Rotisserie Chicken for One

Rotisserie chicken.

Now that I am widowed and cooking for one, I have to plan more carefully my meals.  I picked up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store on Saturday and have made meals for several days.  First I sliced off most of the white meat from the breast.  This will make a couple of sandwiches or I might even make chicken salad from it. 

White meat for sandwiches.

Chicken sandwich.

I put the rest of the carcass in a large pot with chicken stock and diced onions and simmered until the meat was falling off the bones.

Boiling the carcass in chicken stock.

Chicken stock.

Onions added to stock and chicken simmers until meat falls off bone.

 I carefully removed all the meat and even strained the liquid to make sure I had removed any small bones. 

The deboned chicken for the soup.

I added some red sweet pepper to the soup.

In another pot I cooked a cup of basmati and wild rice and when it was at the al dente stage I added the rice to the pot of stock and cooked a bit more.  I had half a red sweet pepper frozen which I diced and added to the pot.

Ready to eat. 

I had one serving of soup and the rest I froze into 3 containers each holding about 2 cups or enough for two servings each.

Ready for the freezer.

These will come in nicely this winter when it's cold.  So you see one rotisserie chicken can go a long way for just one person.

Tablescape for Table for One

A pretty fall tablescape.

Since my husband passed away this past March, I have found it sad to sit at the dining table by myself.  I usually just fix a plate and go in the TV room and sit by the TV to have dinner.  I've decided though that I am going to begin sitting at the dining table if it is only me there.  And I deserve to have a nice tablescape as well.  Today I took out some things I had on hand, and after a trip over to Sur la Table to pick up a few things I had all the makings for a pretty fall tablescape. 

Lazy Susan covered with tea towel and Acuba arranged in flower pot.

Small mum to add in center of flower pot.

I chose a Westmoore Pottery flower vase made by David Farrell as the main feature of the arrangement.  After placing a row of Acuba leaves from my garden around the periphery of the vase I added in the middle a little potted mum that I had picked up at Trader Joes for $4.00.  I wrapped the Lazy Susan in the middle of the table with a green tea towel with leaves; I already had this. 

Leaves on the tea towel.

The pumpkin scatters that I picked up at Sur la Table can be used another year so this was a good investment since I got these on sale.   Our Cryptomeria tree in the back yard drops leaves about this time of year, and many of them have streaks of orange that fit into my color scheme. 

Cryptomeria leaves from back yard.

Pumpkin scatter from Sur la Table.

The terra cotta colored napkin that I have fits in nicely, especially with the new little napkin ring that I also got on sale at Sur la Table. The pretty plate by Westmoore Pottery goes nicely and to add a bit of humor I thought the little orange fox mug would fix in nicely and would be perfect for my cup of hot cider. 

Terra cotta colored napkin fits right in my color scheme. 

Pretty Westmoore Pottery plate.

Pretty little fox mug just right for my hot apple cider. 



A pretty table setting for one.

I will have folks in for Thanksgiving and this tablescape should work well then.  I might have to replace the little potted mum with some fresh flowers and add some fresh Acuba leaves but everything else would be perfect.  I will likely add candles for the table at Thanksgiving.  In the meantime, I can sit down to a pretty table even if I am the only one to enjoy it. 

Easy Peach Cobbler

Peach cobbler using frozen peaches.

I was in the mood for a peach cobbler, and I had two packages of frozen peaches.  I found this recipe online from Nutmeg Nanny. It is quite good, and I have several servings left so I'm going to take it down to Mary and Dave's tomorrow for lunch.  I think Mary is fond of peach cobbler. 

For Filling:

10 cups frozen peaches sliced

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1-1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg (I added this. )

1 stick of butter, melted

For Top Crust:

1 cup flour

1 cup white sugar

1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 stick butter, softened

2 beaten eggs

For Filling:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray 9x13 inch pan with pam.

Measure the peaches and put them in a large mixing bowl. Let them sit on the counter and thaw for 10 minutes. Then toss with lemon juice.

Frozen peaches.

In another smaller bowl combine white sugar, salt, flour and cinnamon. Mix them together with a fork until they're evenly combined.

Dry ingredients.

Pour the dry mixture over the peaches and toss. You may use a spoon or clean hands. Once most of the dry ingredients are clinging to the peaches, dump them into the pan you have prepared. Sprinkle any dry mixture left in the bowl on top of the peaches in the pan.

Melt the butter, then drizzle over the peaches. Then cover cake pan tightly with foil.

Bake the peach mixture at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Take out of the oven and set on a heat proof surface, but DON'T TURN OFF THE OVEN.


For Topping:
Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in the smaller bowl you used earlier. Cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. Add beaten eggs and mix. The result will resemble library paste but smell a whole lot better!

Remove foil from the peaches and drop on spoonfuls of the topping. Because the topping is thick you will have to do this is little dibs and dabs scraped from the spoon with another spoon, a rubber spatula, or with your freshly washed finger. Dab over the whole pan until it looks polka-dotted.

In oven for 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

Bake in a 350 degree oven uncovered for an additional 50 minutes.



Ready to eat.  Enjoy!

It can be eaten warm, room temperature or chilled :)