Bakin' Bits
By Bonnie Dick
WOMAN VS. MACHINE
The ladies from the Humane Society love this story as they've been here to witness and laugh about the large wet wads in my washing machine.
We saved for months to buy a new washer and dryer set, one of those new heavy duty machines with no agitator in the center. Supposedly you can put three regular loads of wash in it at one time, use less soap, and less water. So after reading the instruction book from cover to cover, I loaded in my first load of 6 queen and king sized sheets. For the first few minutes, Larry and I and our neighbor all stood in awe and listened as the machine ran almost silently through its cycle. It didn't do the Washing Machine Boogie across the floor like my last machine, or dribble a steady stream of water unto the floor. I felt like a new woman.
Twenty-five minutes later, a strange sound screeched from the laundry room and I ran to investigate. The totally digital washer was flashing all lights and signaling to me, "U L" which according to the book was unbalanced load. No problem. Casually I sauntered over and lifted the lid. Wow! Was I in for a surprise! There in the bottom of the machine sat a huge, tightly wadded, wet ball of sheets, so heavy I couldn't lift it! Calling to husband, he took one look and said, "What the hell is that?" When I explained he determined I must have done something wrong, and between the two of us we took ten minutes to untuck and unball the wad of sheets.
Over the next few weeks, regular loads turned out excellent, but anything heavy, cumbersome, or large turned into a wet ball of whatever. If I was home alone, I'd have to wait until one of the men came home to lift the heavy ball out of the washer. And the ladies laughed.
After about the tenth time, my husband threatened to toss my new washer to the curb. Determined to overcome, I experimented with the different settings until I found the simple solution. Ignore completely the manufacturer's suggestion of setting the machine on Bulky Items or Heavy Duty when washing bulky or heavy duty items and use the Normal mode. So now as I sit here at my computer about to share some recipes with you, my machine is humming along quite nicely in the background, thank you, and the ladies won't be laughing anymore!
SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN
This is a new recipe we tried last week and it was a real keeper. Hope you like it as much as we did.
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken (cut into 2 in. pcs.)
1/2 cup cracker crumbs
3 tbl. margarine or butter
Sauce:
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
3 tbl. cornstarch
1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks drained (reserve syrup)
3 tbl. vinegar
2 tbl. catsup
2 tbl. soy sauce
1 green pepper, cut into 1 inch pcs.
1 small onion, sliced
Mix brown sugar and cornstarch in 10" skillet. Add enough water to reserved pineapple syrup to measure 2 1/4 cups. Stir syrup-water mixture, vinegar, catsup and soy sauce into skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Stir in pineapple, green pepper and onion; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
In a 10" skillet, melt oleo or butter. Shake chicken in cracker crumbs and brown well on both sides in the skillet. Turn heat to low and cover, cooking about 10 minutes until chicken is done and juices run clear. Add chicken to the sauce and heat through. Serve over rice. 5 to 6 servings.
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This next recipe for rice is a nice change of pace from potatoes.
BROWN RICE
1/2 c. melted oleo or butter
1 can beef consomme
1 can French onion soup
1 c. uncooked instant rice
Combine all in a 2 quart casserole and mix well. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
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Food for Thought: A rumor goes in one ear and out many mouths..........
