Tea-Poached Chicken

Well, guys, this is the last of the recipes I had hanging out in my "to-blog-about" folder, and now I'm going to have to get back to actually cooking new stuff so I can come up with blog material.  Sigh.  Normally I like that idea, but right now I'm just eating whatever feels like it won't fight back later, which really doesn't leave a lot of options.  For now I'm not big on meat or fish or hot carbs (Yes, you read that right.), and I crave poached eggs (exciting, I know) and frozen burritos - need a tutorial on that?  Didn't think so.  Sadly, even my burritos did not like me today, so I guess those are out for now.  My Recipes to Try Pinterest folder is overflowing, but at the moment, I just want to eat bowls and bowls of limey-corn salad and guacamole and not much else.  Soooo.....this poached chicken thing might have to hold you all over for a while.

Sadly, I did cook a couple things lately that were really, really good, but I didn't take pictures.  One was a pasta primavera that wasn't creamy (because creamy is also out) and the other was a mushroom quiche, which I decided not to take pictures of because I didn't have the kind of cheese I wanted and felt like that was cheating.  Then we ate it.  And I'd just like to say, I am very, very sorry for not blogging about it.  But rest assured, I'll make it again soon(ish).

Chicken wrapped in cheesecloth boiling in a pot is, surprisingly, not very artistic. 

I never thought I'd poach a chicken.  The idea of boiling meat always sounded really odd to me, but for some reason I found this recipe appealing, so I thought I'd give it a shot.  I should have tried it sooner - the main thing I have against cooking a whole chicken is how dry it tends to get, but, Surprise!  Stuff doesn't dry out when it's boiling. 

So here's my live and learn tips from this recipe.

1. BUY KITCHEN TWINE.  I didn't have it or anything like it, so I decided to wrap my chicken in cheesecloth to hold in the stuffing.  HA.  It didn't work too well.
2. Don't over-stuff the chicken.  Even if the cheesecloth doesn't hold the stuffing in well, if you over-stuff the chicken, the rice that is left in there won't cook, then you'll have to take it out and boil it until it's done, and it will get all weird.
3. There is no substitute for dried fruit if you don't have dried fruit, but if you dump some honey into the pot it gives it some sweetness.
4. Don't put peanuts in rice if the people you are eating with don't like peanuts.

This is one of those recipes I shouldn't write about because I didn't do it perfect (or even close) the first time, but oh well.  I seriously doubt any of you who I know read this will ever make it regardless, amIright?

Tea-Poached Chicken

Adapted from here

• 1 whole chicken
• 1/4 cup sea salt
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked short grain rice
• 1 cup roasted peanuts
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 black tea bags (I used some smoked tea that my sister gave me.  This is similar.)
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup chopped cilantro

Gut chicken, then rub with salt.  Cover and chill 2 hours or more.  Rinse and pat dry.  Combine rice, peanuts, and ginger and stuff into chicken.  Tie legs together with string (STRING, people).  Heat broth and 8 cups of water in a stock pot and bring to boiling.  Add chicken, breast side down, and tea bags.  Return to boiling.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 45 minutes, turning chicken after 30 minutes.  Remove chicken from broth and cut to serve.  Strain broth, reserving any rice mixture.  Stir soy sauce and honey into remaining broth, and salt to taste.  Garnish with cilantro.  Serve with rice stuffing and a side of broth.

 

Crock Pot Chicken

Waiting is hard.  Bedrock, petrified wood, concrete HARD.  Yeah, I'm sure that's a newsflash for you.

I applied to grad school this week.  You have to understand, I've been waiting four years for this.  We've gone from thinking I'd study at home in the first year of our marriage, to thinking we would move to Texas, to thinking we'd move to Los Angeles, to having no flipping idea WHAT was going on (we're still kind of there), to finally picking a school and a program and making a plan.  The problem now is that that "plan" is entirely contingent on what kind of financial aid we receive.  As soon as my FAFSA comes through, I should have an answer within a few days. It's out of our hands and into the Lord's, and that is not. easy. at. all. 

I'm practically squirming in this waiting process, because I feel like four years of hope and uncertainty and frustration and dreams and plans and stress is finally coming to a head.  Whether or not it works out for me to go back to school there are pros and cons, but deep down I'm kind of dying for it to work out.  In fact, I'm so hopeful that I'm completely not talking about it or even allowing myself to think about it, because deep down I kind of think it's not going to happen.  I have good reason to think it won't, but what do I know?  Clearly nothing.  That may well even be a defense mechanism - I was also convinced Malachi was a girl, and obviously I was wrong there, too (but I desperately wanted a boy).  Anyways, blech.  That is where I am. 

So, speaking of waiting, I cooked a 4-hour crock pot chicken this past weekend and it was pretty good. Worth the wait.  (And you can make it an 8-hour chicken, too, if you want to put it in before work).

Crock Pot Chicken

• 1 whole 3-4 pound chicken (I frequently find these marked down.)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. garlic
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• 1/4 tsp. rosemary
• 2 Tb. fresh parsley (or 1/2 Tb. dried)
• 4 large fresh basil leaves, torn
• 1 sliced leek, or 1/2 chopped onion

Remove the grodies from the chicken, rinse, and pat dry.  Put chopped onion in the bottom of crockpot.  Mix dried spices together and rub chicken inside and out with them.  Place chicken breast-side down into the crockpot and top with fresh herbs.  Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 7-8 hours.

