Welcome back to “From Scratch”. I’m so glad you dropped by to check out what else I’m cooking up in my kitchen.  Since we made chicken stock a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to give you yet another thing you could do with it. Last week we made rice and today we’re going to make soup. But not just any soup, mind you. I wanted to show you how you could give up buying that canned soup so many good recipes call for. (I know. I shouldn’t end a sentence in a preposition. Please forgive me.)

Also, for those of you going gluten free, watch and see how you can still enjoy this delicious blend of flavors without your natural enemy, flour.

So, belly up to the bar (the kitchen bar, that is) and let’s get cooking.

First up, you need some butter and flour.

Or if you’re gluten free, go grab your corn starch or arrowroot.

Now we’re going to make something similar to roux. That’s how you make gravy.

Melt 2 Tbsp butter

Ew. I hate this picture. Sorry it’s so dark.

Slowly, add 6 Tbsp flour or 3 Tbsp cornstarch. That means add a bit, then stir. Add a bit more, then stir.

And whatever you do, do not accidentally touch the side of the hot pan with the hand holding your spoon of flour. And especially, never do this while trying to take a picture.

A very bad thing will happen. You won’t like it. Your camera, table, floor and window sill will not like it. Don’t ask me how I know this. Just know that every person’s first reaction to being burned on the hand, is to throw that hand as far away from the burning source as possible.   Just saying.

Ahem. Back to the regular scheduled progam.

Stir. Add. Stir.

Okay. Photography Lesson #1: Do not stir while your shutter speed is so slow. You get a ‘ghost’ spoon. Yikes.

As the butter absorbs the flour, you will begin to see it get clumpy like this.

And like this.

Yes, I had to move the pan back to my favorite spot on the table. You could just see the clumpiness better.

Now, s-l-o-w-l-y, add 1 cup of chicken stock.

Stir. Add. Stir.

Until you see a beautiful gravy appear.

Now, s-l-o-w-l-y add 1 cup of milk.

If you are dairy free, I recommend almond milk or rice milk.

Stir. Add. Stir.

If your soup turns out a bit clumpy, as this batch did, never fear. Give it a bit of a whisking. Hey, it’s been bad. It deserves a bit of scolding.

Give it what is due.

Then make sure to add 1/2 tsp salt. If you like pepper, now would be a could time for it to join the salt.

Now pour it into a bowl and photograph your new creation.

Hey, you’ve labored for this baby. Now it’s show time.

I think you’re going to love how rich and thick this soup will be. And so tasty in whatever you’re cooking.

I made Chicken Pot Pie last night. So delish.

Get fancy and add other herbs. I love rosemary in mine.

Cream of Chicken Soup in Summary

2 Tbsp butter

6 Tbsp flour or 3 Tbsp corn starch or arrowroot

1 Cup Chicken Stock (see my instructions on how to make Chicken Stock From Scratch)

1 Cup milk (almond or rice milk should work as well)

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste (optional)

Melt butter in sauce pan. Slowly (like a tsp at a time) add the flour and then stir. Add a little more flour, then stir, until all flour has been incorporated into the butter.

Slowly (like 1/4 cup at a time) add the milk and stir until that small portion of the milk has combined with the flour mixture. Add a little more milk, then stir until combined. Continue until all the milk has become one with the soup.

Voila! You have soup. Add to any recipe calling for cream of chicken soup. Makes approximately 2 cups.

Can you believe you easy that was? And it was so cheap. If you made the chicken stock yourself, this soup was practically free.

Let me know if you make some of your own. I’d love to hear how it went.

I got to share this blog on Sunday Night Soup Night.

No?

I’m crushed.

That’s really very sad. Sorry. You’re going to find out anyway. Hee. Hee. (Don’t tell my kids I said I was sorry and then didn’t mean it. I’ll be in big trouble)

First, I get on my boots.

With all the mud around these parts, boots are essential.  Honestly, I did try to go for the cute factor here. But with two years of wear, mud and poop, they’ve sort of lost their curb appeal. A girl can try.
Yes, these footwares of wonderousness are well used.

Second, on the way to the barn, in my oh-so fashionable boots, I let the chickens out of their coops.

Here I am opening the ‘lid’ to this chicken coop.

