Oops, there it went

Menu Plan Monday came and went, see my penance recipe for Sticky Chicken at the end of this post.

My reason was this: I got a heads up from I-don't-remember-where that Food Lion had whole chickens on sale for 49 cents/pound. Wow! I hadn't seen that price in a while, so it was worth the trip three miles away for the deal. This was Monday morning, early, when I was the only person awake in my house. That way, I didn't detract from our regular schedule. I entered Food Lion with the intent of purchasing 10-15 chickens. However, when I got back to the meat department I quickly realized that I had stumbled on a jackpot of reduced meat. Now, if you remember the Food Lion meat scandal of the early 90's, you're probably thinking "ew, gross", but I think after that, Food Lion probably became one of the safest places to buy meat because of the scrutiny they received. Anyway, I got so many good bargains to last a while. The reductions were just taken (the date said 4/28, which was yesterday). I got several 5 pound Boston Butt roasts for 87 cents a pound. I got beef ribs, which my family adores. We normally wouldn't eat beef ribs because of the price. I also got a few Chuck Roasts, which can be slow cooked in a way that they are tender and juicy. I will be going back to Food Lion again on another Monday for more meat deals.

Sunday - leftover spaghetti dinner
Monday - Southern Barbecue Pulled Pork Sandwiches in the slow cooker, cucumber salad, pasta salad, Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Tuesday - Lentils and Vegetable Soup, leftover pulled pork sandwiches, Green Leaf Salad
Wednesday - Sticky Chicken, Rice Pilaf, Steamed Vegetables, Butter Flake rolls
Thursday - Day Old Bread Casserole (using leftover chicken), rolls, peas
Friday - Pizza night
Saturday night - out of town company = out to eat!


and, now, from the family archives:


Sticky Chicken

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Serves: 4

This chicken is an absolute family favorite. My family would eat this once per week, but I wait until I get a really, really good deal on whole chickens to keep it special by not serving it so often. Cooked, these resemble those tiny Tyson Rotisserie Chicken, or the expensive rotisserie chickens at the certain Market store. The skin is crisp, the inside is so moist! For my family I make two, so we have a little leftover.

2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon white peppers
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 whole chicken
1 cup chopped onions

Combine all spices (first 8 ingredients) in small bowl.

Rinse chicken, inside & out. Drain well.

Rub spice mixture over skin and the inside of the chicken. Place in a resealable bag, seal and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to roast, stuff cavity with onions. Place chicken breast-side-up in roasting pan.

Roast, uncovered, at 250°F (that's not a typo...it's really 250°F). Baste occasionally with pan juices or until pan juices start to caramelize on bottom of pan and chicken is golden brown, about 5 hours.

Anything over 225°F is safe as long as the chicken reaches an internel temperature of at least 180 F, which this does, and more for about 5 hours.

OR

Following regular chicken roasting instructions as follows: Pour melted butter over chickens. Place on roasting rack in shallow dish. Roast at 475 degrees for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 degrees. Roast an additional 30-45 minutes, or until internal temperature is 180 F.




Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Menu Planning Software from DVO Enterprises.

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Going Mediterranean

We all have those friends in our lives. You know the ones who inspire us with their motivation or talents? Today I was reminded by the thoughts of one such friend...I need to eat right. Learning about nutrition is something that I enjoy doing. I don't always hop on the latest trend, but I do know a good diet when I see one. On the menu this week: we are going Mediterranean. Our top foods, according to the Mediterranean Book (as well as other successful campaigns like the South Beach Diet) should be:

1. TOMATOES – cooked, they are rich in the antioxidant lycopene
2. OLIVE OIL
3. RED GRAPES
4. NUTS - full of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
5. WHOLE GRAINS (fiber!)
6. FISH (or fish oils, as my case may be. I cannot find a decent, mild fish in this area!)
7. BERRIES (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, any berries!)
8. GARLIC
9. SPINACH (we like this raw, but we'll eat it steamed also)
10. ORANGES (rich in folic acid, and vitamin C) this week, we'll be doing lots of lemons!

When life gives you lemons...

there's so much more to do with them than make lemonade! I talked to my sister yesterday. She'll be 46 in a few days, and is starting a regimen of nutritional counseling with her chiropractor. What advice did her chiropractic physician give to her? Eat lemons! Why? Lemons are one of God's most beneficial creations. I know that lemon juice is an excellent stain remover and air freshener. Cosmetic reasons aside, take a look at the health benefits:

Lemon juice is one of the best detoxifying agents/cleansing agents ever known to man. The vitamin C in lemons is a potent antioxidant. Antioxidants are necessary to rid the body of damage caused by free radicals.

Lemon juice can resolve nausea, as well as cure heartburn when mixed with hot water.

Lemon scent is a good "pick-me-upper".

For more on the benefits of lemons, click here.

Tonight, while shopping for a new set of salt and pepper shakers in Bed, Bath & Beyond, I came across this nifty gadget. Had to have it (extremely rare impulse buy), and I'm happy I did! The price on the gadget was $9.99, but it rung up as $19.99. They ALL said $9.99, which was a misprice, so the store gave it to me for that price. Then, I pulled out my nifty 20% off any item coupon, for a final price of $7.99! That may seem like a splurge, but we go through so many lemons during the summer, it really was a bargain! This will be a real time saver! Why didn't I know about this before? Culinary life begins at 41, I guess!

Priorities

One of the biggest challenges to being a mom is scheduling and managing our lives. In life class yesterday, the pastor's wife read an excerpt from Ed Young's Outrageous, Contagious Joy.

Here are our three priorities: (1) relationships (2) worship (3) work . My project for the week is to write down everything that I have to do in the course of the week and to analyze if I am living according to these priorities. I can tell you, I don't think that I am...and I want to! How about you?

Take some time to prayerfully consider your schedules. What works, what doesn't? Why? Are you joyful?

There is an alternative to bleach

Chlorine bleach is a hazardous material. Sure, it's an excellent cleaning medium, but do you really, really want the toxic exposure when there are alternatives?

I found this at Publix this weekend: Chlorine-free bleach. Active ingredient? Hydrogen peroxide, citric acid and water, which breaks down into harmless oxygen and water. Does it work? Yes.

I paid $1.50 for mine, works great on stains!

Try it!

Product review: glass cleaner

A friend recently sent me an e-mail of suggested uses for 3% hydrogen peroxide. Determined not to just jump on the bandwagon (as I had done with vinegar for a while) until I used my year's supply of FREE Windex collected during my initial spurt of couponing, I set the e-mail aside for a later time. When I finally read the e-mail thoroughly, I decided to try the hydrogen peroxide on my bathroom mirrors. WOW! Where has this knowledge been all of my life?! It is amazingly streak-free and certainly economical. I like it better than commercially prepared glass cleaner, and as a bonus, it is FUME-FREE!

I was never too impressed with vinegar as a glass cleaner, but I like the idea of natural.

Try it!

Did you know this about corn?

With all the great deals on corn, here's a clever way to cook it! Please try to buy local produce...it's better for you, better for the farmer!

You can pull back the husk (but not remove it!), remove the silk, place the husk back around the ear of corn, microwave for 2 1/2 minutes for one ear, 5 minutes for two ears, 7 1/2 minutes for three ears, etc.

Or, if you do not own a microwave or have reservations about microwaving your food, you can cook it in the crockpot:

Remove husk and silk from the ears of corn, place in your crockpot, cover with warm water, and cook on high for 2 hours.

Did I mention how much I love my crockpot?