Chicken and Cookies Challenge - Week 3

This week was an easy week for me (challenge wise). While going through my Google Reader's backlog of goodies I found out about this great website called No Take Out. Of course I jumped right in and I found Jamie Oliver's Perfect Roast Chicken. Which is supposed to look like this:










 

Of course if you know me I will look at the ingredient list... ignore the things that I know my family will not be too keen on and switch things around to make them more... Emme... dangerous, probably wrong, but super fun in the long run. Also there were 8 people to feed not 4... so this needed some work for us.

Feel free to follow Jamie Oliver's Recipe... it looks pretty good. Of course you could always go for my rendition:

(Mind you... I have no food photographers and used the Droid's camera.)

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs bag of red skinned potatoes (Sam's Club buy)
• 1 bag carrots (or you can realize when it is too late to run to the store that you only have half of a bag and then substitute the missing half with half a bag of baby carrots...)
• 4 onions
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 bunch mint
• Rosemary, thyme, sage (from spice cabinet)
• 2 lemons
• 2 (4 1/2-5 lb) chickens
• Black pepper and salt (from spice cabinet)
• EVOO
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic from fridge
• I Can't Believe It's Not Butter (spread)

Preparation

1. Realize you have no idea how to roast chicken.
2. Tell everyone you are making roasted chicken so that you don't bail out.
3. Find the largest roasting pan you can... you're going to need it.
4. Preheat the oven to 475F.
5. Convince dog the meal is not for them.
6. Wish you had bought some wine.
7. Fill a large pot 2/3 full with water, add salt and put it over a high heat.
8. Scrub and carrots, celery, and onions (well... just peel the onions).
   
9. Chop vegetables and throw them into the big roasting pan. It's not rocket science just throw them in. Save the greens of the celery for step #12.
   
10. Sprinkle garlic on top.
11.  Have Agent Papa clean the chicken (you're still peeling and chopping). Save the necks and livers and shove them back into the chickens after removing the plastic bags food lion put them into. 
12. Shove in the greens part of the celery you saved.
13. Stab the lemons all over with a fork or a knife and shove them in to plug the holes.
14. Drizzle veggies with EVOO.
15. Place chicken on top of veggies.
16. Drizzle with some more EVOO.
17. Realize you did not put the spices into the chicken... *whoops*
18. Sprinkle sage, rosemary, and thyme on top of chicken.
19. Wonder what you're supposed to do with the mint and why you have a pot of boiling water...
20. Place some mint springs on top of the chicken... make sure everyone notices how you used the mint.
21. Have Mr. Wonderful put the roasting pan into the oven... it's dangerous and heavy... 
22. Take care of burns.
23. Turn heat of oven down to 400F immediately after putting it in because Jamie Oliver said to.
24. He says it's going to be 1 hour and 20 minutes... get ready for at least 4 hours.
25. Realize the water is for the potatoes... turn off the heat.
26. Clean potatoes and cut into small chunks for quicker cooking... you have the time... but... meh... place the potatoes off to the side in a bowl of cold water.
27. Remember you have a huge bunch of mint and no wine... make mint tea.
28. About 2 hours in check the chicken. Notice how it is still not done but the veggies are starting to stick to the bottom... picky eaters don't like burned in this house so I threw in a can of chicken stock. Put chicken back in oven.
29. Set table.
30. Boil the potatoes, drain when tender and place butter on top followed by pepper and salt.
31. Realize the mint was supposed to go on the potatoes.
32. Try to figure out why you would want mint on potatoes.
33. Take chicken out and check to see if it is done. If it is... it might just fall off of the bones (see picture):
34. Make a simple pan gravy with drippings, flour and water. Blend with the immersion blender. Add the livers if you would like to the gravy for some extra flavor and vitamins.

The cookies are from one of my favorite blogs: Cupcake Rehab


BISCOTTI DI NATALE AL CIOCCOLATO (Chocolate biscotti)

Feel free to go check out her website for the instructions. I followed them about perfectly... but I did double the recipe and add 1 1/2 cups of crushed almonds (omega 3's).

They came out wonderful... but they needed a little something something to make them Mr. Wonderful approved:

Mr. Wonderful loves chocolate pudding and he loves cookies. His favorite kind of cookies are the kinds that can be made into bunnies... Here is Cupcake Rehab's Biscotti as a bunny!

~Emme

Day at the hospitals

Yes. I did use plural there for hospital.

It started off with my mother rolling around in pain moaning that she could not take her meds since she had to drive herself to the hospital. I informed her I would leave work early to take her.

After leaving work and arriving home I find her still un-medicated but ready to go get her MRI.

As she cries our way to the hospital... over... *looks around*... she informs me she has not taken her medicine as no one was going to drive her to the hospital...

I go to the hospital gift shop and find her some Tylenol and get her some water to help ease it a bit.

The doctor did not fax over the MRI order like he should have. She cried... again...

I filled out her paperwork for her, checked her information, and spelled out her initials for her.

She is given a pink bracelet and announces proudly that it is because she's a female.

The nurse informs her it is because she's a fall risk.

She cries...

Thanks, nurse... that was a lot of help.

We go to sit down to wait for the MRI staff member to come and retrieve her. Once seated she becomes angry that the nurse considered her a fall risk.

Seriously... the lady who has been crying off and on for hours, isn't walking straight, is limping around on a cane, and is there to have an MRI of her feet... is seriously angry about being considered a fall risk. I inform her it's on her records from the last time she was here.

Then she becomes concerned that her shoes might have to be taken off since they have metal. I remind her she's there to have an MRI of her feet and the shoes AND socks might have to come off.

She cries... she doesn't want her shoes off.

After the MRI I push her around (250 lbs of her) around the hospital to make sure her pain pump is still turned on then walk her to the car and deposit her back off at the house.

Then I wen tot the hospital to check on Papa. He's doing much better. He'll soon be up and Sam's clubbing with us again.

~Emme