Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Biscuits and Chicken Gravy

I forgot to mention in my last post, why I cook so much chicken and make so much gravy at one time.  There are 2 reasons, first of all, Blossom #3 loves to eat chicken drumsticks, so I freeze the leftover drumsticks on parchment paper and then put them in a freezer bag for when Blossom #3 needs a little protein.  The second reason, Biscuits and Chicken Gravy is probably this family's favorite meal, so I need extra chicken and gravy to make this meal.

If you have too much leftover chicken, which I did, freeze it for pesto chicken sandwiches or an easy casserole.
I didn't have too much gravy though!
Here's how to make the gravy:

Put the leftover gravy in your large sauce pan.  Heat it up on low.


When the gravy is warm, add as much chicken as you like and 1 bag of peas and carrots.  Make sure you simmer this long enough to heat the meat and vegetables up.

The biscuits should be made prior to making the gravy, because you can see how quickly the gravy comes together.  (You did the hard work when you made the chicken dinner!)

I have tried many biscuit recipes and this is the one that Mr. Blossom likes the best.

Here's the Angel Biscuit recipe from http://www.thatsmyhome.com/

2 pkg. yeast (I do 4 1/2 teaspoons)
1 T. warm water (I use 2 T.)
2 T. sugar
5 C. sifted flour
3 t. baking powder rounded
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda rounded
1 C. shortening or oleo (I use butter)
2 C. buttermilk

Dissolve yeast in water and sugar.  Sift flour, baking powder, salt and soda into a large bowl.  Cut in shortening.  Add buttermilk to yeast mixture.  Add buttermilk and yeast to flour.  Mix together well.  (I use a fork.)

Turn dough out onto a floured surface.  Knead 2 or 3 times.

Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut biscuits.  Let set 45 minutes to 1 hour to rise.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes.

Note:  Dough may be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator until needed.

Serve the biscuits and gravy with a salad.

Have a great day!
Karin

Chicken Dinner

I know I'm not a food photographer, so this dinner actually tastes a lot better than it looks.  And, the best part, everyone loves it!

This is one of my flavor-ite friends!


Sprinkle the Italian dressing on your clean chicken.
Cover the baking dish with foil and
bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours.


When I cook, I cook.  So, I actually had 3 dishes of
chicken to bake. 


When the chicken is just about done baking, start making your gravy.  Here's how:

Melt 1 stick butter in a large pan on low.
Add 1 cup chicken broth.
In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 cups milk
with 8 tablespoons flour.
Add the flour/milk mixture to the pan.
Whisk to blend with butter and broth. 


When your chicken is done baking, add the juice to the gravy. 
Since I had 3 baking dishes, I just moved the chicken from
pan to pan.  Whisk in the chicken juice.  Also, if you want to, add 1 teaspoon chicken flavor (I used Williams-Sonoma's Chicken Demi Glace), salt and pepper.  If the gravy gets too thick, add more broth.  If it's too thin, add a little flour.  Gravy tends to thicken as it cools, so you could also just turn the heat off and let it cool a bit.

The mashed potato recipe is with my meatball recipe.
The corn was grown in our garden.

Enjoy!
Karin


Friday, March 2, 2012

Getting Rid of Hiccups!

This is how we get rid of hiccups and it works every time!  Fill a glass with water.  Put a table knife in the glass and then drink as much of the water as possible without stopping.  Blossom #3 is demonstrating in the picture. 

We learned this trick from a family friend, a doctor, a LONG time ago.  I can't believe more people don't know about it!

Have a great week-end!
Karin

William Holden (2) - Man From Colorado

I liked this movie.  William Holden is a very flexible actor.  In the last movie, he played a "starving" Hollywood writer. In t...