Back to Some Recipes: Rotisserie Chicken

I love me some rotisserie chicken.  I like to use it in a variety of recipes, or just to have it in the fridge to pick on for lunch. What I don't like is that they tend to be very small, and if you don't get them just out of the oven, they can be dry and pretty awful.  I actually have tapered off buying them lately because the last few I brought home were overdone and really salty, but I missed the wonderful taste of a good one. Devonshire Deb turned me onto A Year of Crockpotting.  Some of the recipes look a little wacky for my taste, but most are just great.  When she posted a recipe for homemade rotisserie chicken, I had to give it a shot.

Of course, no pictures - check out the blog - mine came out the same way and I have to tell you, this chicken was BETTER than store bought.  It couldn't have been easier.  I do heartily recommend pulling off the breast skin and any visible fat, you won't miss it and the juices are much leaner that  way.  

I also made oven fries that will be submitted for pictures very soon, because the kids loved them so much, they ate the whole dish! (Noble Pig - I will be submitting this one!)

A Change of Scenery....

I've never liked my new template - it never totally felt like me.....so I've spent the last few days browsing through blogger templates to find one that felt more like me..and this is it.  It looks a little like my office desk, with its ever present cup of coffee, pens, scissors and photos (ok, not my sailboats, but I do love them).  I felt the need for the change.  I hope you like it!

Update

Mom is still in the hospital - another stroke.  We're trying to get her into a nursing home, but it's proving to be a nightmare - most places won't take her because she was in less than 60 days ago and she's used up her rehab supplement - they don't want to give up a rehab bed for someone who probably is looking at long term nursing care - so they will charge us $125/day. Now I see how people can lose everything. We're applying for Medicaid but it's not yet been approved.  Bottom line, don't get old without plenty of money in the bank or long term disability insurance.   I'm at my wits' end.  The red tape, a frightened senior citizen - kid problems (my son is autistic and turning 18, so we're dealing with guardianship issues). I need to be on the road next week and most of next month.  I'm actually looking forward to that just to have a break. My family is far away, my friends - absent. I'm not eating right, forget exercise, I have had a stress headache for a week. I am at a loss.

What Do You Do?

When the man you love is a (somewhat) conservative Republican and you're riding around with Obama Stickers on your  car??

Answer (Our compromise - we'll put election signs for each party on our collective front lawn).

 

Your mom is back in the hospital again and you know its nursing home time, but you like her there in the house where she's safe and warm? 

Answer - you hug, you kiss their foreheads and call social workers to try and locate something that everyone can live with

 

Your booking travel when life is totally up in the air.....

Answer - You pray that you find a hotel with a lenient cancellation policy

 

 

When did life get so complicated??

Up to my eyeballs at work

I have three big deliverables all due within the next week and it looks like there will be mucho road time coming up. Sorry kids, I can't come out to play right now.

Kudos to My Girl at Caffeine Court....

Truer words were never spoken.  We love that you read - when there are no comments, we think we're talking to ourselves....I do it enough in the car and in the store. C'mon folks, SHARE!!!

In fact, I am making an end of year resolution to be better about leaving comments myself.

10,000 Steps a Day and Other Innocuous Observations

I've started to walk 10,000 steps a day.  It's approximately 4.5 miles per day.  Wish me luck.  

It was so cold this morning, I lit the fireplace to take the chill off the rooms.  I love that.

Sourdough makes great french toast and if you use a boule style loaf, they are as big as a steak.  Watching my 14-year old sigh with delight and bop while eating it (think Bill Cosby's bit about his kids eating cake for breakfast) made my day.

I'm too lazy to take pictures of said french toast.

I saw "Religulous", Bill Maher's new movie and I liked it - it was thought provoking and hilarious - and no, I'm not going to write about it. If you'd like to know my opinions of the movie, drop me an email. 

I think Facebook's "SuperPoke" is highly over-rated. 

I'm still madly in love with my coffee maker, I'm thinking of starting a Facebook community for Cuisinart Fans.

Now....wasn't that boring????  Given the pervasive nastiness of the comments left in some of my friends' blogs - and the snarky finger pointing in others, I figured it was safer to talk about the inanities of life rather than have an exchange of ideas.  Come ON people - let's have a dialogue and let the politicians sling mud at each other.

 

Wish I Had Seen THIS....Sunday

http://www.delish.com/food/grocery-products/ 

Would have saved me a couple of hours scrubbing my stove top....

BTW, Delish is a new food site (and is a sister site to Home Beautiful).  Check it out, it's pretty good.