Best Chicken Ever

I hope you had a great Saturday!

I'm still working on getting ready for our game night, but in the meantime, I needed to make lunch for a family we know.  I made the Best Chicken Ever, green beans, and this cake that I shared previously. 

Even if you are not the best cook ever, like my grandmother, it is nice if you have at least one meal that you know you can cook for guests and it will be fantastic.  These are some of my go to recipes.  My husband says these are the best green beans ever.  I got the recipe from Publix Aprons Simple Meals, and so you can easily get it here, on their website.  The only things I do differently are to make a much larger batch (as in, the recipe calls for 12 oz. of green beans and my husband and I can easily eat a pound by ourselves, as these are so good) and I add 2-3 times as much bacon as the recipe calls for--doesn't bacon make everything better?

Now for the chicken. 

I learned the real secret of this chicken about seven years ago from my fantastic friend, Holly.  She has a similar recipe that she made once while I was visiting.  The secret to good chicken (and many other things) is patience.  It really doesn't matter if you have the freshest herbs, or the best oil, or expensive chicken.  To be really good, you need to cook it on a very low temperature for a very looooonnnnnnggggg time.  I'm serious.  I cook mine for 11-12 hours at 200 degrees.  It should also be covered.  I happen to have a stoneware casserole dish and the rectangular lid/bowl from Pampered Chef that I use.  (I bought them years ago when I wasn't married and had money.)  You could use a much cheaper version of casserole dish and tin foil or something similar.  

To make this chicken, you will need:

1 whole chicken (or 2, or a turkey--it's versatile!)

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper (I used a VERY light sprinkling of Chipotle pepper instead of black)

Any herbs you like--I used tons of rosemary, some thyme, oregano, garlic powder, and minced onions this time.  I've also used basil and italian seasoning in the past.

Rinse the chicken and discard the bag of "extras."

Place in your dish (I always put mine in so the legs are on top) and pour olive oil on the chicken.  Use a bit more than a drizzle, but don't douse it in oil.  I try to just leave a thin film of oil on the surface of the chicken.  Then sprinkle on the salt, pepper, and your choice of herbs (you really can choose whatever you like).  I use enough herbs to cover the top of the chicken.  I think of it as a crust for the chicken.

Then, just put it in the oven on a low heat (like 200 degrees Fahrenheit) for at least 8 hours.  To get a nicely browned skin, take the lid off and increase the temperature (try 300) for the last 30 minutes to an hour of cooking.  

Every time I have served this, my guests loved it.  A few things I have learned, though, are these--if you cook two chickens at once, which is twice as much yumminess, it makes a ton of juice, and you want to be careful of overflowing your dish.  Also, it is best to serve the bird in the dish you cooked it in, because as soon as you touch it with a fork, it will fall to pieces.  No one has ever complained about the presentation.  They are too busy asking for seconds ;)

I hope you'll try this chicken.  It is worth the effort.  If you do try it, leave a comment and tell me how it went!

ANYONE Can Cook! Part 2

I hope you considered trying some new things after my last post.  Did anyone try the zucchini cakes?  I have two more cooking ideas for you, and then some tips.

My husband said he wanted something different for breakfast, and suggested granola pancakes like they have at Cracker Barrel.  I looked online and found a granola recipe, and a pancake recipe.  I made them both.  

Granola

Pancakes

Aside from the adventure of making something new, my granola really did turn into an experiment, because I made a few purposeful changes--and I didn't really read the directions carefully until it was too late....

The granola called for almonds and dried cranberries.  In an effort to save money, I bought a bag of almonds, sunflower seeds, and cranberries and put them in the food processor to chop them up. 

 Then, I added the oatmeal and wet ingredients and realized I should have used a bigger bowl.  

After pouring the mixture onto the aluminum foil in my oven, I read that I was supposed to add the cranberries after cooking.  Too Late!  

Before Baking                                   After Baking

The granola is really good, even though I didn't follow the recipe exactly, and the pancakes turned out very nicely.  

By the way, if you decide to make the granola, it makes a lot.  And--the pancakes are deceptively filling.

The third "experiment" I did is this "Stained Glass" Candy from Food Gawker.

