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Monday, November 19, 2012

Week of Thanksgiving

Are you cooking Thanksgiving this year? Have you already started your shopping or prepping? I have already started my shopping but no real prepping yet. I try to get most of the prep work done by Tuesday night like peeling and chopping vegetables. On Wednesday, I will assemble my casseroles so they are ready for the oven the next day. I will check on the star of the meal to see if it is thawed. If not, I will be waking up early to thaw it in the sink. If it is thawed, then I will sleep a little longer since we tend to eat around 3 pm. See I need my sleep since I will be out early Friday morning with my sister. 
In preparation for Thanksgiving, I made up some chicken broth. It really is easy just time consuming. I ended up with 18 cups worth of chicken stock. If I buy chicken stock, it comes in a 4 cup container, so I decided to store the chicken stock the same way but in double lined plastic freezer bags. This way I can lay the bags down in the freezer to save space.
 Chicken Stock
1 whole stewing chicken
2 carrots, unpeeled
2 stalks celery
10 whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves
5 quarts water

Directions:
  1. Chop the carrots and celery into 3 inch pieces.
  2. Place the chicken, carrots, celery, and peppercorns in a large pot.
  3. Add the water to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
  4. Once it boils, lower the heat to medium low and simmer for 1 hour uncovered. 
  5. Turn the heat as low as possible and simmer uncovered for at least 2 hours.
  6. Remove the chicken and refrigerate it.
  7. Using a large strainer, strain the chicken broth into a large container.
  8. Discard the vegetables and refrigerate the stock.
  9. Once the chicken has cooled, pull off the meat and store in the refrigerator for a couple of days or freeze.
  10. Once the chicken broth has cooled, store in containers or double layered freezer bags in the refrigerator for a couple of days or the freezer until needed.
Recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen Cookbook by Rebecca Rather.

One year ago................... I made Chocolate-Peanut Butter Whoppie Pies.
Did you already know.....
-In 1621, the Plymouth Pilgrims invited the Wampanoag Indians to the first Thanksgiving feast.
-The feast lasted three days.
-The pilgrims used spoons, knives, and their hands to eat the feast since they did not have forks. 

My daughter showing how I double line my freezer bags with the broth:
Really Mom, really?

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