiving mail. Uh, I have never been to Garden Grove much less lived there. In fact, I'm not even sure where the place is which concerns me as to why it has been linked to my name. Fortunately, nothing else amiss seems to be coming from this but you can be sure I'm contacting our identity protection company and notifying the police of a possible problem.
Just thought I'd share that to remind everyone to be as careful on the computer highways as they are on the physical highways of the world.
Someone told me that a good rule of thumb is to internet search your own name once in awhile and see what comes up. It lets you see what is out there in the world about yourself and you can check to see if it stems from something you are involved with or prompt you to check further if you don't recognize the source.
One search that I do from time to time is to run my name and my family members' names through those people finder sites. Without enrolling for money, all you can access is the name, age, and town of residence. Some of them list all the places you might have lived. That's all you need, however, because if it shows someplace you have never lived, you might have a reason for concern. With so much identity theft these days, any abnormality in anything you deal with, needs to be checked out.
Recently, I went through my protection ritual and along with the two places shown as my recent or former towns of resident, there was a third one! I was surprised and a bit shocked. It listed Garden Grove as a city where I either used to live or am now currently receiving mail. Uh, I have never been to Garden Grove much less lived there. In fact, I'm not even sure where the place is which concerns me as to why it has been linked to my name. Fortunately, nothing else amiss seems to be coming from this but you can be sure I'm contacting our identity protection company and notifying the police of a possible problem.
Just thought I'd share that to remind everyone to be as careful on the computer highways as they are on the physical highways of the world.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Bit of Chocolate Raised Yeast Cake
The weather isn't cooperating with me! I'm longing for cold, damp days so I can warm the house with great recipes baking in the oven . . . and we are back to short sleeves and warm days. The one, good thing about the warm weather, however, is that it is perfect for getting a good rise out of recipes requiring yeast. I made bread for dinner the other evening and this cake is going in the oven tomorrow . . . I hope! Lent is coming all too soon and I'm not quite ready to leave the holiday season. Sigh . . . Today, is the last day of the Christmas season so I had better get used to it! Yeah, I'm already planning on baking Valentine's Day cookies next month!
Bit of Chocolate Raised Yeast Cake
1 tablespoon yeast
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup lukewarm water
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 large eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
Topping Mixture:
1 cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup ground almonds
1/3 cup ground pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
½ cup chocolate chips, optional
Grease or vegetable oil spray a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.
In a small bowl, combine the yeast, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and the warm water and set aside until bubbles appear. In another bowl combine the remaining scant ½ cup sugar, and the salt, and butter. Stir the milk and extracts into the butter mixture. Stir in the yeast mixture. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in the flour and beat the dough until smooth.
Spread the dough into the prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap (vegetable oil the underside to prevent sticking) and set aside to rise, almost doubling in size.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F .
When the dough is nearly risen, prepare the topping. Cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the nuts, spices, vanilla, and orange zest. Drop spoonfuls of the topping evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the topping.
Bake the cake for approximately 30-35 minutes, or until the top is golden. Cool the cake completely in the pan.
Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
Stir to combine thoroughly and drizzle over the cooled cake.
Bit of Chocolate Raised Yeast Cake
1 tablespoon yeast
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup lukewarm water
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 large eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
Topping Mixture:
1 cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup ground almonds
1/3 cup ground pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
½ cup chocolate chips, optional
Grease or vegetable oil spray a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.
In a small bowl, combine the yeast, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and the warm water and set aside until bubbles appear. In another bowl combine the remaining scant ½ cup sugar, and the salt, and butter. Stir the milk and extracts into the butter mixture. Stir in the yeast mixture. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in the flour and beat the dough until smooth.
Spread the dough into the prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap (vegetable oil the underside to prevent sticking) and set aside to rise, almost doubling in size.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F .
When the dough is nearly risen, prepare the topping. Cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the nuts, spices, vanilla, and orange zest. Drop spoonfuls of the topping evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the topping.
Bake the cake for approximately 30-35 minutes, or until the top is golden. Cool the cake completely in the pan.
Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
Stir to combine thoroughly and drizzle over the cooled cake.
This made my day . . .
Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made, Were
every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade, To write the love
of God above, Would drain the oceans dry. Nor could the scroll contain the
whole, Though stretched from sky to sky.
- F. M. Lehman
Where has sanity gone?
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/constitutional-experts-pro-life-terrorists-could-be-permanently-detained-wi
I ran across this news report and was shocked. How can our government consider people who are in favor of the unborn be considered terrorists? Even of more concern, the current president seems to have final say on what is considered a 'terrorist' and given his voting record against the survival of the unborn, you can guess what his determination would be.
The fact that an American citizen could possibly be targeted and indefinitely detained in jail simply because they believe in the sanctity of life and the rights of the unborn is almost beyond comprehension.
Yes, we live in a democratic country with freedom of speech . . . so, how does this mesh with the threat of arrest for simply voicing an objection to the murder of the unborn?
I ran across this news report and was shocked. How can our government consider people who are in favor of the unborn be considered terrorists? Even of more concern, the current president seems to have final say on what is considered a 'terrorist' and given his voting record against the survival of the unborn, you can guess what his determination would be.
The fact that an American citizen could possibly be targeted and indefinitely detained in jail simply because they believe in the sanctity of life and the rights of the unborn is almost beyond comprehension.
Yes, we live in a democratic country with freedom of speech . . . so, how does this mesh with the threat of arrest for simply voicing an objection to the murder of the unborn?
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