A sale on chicken...

...means time to restock the freezer. So, I set up several pots on the stove and got to work. Add some bone-in chicken breasts, onions-halved, celery with leafy tops, carrots, and whole cloves of garlic. Throw in your favorite seasoning...I use Montreal Chicken seasoning by McCormick. Simmer on low until done. Since all of my pots were a different size the cooking time varied for each. Let cool and debone. I saved the cooking liquid and strained it. I then threw it back in the largest pot along with the bones and skin and simmered it for several hours to make my own chicken stock. Let it cool and then strain it again. Let it chill over night in the fridge and skim off the fat in the morning. Afterwards, I froze half of it and then saved the rest for my marathon cooking day when I plan to use up all the chicken that I cooked. Since this is the first time I've made my own stock we'll count this as a new recipe and I'm also going to count poaching chicken as a recipe since I've recently taken that up this year. So, we'll count this as recipes 23 and 24. And when I did my marathon cooking earlier in the year I meant to post about poaching the chicken I just forgot to take pictures. 

How to earn...

...your Domestic Goddess Girl Scout Badge. 

Last Monday, I tried something that I've never done before. I made bread from scratch. Specifically, I made cinnamon rolls from scratch. I have a mental list of things that I want to be able to Master in my kitchen. When I came across a recipe by Suzanne Beecher a month ago I decided I might as well jump in and see what I could manage. (Not to mention the fact that she describes this recipe, from her Home Economics Class, as easy. She also said it has never failed her.) After dinner, I gathered my ingredients and put the Braves on for AG to watch while Andy was at his Men's Group. They turned out fabulous! I  didn't have huge expectations because I didn't want to be disappointed. I was amazed. Light, flaky, and perfectly sweet. To quote my grandfather, "They'll make you slap your grandma right out of the saddle!" Several of my college girls came over just to taste test for me and we decided our next family dinner will showcase said rolls. 

From a cooking perspective I loved how easy they were to make and prep. I was in and out of my kitchen in under an hour and a half with three pans of rolls ready to be baked when I wanted. Not bad. I'm sure I can shave some time off that once I don't have to read the recipe every few minutes. For a first run I couldn't be more pleased. These will be making the rounds this holiday season for sure. The recipe can be found in Suzanne's book, Muffins and Mayhem, on page 44. 

So here are some pictures chronicling how I earned my Domestic Goddess Girl Scout Badge:

Dough mixed. Kneaded in my Kitchen Aid. And left to rise for 20 minutes. Punched down. Flattened. And rolled out.

Melted butter brushed across the top and sprinkled with the cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Rolled up. Cut. And in a greased pan ready to chill in the fridge.

Rolls fresh from the oven the next morning ready for icing.

Good enough to eat and slap your grandmother.