Creamy Guacamole

2 or 3 ripe avocados
a dollop of mayonnaise
salt & pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup of salsa
garnish with cilantro or parsley
Mash together with a potato masher.

There's a lot of ways to make guacamole, I use what I have on hand. A lot of folks use lemon or lime juice, but we like a creamy guacamole, so I use mayonnaise (it has vinegar in it). The lemon juice helps to slow the browning process. I have the same luck with mayonnaise. If I don't have salsa, I throw in onion, garlic, and green chili and some cayenne pepper or tabasco sauce. There's a lot of different ways to make it - experiment! Guacamole doesn't keep - so don't make it until you're ready to eat it. I like to make it with room temperature avacados, then I put in the fridge for about 20 minutes. You must put the plastic wrap right on the guacamole surface, so no air will get to it. It turns brown fast, this is the best way we've been able to keep it from going brown before we eat it! We like it with chips of course, but it's most excellent on cheese burgers with bacon.

Chicken Stock

So the other day I went to Safeway, and in the marked down meat I found chicken leg quarters for 50% off! Chicken leg quarters are the leg with the thigh attached. So I got 10lbs for $5.00. Two 5 pound packages! They were still in date for two days! So, I threw one package in the freezer and the other I put in my largest stockpot, added an onion, couple carrots, a few garlic cloves, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, and some parsley. Then, I filled it up as full as I could with water. I brought it up to a boil, then simmered about an hour and a half. I pulled out the chicken and de-boned it (when it was cool enough to handle) - I got enough chicken for 2 casseroles. That went in the freezer. I put the whole stock pot in the fridge until the next day. The next day, all the fat had hardened to the top of the stock, I scooped that out and tossed it. I strained the remaining broth into my other stock pot, and boiled it up for about 5 minutes. Then I poured it into clean jars and sealed. Now I have 4 quarts of glorious home-made chicken stock!!! I use a lot of chicken stock in my recipes. You can use it for soup, to make rice, gravy, even to just flavor vegetables. The bonus is - I have another package in the freezer, which will make all of the above!! (enough chicken for 2 casseroles and 4 quarts of stock). All-in-all that's 4 meals and a lot of stock! This is smart shopping- yay!