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My day in the kitchen
Posted on December 17th, 2008 12 comments
Yesterday I made a delicious chicken stock, salmon chowder and cheddar biscuits using only what we had in the house. Even though our kitchen is pretty sparse these days (we haven’t gone for a full cart of groceries for about a month now) I managed to pull together a really satisfying meal and use up what could otherwise be left behind when we move in January.
My homemade chicken stock
First I made homemade chicken stock. I used a carcass from a small chicken that we roasted about 6 weeks ago. It was a small carcass, but it made enough for my chowder.
I sliced some carrots and onions and then added the frozen carcass, with a couple of bay leaves, and then poured enough water over it to barely cover it. Normally I guess you’re supposed to let it reduce with a low-boil for about 4-5 hours, but mine was done after just over an hour. Typically you would also add a celery stock but I didn’t have any and it didn’t seem to make a difference.
When it was done, I strained it through a fine mesh strainer - but you could also use a cheesecloth. The stock was flavourful, but only yeilded about 1.5 cups of stock. It was enough for my chowder.
My salmon chowder
When making a chowder, you can use vegetable stock or even water, but chicken works fine too. Actually, I think it gave my chowder a rich flavour. It didn’t overpower the salmon taste at all.
The main point of making the chowder was to use up the frozen salmon fillets I had bought on sale. You can find Highliner packs of 4 or 5 fillets for $3.99 - even cheaper if you have a coupon! I had purchased mine for $2.99, working out to 60-75¢ a fillet - and a great way to get a healthy protein!
I used three fillets and baked them for 20 minutes at 450, along with some butter and garlic. After, I let them cool and then put in them in the fridge.
Next, I browned three diced onions and added one large diced carrot and two diced potatoes with some of the chicken stock. I covered the pot and let it simmer for approximately 20 minutes. After letting the vegetables soften, I added the rest of the stock and some garlic. Next I added about a 1/2 cup of cream and another cup of milk.
Then I flaked up the salmon in a bowl and added it to the soup along with some parsley.
Finally, I added some frozen corn, after defrosting it in a bowl of water in the microwave for about 2 minutes (following the package directions.)
I let it simmer for a little longer and that was it! An easy, delicious and healthful way of using up what was in the house. I’ve seen many other recipes that call for evaporated milk, but I thought my chowder was thick enough using a milk and cream combo.
My cheese biscuits
The biscuits were adapted from the Canadian Living recipe here. But I should preface this by telling you that I failed once before making them right. Not because the recipe was tough but because I easily mix up letters, numbers and all instructions in general.
I started with this recipe. The dough seemed really sticky and upon closer inspection I realized I had forgotten the baking soda. I tried mixing it with a little extra milk and lemon juice and then adding it to the mix, knowing full well that improvisation and baking rarely works.
But the dough just got stickier and stickier and even with extra flour it wouldn’t ease up. Upon closer inspection of the recipe yet again, I realized I had put in 3 tbs of baking powder instead of 3 tsp.
So, I started over, with the Canadian Living recipe. I followed it to a T except I replaced the butter with shortening, since I used up all my butter in my previous failed attempt. I also cheated by using a muffin tray.
For all my mini-foibles, the cheddar biscuits turned out amazing!
In fact, the stock, chowder and biscuits turned out great. When Josh got home from work tonight he was thrilled to find a warm, hearty meal waiting for him (it rarely happens around here!) He gave a little head roll when he bit into the cheese biscuit - something that I only see him do when he’s eating something he really, really loves!
Best of all, I created this meal using only what we had at home - didn’t buy a single thing!
12 responses to “My day in the kitchen”
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it looks good! (& i don’t even normally like seafood).
i didn’t know you were moving in January…(now i’m off to stalk your posts to see if you blogged about moving).
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that is fantastic - I hope you saved a bit of salmon for the kitty
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Brenda December 17th, 2008 at 09:15
Wow - I love your creativity. My husband likes to “play” in the kitchen, but I don’t as much. However, this chowder looks really yummy, so I think I will have to try a variation of it too. I’m going to check for those salmon fillets - I have a couple of Highliner coupons myself. Thanks, SQ!
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Looks great! If you have a slow cooker, making stock is even easier!
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Andrea December 17th, 2008 at 16:10
Looks great. A nice, cozy winter dinner.
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I think your cat is a bigger “star” on your blog than you are. Hahaha More pictures of the cat than you. Good job on figuring out delicious-looking meals with what you got. As a challenge, I think everyone should avoid going to the grocery store for as long as possible and see what dishes can be made from food that lays around.
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On an unrelated topic, I wanted to thank you for re-igniting my love of coupons. Here’s my little story: My BF “decided” that we were going to purchase a snowblower this year. So he’s been shopping around and as you can imagine the pickings are quite slim. Anyway, we find a snowblower at Rona. Great because I’ll get points using my credit card and my airmiles! I had a little Saver Queen Ha ha moment and decided to google airmiles coupons. Well, wouldn’t you know that I found an online coupon for 4x times the airmiles for a purchase made between December 15th and 21st. I was thrilled! Thanks again! Monia
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Saver Queen December 18th, 2008 at 13:59
Thanks for your comments, everyone! Erran - haha - I’m just giving the public what they want!
I LOVE your idea about the challenge. I think I’m going to make that a formal challenge in the new year! Good one!
Monia, that is soooo cool! Good for you for using your saver queen skills! Thanks for sharing! -
It sounded like a good challenge to me. I’ve heard my mom say that “there’s no food in the house” a few times growing up, yet, there’s been things like flour, sugar, canned veggies and other misc stuff lying around for weeks, or longer! I’m sure with a bit of effort, many dishes could have been made before a grocery run was needed. Hence, your situation spawned that challenge idea in my head.
Good luck with the new business venture. -
What a cute kitty!
The chowder and biscuits sound great.
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I love how many times you said “carcass”. It made my morning…
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[...] Make your own chicken or veggie stock. To learn how, see my earlier post, My Day in the Kitchen, or visit Fighting Forclosure to read How to Make Your Own Vegetable or Meat [...]
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