Succulent Roast Chicken

I love the white meat on a chicken, but not when it's dry. On New Year's Day I roasted a chicken that came out moist and juicy. First, I cooked it in an Oven Bag -- in the crock pot -- breast down.

I put the defrosted chicken in the oven bag, added about 1/4 cup chicken broth, a minced clove of garlic, a bit of poultry seasoning and a quarter cube of butter. I then sealed the oven bag and placed it, chicken breast down, bag closure up, in the crock pot, which I had set to "high". I put the lid on the pot and left it alone for 5 hours.

When I lifted the bag out of the crock pot, the bag was full of the chicken's own natural juices. I cut a small hole in the corner of the bag and let those juices run into a pan. I used them to make gravy.

I served the chicken with sautéed vegetables, stuffing, and, of course, mashed potatoes and gravy. The chicken breast was moist, juicy and oozing with flavor.

Quilly Cooks & Sews!

Morgan wondered where my Holiday recipes were. Well, I didn't do a bunch of holiday cooking this year because I was busy making Christmas presents for my teaching team mates. These are one-of-a-kind, handmade lanyards. Each has a watch on it. The watch is up side down, so that when the wearer looks down, the time is right-side-up!

These watch charms are a dream! I bought them online from HHH Enterprises. Each watch comes with an extra battery. That really impressed me. There are plenty of styles and sizes to choose from, you're sure to find just what you want. Their prices are right and the website is easy to use.

These are the lanyards:

The gold one has “antiqued gold”butterfly beads on it. The tapestry one speaks for itself! The lace one is actually multicolored, but the pastels washed out in the flash.

The braid on the first one is rainbow hued because this is the rainbow state. The hearts and stars on the second one were from a package of "assorted" burgundy buttons purchased blind at a craft fair supposedly for OC’s shirt, but when I opened the package I realized there were no ordinary round shirt buttons included, and for some reason OC didn’t want these buttons on his shirt. The third one is for Ms. Jewl, who loves the color green and honu (sea turtles). She also has been hinting that she needs a watch. The final one is for a lady who truly sparkles. The metalic braid shines gold, blue and purple, but the flash washed it out.

Oyster Chicken

OC wanted to cook dinner the other night. That was fine with me. He's a great cook and I enjoy an evening off every now and then -- well, partial evening off, since when he cooks a special meal I clean, and when I cook a special meal he cleans.

The meal he cooked was incredibly special. He found a brand new recipe then modified it to fit his/our tastes (and ingredients on hand).



Oyster Chicken

8 chicken thighs
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp chili powder
dash cayenne pepper
1 (10 fluid ounce) bottle oyster sauce
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Place dry, thawed chicken thighs in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Season with salt and pepper to taste and bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes. Drain chicken.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine the oyster sauce, garlic, teriyaki, cayenne, chili, sugar and water. Mix together and taste the sauce; if it is not sweet enough, add more sugar to taste.

After chicken has baked for 25 minutes, pour sauce over it and bake for another 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

Serve with your favorite rice and a salad. Three Note Salad is shown in the photo above.