If you strain your eyes, you can see in the center of the picture there is a little door opening. I open the lid to the coop so I can open that tiny little door and let our feathered egg laying friends out for the day. Thanks to Chez Misty’s husband for designing this fabulous coop and then GIVING it to us. I love this coop.

“Good Morning, girls.” Yes, I actually do say this every morning. I know. I’m silly. These girls are Americauna chickens. They lay blue-colored eggs. Very pretty, indeed.

Check out those fluffy cheeks.

Chicken Coop #2 built by Renaissance Man over 5 years ago back when none of us knew anything about fowl. It has held up really well.  This year R-Man is going to build us a BIG coop, so all the girls can hang together.

And finally, I head to the barn to take care of the goats.

Afterall, they’re waiting.

They know when they see me let out the chickens, they’re up next.

Sweet Xcel, “It’s our turn now, right?”

Rambunctious Sadie, “Yeah. Speed it up, lady. We’re hungry.”

Be on the look out for Part 2 of Morning Chores Pictorial. I’ll be wading my way through the mud and making my way up to the milking parlour. I know. I can hear the excitement in your voice. It’s going to be great. Just beware. You might have to look at a picture or two of poop. Hey, we’ve got animals here. It happens.

Until next time.

Love, The Goat Lady

All you need is a few ingredients and a stick blender (immersion blender).

Now, let me first say that I have made mayo with my food processor and is was delicious and really not that difficult. So, if you don’t have a stick blender, never fear. It still can be done. It’s just a little more time consuming. You may be into it for 3 or 4 minutes. I know. I know. I ask too much.

Let’s proceed.

Oh, by the way. I’ve been taking some photography lessons from Pioneer Woman. I’m learning about aperture and shutter speed, and I was doing some experimenting with our camera. So, please forgive me for the massive amount of photos I use. It was fun.

First up, you’re going to need one of these babies.

But the trick to easy mayonnaise is a room temperature egg. Yep. You gotta leave this beauty out on the counter for a few hours.

Now, don’t get all wiggy on me. It’s okay. Trust me.

Once room temperature, crack the egg and place in a quart size jar. See. This isn’t difficult at all.

Yes, that is an egg going into that jar. A little funky looking, I realize, but it turned out so cool looking I couldn’t resist.

See. It really was an egg.

This is the challenging part. Go get these ingredients from your kitchen:

Onion powder, garlic powder, salt, lemon juice (or vinegar)

Take a deep breath. The worst is over.

Now, find yourself a measuring spoon.

Measure 1/8th tsp onion powder, 1/8th tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and 3/4 Tbsp to 2 Tbsp lemon juice.

Put into jar.

You still with me?

Get yourself some mild flavored olive oil. This is called “Extra Light Tasting”. Whatever that means.

This oil is not my favoritest (is that a word?). I would prefer to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil, but it is just too strong a flavor for me and my beloved new mayonnaise. I would love to use coconut oil because it’s just so much better for our bodies, but it solidifies in the refrigerator. For now, it’s just going to have to be extra light. I figure it’s better than the soybean oil that’s found in most store bought versions.

Pour yourself 1 cup of extra light olive oil.

Pour into your 1 quart jar.

Wait. Stop a minute. I think you might need a quick break to wipe the sweat from your brow. Don’t worry. We’ll wait.

Wait a few seconds for the mixture to settle. You want your egg laying on the bottom of the jar, not swimming around.

No back strokes for you, Eggy-Boy.

Go grab your $13 stick blender you bought from Big Lots. You know. The one you were going to dedicate to soap making. Yeah. That one.

Now, set it next to your egg mixture and admire the fun photo you took with your mini tripod and your low aperture setting.

This is when the fun really gets going. Put in the stick blender. Pulse several times over and over until you see…

mayonnaise beginning to form at the bottom of the jar.

Woo! Hoo! You’re almost done.

Once you are at this spot, you can hit the trigger button full bore.

And then move the blender up and down a bit to whip into submission the oil hanging at the top of the mixture.

At this point, you have full blown fabulous homemade mayonnaise.

It should be thick and the texture of the mayonnaise currently in your refrig.

Oh, yes. You did just make your own mayo in less than 2 minutes.

