Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Cheat Day

Last week I had a Weight Watchers Cheat Day. On Thursday a family from our church came over for supper. They had never been to our house before, so cooking healthy wasn't an option. I felt like they deserved the royal treatment, the whole she-bang. So, my sidekick and I put our aprons on and threw flour all over the kitchen.

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The menu: Fried Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Ranch Potatoes, Mac'N'Cheese (for the kiddos), Salad,  Homemade Hot Rolls, and a Chocolate Meringue Pie.

I was going to go big and fry a whole chicken. I confidently went to the grocery store to buy my pre-cut chicken and much to my surprise...there wasn't any! I just knew I could buy a whole chicken that was already cut up. This IS possible, isn't it? Tell me I'm not crazy....

Well, because there wasn't any and I had already promised the Preacher Man fried chicken I went for it.
Yep, I bought a WHOLE chicken.
Here she is....
Meet Betty.

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Girls, I've never cut up a whole chicken before. I love to be old-fashioned in many ways, but I'll admit I was pretty nervous about this one. A whole chicken. I remembered that I had a clipping saved from a magazine that I had cut out some time ago. It was a diagram that showed step by step the process of cutting up a chicken. I had a sense of relief, but still unsure of how this would turn out.

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So, I went to my knife drawer and picked out the sharpest one. I washed Betty thoroughly and laid out my work space.


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I cut, bones cracked, I tore things, I got more aquainted with Betty than I ever wished to. It wasn't an easy process and I missed a cut somewhere along the way.

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The book said I should have 10 pieces of chicken, but I only had 8. I threw the remains of the carcass away and soaked what was left of Betty in milk. I used the Pioneer Woman's recipe to batter up Betty and then fried her to a golden browned perfection.

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She was indeed a good bird. And, my taste buds thanked me for all my hard work. I also made a pie. This pie was more beautiful than the last. In fact, I think it should have won a prize for the peaks in the meringue. But, the prize may have been taken away for the poor presentation of the crust...

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Nonetheless, it was a successful meal.
Thanks Betty for being such a trooper.
Posted by Amber at 4:27 PM
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8 comments:

  1. Life and Times . . .2/11/10

    I really like fried chicken, and I'm not scared of cutting up a whole one. I am, however, paranoid about salmonella. Same thing with E-coli and hamburger meat. Needless to say, I avoid raw chicken as much as possible. And when I do cook it I turn into a disinfecting maniac. My husband then tells me we will all die from the toxins instead of throwing up from salmonella. It's really a lot of fun.

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  2. Whitney2/11/10

    That looks fantastic. And I can't believe you cut a chicken by yourself. I can safely say that I will probably die a chicken cutter virgin. But I am very impressed!

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  3. The Sneaky Mommy2/11/10

    WOW!!! You're the hostess with the mostest! That looks and sounds like an awesome meal! (Wish I could smell it!)

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  4. one of nettie's girls2/11/10

    I cut up a chicken one time and vowed to never do it again! You are a brave little cook.

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  5. Anonymous3/11/10

    You Go Girl ! Your more of a woman than me. I don't think I could have took "Betty" on. Being a lefty ( and its hard for us lefties to cut anyway): Betty would have died from old age before I would have gotten one piece cut off. You did a great job.

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  6. Anonymous3/11/10

    You crack me up! Poor, Betty. She gave herself up for a good cause!

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  7. Heather @ Simple Wives4/11/10

    That pie looks amazing! I have yet to cut up a whole chicken...maybe someday. :)

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  8. Elle5/11/10

    That pie is AMAZING! Poor Betty. I am glad her sacrifice was worth it!

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