Thought for Food

I'm back with yet another recipe! It's been a while since I posed one, so I figured I'd give everyone a new little yummy to make at home! Again, I repeat my disclaimer about how much food I make at a time...I'm feeding three people (me and two grown men) with room for leftovers for BJ's lunches, so I make a pretty good amount! This is a dish that I previously knew as "Chicken-over-Biscuit", because that's what it was always called on my high school lunch menus. It was my favorite meal in school, I never missed a Chicken-over-Biscuit day, and sadly, I hadn't had it since well before graduation. During one of my domestic fits one night, I decided to recreate my favorite school lunch (and pray that it tasted as good when I made it!). So, here's how I did it!

Chicken and sauce -
6 cups water
1 C heavy cream
3 Tbsp chicken stock/bouillon
3 Tbsp corn starch, disolved in warm water to form a paste
2 large whole chicken breasts (about 1 lb)
1 C fresh celery, finely chopped
1 C fresh carrots, finely chopped
1 package dry onion soup mix
1 medium bay leaf
Seasonings to taste

Biscuits -
2 C Martha White self-rising flour
1/4 C Crisco shortening
3/4 C milk

For chicken and sauce -
Put water in a large pot with vegetables, chicken, bay leaf, stock and seasonings. Set heat to medium high and boil until chicken is done throughout. Remove chicken and bay leaf and reduce heat to low, leaving the rest to simmer. Add dry onion soup mix and stir in thoroughly. Once chicken is cool to touch, cut into small pieces, half-bite-sized (if that makes any sense). Add chicken back to mixture and keep temperature and simmer. Add cornstarch paste slowly, stirring as you add it. Add heavy cream the same way. Let mixture simmer to thicken, stirring occasionally.

While the chicken and sauce are thickening, it's a good time to work on those biscuits! This is the recipe I got off the back of the Martha White flour package, and they are delicious

For the biscuits -
Heat oven to 450 degrees. In large bowl, cut shortening into flour mixture until mix resembles course crumbs. With a fork, stir in enough milk to form a soft dough, or until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. On lightly floured surface, knead just until smooth. Roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness; cut with floured 2-inch round cutter, or pull and gently pat mounds of dough into rough biscuits. Place biscuits, lightly touching, on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Yields about 8-10 biscuits.

By the time the biscuits are done, the chicken and sauce should have thickened up beautifully, and by then - you're ready to eat! Get your plate, open up a biscuit on it, and use a ladle to pour the chicken sauce over the steaming biscuit! Heaven, I tell ya!
Mom also filled me in on a little something - this dish is actually called "Chicken a la King". I had no idea, but mom knew because the night I made this from scratch, she had the same thing, courtesy of Stouffer's!
On a healthy note, the way I made this, the only salt I used was in the chicken stock and in the dry onion soup mix. My seasonings were garlic powder, black pepper, a touch of smoked paprika, and some no-salt substitute, which is all natural (we buy it from the Amish market in Kentucky) and contains onion, turmeric, garlic, lemon, carrot, citric acid, and chili powder. It's yummy, and healthy - I love it! It smells like an everything bagel, if that tells you anything!
Also, if you wanna have your dinner the way I had mine - have a nice glass of iced tea with it! One of the best things about the South is the All-You-Can-Drink policy where tea is concerned! Of course, we always had tea at home, too, but I'm to the point now that I'd rather have tea and water than anything! Occasionally some juice, but I like my tea a little more! And since I live with BJ, who is sugar-sensitive, our tea is only LIGHTLY sweetened. When we make a gallon, we might (and I stress the word MIGHT) use 2/3 C of sugar.
Well, that's all I have for now! I'll make sure to keep everyone posted on all my adventures, culinary or otherwise!

No Good Deed

Okay...you know how they say "No good deed goes unpunished"? Well, here's what I have to say to that...

