I am thinking that I may be getting a bit better.  Not just limp all the time.  Monday I roasted a chicken. That was exhausting, I will say.  Get the iron skillets out of the oven, turn the oven on, make sure the sink is clean, wash 4 whole carrots and put into big iron skillet, unwrap chicken take out giblet bag, drain chicken (never wash poulty), put it on the carrots, lift the massively heavy skillet and put it into the oven, take it back out 45 minutes later and fail at turning it breast side up,  let it finish cooking, lift massively heavy skillet from oven onto stove, break down chicken to get it in frig NOW to keep Miss G from messing with it, get out foil, tear some off, cover chicken pieces loosely and put plates with chicken in frig.  Pour pan juices from heavy skillet into pot.  Put that in frig.  Put heavy skillet and other utensils into sink, wash stove, collapse onto couch,  too tired to eat chicken.  Left dishes for homemaker to do Tuesday.  It’s her job, thank goodness for that.  Been nibbling on chicken ever since, and today I am going to make chicken salad, I hope.

1 pound cooked chicken breast, shredded mixed with 3/4 cup mayo, 3 T each finely chopped celery and onion, 1T brown sugar, garlic powder, s + p.  This is from a local place that sells tons of this chicken salad and chicken pot pies, etc.  Yum.  I probably won’t do the onion and celery, because standing and chopping things is tiring and painful.

Another salad I’ve made and really like is cubed cooked chicken, seedless grapes, drained pineapple chunks, chutney (I freaking love mango chutney) chopped celery, toasted nuts of choice and chopped candied ginger.  Mix 1/2 cup mayo, dash ginger or curry powder, lemon or lime juice and maybe some shredded peel.  This is so good, and amounts are up to the maker.

With the carcass and all the bits from the breaking down and the pan juices, I make soup.  This works for turkey carcasses, too.

Saute  a chopped onion and a chopped carrot, celery if you want in a bit of olive oil or butter on med high for 10 minutes, til golden  Add 1/4 cup flour, cook and stir 2 minutes or so,  Add 4 cups store-bought chicken broth and 4 cups water, or just use 8 cups water.  Add 1 cup white wine.  Bring to boil. Add carcass and bits and juices, 2 sprigs parsley, 1/2teaspon thyme, 1 bay leaf, 6 peppercorns.  Simmer partly covered 90 minutes.  Remove bay leaf, strain,chill overnight, defat.  Cook whatever veg you like in the broth and add noodles or dumplings if you like.  I like a variety of root veg, parsnip, carrot, a bit of turnip or rutabaga, carrots, whatever sounds good.  I like dumplings, so make them with Bisquick, and I have actually at one point made noodles, but I like wide egg noodles in this. I’ve made my own Bisquick before, too. You can find recipes on line. Also, I usually don’t measure everything, just eyeball it as far as herbs and seasonings go.

I miss cooking sometimes.  Even when I am well enough to attempt it, it involves doing one thing, resting a while, doing another step, resting awhile, etc, and cutting corners wherever possible.  Less work is better.  I only have a galley kitchen and my table is in the carpeted living room, so I do not do food prep on it.  I miss when I had a dining room/kitchen combo.  I did everything on the table then.  Anyway, recipes, readers.  What?  Whatty what what???