Sunday Musings

I have to admit, there is something about a nice free Sunday at the end (or beginning) of my week that just helps me prepare for the upcoming work week.  Some Sundays I do absolutely nothing other than parking my rear on the couch and relaxing by catching up on some television shows through many sources, one of them being Netflix streaming.


But today I was feeling rather ambitious.  Today was a day of grocery shopping, and getting things done around the house.  Thankfully I got my outside the house errands finished early enough so that I was home by 12:30pm, that way I could start my afternoon in the house chores.  These on this particular day consisted of: putting away groceries, adding items to our compost bin, making lunch (Steak with Shallot, Butter and Balsamic Sauce), making chicken/turkey stock, the dreaded laundry, AND prepping and roasting a chicken for dinner.  Of course dancing and singing in my kitchen while listening to music is always par for the course.  It just puts a smile on my face and makes things so much more fun!  (Throwing in some wine or a martini, well that's just an extra pleasure.)


All in all, days like this are actually days I really enjoy, even though they do tend to be laborious.  But it's the kind of labor that at the end of the day when you kick back and put your feet up, you feel that you have really accomplished something.

Lunch

I do have to say, I found the recipe for Steak with Shallot, Butter and Balsamic Sauce through the wonderful pin board Pinterest.  One thing that I have found, is that I LOVE cooking, and being crafty.  That being so, I decided to try this very simple recipe.  I think I may have used a bit too much shallot, but otherwise it was very delicious.  The recipe calls for flank steak, but as I didn't have any I just used whatever steak I purchased at my good old Price Chopper.  (They had boneless bottom sirloin steak on sale, so I bought a package that had 3 steaks in it.)  After I finished the Shallot, Butter and Balsamic Sauce, there wasn't quite enough for my taste.  So, I just put some balsamic vinegar in a pan, let it reduce down some so it was lovely and sweet, and poured it over the steak.  Totally delicious, and a treat I very rarely make at home!  So it was a good effort, and I have leftover steak for lunches this week. 

Stock

Since moving into my new apartment, I've been trying to be more frugal and use all my groceries and throw less away.  (Part of the reason why the roomie and I have started composting, and we even made our own composter.)  Since I had about 1 turkey and 2 chicken carcasses in the freezer, I figured today would be a perfect day to make chicken/turkey stock.  I figure why purchase stock in the store when it is soo easy to make at home (and cheaper!)  Especially if, like we do, you tend to roast a chicken or turkey on Sundays.  Just throw the carcasses in the freezer when you have taken all the meat off them, and as for the veggies for the stock, just keep leftover cuttings and scraps and freeze them as well!  (If you aren't already throwing them in the composter.)

Been simmering for about a half hour.

After all the bones and veggies have been taken out.

When you are finally ready to make stock, it so soo easy.  I mean, crazy easy, so easy that I never realized just how easy it really was.  You throw everything into a pot (the carcasses, veggies, some seasonings), cover it with water, bring it to a boil then once it's at a boil drop the heat so that the pot is slightly simmering, and that's it.  You just leave it slighting simmering for about 4 hours or so.  Skimming some of the foam off every once in a while.  Once the 4 hours are over, you take the bones out and strain the stock with a strainer and some cheesecloth.  If you want you can simmer the stock for a few more hours to reduce it down and pour it into ice cube trays to use for later, or freeze in small containers for use later.  Stock is not a science, it's a matter of taste!  I mean there are plenty of blogs and recipes on how to make stock, but seriously, just make it your own.  I know I do!  (You can even make stock in your slow-cooker if you don't want to watch it or want to do it overnight or while you are at work.)

Dinner

Now, it's time to talk about DINNER.  For dinner tonight I am roasting a chicken.  I got roughly an 8lb chicken.  Generally I both stuff the cavity with celery, carrots, & onions, and also put some in the bottom of the roasting pan with a little bit of water (to flavor the drippings which will later become home made gravy!)  I separate the skin a little bit from the flesh on the chicken, and massage in some unsalted butter.  Sprinkle the bird with some salt, pepper, garlic powder, sometimes some poultry seasoning, and a tiny bit of salt.  Then tie up the drums to semi-seal the cavity with some kitchen twine.  Cover loosely with some foil and pop it in the oven.  After the first half hour I remove the foil and baste (with above made stock thinned with some water, or just water if you don't have broth or stock), and continue to baste about every half hour.  (Since this bird is about 8lbs, it will cook for about 2.5 to 3 hours.)

Just taken out of the oven, before being transferred to the platter to rest.

Then once it's ready, I take it out of the roaster and let it rest for at least 20 mins, so that it will retain it's juiciness!  While it's resting I make the gravy.  I take the pan drippings, put in a small pot and bring to a simmer.  Whip up a mixture of water and cornstarch (if you have gluten free peeps always use cornstarch, don't use flour!) and add it to the pot of simmering pan drippings to thicken and make a delicious gravy.  I always taste as I go to make sure it's absolutely delicious for the people I'm feeding.  Add whatever seasonings you think it needs; salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc.  It's always a matter of personal taste!

Usually we make mashed potatoes to go with our roasts (in addition to whatever vegetable we like for the meal), but we are out and I didn't like the selection at the store today.  So instead we will have salad and roasted broccoli!  I found this recipe a few years ago, and I absolutely love it.  It's very simple, tasty, and a great way to eat broccoli if you don't like it mushy.  Plus, it includes cheese!

Once everything is ready, it's time to carve the chicken!  Each time I get much better at carving.  Which is good, because the first time I completely butchered it, it was not pretty.  Once all the meat is carved off the chicken, save the skin and bones to make another round of stock later.  It's a delicious cycle!