Now, congratulate yourself by grabbing a spoon and shmeering this delectable spread onto something. You know. Go find some bread or some tuna fish. Or be a rebel like me and just eat it off the spoon.

Homemade Mayonnaise In Summary

1 whole egg – MUST be room temperature

1/8 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 Tbsp-2 Tbsp lemon juice (or vinegar) – the amount here is dependent on how much tang you like in your mayo

1 Cup Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil – if you want to go healthier, experiment with different combos of oils

In a quart size jar, place all ingredients. Wait a moment for the egg to settle to the bottom of the jar. With an immersion blender, pulse for several moments until you start to see mayonnaise forming on the bottom of the jar. Now hold the trigger button down all the way, while moving the blender up and down and around the inside of the jar. In just seconds, your entire jar should look like mayo.

Wish you could see this all in action? Here’s the guy I learned from:

This article participated in 

No, we’re not going to grow our own rice, silly. We’re just going to cook some. Now this is not your Uncle Ben’s or Minute Rice. We’re going to start with the rice you find in bags near the boxes of quick cook rice.

Okay, now get back here. I know you just checked out because you heard rice in those bags is hard to make. It’s not difficult, just a little time consuming. But what if I told you that you could make a whole bunch at one time, freeze it and then pull it out for dinner at your convenience? Then maybe you might be interested? Okay what if I told you it was cheaper to buy the big bag of rice? See, it might be worth your time.

Let’s move on.

I got my rice making abilities from following a recipe in Nourishing Traditions. You will need some of that chicken stock you made and stuck in your freezer.

Nourishing Traditions advocates soaking all grains for 24 hours before cooking with them to get rid of all those nasty phylates that inhibit digestion, but the author Sally Fallon says rice is one of those grains that has so little phylates, you can get away with not soaking. And hey, I’m all about saving time in the kitchen. So, I don’t soak my rice. It’ll be okay, I promise.

Step 1

In a fry pan, melt 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add 2 cups of rice. I suggest long-grain brown rice because it turns out so delicious and it’s better for you than white.

Now you are going to saute your rice in the fats. Stir as it’s cooking. You will hear it crackling as it cooks. If you’ve ever made rice-a-roni and sauteed the vermicelli, this is very similar. Stir for 3 or 4 minutes. The book says to stir until the rice turns milky.

Step 2

Get out 1 quart (4 cups) of your lovely chicken stock you made last week. Pour over the rice in your pan. Add 1/2 tsp salt.

Step 3

Bring to a boil and then boil for 10 minutes. Now, you will turn your burner to low and cover. The book says to leave it covered tightly for at least 1 1/2 hours. I say, “Don’t do it!” When I did this it burned. So, occasionally sneak a peek at your rice and add a bit of water if needed. You know you need water if you’ve got an hour left to cook the rice and there is no liquid to be found in your pan. You know, that kind of thing.

I think my stove top must be a bit too hot for this recipe because my rice is usually done in an hour.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Kathleen, I don’t have an hour to play nice with rice.” Actually,  I think you might and just not know it. Rice is a project you can work into your existing schedule. I choose to make it on a day we are not eating it, then the pressure is off to prepare it ‘today’.  While I’m already hanging in the kitchen (the kids tend to work on their homeschool stuff in the kitchen), I make rice. Or I’ll make it while I’m working on tonight’s dinner. I’m in there anyway and rice isn’t difficult.

Believe me, you won’t be sorry that you made the effort. This rice is so good that I can just stand over the pan with fork in hand and gobble away. It’s almost dangerous. You know, like a spoon and a quart of ice cream.

If your family has had brown rice before and hated it, I’m telling you, they won’t know this is brown rice. It doesn’t taste anything like the standard nasty tasting way of making brown rice.

Once your rice is finished cooking, let it cool a bit and then stuff into some quart size freezer bags. I put 2 cups of rice in each. Flatten the bag. Store in the freezer. When you want rice, pull out your bag, stick into a sink full of warm water and voila, in 20 minute or so, you have rice for your meal.

Rice In Summary

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Cups long grain brown rice

4 Cups Chicken Stock

1/2 tsp salt

Melt butter with olive oil in a deepish frying pan.

