In an effort to save money, I bought a whole chicken to cook and then I'll use the left overs for a couple of chicken dishes.
Things I learned:
*I need to give the chicken more time to thaw to avoid needing to cook it an extra hour and a half.
*It is a wonderful thing to have a friend like Michele to answer some of my defrost chicken questions yesterday morning.
*Taking the giblets out is challenging if you have never done it before, and you're not quite sure where they are or how to get them out.
*Finding a video of someone taking out the giblets took longer than I expected.
*I should have found those videos the day prior, because the extra info I gathered would have helped in the defrosting dilemma.
*Prepping a whole chicken isn't nearly as challenging as I thought. Butter and herbs under the skin and 1/2 onion cut up for the inside worked out quite well.
*I should always move the oven rack to a lower setting. Although, even if I had lowered it, I still would have had the following problem. I don't know if this happens to all pans, but I was using my favorite Pampered Chef Bar Pan. It got so hot that the oils were popping up and hitting the top heating element. This then caused smoke. So, once I realized the problem, I moved the rack lower. However, the oil was popping up so high that I still had a problem. Well, I don't know if you have taken into consideration Eliana in the mix, but I figured out what to do with her. Praise the Lord for the exersaucer. She doesn't like it, but she gets to sit in it and read while I shower. So, she got to read and take breaks to watch her mom turn on fans, open windows, pray that the smoke detector wouldn't go on, oh and scream initially for not being able to "help" in the kitchen. I put foil over the chicken, and that took care of the popping oil.
*It is a good think Eliana didn't mind eating a sandwich while Kyle and I waited for the chicken to cook.
*The chicken was well worth the wait!
*Mashed potatoes keep their heat a long time. The steamed veggies held up well too with the extra long steaming.
*Having Kyle go back for seconds and thirds delighted my heart.
*Kyle carving out the rest of the chicken for later said, "I love my wife!"
*Cleaning the Pampered Chef Pan took about 2 minutes. Awe, I sure do love that pan.
*I used 1/2 of the left overs today in a chili verde chicken dish that was delicious!!!
Things I learned:
*I need to give the chicken more time to thaw to avoid needing to cook it an extra hour and a half.
*It is a wonderful thing to have a friend like Michele to answer some of my defrost chicken questions yesterday morning.
*Taking the giblets out is challenging if you have never done it before, and you're not quite sure where they are or how to get them out.
*Finding a video of someone taking out the giblets took longer than I expected.
*I should have found those videos the day prior, because the extra info I gathered would have helped in the defrosting dilemma.
*Prepping a whole chicken isn't nearly as challenging as I thought. Butter and herbs under the skin and 1/2 onion cut up for the inside worked out quite well.
*I should always move the oven rack to a lower setting. Although, even if I had lowered it, I still would have had the following problem. I don't know if this happens to all pans, but I was using my favorite Pampered Chef Bar Pan. It got so hot that the oils were popping up and hitting the top heating element. This then caused smoke. So, once I realized the problem, I moved the rack lower. However, the oil was popping up so high that I still had a problem. Well, I don't know if you have taken into consideration Eliana in the mix, but I figured out what to do with her. Praise the Lord for the exersaucer. She doesn't like it, but she gets to sit in it and read while I shower. So, she got to read and take breaks to watch her mom turn on fans, open windows, pray that the smoke detector wouldn't go on, oh and scream initially for not being able to "help" in the kitchen. I put foil over the chicken, and that took care of the popping oil.
*It is a good think Eliana didn't mind eating a sandwich while Kyle and I waited for the chicken to cook.
*The chicken was well worth the wait!
*Mashed potatoes keep their heat a long time. The steamed veggies held up well too with the extra long steaming.
*Having Kyle go back for seconds and thirds delighted my heart.
*Kyle carving out the rest of the chicken for later said, "I love my wife!"
*Cleaning the Pampered Chef Pan took about 2 minutes. Awe, I sure do love that pan.
*I used 1/2 of the left overs today in a chili verde chicken dish that was delicious!!!
4 comments:
Ahh... nothing like a good cooking experience. Greg says I'm chaotic in the kitchen. I bet it was delish. This was a great post. LOL.
You make me laugh, Sweetie!
YAY! I've been meaning to call you to see how the chicken turned out!! Yes, I have the popping problem too. Yes, I get the smoke too. No, putting it on a lower rack doesn't help. You did the right thing with the foil - did it still brown? And yes, I'm pretty sure I've set off the fire alarm too. :)
Tasha, I start out with foil on the chicken then for the last 20 minutes or so I take the foil off and turn the heat up to brown the skin. I baste it as needed to keep the meat moist. It's basically the same thing I do with a turkey. Great way to cook poultry!!
Aunt Marcie
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