How to: roast a good chicken

(Update: yay for schedualed posting! As of the time this puplishes MaSu and I are in Anchorage!! We are going to the Diamond Mall with some friends, and *gasp* I don't have to cook! We are taking sandwhiches for lunch. And I might not have a post tommorrow, but warning you now! Or I might have MaSu do a game or Music review, think thats a good idea? <3 WEFA)

You may call me crazy. you probably already did, but that is besides the point. I went out on a limb last night.

I do not have a fancy rotisserie cooker, or even a roasting rack for that matter. (OUCH on those prices!!!) I have one black "roast pan" that I used for the turkeys, but when the meat sits on the bottom it gets gooey and my favorite part is the skin so its not what I want.

So I did some research, to cook our full chicken in our oven if you don't have a rack to raise it above its own juices so you get nice brown crispy skin.

I used, a bundt pan!

I rinsed my chicken and spread butter under the skin and some salt and pepper. I felt like going for a classic since I have never made a whole chicken on my own before. (Well technically I put rotisserie chickens in the oven when I worked at Safeway, but it was throw in frozen, pull out and put in plastic containers, display for 6 hours.)

Don't you think it looks good?

I also found out that I can freeze my yummy bread rolls after the first rise and before the second, then thaw them and they bake perfectly! So yay for us not having to eat 18 rolls at once.

What is your favorite chicken meal? Do you have good recipies using chicken stock as I am making a HUUUGGGEEEEEEE pot of it? <3 WEFA

How-to: clean stove drip pans

These have been bothering me since we moved in.


Well, actually since three days after we moved in, because when we moved in they were missing as the last tenants stole them, and it took the Manager 2 days to give us hers as a replacement. (course we had no pans either so it didn't matter too much)

I think she never cleaned them, and it bothers me. This grime is CAKED on. It is baked on. It has fused with the metal.

And I have tried since day three to get them clean. I ran them through the dishwasher. I soaked the in hot water and comet. I soaked them in bleach. I scrubbed at them with cloth and iron wool. I scrubbed at them with comet and baking soda. And still they barely got any better. The best to this day was that picture. Nasty huh?

But MaSu and I did not have the money to spend on new ones. I thought I had tried everything and was ready to give up. I thought I would have to live with the nastiness for the rest of our time here in this apartment.

MaSu did a search for me and found one thing I had not tried yet. Boiling them in water with half a cup of baking soda. I was skeptical, but as we have a twelve pound bag of the stuff, why not try?

 I had no pot big enough for the job (it fit just on the edge like a lid) so I then tried placing in my largest skillet, and behold! It fit. I just had to do them one at a time.

After 30 minutes of boiling the water looked like that >
And it is Working! So I poured it out and tried it a second time.

So just to make it clear,
HOW TO Clean Stove Drip Pans-
1. Place in pot or skillet covered with water.
2. Add 1/2 cup baking soda
3. Bring to boil for at least 30 minutes.
4. Wipe clean, maybe use a iron wool for really stuck on grime.
5. Can be repeated till reached satisfaction

It is not 100% perfect, but it is progress. Maybe another day I can spend another 2 hours or so to get them fully clean. 

Do you love your shiny stove? Do you know any other ways to clean these dang things and prevent the from tarnishing?
<3 WEFA