I worked tonight from 1 pm until 7 pm, and before work, I did a little bargain shopping. I'm always hard-up for good shirts to wear to work, so I hit the clearance racks and found two nice shirts. When I took them to the register to pay for them, Miss Johnetta informed me that I should have waited until 3 pm to buy them, because of the VIP coupon I could have used to get an extra percentage off. The coupons were sent in the mail, and all JCPenney employees were supposed to get one, but one never came to me. So, since I was entitled to one, Miss Johnetta said that the managers had approved us to keep an emergency coupon behind the counter for associates who didn't get one in the mail. That's all fine well and good, but the sale didn't start until 3 pm, and bear in mind, my store closes at 6 on Sundays. They schedule us until 7 so that we have time to clean up the store after the customers leave.
So, thinking I'd missed out, I just wrote it off as "Oh well", and paid for my shirts. I had no sooner clocked in than I overheard one of the managers discussing the schedules...turns out my store was open until 9 tonight! So that gave me time to return what I bought, rebuy it (which I cleared with a manager first, and just FYI - it's completely legal, and most stores honor that practice since they no longer accept rainchecks) and get my extra percentage off!
Fast forward to about 7:20 pm. By then, I was off the clock, had returned the two shirts I bought earlier and was doing a little extra shopping to celebrate my incoming coupon. In addition to the shirts I found for work, I found another nice shirt and a good inexpensive pair of jeans for BJ, since he needs a new pair of good dress jeans. After the coupon and my associate discount, they'd be even less expensive, so it was a pretty good deal for a pair of name-brand jeans.
I took my bounty to the register, only to find that there was only one register open, and it was PACKED with customers. As I was about to take my place in line, another register opened up, so I went to the back of the new line. Not long after, yet another register opened up, and Nadine (one of the ladies I work with) called for the next customer and looked at me. I shook my head and told her "Nah, the people around the other side have been waiting longer than me. Go ahead and take them first, I've got time to kill."
So, the next customers came over and as Nadine was waiting on them, one of the ladies in front of me turned around and said "Why did you do that?" I told her that those people had been waiting longer than I had, it was only fair to let them go first. She looked at me a little funny and said "You work here, though, right?" and I said that yes, I did. She said "Honey, you've got to be sick and tired of being in this store, you're probably ready to just go home and fall over!" I said "Yeah, but that's just part of working. Besides, I'll get home when I get home, I'm not in a big hurry." She smiled and said, "You know, you're a really sweet person! Not everyone would be that nice to total strangers!" I thanked her for the compliment and blushed it away with a quiet "Well, I try..." She went on about her business, and soon it was my turn to be waited on.
Then disaster struck...the emergency coupon behind the counter had been misplaced! My heart just dropped, cause that was my chance to save a few bucks and still get what I needed.
As I was putting my clothes up on the counter and preparing to tell Linda (another lady I work with) to put the jeans and the additional shirt back, I felt a little tap on my shoulder. I turned around, and who should be there than the lady who'd just complimented me! She smiled at me and said, "I have something for you..." and handed me a duplicate coupon for the extra percentage deal I'd been hoping for!
The coupons had come in sets of two, with the wording "One for you, and one for a friend!" and since a customer can only use one, she had an extra. She put it in my hand and said, "You deserve to have this. You were so nice to let those people in front of you, and I can't very well use this one. Besides, it says one is for a friend, and you seem like you'd make a pretty good friend, so, you take it!" I almost cried! I thanked her, and she just winked and went on her way.
So...no good deed goes unpunished, huh? If generosity is considered punishment these days, I suppose I'll take my punishment! Gives a new meaning to the term "grin and bear it", I think!

Welcome Home, Skitz Lowry!

