Foodie Friday: A chicken-y week

--I'm starting to feel the effects of cooking real food on a regular basis. It is easier for me to look at what I have in the house and come up with something to cook. ABM bought a rotisserie chicken from the deli for lunch on Sunday, and I was immediately able to see that I could turn the carcass into chicken noodle soup or chicken and dumplings for Monday. A few months' ago, I would have just thrown the carcass out.

--I'll be going back to work in a few days, and I'm wondering what will happen to all my newfound food knowledge. Those who have read this blog for a while know that my energy level bottoms out when I work outside the home. The kids are older now so I know that they can help me with the housework, but they can't help much in the kitchen. ABM and I have discussed trying to stick to our frugal ways while I'm working since we don't know if the job is going to last longer than six months. However, I have a feeling that we will start picking up burgers and ordering pizzas again.

--This week's bomb: chicken cabbage soup. I thought it was tasty, but the kids hated it. Apparently the kids don't like cooked cabbage. They did, however, enjoy raw shredded cabbage on their tacos a couple weeks' ago. I'll get veggies into them one way or another :-).

--A recent success was the shoyu chicken thighs that I made before Thanksgiving. I used the recipe as a framework rather than following it strictly. I used white cooking wine instead of sherry and teriyaki sauce (which is basically soy sauce and sugar) instead of straight soy sauce. I served the chicken with brown rice on the side. The kids thought it was delicious, so I will definitely try it again. Perhaps I can try it in the crockpot.

--I guess you are never too old for your tastebuds to evolve. All my life I have preferred white meat chicken over dark meat. The greasiness of cuts like thighs and legs always turned me off. Whenever ABM would buy chicken thighs, I would leave them in the freezer and use all the other meats first. Lately, though, I've been looking for recipes that specifically call for thighs. I've found that once I skin and debone them, I like thighs in dishes such as soups and stir-fries.