Tuesday night I sat down to write a quick little post. But I couldn’t. Write.

Then I decided I needed a special link, to get me started on my quick little post. But I couldn’t. Find it.

And then I got distracted.

And then I got tired.

And then I looked at my blog and saw that it was already the day before WTF Wednesday and I had only posted once since the last WTF, which would make my last post a WTF Post Sandwich.

For some reason, a WTF Post Sandwich about a crazy dead cat named after a shriveled fruit sounded like a beg for bad luck.

And then my brain felt like it was going to melt from all the internal sweatin’and frettin'. So I stopped thinking about it.

Still harboring a strong need to worry about something totally senseless,I got to stressin’about my visitor stats. And comments.

And even though that felt better than worrying about a WTF Raisin Post Sandwich, it still didn’t fit the bill.

So I decided to worry about someone else’s blog problems,and rested my worried mind on JenLa’s bleeding bloglines, which reminded me to wonder about something else: If a woman has her period all the time, can it still be called a period? And if not, what should it be called? Infinity? Ellipses?

And then, in a burst of selfishness, I brought the spotlight back on me, to wonder, in a worrying kind of way, why can’t I blog like I used to?

Was I past my post prime?
Had my wad done blowed?
My ship done sailed?
Had the best I got to give, done got given?

And then I wondered if I was really wondering if it's better to read the writing on the writing on the wall, and dump the guy before he dumps you, even if it's sure to break your heart?

And then I went to bed.
And then I got up.
And then I went to bed. Again.
And then it wasn't WTF Wednesday. Again.

Now here we are.
Still.
Again.

Anyway...

Tuesday's Post or WTFYF or What to Feed Your Family

Last weekend I whipped up a batch of La's Drunken Bovine Stew, ::It’s the shit, I’m tellin’ ya. :: and Monday I went with Carole's American Chop Suey ::Yes, we all know we’re talking about goulash. Because the local Bostonians have a history of getting their beans all up in a bunghole, on the issue, we’ll just wink and play along. Mmm k?.::

k.

I haven’t had American Chop Suey ::wink:: since I was a kid. My mom used to make it but never worked from a recipe. When I asked her about it a couple of years ago, she laughed and said there was no way she could remember what she put in it, except for a plop of brown sugar.

I was very excited to try Carole's recipe, and am happy to say I wasn’t disappointed. I did add salt, pepper, paprika and a plop or two of brown sugar. I may add a little bouillon or broth next time. Minus my generous helping at dinner, my husband ate the entire batch within a 14 hour period.

In a gesture of good blog karma, I’ll now share with you, one of my favorite, easy, culinary comforts. Not only is it tasty it only uses one pan. I don’t have a name for it yet, so I think I'll call it...

Rosemary’s Chicken. Yeah.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast halves, with skin and bone-in.
Baby redskin potatoes
Baby carrots from a bag*
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Dried or fresh rosemary
Up to ¼ cup of white whine
Large, shallow roasting pan (size matters here.)

Preheat oven to 400.

1) Wash and pat dry chicken and place in roaster.

2) Wash veggies and halve potatoes

3) Put 1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a large sealable storage bag. (enough to lightly coat veggies**)

4) Put potatoes and carrots in the bag with oil and shake until coated.

5) Arrange vegetables in pan around chicken.

6) Brush chicken with olive oil.

7) Season chicken and veggies to taste with salt, pepper and generous amounts of rosemary (well, don’t actually taste the chicken at this point, just imagine with your mind's tongue.)

8) Place in oven.

9) Bake for 45 minutes or until chicken is proper temperature, per meat thermometer.

10) About halfway through baking time, remove pan from oven and turn the veggies.

11) After chicken is done, increase oven temperature to 425 and remove pan from oven. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm on a plate, under foil.

12) Pour 1/8 to ¼ cup*** of white wine into the still hot pan and stir to mix with chicken juices and to loosen bits on bottom of pan. After wine and juices are mixed, toss with vegetables until coated evenly. Return pan to oven for 10 minutes or until most of liquid is absorbed or evaporated.

*The baby carrots in the bag is most convenient but fresh carrots taste noticeably better with this recipe and are worth the trouble to me. Just watch the size. If the pieces are too small, they will kind of meld with the bottom of the pan.

**You can use skinless/boneless chicken but it won't provide as much juice, so add 1/8 cup of chicken broth to the olive oil when tossing the veggies. Chicken broth can also be added to the pan during the bake, to replace fluids.

***If using a smaller than large roasting pan, use less wine. The more area there is to cover on the pan for stirring the bits, the more wine you need. Since we're on the subject of size, the veggies should not be crammed together in the pan but have a little breathing space. Choose pan size or quanity of veggies accordingly.

P.S. I've used chunks of red onions and whole garlic pieces with the veggies. If you add extra anything, just be sure to leave breathing room.

P.P.S. If you have big breasts, you may need to cook them a bit before adding the veggies. If your breasts are small, cut the veggies smaller.

P.P.P.S. It’s not as complicated as I make it sound. The recipe, that is. Not my brain. My brain can complicate dust bunnies.

I may have some knitting updates soon. Or maybe not. I’m still fibrous. I promise.
College Boy is coming home for the weekend and I’m sure he’s going to want to spend extended amounts of quality time with his momma.
Or at least her computer.

Labels: I Need Therapy Thursday, Now You're Whining, Someone's in the Kitchen with 'Gina