Why I keep meals in the freezer........

O.K. I am officially sick. Ear ache, stopped up head, and sore throat; can you say THE PITTS!
This is one of those “freezer meal” times. Fortunately I roasted a chicken earlier this fall, and after cutting what meat I could off the bones I boiled the bones,(O.K., I have to interject something here. THIS is a true Mother, depression era thing to do, boiling bones. It removes all the little tidbits of meat off those bones, and if you don't add too much water, makes more rich chicken broth. I have seen women take turkey and chicken carcasses after a meal with a goodly amount of meat on them and throw them away, I cringe, because my mama taught me not to waste that meat, or the good broth that comes from those bones, and bits of meat). I then added the broth from the roasted chicken to the liquid from the boiled bones, and put it over the meat in the container, and froze the whole thing. Thus, all I needed to do was thaw it, bring the whole thing to a boil, and add the noodles. I then fixed instant mashed potatoes (yes I said instant, this is not a sin, especially when you feel like I do), and TAADAA! Chicken and noodles!

Not to brag, but anyone who has had my roasted chicken will tell you it is outstanding, and it is all in the Sweet Basil Rub that goes on before the roasting. It is a recipe I found on the back of a Butterball Roasting Hen I bought. I tried it, and haven’t roasted a chicken or turkey without it since. Like I said it is the best. Word to the wise; don't start with anything less than a 5 lb. bird.

Here is the recipe:

Sweet Basil Rub
1 T. Salt (can reduce, if wish, but not too much)
2 t. Sugar
¼ t. Garlic Powder (not garlic salt)
¼ t. Onion Powder (not onion salt)
¼ t. paprika
1/2 T. Lemon Juice
½ t. Black Pepper
1 T. Whole Basil
2 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Mix salt, sugar, garlic, onion, paprika and lemon juice together. Next, add black pepper, basil and olive oil. Mix into paste. Rub paste(with your hands)over washed and patted dry hen, inside and out.

For the best gravy, save drippings from roasting pan.

Now to cook the bird
1.Preheat the oven to 350
2.Remove giblets
3.Wash and rinse bird, pat dry
4.Rub with Sweet Basil Rub
5.Place bird breast side down, (yes, I said down, your white meat will be moister) and tent foil over; remove for last 10 min. of cooking to brown nicely.
6.Roast in oven to an internal temp of 170 degrees or till juices run clear.
7.Remove roaster, allow bird to stand 10 min. (actually the bird is past standing at this point, so just let it lay there :) before carving.

For every 1 lb. of bird weight cook approximately 20-25 min.

5 lbs – 1 ¾ hrs.
5 ½ lb.s – 2 hrs.
6 lbs.- 2 ¼ hrs. etc.

If you are not going to serve the bird right away and want to make chicken and noodles, remove all meat from the bone and place in a freezer safe dish. Then take the larger bones, place in large kettle, and JUST cover with water; bring to boil. Cool, and add drippings from the chicken roaster, pour all over the meat in the freezer dish, cool completely and freeze. I use those noodles in the bread isle, the ones that are the closest thing to homemade I can find. There is a awesome brand of potato buds that I find at Sam's that are the next best thing to real mashed potatoes. The company that makes them is from Idaho--need I say more?

The Gin Game

Roger and I watched the movie The Gin Game last night.
I had seen the original taping of the Broadway Play staring Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy years before when we still lived at Rinker; yea that was a loooong time ago. I remember laughing at it, but didn’t remember the story other than it was about two elderly people living in a retirement home who played game after game of gin rummy. She kept beating him, and his frustration, albeit expressed mostly with swear words, was comical. That remembered, I rented it.
Funny what time and experiences do to your perception of something? There are many poignant moments in the movie, downright sad if you are my age, and have taken care of an elderly parent. Mother had many of the same conversations with other residents that she lived with at the manor, and when she was in the rehab center we both saw firsthand the things depicted in the film; odd there didn’t seem to be that much humor in them, either when they are happening, or being observed.
One thing I noticed this time that completely escaped me the first time was the utter frustration they both expressed at their circumstances. Living too long, out living their resources, neglect from family and friends, aches and pains; easily depicted on stage, but oh so different when going through them in real life.
Mother and I had many a conversation about some of the same issues raised by that movie, and watching it brought back a lot of memories for me of those talks. The remembrance of observing someone you know and love go through the things that before were only words on a piece of paper, or lines in a play, no matter how well “written”, are never fully captured. As much as we tried to find the humor or steel ourselves to the inevitability of it, it was real, and palatable, and wouldn’t be ignored.
Mother kidded a lot about "old age isn't for sissy's", and everyone living within earshot of her agreed with her; usually through a resounding "You're right about that!" Knowing and acknowledging it are one thing, accepting it is something completly different. However, Roger Closson, the director of Presbyterian Manor, has stated time and time again that the resistance to getting older is, sure enough, what keeps many people alive longer than they or anyone else expected. But he is quick to add, those who do it with bitterness, and anger, don't enjoy the ride, as much as those who can laugh at the changes and embrace the opportunities that come along with them. He then proceeds to tell a joke along those lines -he knows them all-:).
I'm not big on change, I've had about enough of it this past year, thank you very much, but I was made aware of my attitude toward it while watching that movie. It is going to be with me the rest of my days so I better decide how I am going to respond to it, or I am going to be very frustrated, and swearing when I don't win the game.