Rambling Along

I love reading where (more or less) people come from to visit this blog. And, I find it rather interesting what brings them here: Making chicken and dumplin's or rice krispie treats, and the Cardinal bird and bumble bee. You just never know, do you?

I've been rather out of the blogging posting--as you might have noticed. I've been playing "Dear Abby", it seems. Friends or family seem to call and want to seek my perspective on stuff. And, I'll be the first to say, I'm not expert on much of anything. But, I do listen, and when asked, I do often have an opinion. (Even sometimes when I'm not asked, okay?)

So, other than that--listening for hours and visiting with loved ones on the phone--I don't seem to have accomplished all that much. Well, the dishes have been washed. Meals have been prepared and eaten, but the fridge really needs cleaning out. The clutter that's been accumulating--even though I tossed a lot of paper clutter into the fireplace--and the flames--seemed a lot, there's so much more to go. AND, with the temperature rising to near 80 degrees these days, using the fireplace is only practical when the outside morning temperature is closer to 45 or 50 degrees--which it has been.

I'm rambling. Yes. I know, but it's after 1 am, so don't act surprised.

Easter this year was the first time ever in my life that I was alone for the most part. No husband until late in the afternoon--he'd been on a business trip for four days. No children. Two closest were working. The other two too far away to make it. My Mom and siblings, also too far away to come for dinner.

But I did attend Church, which was very spiritual, deeply meaningful and uplifting--considering how the Resurrection of the Savior of all mankind was the most significant single occurrence in all of Earth's history. Well, I'm eternally grateful to Him for His atoning sacrifice and continued caring and guidance to us here on the earth.

Easter is wonderful, too, with the beauty of life returning so beautifully after the cold and drear of winter. Spring is so symbolic of resurrection, The Resurrection, don't you think? I absolutely love Spring.

Oh. Easter Sunday, just a quarter hour before Church was over, we had a torrential downpour! According to my rain gauge, we received 1.5 inches of rain in about 30 minutes. That's a lot of rain in so short a time.

Another random thought: If I were to post another recipe, what would you find most interesting?

Chicken and Corn Chowder?

Chicken Gumbo?

Bread?

Broccoli Cheese Rice?

Something else?

(If you have something I might know how to do, I'll even try that. Not that I have an endless list of recipes. And, as one of my daughters pointed out, I do pretty basic kinds of cooking. She's the gourmet!)

Let me know if something here interests you and I'll see what I can do. I'll even consider doing the picture thing as well.

That is, after I get back from babysitting my grandchildren. I'll be leaving next week and gone for about two weeks. It might take me a day or two to recover from the high activity level I'll be dealing with, but hey! It'll be loads of fun. Except for the dirty diaper changing thing. You know.

If I sound like I'm asleep or out of my mind, consider that you've picked up on something that might be close to reality.

Food for Thought

Just kidding! Well, maybe not . . .Chicken Cacciatore: It was "What's for Dinner" last night.

My daughter, Sarah, asked me to fix this dish a day or two ago. So, last night I did. It was very yummy and was based on a recipe she found online from "food network.com" courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis. I personally love to watch her show.

So, here's my version of her recipe. I didn't change much.

Chicken Cacciatore

1 whole chicken, cut up, (breasts cut in half crosswise, equalling 4 pieces)

salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup flour, for dredging

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1 large onion, chopped

3 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped

2 large carrots, thinly sliced on the diagonal

3/4 cup white grape juice (Giada used white wine)

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice

3/4 cup chicken stock (or broth)

3 tablespoons drained capers

2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped (can substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano)

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly.

In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over medium to medium high heat. Add the chicken pieces and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Chicken WILL NOT be thoroughly cooked yet--so WAIT to eat it! Transfer chicken to paper towel on a plate and set aside.

Add bell pepper, onion, garlic, and carrot slices to the same pan and saute over medium/medium high heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the grape juice and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium/medium low heat until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a large serving dish (or 9 x 13 inch casserole). If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. (I left this step out . . . so I had LOTS of sauce. But I liked it!) If you like, you can spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce at this point. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.

The basil I retrieved from my huge plant just outside the back door was sooooo aromatic and wonderful and a nice addition to the dish. Yes, I also had fresh oregano growing back there. Can I just say how much I love my pots of herbs growing on the back patio? Well, I do. We served the chicken and sauce over spaghetti noodles and sprinkled it all with Parmesan cheese. We liked it. In fact, my husband said he'd like to eat it again. (Translation: he REALLY liked it!)