Add rice.

Saute for 3-4 minutes until rice begins to turn ‘milky’.

Add chicken stock. Bring to boil and boil for 10 minutes.

Turn burner to low; put on lid. Cook for 1 1/2 hours. Peeking occasionally to check the liquid level. Add a cup of water when needed.

Note: Some friends of mine and I were discussing rice and how much our friends from Asia tend to eat more rice than us Westerners (as a matter of fact, statistics show they eat about 100 lbs of rice a year compared to our measly 10 lbs). We wondered if maybe we should eat more like them.  According to Nourishing Traditions, that would be unwise because we have smaller pancreas and salivary glands. We can’t digest rice the same way. For a Westerner, rice needs to stay a ‘once-in-a-while’ dish. Bummer.

Also, if you are trying to keep your glycemic levels down, you want to eat rice in moderation. It’s very high in sugars.

Well, that’s it for this edition of ‘From Scratch’. Come back next Wednesday and I’ll show you how to make your own Cream of Chicken Soup, using up some more of your ‘From Scratch Chicken Stock’. You won’t believe how easy it is.

Love, Kathleen

Welcome back to my kitchen! This is the second installment of ‘From Scratch’ where I show you how I make some of my cooking staples. Last Wednesday, I showed you how to roast a chicken. Hopefully, you saved your chicken carcass and drippings because that is the main ingredient to today’s food staple, Chicken Stock.

Homemade Chicken Stock

1.  In a crockpot, place chicken carcass, its skin and juices leftover after roasting. Not to worry if you didn’t save the juices or you ate all the skin. These are not essential, just useful.

2.  Grab some old veggies. Onion is the one vegetable that I would say is essential. The rest is up to you. Whatever you have in your crisper that is looking a bit sad. Now this is not to say you should use juicy or moldy produce, just the stuff that is on the oldish side. I like to use half an onion,  a couple of celery stalks, a carrot or two, and garlic gloves.

***TIP: Any time you have ‘oldish’ veggies (come on, don’t tell me it doesn’t happened to you) instead of throwing them in the trash or compost bin, throw them into a freezer bag and freeze ‘em. When you’re ready to make chicken stock, just grab the bag and throw the veggies straight into your crockpot. 

3.  Cut Veggies into large chunks. Place into crockpot.

4.  Cover the whole mess with water. I put in at least 4 quarts of water. Just so you know, I never measure. I just pour in water until everything is well covered.

5.  Add 2 Tablespoons of  vinegar. This isn’t for flavoring, believe it or not. Vinegar is what draws out all the minerals, as well as, the gelatin the bones have to offer. Gelatin is what we’re after folks. That’s what makes it so good for you. So, don’t skip this step.

6.  Add a Bay Leaf for flavoring. Sorry, I forgot to get a picture of that.

7.  Set your crockpot on high. Put on the lid and wait for 12-24 hours. Remember, the longer it cooks, the more apt you are to get the bones to release that gelatin. And wow, you’re whole house is going to smell delicious

Here it is in summary:

1. In a crockpot, place chicken carcass, its skin and juices leftover after roasting.
2. Grab some old veggies. (1/2 onion, 2 celery stalks, 1+carrots, 4-5 garlic cloves)
3. Cut Veggies into large chunks.
4. Cover the whole mess with water. You want plenty of water because there will be some evaporation.
5. Add 2 Tablespoons of  vinegar.
6. Add a Bay Leaf for flavoring.*
7. Set your crockpot on high. Put on the lid and wait for 12-24 hours.

*If you have them, throw in a couple of chicken feet. These make a great gelatinous stock. Sorry if that grosses you out.

After 12-24 hours

1. Set up this contraption: 1 qt jar + 1 canning funnel + 1 strainer (seriously though, a pasta stainer over a large bowl would work just fine)

2. Ladle (or pour)  your chicken stock over the stainer. The trick here is that you don’t want any of the solids (bones, veggies, etc) in your stock.

3. Let your stock cool. I leave mine on the counter for a few hours before putting them into the refrigerator. After 8 hours of refrigeration, your stock is ready for the freezer. You can pour it into freezer bags or into ice cube trays (great for smaller jobs and easy to defrost). If I use freezer bags, I lie them flat on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Then after frozen, the bags can easily be stacked on top of one another. Just be careful thawing freezer bags; mine usually leak. To combat leakage, I place the frozen bag into a large bowl.

