Hi Gina, I'm Cheryl. And I'm a chicaholic too. Four years ago a friend offered to give me a dozen chickens for free. So I decided to have a small shed built for them, $700, and the enclosure with gate $150. But the chickens were free, remember? When we finally brought them home, I was absolutely hooked. I love my chickens. We were so successful at raising our chickens that pretty soon our small 16'x16' enclosure and 8'x8' henhouse was deemed too small. So we built a larger enclosure, 75'x 110'($450) and had ANOTHER shed built 10'x12' ($900) this time to accomodate all our new arrivals. Now we have a huge area for our chickens to live in (roughly 3x the size of our own home) but our flock unfortunately has decreased due to predators that inhabit the area. And all the while did we enjoy the advantages of fresh chicken dinners on Sunday? Oh no! We named each of our chickens, and as anyone knows, you can't eat an animal who has a name. We do get lots of fresh eggs, which we usually wind up giving away to family and friends because we can't eat them all. So why do we keep doing it? We're both hooked. Chickens are fun. They're interesting to watch. Besides, all our kids are grown and gone from home and we both still work full time, so what else do we have to do with all that disposable income but blow it on a bunch of spoiled birds? My name is Cheryl and I'm a chickaholic.

I've been packing for our big move (which happens tomorrow!)into our new house and labeling EVERYTHING. Seriously, the sides of my boxes have labels detailing almost everything in it. I'm hoping to place an order for my cabinets in a few days and once those arrive in a few weeks, our kitchen will be gone. I have no idea when I will be able to see my cooking and bakingware again, thus the obsessive labeling. These posts are getting me excited about what's to come... our new kitchen will have so many more drawers and cabinets as well as a dedicated coffee/wine space and walk-in pantry. I have no idea how I'm going to reorganize myself, but I suppose that is part of the fun! (2 "homes" for scissors... what a brilliant idea!) BTW, I'm originally from NY (therefore, I'm a total bagel-snob) and have yet to find any bagels elsewhere that compare. On my list, however, is homemade bagels to satisfy those cravings... now if I could just find some lox around here... Oh, and I, too, am totally confounded about men... my husband's excuse for never unloading the dishwasher is that he can't figure out where things go. After all these years... the hilarity of this is that by the time my daughter was 15mos old, SHE was telling HIM where to put the colander, measuring spoons, etc.

I just cooked chicken breasts to take to our church to be made into pounds and pounds of chicken salad for our Christmas fundraiser. Here's the method I used...it worked perfectly. How To Cook Moist & Tender Chicken Breasts Every Time What You Need Ingredients 1 to 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, of similar size Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon olive oil, unsalted butter, or combination of both Equipment Heavy Mason jar or wide drinking glass Wide (10-inch) sauté pan with lid Tongs or spatula Instructions Flatten the chicken breasts: Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness with the bottom of a wide jar or glass. You can also (carefully!) use the handle of a heavy chef's knife. Season the chicken breasts: Lightly salt and pepper the chicken breasts. Prepare the pan: Heat the sauté pan over medium-high heat. When it is quite hot, add the olive oil (or butter, if using). Swirl the pan so it is lightly covered with the olive oil. Cook the chicken breasts for 1 minute without moving: Turn the heat to medium. Add the chicken breasts. Cook for just about 1 minute to help them get a little golden on one side (you are not actually searing or browning them). Flip the chicken breasts: Then flip each chicken breast over. Turn the heat down to low: Turn the heat to low. Cover the pan and cook on low for 10 minutes. Cover with a tight-fitting lid. Set a timer for 10 minutes, and walk away. Do not lift the lid; do not peek. Turn off the heat and let sit for an additional 10 minutes: After 10 minutes have elapsed, turn off the heat. (If you have an electric stove, remove the pan from the heat.) Reset the timer for 10 minutes and leave the chicken breasts in the pan. Again, do not lift the lid; do not peek. Remove lid and take temperature: After the 10 minutes are up, take the lid off, and your chicken is done. Make sure there is no pink in the middle of the chicken breasts. If you want to be absolutely sure it is cooked, you can use an instant-read thermometer to check (the chicken should be at least 165°F). Slice and eat. Store any leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator. Here is a link that might be useful: How to cook moist, tender chicken breasts every time

Congratulations, nancyjane, now you've spoiled yourself and will have to continue roasting chickens! I raise my own chickens and process them for the freezer, so I always have a supply available. A couple of mine got a....little....um....big. Like 8 pounds worth of big, LOL. I brined one, stuffed it with fresh herbs from the garden and roasted it in an open pan at 450F. It took about an hour and a half and it turned out really well, one of the best I've made. I don't eat chicken skin, so crispy didn't matter to me, but everyone else loved it and were impressed with all the crunchy bits while the meat stayed moist. Obviously, I got more than one meal from that bird. We had the traditional roast chicken/mashed potatoes/green vegetable meal, then had chicken sandwiches. I made a batch of chicken enchiladas and still had enough chicken to make a batch of chicken and rice soup. The carcass became stock. That chicken definitely did not go to waste. I still have three whole chickens in the freezer, along with packages of "parts", so I see a roast chicken in my very near future, thanks to a reminder from nancyjane. Annie