Sarah said, since I added the carrots (upon her request, I might add) it seemed sweeter than the time she fixed it for her Dad when I was off helping her sister Amy with the birth of her second child. (See the cute, smiling, blue-eyed wonder in the far left photo on Saturday's "Someone's Unhappy!" post. Oh, and as an aside, that little guy LOVES to cook! Has ever since he was big enough to drag a stool up to assist his Mom in cooking projects.)

So, go try this recipe. The seasoning is milder than I thought, but VERY nice and tasty! Enjoy! We did. And will again.

Do YOU have a favorite chicken recipe? A favorite Italian recipe? Care to share? Please! Come on! You know you want to!

Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Had a craving for more cinnamon rolls yesterday and needed to take a dessert to a family of my friends who had a loved one recently pass from this life. It was a good excuse to make some more. Received great compliments and a request for a copy of the recipe. So, after nearly 40 years of hoarding it, I've decided to come clean and share. It really is good and has garnered 40 years of compliments. If you try it, perhapsyou too, can enjoy these yummy sweet treats and receive compliments of your own. Let me know how it goes for you!

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Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:
1 pint sour cream or buttermilk

1 cup sugar, divided
1 cup butter, divided

6 large eggs
2 tablespoons dried yeast

6-7 cups flour
½ cup warm water

1 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon sugar: Combine about 2 cups of sugar with 4 heaping tablespoons of cinnamon and mix thoroughly.

Icing Glaze: 4 cups powdered sugar

4 tablespoons (probably much more), lemon juice, but add a little at a time, mixing well after each addition, till it's the consistency to drizzle.

DOUGH CONSTRUCTION:

Warm sour cream, or buttermilk, with ½ cup butter till butter is melted. In a 2 cup measuring cup add 1 tablespoon sugar to warm water, sprinkle yeast over water, then add 1 or 2 more tablespoons of sugar over yeast. Mix sugar, water, and yeast well. In a large mixing bowl, add 6 cups flour, remainder of sugar, and salt. Mix till blended. Next, add all liquid ingredients and mix gently till blended. Add eggs one at a time, and mix thoroughly. With kneading hook on mixer, knead mixture thoroughly for 5 to 7 minutes. If you need to do this by hand, use a very large bowl, and knead the mixture in the bowl with a wooden spoon. If dough is too runny, add the additional cup of flour. However—dough should be VERY soft, not stiff--almost pourable.

Place dough in a LARGE bowl, well greased with shortening. Spray top of dough with Pam Spray and cover with plastic wrap before placing in a warm spot. Allow to rise multiple times, always punching the dough down when it has doubled in bulk. (More realistically, I rap the bottom of the bowl on the counter top to begin the release of built up carbon dioxide, then, using a very freshly washed finger, pull the dough from the sides of the bowl toward the center at about one inch intervals until it's almost back to the original bulk. Then I recover it with plastic wrap. When you can smell the yeasty, almost fruity aroma indicating that fermentation has begun, the dough will be ready to work with.

NOTE: You can put the covered dough in the refrigerator at this point, if you won't have time to complete the task. However, if you do, please be sure your bowl is large enough to allow the doubling of the dough without spilling over the edges. I know from past experience that this dough, once begun, loves to continue to "grow". If you do refrigerate the dough, however, you'll need to get it out to warm up an hour or two before you plan to work it into rolls.

On a well floured surface, take ¼ to 1/3 of the dough and form a loose ball. Knead it slightly with the flour and then, with a flour dusted rolling pin, roll it out in a rectangle until it is about 1/8 to ¼” thick.

With a pastry brush, generously spread melted butter over the entire surface, then sprinkle generously with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Beginning on a long side, roll the dough, jelly-roll style, then slice into about ¾” to 1” pieces. Place these cinnamon rolls, flat side down, on a well greased cookie sheet or in a cake pan, casserole dish—whatever you have--about 1/2” apart. If you crowd them all together, you'll get weird landscape looking cinnamon rolls. If you want normal shaped rolls, place them at least 1/2" to 1" apart so they can expand without curling crazily out of the middle while rising. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise for approximately 1 hour. When they're about twice original size, remove plastic and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

While baking, mix together Icing Glaze ingredients enough to make a somewhat runny glaze. As soon as rolls are removed from the oven, drizzle glaze over the top. Serve warm, and everyone will thank you! If you let them eat any of them.