If I use ice cube trays, I dump the little cubes into a plastic freezer bag. And then when I need some stock, I just pull out as many cubes as I need.

I haven’t ventured into freezing my stock into canning jars yet. It’s tricky business. From my research, pint size jars work best, but you have to leave enough head room for expansion. In other words, DO NOT fill your jars to the top. You’ll find a broken glass in your freezer. Not pretty. Just ask my friend, Traci. Tell ‘em, Trac.

Do you make your own chicken stock? How do you store it? What meals do you use it in?

See you next Wednesday, for Part 3 of ‘From Scratch’, when I’ll be cooking up some yummy rice with my new chicken stock.

UPDATE: This blog was included in Sunday Night Soup Night blog carnival. Hop on over and check out some delicious healthy soup recipes. The pumpkin chestnut looks divine.

Why on earth would you need chicken stock, anyway?

Becky Higgins

It makes stuff taste so good.

Beside the obvious need for it in Chicken Noodle Soup, you can use your stock to flavor other dishes. For example, when we make rice next week, we will use our stock in place of the water. You can add stock to just about anything that requires a bit of liquid…sauteed green beans (or any vegetable for that matter), mashed potatoes, chicken fajitas. And then of course, for all your recipes that call for Cream of Chicken Soup (we’ll be  making this in a few weeks), you’ll be able to whip up some of that in a jiffy.

The Lifestyle Sofisticate

It’s better than the alternative.

I’m sorry to do this to you, but I gotta pull out the big guns now. Hold on. Did you know that most cans of food (the metal kind you find in the grocery store) are coated with BPA (Biphisenol A)? That’s the stuff they are saying we shouldn’t expose to our food. You know how all the water bottles are now advertising they are BPA Free? That’s the same stuff that is lining most of our canned goods. I know. I don’t understand it either. How can the FDA get upset about it being in our plastic and not our cans? I don’t know their reasoning, but I do know I’m trying (not reached perfection here) to use less canned goods. There are some companies that have taken the plunge of change and are using BPA Free cans. Take a look at this article “7 Companies You Can Trust to Use BPA Free Cans”.

(Now don’t get all weirded out about website being Tree Hugger. I am not a tree hugger. Don’t get me wrong, I love trees. For Pete’s Sake, I live in the Pacific Northwest. Trees are one of God’s most amazing creations. But my Aunt Sonia, who lived in a logging town, insisted that I understand that trees and people can coexist nicely.)

Organic Consumers Association

It’s just so doggone good for you.

Remember how Grandma would always give you chicken soup when you were sick? Well, granny may have not known this, but

“Modern research has confirmed that broth helps prevent and mitigate infectious disease. The wise food provider, who uses gelatin-rich broth on a daily or frequent basis, provides continuous protection from many health problems.” Nourishing Traditions, page 117

There is loads more information about why stock is fabulously nutritious for your body. Look it up. The main jist of it is that it aids digestion. It draws liquids into your digestive system allowing you to rapidly break it down and move things along. It’s like when you eat a salad or other raw food.

Another blog

It will save you money.

26 ounce can of chicken stock = $3.

112 ounces homemade stock = pennies

Savings = $13.44

Hopefully, I’ve brought you over from the dark side and into the light. Why not give it a go? If you’ve got a chicken carcass and some veggies, you’re all set. Meet you back here tomorrow. Same time. Same Bat Channel.

Welcome to the first in series of five “From Scratch” recipes. Each of the next five Wednesdays, I’m going to invite you into my kitchen to show how you too can make a few simple things the old fashioned way. Not only will you find these to be simple and economical, but also so much healthier for your family. This week, we’re making chicken. Okay, so technically, we’re not going to actually make a chicken. We’re just going to roast it.

Grab your apron. Let’s get cookin’.

