Heather says:

Do you ever have a snippet from a TV show stay with you for eternity?

Now that you’ve had a peek into my twisted little mind, let’s talk chicken bog. At first glance, some long time readers may say, “But Heather, that looks just like chicken pilau.” Nay nay my friend, there are many heated arguments between Lowcountry residents and PeeDee residents about the superiority of one over the other. As long as someone is willing to share, I refuse to take sides. The grains of rice in chicken pilau are separate, where in a traditional bog, the grains will mold to a fork. Additionally, chicken bog is typically more savory.

This dish is economical, it utilizes a whole chicken which creates a rich broth to flavor the rice. It can feed a crowd or freezes for an easy night in the future. Andre Pope has been kind enough to share his recipe for chicken bog.

Chicken Bog

Chicken Bog

Ingredients

• 1 (3-5 pound) chicken (cut up)
• 1 pound smoked sausage
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 teaspoons Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
• 1 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pinch of salt
• Dash of garlic powder
• 3 bay leaves
• 8 cups water
• 3 cups raw white rice

Directions:
1. Cut the sausage into 1/2-inch pieces.

2. Combine the chicken, sausage, butter, seasonings and bay leaves in a large stock pot.

3. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 40 minutes at a low boil.

4. Remove the chicken. WARNING: VERY HOT

5. Remove the meat from the bones of the chicken. (Throw away the bones and skin. )

6. Add the rice to the pot with remaining chicken broth and seasonings.

7. Bring to a boil, stirring well.

8. Boil for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer, cover the pot and let cook for 10 more minuets or until the rice is done.

9. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves, return the chicken to the pot, mix well, and serve.

10. Pour your self a big glass of iced-tea and enjoy.

Thank you very much, Andre, for sharing your recipe.

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Heather says:

This pizza sauce can be simmered on the stove or made with a slow cooker (Crock-pot® folks, Crock-pot®). Pizza night’s order of operations are as follows: I start the sauce, begin a crust, chop the veggies, roll out the dough, and finally add all the toppings. The kids help by eating all my toppings before they are on the pizza and then demanding they get to place the pepperoni according to their specifications. Good times.

This recipe makes enough sauce for three or four twelve inch pizzas, depending on how saucy you like them. If you have fresh herbs available, use them. I am still in search of the perfect crust. Last night’s did its job of holding our toppings in place, but I wouldn’t give it more credit than that.

Pizza Sauce

Ingredients:

• 3 TBSP olive oil
• 1 large onion diced
• 3 cloves of garlic minced or pressed
• 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes (or use 1 - 2 lbs fresh)
• 1 8oz can tomato paste
• 1 1/2TBSP honey or white sugar
• 1 - 1 1/2 TBSP each of dried oregano and basil ( we like a strong flavor, feel free to reduce this amount)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add the diced onions and cook until soft.

Add the garlic and allow to cook an additional 2 - 3 minutes. Do NOT burn the garlic. If you are using a slow cooker, add all your ingredients to the crock and add the onions and garlic. Set on low for all day or high for 3 -4ish hours. (This depends heavily on your cooker’s settings, watch it carefully the first time.) If you are finishing the sauce on the stove, add the remaining ingredients, turn the heat to low and allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes.

This sauce freezes beautifully. I usually only have to make it every other time we have pizza night.

Enjoy!

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Heather says:

It is time to use ‘em or lose ‘em. Here are some guidelines, and recipes for using up Thanksgiving leftovers. Substitute turkey in any of the chicken recipes below.

• Turkey should be frozen or used within 2 - 6 days.
• Frozen cooked turkey should be used within 2 months and should be cooked thoroughly, immediately after thawing.
• If you have gravy or leftover mashed potatoes they should have been used within 1 - 2 days after Thanksgiving. Use them today or toss them out.
• Leftover gravy is an excellent addition to “Mustgo Soup,” mashed potatoes are, too. Both thicken and add flavor.
• Cranberry sauce can be stirred into yogurt, served over ice cream, or it makes a nice accompaniment to pork chops, ham, chicken, or fish. It should be used within 7 days. (The sugar acts as a preservative.)

