How to De-bone a Chicken part 2. Complete with constant photo-bombing by my youngest son.
(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
How to De-Bone Chicken video pt 2
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Category Archives: How To
How to De-Bone Chicken pt 1
Ok, we made a video instead of trying to write it all step-by-step with photos. I still might do it and gif the photos. Just limited in time lately (well, really almost always!).
My youngest son, 6 years old, decided to get into the video (part 2) and I’m going to just leave him in… too time consuming to edit it all out and it shows the normal situation in our house (kids running around and interrupting conversations, etc).
The bones were all saved for a stock.
And reasons for de-boning:
*mostly because it’s faster and the thighs and breast take same time to cook, keeping breast moist when thighs are done all the way through.
* also great for marinating: flavors will penetrate more of the meat this way (in a shorter period of time).
(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
How to de-bone a chicken
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This gallery contains 4 photos.
My husband showing me how to de-bone a chicken so it cooks faster yet remains succulent. Shall I write it up and share it with you? I have heaps of photos.
Friend’s Cookie Cutter Invention
Link
Friend’s cool cookie cutter invention
A friend of mine invented a new way to cut out cookie shapes. It produces even-thickness every time… ensuring evenly baked cookies.
Watch it and tell me what you think. Would you buy one?
Thx!
Modernist Cuisine Steak
My very generous brother, whose latest passion is cooking especially via the Modernist Cuisine cookbook, has given me some essential tools so that I too can cook with many of the methods highlighted in the book. He gave me the Modernist Cuisine at Home, an ARY VacMaster Chamber Vacuum Sealer, vacuum sealing bags (think they’re thicker than 3 mils and BPA free) in two sizes, a PolyScience Immersion Circulator for cooking sous vide and he’s actually sending me some more supplies including citric acid and malic acid. It’s been fun learning new, and using some old, methods of cooking. The cookbook itself has amazingly beautiful photographs. You can find many of these items in my Have to Have link on the lower right side. (Have to Have recently co-sponsored a dinner and ticket to the Broadway showThe Heiress with Jessica Chastain and Dan Stevens-Downton Abbey’s Matthew Crawley. Unfortunately Ms. Chastain was not performing that night but I still enjoyed the cringe-worthy play.)
The other day we defrosted a big piece of top round steak (a gift from my sister-in-law) and decided the best way to cook it was sous vide. Top Round (London Broil) is a fairly tough meat that greatly benefits by marinating and needs to be cooked the right way so it comes out tender. This is a two day process by first placing it in a vacuum sealer bag with marinade then vacuuming and sealing and refrigerating overnight. The next day we prepare the water bath and immersion circulator (you can use a bucket to cook this way!) and preheated water to 135˚F (57˚C).
Cooked the steak (just place bag in water) for 5 hours. 
Right before we are ready to serve, we seared the outside of the steak in a lightly oiled, hot iron skillet. 
Sliced and served.
Simple Steak Marinade
3-4 Tbsp Olive Oil (need the olive oil to conduct heat in bag)
Handful of fresh thyme, chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, sliced
Salt and pepper
Prepare above then coat the steak and vacuum seal.
The meat was tender, succulent and perfectly marinated. The flavors were phenomenal— vacuum sealing the marinade really permeates the steak thoroughly. It was perfectly and evenly cooked, although my husband would have preferred it slightly, on the rarer side than it was. (130˚F for 4 hours would have accomplished that.) We served it with a plain green salad, snow peas and roasted potatoes. All the boys loved the entire meal and there was nothing leftover.
The Fruit & Vegetable Pusher
Our kids’ school year just began the other day and I have decided to try something different to help our elementary school students eat more fruits and vegetables. At the last school year’s PTA meeting I had been given the idea to get some parent volunteers to come in to help the first graders get through the lunch lines on those first few days of school. Although they’d had a run-though of what to do/expect at the end of their Kindergarten year, it could be overwhelming for the wee ones when returning after their long summer break. I decided to use the opportunity to do a little coaxing when it came to the fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately our school lunch provider doesn’t automatically give the kids those, they usually just offer them. And not only are they just offered, they are in small plastic containers (except a couple of whole apples, oranges or bananas) that are set in a bin the kids have to reach to get (which can be tough for the smaller ones).
So, I organized my volunteers to gently persuade all the kids (grades1 through 4) to take as many of the small containers as they’d like by telling them what’s in them and to say, “which one would you like sweet red peppers or coleslaw… or both?” instead of just saying “would you like some vegetables?” And if they refused try to convince them they needed their vegetables and fruits for a well-rounded meal, to be strong, to be smart, to be healthy. Whatever they could think of that would work.