There are two ways you can go about this and it all depends on how you like your skin. R-Man loves his skin crispy.  In that case,  I roast my chicken in the oven. Then the bird will look like the above picture. But, sometimes I just want a super tender bird more than I want that crispy skin. That’s when I slow roast it in my crockpot. The crockpot. If you don’t have one of these yet, go get your car keys and wallet. You’re goin’ to Fred Meyer’s right this minute and picking you up one of these. I’m not sure why a Southern accent was necessary for that last statement, but the moment just seemed to call for it.

Roast Chicken In the Oven or Crockpot

1. Check for innards. There may be a neck or other organs inside the cavity of your bird. Now, don’t let this stop you. I know, it’s wiggin’ you out a bit right now to have to reach in and grab body parts, but trust me you can do this. They won’t be all gooey or bloody. Just don’t think about it. Just grab and throw away.  Whew! See, you did it. That was the hardest part. (By the way, most times these ‘parts’ are in a little bag.)

There are 2 ends to a chicken…go for the side with the biggest hole.

2. Rinse your chicken. With the water running in your sink, hold your bird with one hand, while using  your other hand to wipe. I’m not completely sure why you do this. The USDA says it’s to rinse off any possible salmonella. But it also says cooking the bird will get rid of all that. Hmmm.

2. Pat it dry. I use a few paper towels. The main thing here is you want the bird to be dry for step four when you smear on your fat. Trust me, fat does not smear well on a wet surface.

3. Place it in your cooking pan breast-side down. (The breasts tend to get dried out a bit when they are cooked facing up. If you face the bird with breasts down, they have a chance to cook in all the lovely juice that ends up in the bottom of the pan.)  I have used a pie plate and a cake pan with success. You might even have a ‘roasting pan’. I don’t own one or I would use it too.

How do you know which side is the breast-side? When the breast-side is up it will look like the chicken above getting rinsed. The legs will be up. When the breast-side is down, it’ll look like the picture of me patting the bird with a paper towel. The legs will look like they are tucked under.

4. Wash your hands and go get your fat. And no, I am not referring to that part of your body that you’ve been working at the gym night and day to eradicate. I’m talking olive oil, butter, coconut oil…you know, that kind of fat. If using olive oil, unscrew the lid now while your hands are clean and not slippery.

FYI, this pan is a bit too small for this behemoth bird. I would use something larger.

5. Smear on your fat. I have used olive oil and butter. Both work great. Olive oil is a bit easier to cope with. If using Olive Oil, pour a bit into your hand and rub the bird. You aren’t going to use a whole lot here. You just need enough to put a thin coating all over the bird. Be careful. An oily bird is a slippery bird. If using butter, I suggest you use soft room temperature butter. You can melt it, but then you’ll have to wait until it is cool enough to handle.

Here is my attempt to show the smearing of my fat. Hee. Hee.

6.  Salt. That’s right grab your salt shaker or your favorite seasoning salt and give your bird a nice light coating. Garlic powder is good too. Just a note here, you might want to go wash your hands first before grabbing your salt shaker. Otherwise, your salt shaker is going to end up on the floor. Don’t ask me how I know this.

No really. That is salt I’m shaking onto that bird.

Thanks to our friends the Thibodeauxs, cajun spice is our topping of choice. I add this after the salt.

Optional:

Take 5 or 6 peeled garlic cloves and place in the cavity of the bird. It’s okay. You already took out the other body parts. It’s safe in there now.

Or take some rosemary and place it just under the skin on the breast side of the bird. It makes the most delicious tasting meat.

You will need to run your fingers around under the skin to make room for your herbs.

You don’t have to use fresh rosemary, but if you do, be sure to chop up the leaves first before placing it under the skin.

7. Into a 350 degree preheated oven, place your beauty. Bake 20 minutes for every pound. For example, a 3 lb chicken, will need to be cooked for 60 minutes. (20 minutes x 3 pounds), a 5 lb chicken will be baked for 1 hour 40 minutes (100 minutes).

Now, this bird is breast up. Not sure why I chose to do this, except so maybe you could see the rosemary hiding under the skin.

Or place your bird in your crockpot. This will work in a smaller crockpot as well.

I placed this in breast-side down. And then turn the crockpot on low. Cook all day (7-10 hours). I tend to cook mine for a long time because I love how tender the meat gets. I cook it until the bones are so soft, the bird sort of slumps in the pot.