Yes, that's right, there's a new baby in the house! No, I didn't procreate...we have a new kitten! We adopted him from the Robertson County Animal Shelter, and he is just the sweetest little addition to the family! His paperwork from the shelter said that he and his 4 siblings were dropped off without their mother, so they were little orphans. One by one, the other kittens were adopted, and the day we brought Skitz home, he had one brother remaining in the shelter, who we affectionately named Wipe-Out, for his tendency to bash his head into the bars of the cage in his efforts to steal all the attention for himself. We didn't think Swisher would take well to that, so we went with the more playfully subdued kitten. He decided for us that his name is Skitz...I'm not sure I've ever seen a kitten with more energy than this one! He's got SO much personality for such a little fella and well...just look at him! How could you NOT love a little face like that?! Unless you're Nanny, but I never entirely understood her aversion to cats... At any rate, he's taken to the house rather well - he knows where the litter box, food and water are - and he has acquainted himself with all the kittey toys to be found. His big brother, Swish, was not too pleased with his arrival at first. In fact, Swish was bapped on the head several times for hissing at the baby. Skitz would get up to Swish and scent him, then hold still to let Swish scent him in return, and after a thorough sniffing, Swish would flatten his ears, hiss and draw back to strike Skitz. Sibling rivalry is one thing, but we worried a little at first that Swish would honestly maim the poor little thing. Part of the problem, we realized, was that Skitz just didn't smell like the house. He had a very different scent...quite a pungent one, actually. Poor little fluffball smelled like the butt-end of a kennel! So, what else was there to do but scrub him down? I think he resents me a little for what I did to him today, but he was in desperate need of a make-over. Today after I work, I sat down with Skitz and purred to him quietly while I trimmed his little kitty-razors (not too close to the pad, I didn't want to hurt him...just keep him from hurting us), and then we had a moment or two of snuggle time before The Big Plunge.
First of all, let me say that I love angled bathtubs - they make things like this SO much easier! Second - thank Heaven slippery paws can't get much traction, otherwise we'd have had a drowned rat streaking through the house! A little tear-free baby shampoo and some warm water...and SPLASH! In he went! As you can see, it was a less-then dignified ending... But it did a world of good for the smelly little bugger! He now smells rather like a human baby (no, I didn't put powder on him...for one thing, I don't have any, and BJ probably would have shot me for it...). The only traces of kennel smell are in his ears, and even there it's not bad. Mostly, he smells like Addison, because it was a drop of her shampoo I borrowed to bathe Skitz.
The best part about his dunking is that Swish's attitude toward the kitten has changed drastically! They played for the first time tonight, it was so adorable! Swisher had stationed himself in the Kitty City hut we bought for them, and was giving Skitz one monster of a "look". You know the one I'm talking about...the one that just screams, "Try it, and you'll be a snack..." Apparently, Skitz has some gumption - he reared up in a hump and charged sideways at Swish! Swish looked him up and down, then raised a paw and whapped him on the head gently. Skitz, in true fighting form, swung at the air playfully, and Swish rewarded him with a bop to the hiney that sent him spinning on the hardwood floor. After that, it was all-out warplay! Skitz would charge and swing, then Swish would take a few jabs. Their playtime lasted for about 15 solid minutes, while BJ and I watched (BJ laughed, I squealed with joy because my boys are getting along). Another thing I think helped was that earlier tonight, Swish drew back at Skitz, who reared up and jumped at him, as if to say "I'm not runnin' this time, big boy! BRING IT!!" Skitz wants a friend, and will not be deterred!
We also learned last night that he is an avid TV-watcher! BJ and I usually fall asleep with a movie playing for background noise and ambient light in the bedroom, and we chose Constantine last night. Skitz made himself a nest next to BJ's legs and lay there for a good hour's worth of the movie, watching the screen intently. Swish, who was still hesitant about the fluffy newcomer, waited until we all fell asleep before he slunk up under the bad and stationed himself on the other side, under the covers and curled in the crook of my knees.
So, there you are! The first photos of our new little man! I'll keep you posted on the progress he and Swish make, and on how he reacts with Addison.