Interestingly I found that the lunch ladies hadn’t planned on the kids taking so many of these containers of vegetables and fruits as we’d run out during service for each grade every time in the first week (they were prepared but in the walk-in inside the kitchen — where I wasn’t allowed to go). Continue reading
Doesn’t need to be gourmet
Yes, I like food. I love experimenting with recipes and I actually like to cook… most of the time. Sometimes, I just am too tired, too uninspired or just too busy to get all creative and put out a fabulous meal. But, when we’re at home I do try to put out a healthy meal. Last night my eldest was playing clarinet in his school band concert, so we had limited time. I served a rotisserie chicken I purchased hot at my local supermarket; served it with a big but plain salad and string beans. The kids get enough carbs so I skipped any starch. (I could’ve just heated up a bag of frozen brown rice but I just didn’t feel like it.)
If you aren’t a great cook or not really in the mood to cook, but want to get away from the boxed meals here are some tips.
Bacon Love…meets pizza love
My kids love bacon. I love bacon. But we don’t eat bacon often.
This was my cross of a BLT and a Margherita pizza. It’s made on the Middle Eastern Flatbread I’ve used for pizza before. Of course it’s got bacon…
I used up some left-over spinach, mixed shredded cheeses (mozzarella, cheddar, jack, queso blanco, fontina), sliced tomatoes, fresh basil and a side salad.
I also cooked the bacon on parchment in the oven. Came out so evenly cooked and yummy!
This one came out fuzzy— my camera’s been acting up again. 🙁
Yes, the kids loved it. Well, they all loved the bacon. My youngest one didn’t want to eat the pizza— just the bacon off the top. We compromised (over an hour later) with him eating all the salad and I gave him some left over chicken from the night before.
Everything’s better with bacon!
This idea is so simple. Take some favorites and combine them into an awesome meal. I can practically guarantee that your kids will eat it. I suggested dinner’s ingredients to my husband because I knew we would all like it. Of course, I don’t have to tell him how to make it, but I also know it will be great— and different than the way I’d make it. (Actually when we discussed the recipe, I found out how differently I would have made it!)
I was off dinner duty as there was a typical huge mound of laundry to fold/sort and my husband was luckily not disagreeable about cooking (sorry, I mean, I didn’t feel guilty about asking him to cook dinner when he’s off work from cooking). He’s usually always agreeable about cooking, I just don’t want to have him regret it.
Chicken Mushroom Bacon Pasta
Boneless chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
5 bacon strips, diced
1 quart shiitake and/or crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 leek, cleaned and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 handfuls baby spinach
1 plum tomato, chopped
½ cup chicken stock
¼ cup white wine
½ cup heavy cream
pasta of choice (we used fusilli)
Salt and pepper
Sauté the bacon until about halfway done. Add leeks until the leeks are soft then add the garlic until done. Leaving fat behind, take out bacon, leeks and garlic. Add wine to fat and reduce for a couple of minutes. Add the cream and reduce until thicker. Add chicken, stock and mushrooms— cook until mushrooms are soft. Add tomatoes. Cook another minute then set aside. Cook pasta and drain. In the larger pot add spinach in with pasta then throw in rest of mixture. Toss until well coated.
So, the dinner was delicious and the kids loved it! I love getting a meal where they all like it, eat it all and not one complains. Pasta, chicken, bacon, leeks, mushrooms, cream…as my eldest said “Everything’s better with bacon”. Funny thing was that my middle son said at one point, “But I don’t like mushrooms” so I reminded him that he’s said before that he likes mushrooms when in a cream sauce with chicken. “Oh, yeah.” He continued to eat it all… mushrooms included.
An indoor garden that’s fun for kids
I attempt every year to have a vegetable garden, and every year I think I will be more successful. Unfortunately I find that I am not dedicated to it enough to reap heaps of produce but do get the occasional vegetable. ( I call myself the accidental gardener— if I harvest anything it’s by accident.) Herbs I can do; but I always start too late or don’t prune enough, or don’t weed enough, or whatever… I don’t have a glut of peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, carrots, chard, kale, lettuce, etc. At least we get our CSA bin and I have so many heirloom tomatoes now that I will have to learn to can this year.
I guess I try to garden each year knowing that it won’t yield much (until I put more time and effort in) but I think it’s a good way to show the kids that not all foods are so easy to procure. We live in an age and place that we don’t have to worry about growing enough food, we can just buy it. But things aren’t as easy for everyone, everywhere in the world.
Watching them grow!
Within just 10 days a beautiful bunch of oyster mushrooms!
Anyway, this year I tried something new and was so pleased with the outcome. I bought an indoor mushroom garden kit. It was so easy and it was fun for the kids to do. They just need to mist it every day. (Mister is included, but I used another one we had too).
Yesterday I harvested mushrooms and made an omelet with them. Omelet also had tomatoes, potatoes, thyme, parsley, leeks— all local, organic from the CSA, and goat cheese. The eggs are locally produced too!
My youngest was so happy to have one of his favorite foods but he wouldn’t let me put them all in; he had to have a few forkfuls of sautéed mushrooms sans egg.
And, now we just turn the box to the back and start again! You can buy them here.