8. After the allotted cooking time, open your oven door or Crockpot lid and pop in a meat thermometer (in a pinch, I’ve used a candy thermometer) to make sure your meat is 165 degrees. The USDA’s website says, “Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast.” If it’s not to the right temp, just keep cooking for awhile longer. But don’t take it out until you have the magic 165 degree number. You don’t want your family wishing you never learned to cook or from scratch because 4 hours after dinner they spent unwanted time in the restroom. Now that just wouldn’t be nice.

9. Let it Rest. Once it’s the right temp, let it sit on the stove top for 15-20 minutes while you are getting the rest of dinner ready for the table. This allows the juices to settle. Whatever that means. I just know that my cousin, who is a chef, always lets the Thanksgiving Turkey rest before carving. It’s better that way. Hey, he would know.

10. Carve it Up. This is the part I have not become accomplished. Okay, let’s be frank. I stink at the carving part. So, this is where I send in R-Man. You know, because men should instinctively know how to carve meat. Just like they seem to know how to BBQ. Hee. Hee. My cousin pulls the whole breast off and then carves it. He showed me how, but I’m sorry, I have weeny hands. They just aren’t used to grabbing something that hot and pulling. Don’t worry. It doesn’t have to look beautiful. As long as it tastes wonderful, you’re in business.

See, mine is definitely not beautiful. I did manage to pull of the whole breasts though.

11. Save the Extras. Any meat you don’t eat tonight, put in a ziplock baggie and stick in the freezer. Most of my chickens can feed us through two meals. Some birds I’ve been known to use for three. Depends on the size of the bird. And don’t throw away that carcass, for heaven’s sakes. We’re going to use that next week to make our chicken stock. Just throw the bones and all the juices left in your pan or crockpot into a large ziplock bag and pop into the freezer.

Just FYI, I use my crockpot in the summer a lot. Just outside my sliding glass door, I have an electrical outlet and a small table. It’s there that I plug in my crockpot and let it do all it’s hot stuff outdoors. The lid keeps all the buggies and flies out.

Wanna see how someone else cooked their Crockpot Chicken? Check out The Happy Housewife. She’s got some good meal ideas for  your new cooked chicken.

See you next Wednesday for the next installment of “From Scratch”, when I’ll be showing you how to make your own chicken stock for FREE.

In my attempt to use less plastic to store food, I have taken to using more glass jars. One problem we seem to be having is identifying what exactly is in that jar, especially when one jar has milk, another kefir and still another yogurt. Yes, very problematic. They all look the same from the outside. It’s been too many times that one has poured kefir over their bowl of cereal and been VERY surprised at the first spoonful. Yikes. It was time to seek a solution.

First I tried to use a label maker. This worked great at first, especially for my pantry items, like Unsweetened Coconut Flakes, Brown Rice and Navy Beans. But for other items that we tend to use up quickly, like Crispy Almonds, I found I had issues. For one, after I washed this jars, the label began to show signs of wear. It began to bubble up a bit from the side. I didn’t like the way this looked. Then, when I needed a jar for kefir and all I had clean was a Crispy Walnuts jar, it became frustrating. Kefir in a walnut jar?

So, my search began. I needed a way to label my jars that looked cute, neat, and wouldn’t be obliterated in the dishwasher.

My solution? Key tags.

Don’t they look cute and neat?

I think so.

And when I need to wash the jar, I simply slip off the label and tuck it into a drawer for the next time I need it. The problem I see is if the string gets mucky. You know, if some kefir or smoothie gets on the string, I don’t want mold growing on it. For this problem I decided the solution was easy. Either rinse the string with water or cut it off and make a new one. I can keep the tag (the most expensive part of this system) and cut myself a new section of string.

Wanna make some cute labels yourself? It’s easy. And will cost you about $10 for 50 labels.

Key Tags ($8.59), Roll of string (a couple bucks)

To start, place a key tag on a your sting.

To find the exact length of string needed for your jar, find the little indent that goes around your lid…

then wrap around your string and tie a knot.

Now, slip your cute key tag over the jar you want labelled.

Then, go crazy and label every jar you can find.

Have fun and let me know if you make your own labels.