Round and Round

Well, hello, again, Blogland. Just li'l ol' me, with more adventures!
Things have been...well...things, lately, I suppose. Ups and downs, all kinds of things. Best to get the bad out of the system first, so for starters, my hours at work have been so viciously slashed that I've started looking for a new job. I'm still employed at JCPenney, don't worry. I'm just looking into other avenues of work. This week, I'm scheduled for a whopping 8 hours, and next week I move up to 12. It's a bit depressing, to be honest, but I shall prevail! We suspected something seriously wrong with the car not long ago, which turned out to be nothing but a false alarm - misinterpreted vehicular symptoms. My Lily is a grouchy old thing, she takes fits every so often, and it's up to me and BJ to diagnose or dismiss her foul moods.
On the positive side, and as far as the job search goes, I have a prospective lead. Several months ago, I posted a profile on a free childcare search site called Care.com. While browsing through some classifieds on MySpace, I came across an ad for childcare, and the link took me to Care.com. Until then, I had forgotten that I'd posted a profile, but I got to looking around and replied to several ads I found. One of the posters requested a criminal background check for me (which came back clean, of course, cause I'm a good girl!), and I submitted the necessary information. Afterward, she requested my home phone number so we could speak, and called me the next day regarding the job. The position is caring primarily for her newborn, and occasionally for her 3-year-old twins. I'm used to dealing with multiple young children, and newborns are as much work as you make of them, really. Eat, sleep, cry, fart, poop, repeat. 3-year-olds are easily occupied by many of the same things that occupy me (i.e. shiny things and music), and from what their mother told me, they are very outdoor-play oriented and love art, simple crafts, music, dance and being read to. The phone conversation went fairly well, I'd say, and she agreed to call me back about the position after she spoke with her husband, so I expect a phone call at some point this week. Again - keep your fingers crossed for me!
In other fun news, we had Addison with us for 3 whole days last weekend. Since BJ's schedule changed, he now has three days in a row off, which gives him more time with Addison when she's here. She was a joy to have, as usual, and even proved her future medical competence. BJ's mother is a diabetic, and takes shots regularly to control her blood sugar. We had dinner with Sue and Stasia the night Addison came, so before dinner when it was time for Sue's shot, Addison stood in front of her Nanna to inspect the process. Instead of simply watching, she lifted her Nanna's shirt and informed Nanna that she needed to unbutton her pants. She then drew a circle where Nanna needed to swab the injection site, and watched while Sue put the needle in. Once the needle was in, Addison pressed the plunger for her Nanna and announced "Nanna shot! All better!" Addison is entirely too bright for her own good, and I LOVE IT! Also, while she was here, I suffered a killer toothache, and was taking Ibuprofen and Naproxen for the pain. Addison saw me taking the pills and asked, "Kati medicine? Boo boo?" I said, "Yes, sweetheart, Kati has a boo boo." Addison made a little sad sound and said, "Awww! Kati boo boo kiss!" and pressed a tiny kiss to the side of my face that hurt and said "Kati boo boo all better!" I think we have a future doctor or paramedic in the making! She was such a good girl for us that, on her last here, we took her to McDonald's for dinner. This is rare for us, we try to keep Addison away from fast food and too much grease. Ordinarily, we cook full meals and eat together at the table, when all of us are here. Eating together is rubbing off on her, because I came home from work one night to find that BJ had saved me a plate from dinner. Addison and BJ had already eaten, so I warmed my plate up and sat down at the table. I was quickly joined by Addison, along with her blankie and her Gus-Gus (a white stuffed tiger her daddy gave her), and she chattered with me while I ate my dinner. I don't know what I'd do without that little angel running around here every other weekend! I just wish it was more often...
Since yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, and we haven't been out since LONG before we moved in, BJ and I decided to catch a local band's show. The band we went to see, Paradise Daze, consists mainly of people that BJ went to high school with and is close friends with, so we try to support them as much as we can. That aside, they are very talented musicians, and we thoroughly enjoy seeing, hearing and watching them perform. For those of you who have been to my album site, Paradise Daze is the band that I have the most pictures of. At their shows, I try to take as many good pictures as I can to help them out with media and PR. I do it for free, as a favor to them and myself. It's a good situation for both of us, because it helps them advertise themselves to the public, and helps me showcase my photography. We even got Sue to go with us, and she had a wonderful time. The band's bassist, Donnie, has been asking her for years to come to a show, but her work schedule prevents her from going. Last night, she had the opportunity and it was a free show, so we had dinner together and made the trip out to the show. The guys were fabulous, as always, and Sue had a terrific time getting out of the house and seeing what the boys have been to for all these years!
Let's see, let's see...what else...oh! We're looking into getting a sibling for Swisher. We've been checking the animal shelters and pet stores for kittens with personality, and we've narrowed it down to a couple that we met today at the Robertson County Animal Shelter. We've also discussed the matter with Swisher, who seems alright with the idea. He tends to snort at us a little, but I think once he meets his little brother or sister, his attitude will change. He'll have someone to play with while we're at work, and someone to teach how to stalk, play and pounce. I'll keep you posted on the growing kitty population of the household!
Well, I think that about sums it up for me as of late. Not much else to tell, but I'll keep everyone up to date on my comings and goings!