Stained Glass Candy

Let me tell you about this adventure.  I decided I was going to make this recipe, and I bought the chocolate chips.  I have been to five stores (each carrying marshmallows) and none of them had the multicolored ones.  I really wanted to make these, though, and so I tried to think of things I could substitute.  I wanted something chewy, and I needed something that would show up like the marshmallows when I sliced them.  I went with a bag of dried fruit, and because it wasn't as big as a bag of marshmallows, I added extra nuts.  They were good, but I wasn't extremely impressed.  I thought about how I could improve this one.  I think if you used bigger pieces of fruit, like the chunks of papaya, mango, or pineapple, that would be good.  The pictures below go with the instructions in the recipe from the link.

 

My husband and I also thought of spice drops.  We had two little girls staying with us, and so for fun, we made it again using gummy worms and fruit slices.  I also substituted milk chocolate chips for the semi-sweet ones, because I like sweeter things.  Again, I learned something--gummy worms do not get hard in the refrigerator, and so they are difficult to cut.  We put them in the freezer and that helped.

The girls had a good time with the cooking, and I thought the end result looked pretty good.  By the way, since there were two girls, I divided the recipe and used two bowls, so each girl got to make a roll.

I have been eating the candy for the past week, and both Tommy and Rachel said they tasted fine.  

Will I continue to experiment with this recipe?  Probably.  Will I use gummy worms again?  Definitely not.   I do want to try it with the spice drops (although Tommy says I have to pull out the minty ones) and I would also like to make the actual recipe--if I can ever find the marshmallows.  

If you want to branch out with your cooking, I have these tips:

1.  Don't be afraid.

2.  Start with simple changes, like leaving out or substituting for a spice that you do not like/do not have on hand.

3.  Ask yourself the questions, "What could I do to make this better?" and "What could I use that would be LIKE this ingredient that I am missing?"

4.  Be brave.  Check out Food Gawker.

I know you can do this.  You'll be great!  What are your favorite recipes?  Leave us a link in the comments!

ANYONE Can Cook! Part 1

Soooo.... I was introduced to an amazing website for food.  Food Gawker has over one hundred thousand pictures of food, and when you click the pictures, a new window with the site where the recipe is listed pops open.  You can search by food type, or browse everything.  Perhaps the best part is that you can sign up for a free account and save your favorites.  I have been looking at it almost everyday, and I've tried a few things from it.

After I finished writing this, I looked at how looooonnnnnnnnggggggg it was, and I broke it into two posts.  Part two will follow soon.

Here's where my information for you comes in.  My goal in this blog is to make things and explain them so anyone can replicate them--even those of you who say you are not good at crafts, or cooking.  I have heard of some people who NEVER experiment in the kitchen, and can't make anything without a recipe.  Well, if you are an experimenter, try the recipes I linked to, because they are really good.  If you aren't an experimenter, read the rest of this, and be BRAVE.

Now, I will admit, I have made a few things that weren't edible.  Like the steak that was so charred it couldn't even pass for beef jerky, or trying to make alfredo sauce with a package of cream cheese (trust me, you don't want to try that experiment), but if you consider everything I've tried, the inedible ones are few and far between.  And if you try something, you might like it!  Or you might say, "Never again!"  But you will have learned something for next time.

Something you might be interested in knowing:  I rarely actually measure things.  I might use a measuring cup, but even then, measurements are approximate.  I say this for one reason--Even though I don't measure much, people still seem to like my food.  You don't have to worry about things being perfect.  (My grandmother says BAKING involves science, and so you have to be more careful.  I DO measure carefully when I make cakes.)

If you are one who never tries anything new, an experiment might just be trying a recipe you have never used before.  I started to use this recipe last weekend, because I found it on Food Gawker and thought it looked delicious:
Zucchini Cakes
We were having company, and I was making them while my friend was in the kitchen.  She thought they looked good, but she didn't think she wanted the nutmeg in there, so we left it out.  You know, they were still delicious.  I made them again Saturday (still without the nutmeg) and I made them thinner, which was nice.  My husband's family started calling them Zucchini burgers, and they loved them.

I have two more recipes that I have tried, with pictures.  I will put them up soon.  In the meantime, leave a comment with your favorite recipe, experiment, or if you're brave, a disaster you tried.