Today I took a 30-minute work break to prep some chicken. Let me just clarify that this is sooooooooooo not what I normally do. First of all, leaving my desk during “working hours” to do much more than get water/tea or go to the bathroom because of all the water/tea I’m drinking usually leaves me feeling a little panicked and guilty. I only have so many hours to get soo many hours of work done (such is the life of a freelancer), and I have a pretty strict stop-at-5 policy, for R-kids’ sake, so taking time out during the day means I’ll be up later that night finishing up deadlines.
Second, I do not enjoy prepping chicken. And I don’t cook.
But still.
Today I took a break. Because I knew there would be no time to cook dinner with our busy evening ahead. Because there was thawed chicken in the fridge that needed to be cooked. Because I’m working really hard at cutting back on eating out. And because Emily inspired me, and even provided the recipe.
So I picked some fresh thyme from my herb garden, improvised a bit (since I didn’t have any fennel and I can’t eat garlic and the chicken I had was cut up not whole), popped it in the oven, and came down to discover this waiting for me at dinnertime:
Yummy! And yay me!
If I don’t say so myself.
Ok, so here’s my question for all of you out there. This is how my chicken looked while it was still roasting:
Sure, the chicken and veggies look great. But that oven??? Ewww. Embarassing!
What are your tricks people? I don’t like chemicals and chemicals don’t like me.
How can I tackle this oven in a Julie-friendly way and actually win the grease battle? Is it possible? Any tips for me??? Do tell!
by julie rybarczyk
5 Comments
Yum to the food, Julie. But your question is cracking me up. There are VERY few of us left (not that I don’t wish it were mine in red) that have a true retro oven that works. I mean, I push the self cleaning button and 4 hours later my oven is clean from heat only. Have you tried bar keeper’s friend and a steel wool or a very scratchy pad? It has a chemical in it but I’m not sure what, it’s not bleach like a lot of stuff. I so want to know if there is an alternative that works. Baking soda and scratch pad?
I think Sears is having a sale?!?
What?! People who don’t have 50-year-old retro pink ovens just push some sort of button to get things cleaned up??? How did I not know this?
Sorry, I can’t part with my pink appliances yet. (Have I not showed these to you all?!)
So I need real, old-fashioned, clean-my-oven tips!
P.S. Already tried the Bar Keeper’s Friend and baking soda options – but perhaps didn’t try hard and long enough…? Haven’t tried steel wool yet. Perhaps that’s the trick. Keep the ideas coming! Please!
Way to cook a meal. And it does look quite perfect!
I boil water and toss it on whatever mess is there and that seems to break it down a bit… But with how cute your oven is on the outside, that makes up for any mess on the inside. And yes, you must! must! post about your kitchen Julie. Each and every corner. You could spend a week on that alone.
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[...] odd day she had. does it? | a great question to ponder. buckle up | and leave the house julie. dinner | she made it! in a pink (dirty) oven. i got tagged: office cleanup | not one, but two. This [...]
[...] odd day she had. does it? | a great question to ponder. buckle up | and leave the house julie. dinner | she made it! in a pink (dirty) oven. i got tagged: office cleanup | not one, but [...]