Parkour Boy has had a bit of Reader’s Block. You know, like Writer’s Block. Can’t find anything good to read. Awhile back he finished a book series called Warriors and loved it until that series ended. When he tried out the next round of books in the next series, he was in complete despair. He was unaware that sometimes the main characters in the first series do not have a major role in the next. This was a sad, sad day. From that point on, no book seemed to satisfy.

I let this go on for a good amount of time and then my “Gotta Get Him Reading Real Books” Mom Thing took over. Manga (Japanese comic books) just didn’t cut it for me anymore. I know, I can get a bit pushy and well…irrational. But hey, sometimes it works out. This time I laid down the law. Reading needs to occur every day. It’s fundamental, right? I mean, after all reading is one of the Four R’s. So, I somehow convinced him to try a book Music Man read this year. I say ‘somehow’ because Parkour Boy is not someone you can easily sway. If he doesn’t want to do it, it ain’t gonna happen. Now, don’t get me wrong, on the whole, he is a respectful kid when he’s asked to do things around the house. But when it comes to things like books, sports, or auditioning for a CYT production, he’s a man of steel. He only budges when he deems it’s time to move. It’s a character quality that God is going to use in big ways, I’m sure.

Anyway, he found he L-O-V-E-D this new book. Couldn’t. Put. It. Down. And this, of course, is a sweet music to my eyes. Okay, I know, it should be ears, but you don’t listen to someone read. Hee. Hee.  He’s off and running reading again. Even when he doesn’t have to. He finished “Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25″ in exactly four days. This was record reading folks. We even convinced him to read another one of Music Man’s books to tide him over until August when Michael Vey 2 comes out. He’s now half way through Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. I think he’ll have that finished by the end of the week.

I tell you all this to not have you compare your kids to mine, but to encourage you if you have some reluctant readers in your home. Parkour Boy had limited formal reading instruction (I taught some basic skills in First Grade). And for years, he was satisfied with picture books and comics. I had the experience of ruining my oldest son by pushing the reading thing too soon, and decided on patience with son #2. I read so much research that said with especially boys, it was wise to wait until they were ready. It has paid off.  So, celebrate with me!

By the way, Music Man is an avid reader. It wasn’t until I backed way off of the required reading thing (you know, by assigning what he was to read) that he began to discover it was fun. So, if you’ve been a pusher too and your kiddos don’t love to read on their own, never fear. It’s not too late to relax and give them choices.

Years ago I set my Bribery-By-Books Program. Haven’t heard of it? That’s because I made it up. My kids enjoy getting new things. I used this against them. I told them for every book they finished reading, I would buy them a new one of their choice.  And Parkour Boy’s deal was that every other book had to be a chapter book. He HATED that rule for a long while. I loved it because he would blow through his new Manga in a matter of hours and in order to get the next one, he had to read a substantial book. Hee. Hee. Pure evil, huh? Or genius, depending on who you are.

Well, all my conniving paid off.

Don’t ya think?

Learn how to make Chicken Stock. When you find out how easy it is, you'll laugh.

There was a time not long ago when women made all their food from scratch. You know, they made it themselves. They made cakes with flour and sugar, not from a box. They baked their own bread and churned their own butter. Okay, the butter is a bit of a stretch, but you get the idea. In our society today, we have so many fabulous conveniences, (I gotta say, I LOVE my refrigerator and I ain’t givin’ up my washing machine for nothin’), but there are some things I long to learn how to do myself. I’m curious about how to make my own mayonnaise or bar of soap.

Now, I realize you may not share my dreams, but there are a few things you might be interested in knowing how to do because you’ve heard it’s much cheaper than buying store bought. And for you, I dedicate this series, “From Scratch”.

For the next 5 weeks, every Wednesday, I’m going to bring you to my kitchen and show you some easy “From Scratch” items that you can use in your cooking every day of the week. You’ll be amazed at how simple each of these will be.  And your budget will thank you.

Here’s what I’ve got planned:

How to Roast a Chicken

How to Make Your Own Chicken Stock

How to Cook the Most Delicious Brown Rice

How to Make Beans Without a Can

How to Make Cream of Chicken Soup

So, go round up your apron. I’ll see you here next Wednesday for “From Scratch…Roast Chicken”.