That Bloody Chicken!

 It was another beautiful but rather chilly day in southern Arizona.  I had an appointment with my neighbor, she who quilts and wins blue ribbons, for some lessons on loading the machine, as well as thread and anything else we could find to talk about.  I was really looking forward to it.  I'm lucky to have some really GREAT neighbors!

On the way back home I made a quick trip to the grocery store for some essentials.  These chickens were $8.00.  Not too terrible I suppose, and it feeds both Cooper and I.  I left the chicken in the plastic bag and stuck it in the fridge.  BIG mistake.

Two hours later I took it out and set it on the counter, another BIG mistake.  When I finally got around to opening it up, what did I find but a bloody mess underneath the bag.  RATS!!  That means backtracking everywhere the chicken went in the kitchen.  

Sure enough, I ended up scrubbing the floors, wiping down the cabinets and THEN I opened the fridge door.  I spent the next hour cleaning the fridge from top to bottom, including taking the glass out.  It was EVERYWHERE!!  Totally disheartened, I stuck it BACK in the fridge to await its fate.

It was time for some critter videos.  Gosh I love seeing this baby.  She sure seems hesitant ... hearing something up the hill that makes her nervous.  

There must have been coyotes hanging out in the bushes ... I've never seen her act this way.  She drank for another 30 seconds, stood up and actually ran off.  Apparently she has much better hearing than I do.

With Jonathan's stash of goodies running low, I whipped up some of his favorite Hawaiian banana bread.  I figure it's pretty boring to eat the exact same thing every day, so I try to change it up for him occasionally.  Actually he prefers those peanut butter cookies.  He can see me eating one 20 feet away and starts talking up a storm until he gets a piece.

It was late when I remembered the bloody chicken still in the fridge.  I tied him up, threw him in a pan and stuffed him in the oven.  I should have used the barbecue, although I was low on gas.  I stuck in my trusty thermometer-on-a-string and hit GO.  

I think it looks better than it tasted.  I ran it up to 165 per "The Kitchen" TV chefs, but I think it needed more time.  It was definitely juicy, in spite of the bloody mess left in my fridge.  The real test was when Cooper got his first bite.  Yup ... Cooper approved!!

This is called a Bloody Chicken Coma ... both of us almost asleep on the couch.

I'm hoping today is a good day, as I'm quilting a quilt for Miss Patty, using the tips I picked up yesterday.  After that I'm starting on my lists.  Time is getting short before I head back to Quartzsite and places North, so I need to start packing!