Enjoy!

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Ivy says:

First, thank you to all of you who offered condolences on the loss of my grandmother. We are all finally beginning to get somewhat back to normal. One of the reasons we have been able to do so is thanks to the generosity of friends and our church family bringing food.

I had no idea there was so much to deal with when you lose a family member, but there truly is a lot involved. The last thing you want to deal with is the normal stuff like making dinner and cleaning house. It would be easy to go out to dinner for every meal, but since the other surprising thing about losing a family member is the fact that it is quite expensive (not just the funeral expenses, but unexpected expenses like having to buy gas several times because you’re driving all over creation dealing with things, and funeral wardrobes for the kids, since most kids aren’t flush with black dressy clothing), going out to eat for every meal is not a good idea.

So when offers of food started coming and our church’s “Angels” group starting bringing food, we took up all offers. This helped enormously. Someone brought a roast for the funeral- one of the best ideas EVER- we served it at the post-funeral wake, later made it into roast beef sandwiches for dinner, and finally made it into meat filling for different sandwiches.

Another handy thing given was a mix of tuna salad and chicken salad sandwiches. These were also served at the wake, it was also great afterward because if we were hungry, I could just reach into the fridge and grab a sandwich. Cooking is the last thing on my mind under stress. Some of these sandwiches were packed in a cooler for an unexpected road trip when we had to drive my uncle back to Muncie, Indiana.

Food is often a welcome gift both during times of trouble and joy (like a new baby, etc). In the past we have been thankful to receive chili, spaghetti sauce (freezes amazingly and is quite inexpensive to make), corn casserole (filling and tasty for the vegetarians in the group), and hash brown casserole (amazingly good and freezes well).

What do you find works well to bring to families?

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Heather says:

This is one dish you won’t catch me trying to pronounce. Although I grew up here in the Lowcountry, I was not exposed to this dish until adulthood. As far as I am concerned, that is a crying shame. This meal is tasty, flexible and freezes well if stored properly. Feel free to change proportions to stretch your dollars. We like it nice and meaty, but if your wallet is feeling the pinch increase the rice and liquid proportionally, I’ll never tell. As written, I find this is a great meal to surprise a new mom. It isn’t heavily spiced (this is of concern for new breastfeeders) and reheats well.

Sausage is an acceptable substitute or addition to the bacon, use bulk or link.

Chicken Pilau - recipe can be halved

• 6 lbs baked chicken (bone-in)
• 4 slices bacon
• 2 med onions
• 1 bell pepper
• 2 ribs celery,chopped
• 2 cups rice
• 2 14.5oz cans diced tomatoes (can substitute fresh in season)
• 4 cups chicken broth, stock, or bouillon
• salt/pepper to taste

Directions:

I began with two whole chickens, cut them up, reserving the necks and backs for homemade stock, and baked them at 400F for 45 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking fry 4 slices of bacon in a large stock pot.

Dice the onions, celery, and bell pepper. Once crisp, remove the bacon from the pot and allow to drain on a paper towel. Reserve just enough drippings to coat the bottom of the pot. Add the onions, celery, and bell pepper, saute over medium heat until the onion is soft. Crumble the bacon and add to the vegetables.

Add the rice and continue to cook, stirring frequently until the rice is golden. Add salt and pepper to taste. I omit salt unless using homemade stock, as bouillon and broth are typically high in sodium. Add the broth and tomatoes, adjust the temperature to keep at a simmer and cover tightly for 25 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.

While the rice and vegetables are simmering remove the skin from the baked chicken. Shred into bite size pieces. When the rice is cooked stir in the chicken, heat through, and serve.
There should be plenty of leftovers!

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