What's for dinner: March 23, 2011

I've been EXTREMELY lazy in the kitchen lately, so I apologize for no good recipes for the last couple weeks. Since it was Spring Break and an insane week prior, yesterday was really my first chance to cook anything.

Yesterday for dinner we had Chicken Angel Hair Alfredo, salad, and a French loaf.

It was one of the easiest meals I've made in a long time. First, I "roasted" a WHOLE chicken in a crock pot the night before. Take head, though, I put it in overnight and really wish I would've just done it for about 6 hours or so during the day. I think I cooked it too long because the bones were starting to get really brittle, but it still tasted pretty awesome. I had a whole chicken that I thawed a couple days before. I took the wrapper off and pulled the nastiness from the inside out and tossed in the trashed (I didn't come from a household of chefs so learning to do something with the insides is on the bottom of my cooking to-do list). I rinsed the outside and inside and then placed it in the crock pot. You could put the seasonings you like on it before you put it in to make sure you coat the whole thing, but I just put it in and sprinkled them on top. I used Lawry's seasoning alone, although, next time I think I'll get more creative. This was my first time, so, I took it slow. I put the lid on, set it on low, and away it went 'til morning. I pulled it out and pulled all the chicken off the bones and put it away until it was time to warm it up for dinner. I had "juice" left in the bottom, but like I said, the bones were so brittle, that I didn't really trust the juice. Weird, I know. I'll try to use it next time. For now, it is sitting in an empty vegetable oil container.




This isn't mine, but doesn't that look DELISH!?


On to the Angel Hair Alfredo: Butter, Parmesan, heavy cream. My friend from church, Joni Britton, told me how to make Alfredo sauce yesterday. In a large sauce pan, I melted a stick of butter. Yes, a whole stick. Once that was about half melted, I put about half a cup of Parmesan cheese. You can use either grated or shredded. I used shredded. Stir and stir and stir while the butter and cheese melts together. Once the cheese gets about half way melted, pour in about 1/2 pint heavy cream. I also put in about half a small tub of Philadelphia cooking cream (I'd never tried it) savory garlic flavored. Stir and stir and stir on medium low. Make sure it doesn't get too hot because burnt cheese tastes AWFUL - trust me. I would also suggest adding some garlic powder, maybe some salt, and perhaps parsley or oregano to give it a little more oomph. Once it is completely melted, then you pour it over your cooked pasta. Obviously, any pasta will probably work. I prefer Angel Hair, some prefer Fettuccine. It's really your call - you're the one cooking, after all. Warm up about half of the chicken (shredded) and throw it in. Give it a quick toss and dinner is served!

I served ours with a side salad and a Pillsbury french loaf. By the way - the Simply Rustic French Bread - YUMMY! Their Simply Cookies are amazing, too. I'm not sure what the difference is, but all the Simply products are even better than the original.

Tonight, I'm making gumbo. I'll let you know how it turned out.

Happy dinner!