Stinkbugs - September 28, 2021

 Grrrrrr!  I have HAD IT with all the (#*!@ bugs in my world.  First it was gnats.  Now, it's stinkbugs.

The porch screens are absolutely crawling with stinkbugs.  Or, rather, were crawling with them; I just gave them a dose of Raid.  It wouldn't bother me if they would stay on the outside of the screens, but there's a good-sized gap at the top of one of the screen doors where they can get in, and they do.  And they buzz my head and crawl up my neck, and that's where I draw the line.  I swatted about half-a-dozen with the fly-swatter, and so my newly-cleaned, newly-sealed porch floor is littered with stinkbug guts and carcasses.  

Aaaannddd one just flew past me.  <sigh>

Cousin Roger motored over on his lawnmower while I was battling the blasted things.  He says their window screens are covered in them, too.  He said he heard you could spray peppermint oil on them.  I guess the smell runs them off.  Neither of us had any peppermint oil, so the experiment could not proceed.

I gave up and went inside to find something for supper.  There was a big, raw chicken in the refrigerator.  I roasted him (her?) and picked the meat off his backside to use for supper and made a whopping big bowl of chicken salad with his front side.  

You may not know this, but my chicken salad rocks.  It is a savory chicken salad - no relish, no pickles, no fruit.  

I'll give you the recipe.

* * * * * * * * * * * * 

1 roasted chicken (roast it at 350 degrees, breast down so that the breast meat stays moist - takes about an hour - or buy an already- roasted one at the grocery store).  Pull the meat off the bone and chop it up or shred it.  (Save the good pan juice for soup, or whatever.)

3 chopped boiled eggs

1 cup of chopped pecans 

2 to 5 chopped green onions, depending on how big they are or how much you like onions

2 stalks of celery, chopped -  if you like it

Mix all the chopped stuff together.

The secret is the dressing.  Mix together:

1.5 cups of mayonnaise 

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1-2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard 

(In a pinch, if you don't have the two mustards, use regular old yellow mustard.)

Now, here's the must-have ingredient:  Cavender's Greek Seasoning - start with a teaspoon, or less.    Cavender's is *salty*, so you have to be careful.  Shake it up before you measure it.  Add the teaspoon-full to the mayo/mustard mixture, and stir it up good.  TASTE IT.  Keep adding Cavender's until the dressing is salty enough to suit you.  (I probably use about a tablespoon full of Cavender's to that much mayo.)   Stir the dressing into the chopped stuff.  Voila!

I sometimes add chopped roasted red peppers or pimiento peppers, fresh or canned.  Tried green olives, didn't like it.  Kalamata olives might work, or a touch of tapenade.  

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 

With the back-side of the chicken, I made alfredo fettuchini.  Cheated and used jarred sauce.  Chopped two big green onions (saved some of the green tops for garnish), a yellow bell pepper, and some mushrooms from a can - I'd have used fresh ones if I'd had them.  Sauteed those in some olive oil until they were tender, then added the chicken, the jar of sauce, and noodles, let the flavors "marry" for a little while in the skillet.  Garnished with the tops of the green onions and some chopped kalamata olives.  It was yummy.