Chicken Safety

• Never leave cooked chicken out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. 
• Never leave raw frozen chicken out. Store it in the refrigerator to thaw.
• Use thawed raw chicken within 2 days.
• Rinse raw chicken pieces with cold water and pat them dry with a paper towel.
• Clean everything that comes into contact with raw chicken or juices with hot, soapy water.
• Chicken should always be cooked through. Check for doneness by making a slit in the thickest part of the chicken piece, then look to see if it is cooked through to the middle. The juices from the chicken should run clear, not pink.
• When marinating chicken, do not use the same marinade that was on your raw chicken as a basting or dipping sauce. Put some aside before adding it to the raw chicken for using in basting or dipping after the chicken is cooked to avoid contaminating your final product.

For Sara and Megan

Each weekend visit is different. You are sometimes eager helpers in the kitchen. Other times I get the stink eye when I suggest any participation that doesn't involve eating the final product. You are both unpredictable while being completely stereotypical teenagers and I never know what to expect but aside from shopping, the most fun we have together is usually in the kitchen. I love that you love to learn and  are sometimes adventurous with food but most importantly, you know what you like and don't like and you really don't like badly cooked food, fast food or sushi.

Since you are well on your way toward adulthood and at some point in the near future you will need to fend for yourselves, I try to educate you while I am feeding you. I encourage you to try the recipes on your own. I push you to execute while I dictate from the couch. I always make you clean up! (That is extremely valuable experience)

However, I suspect that on-demand recall of my little lessons isn't very realistic so I wanted to create a place for you to come to when you are ready to start honing your skills and impressing your friends/boyfriends/roommates/sorority sisters, etc. For whatever the occasion may be, you will have a super awesome library of knowledge at your fingertips....courtesy of me, the most awesome Stepmom you could have even gotten stuck with.