Obviously, I put the chicken in upside down - live and learn.

Brunswick Stew

Lately I've been staying up way too late. Midnight or later every night. Why, you ask? I have no idea. Every night I'm doing something, but the next morning I can never think of "what, exactly, inspired me to deprive myself of a full night's sleep again?! I'm such an idiot!" Clearly, I'm doing a great job rectifying that issue as I blog at 11:19 and still have to shower, do my devotions, and more.

I'm thinking seriously about starting school again and working towards my degree. The program I'm looking at is really intense. It's going to require a lot of commitment and probably a lot better time-management. It's great because it's online, but also challenging because it will make it easier to save things up or put them off until late at night. I love quality time. I am one to immediately agree to something if it means I get to spend quality time with someone I care about. I'll put off whatever I have to do to spend that time with someone, and I always plan to just "stay up later" to get it done. I can't imagine how much stronger that urge is going to be when I am staying home with my son and faced with the choice of homework or playtime. Maybe by then he'll have figured out how to take better naps and it won't be an issue!

Tonight I spent some good time with my sister. We have girls night every week and I always look forward to it. We did crafts together tonight, which is something I'm not sure we've done since high school. I also made Brunswick stew, a family favorite. Hope you enjoy it!

Brunswick Stew

Adapted from Never Enough Thyme

~6 cups water

~3 tsp. chicken bullion

~2 bay leaves

~1 tsp. thyme

~1 tsp. parsley

~1 tsp. red pepper flakes

~dash hot sauce (or more to taste)

~2 ribs of celery, chopped

~12 oz. bag of frozen Lima beans

~12 oz. bag of frozen corn

~1 can cut green beans

~1 can diced tomatoes

~3 potatoes, diced into 1/2-inch cubes

~1 onion, diced

~1 cup ketchup

~2 cups BBQ sauce
~1 tablespoon cider vinegar (optional)

~3 large chicken breasts

Bring water to a boil and add the bullion and spices. Turn heat down to medium-low. Add all vegetables, ketchup, barbecue sauce, vinegar, and sugar. Cook chicken in pan, then shred with a fork. Add to the pot, and simmer the stew for 1-2 hours. You may want to add some more water about a half hour before you serve it to get enough broth.

This picture makes this stew look pretty unappealing, Hey, look! A much yummier picture! but I promise it was good!

Indian Spiced Chicken and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I recently discovered Pinterest. People had been telling me about it so I finally checked it out, and now I'm hooked. For those who don't know, Pinterest is basically an online bulletin board that you can share with friends. You can have as many pin-boards as you want with all different categories. You pin pictures you like that link back to their original source. And boy, oh boy, does this thing appeal to my mildly-OCD **cough** organization-obsessed self. Not surprisingly, my biggest board is "recipes to try." Homemade pop-tarts! Stuffed zucchini! Cookie dough party dip!

In all my pinning and linking and exploring and salivating and staying up until after midnight reading recipes, I've come across some really cool sites. My all time favorite kept me occupied for way too many hours last night. And I think I've developed a case of blog envy. This envy has several levels, too. There's the "How come my food pictures don't turn out as pretty as that?" level. There's the "I wish I had the time to cook stuff like that!" level. There's the really embarrassing "My blog will never be that popular" level. Sigh.

One of the things I had to learn (and am still learning) as a new mom was how to be content with how things were. For someone as OCD and organized as I am, having a child who didn't hit his milestones "on time" was a lesson in growth. Did I want him to sleep through the night sooner than 6 months old? Yes. Did I wish his naps were longer than 45 minutes? Yes. Did I read everything and do everything I could to achieve those goals? Yes. Did it work? Um, no. And I learned to just let that be ok. Life is so much more enjoyable when you just accept that some things won't change, and enjoy what you have. I did, and do, and am.

I guess contentment is something I need to learn in other areas, too, huh?

Spiced Indian Chicken

(adapted from Food.com's recipe)

~ 2 tablespoons of olive oil

~ 3 cloves of minced garlic

~ 2 teaspoons of paprika

~ 1 teaspoon of coriander

~ 1 teaspoon of ginger

~ 1/2 teaspoon of cumin

~ 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

~ 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

~ 1/2 teaspoon of lemon pepper

~ 1/2 teaspoon of curry

~ 3 chicken breasts, cut into strips

Pre-heat oven to 400. Spray cooking oil on a glass plan lay chicken strips inside. Mix all remaining ingredients thoroughly, then brush half the mixture onto the chicken. Bake for 10 minutes, flip chicken strips, and brush with remaining mixture. Bake 10 more minutes or until center is no longer pink.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Butternut Squash

I didn't measure any of the spices, so add them to taste.

~3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch cubes.

~1/2 a butternut squash, baked and pureed (you can skip this - I did it because I had extra and it was yummy)

Around 1/4 teaspoon of each, to taste:

~curry

~ginger

~cinnamon

~coriander

~pepper

~paprika

~1/3 stick of butter

Boil sweet potatoes until they can be mashed easily with a spoon. Drain them, then mash with a potato masher for chunkier potatoes, or with a hand mixer for creamier potatoes. Add butternut squash and butter, stirring until butter is melted. Add spices to taste.