Leftover KFC casserole (again)
Dear Reader,
Hello, I hope you’ve enjoyed a good week. In case you’re wondering, my post from last week has vanished. It was published, and then I saw an error message from WordPress, and it was gone. I had written about my fabulous weekend in Brisbane, visiting a couple of my daughters and my parents. Last week’s post focussed on the meal we enjoyed on Saturday evening.
It’s a time to reflect on 2022.
The end of this year has been different to the end of 2021. Last year the workload and the pace of work were close to being uncontrolled. It was frenetic. The nature of the work resulted from policy decisions made by different authorities, and the ramifications culminated in unforeseen and challenging to execute procedures. This year, the volume of work and the pace have been manageable. Yet, I feel exhausted.
It’s been a year of ups and downs. The highs have been extraordinary, and the lows have been painful physically, mentally, and psychologically. I will not expand here. That’s why I have a journal. Suffice it to say even though I’m on-call over Christmas; I’m looking forward to a week of escaping.
What about 2023?
There’s a lot on the horizon at work next year. There will be significant changes, including changes in the organisation’s structure. There will also be new ways of working. I usually approach substantial changes with a good measure of cynicism and some scepticism and apply as much sarcasm as possible. At least I do this internally. The only time I can let loose with dark, cynical sarcasm is with some colleagues in my unpaid gig who have a similar dark outlook. I battle the inner Gary and go with the changes in my paid job.
Next year, I need a break and a change in thinking. If I review my approach to life through a SWOT analysis, I tend to find comfort in my strengths and monitoring threats. Next year needs to be about weaknesses and opportunities. This year I’ve seen how I can hurt and be hurt. I have regrets and need to make amends and be a better human.
Through another lens, like the outdated comprehensive approach[i] to emergency management, I like to live and work in “preparation” and “response”, and I tend to eschew “prevention” and “recovery”. Hats off to the people who relish recovery. That’s hard work.
Next year I need to think about prevention and recovery. That will mean more consultations with my general practitioner and heeding his advice more. I also plan to read more, go beyond the clarity of physical pathology, and explore psychological pathologies.
What about blogging?
This year, more than most, I’ve considered deleting my blogs. Some family members have asked me to remove and delete some references to them, considering privacy breaches that have occurred with some large companies in Australia. I’m grateful they are becoming more cybersecurity aware.
I’ve all but ceased to write in one blog, and I sustain Yummy Lummy and Random Yummy because of the interaction with people who read the posts. Yummy Lummy is for the weekly recipe, while Random Yummy will be for the short form of a weekday meal. That said, social interaction on social media is limited and limiting.
I still regard blogging as a hobby, and I need a hobby. We’ll see; I may post less frequently.
Recipe
I’m currently in a contrarian mood. Usually, at Christmas, I think about poultry and joints of meat plus custard and pavlova[ii]. This year my mind is feeling a little differently. I’m home alone and ate a seafood extravaganza last weekend. I plan to watch TV and relax with a simple meal.
One of the most viewed posts on this blog is one for leftover KFC casserole. It gets visited every month. I must have hit a search engine optimisation sweet spot with that post.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total |
| 2017 | 67 | 32 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 125 | ||||||
| 2018 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 27 | 34 | 49 | 62 | 37 | 61 | 24 | 58 | 26 | 398 |
| 2019 | 12 | 17 | 24 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 18 | 50 | 37 | 5 | 40 | 53 | 290 |
| 2020 | 55 | 11 | 10 | 30 | 165 | 196 | 113 | 149 | 168 | 150 | 138 | 122 | 1,307 |
| 2021 | 168 | 187 | 198 | 153 | 141 | 143 | 183 | 206 | 174 | 138 | 105 | 125 | 1,921 |
| 2022 | 140 | 174 | 147 | 127 | 140 | 141 | 125 | 134 | 110 | 72 | 74 | 44 | 1,428 |
I’m guessing during COVID-19, there was a lot more KFC being ordered and delivered during the period of restriction.
Ingredients
- Leftover KFC pieces. I use the breast pieces because they are usually tough and dry, and I figure stringy dry breasts could do with some extra moisture and slow tenderisation. Besides, I ate all the thigh pieces on Christmas eve. I’m very much a thigh person. I always have been.
- Parsley. The parsley is for the garnish.
- Portobello mushrooms[iii]. I like the big brown ones.
- Green peppercorns. These peppercorns add a nice zing to the dish.
- White wine. White wine helps. I think water would be fine. I’m guessing there would be friends who would prefer red wine.
- Queensland nuts[iv]. We’ve discussed this before on the blog. Queensland nuts are native to southeast Queensland and found in northern New South Wales. The trees which grow the nuts are in the genus Macadamia. The genus contains at least three species. Hawaiians imported the nuts, and Americans popularised “macadamia” to avoid referencing Queensland.
- Cream of chicken soup. A tin or packet of this soup is a time saver, so you can avoid making cream of chicken soup from scratch.
- Celery. Slice roughly.
- Celeriac. Dice roughly with a sharp meat cleaver.
- Onion. Chopped or sliced.
- Carrot. Diced into chunks.
Instructions
- In a casserole or sturdy baking dish, place the leftover pieces of KFC.
- Add some roughly cut mushrooms. You could also use tinned champignons in butter.
- Toss in the celeriac, celery, carrot, and onion, and poke the vegetables between the pieces of KFC.
- Give the can of soup a vigorous shake and pour over the food in the casserole. Rinse out the can with a bit of white wine, and run that in too. You want to ensure the liquid gets about halfway up the side of the baking tray, so there is sufficient water to keep everything juicy and moist.
- Add in a couple of tablespoons of green peppercorns. These will add a nice zing to the dish, which seems fitting, although the KFC Zinger® is hardly spicy. I think I’ve only ever eaten one KFC burger.
- Once everything is in the casserole or baking tray, add a lid if it has one. If there is no lid, use some aluminium foil. Make sure it is a snug fit. Tight is better than loose. The aim is to avoid moisture loss which will leave the breasts dry.
- Place in a hot oven at 200 °C for one hour.
- After one hour, remove the lid, sprinkle on a little grated cheese, and then return to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes without the cover.
- Once the cheese has become brown and crispy, remove the tray from the oven and allow the casserole some rest.
- Spoon the KFC casserole onto a dinner plate or into a shallow bowl and garnish with roughly chopped parsley.
Variation
- Depending on your circumstances, you can cook this a day or two before you plan to eat it. I’d stop at the adding cheese stage, transfer the casserole’s contents into an airtight container, and refrigerate it. When you reheat the food, use a thermometer to check the temperature of the chicken breast meat. I aim for about 76 °C.
- The flavours will intensify.
In other news
Twitter has suspended my Yummy Lummy account. I was updating the profile section and received a message that Twitter is for people older than 13. I’m attempting to appeal the suspension.
With Facebook banning this blog and not permitting an appeal, it seems social media platforms aren’t happy with this blog.
Final thoughts
- How did you celebrate Christmas in terms of food? What will you be eating?
- If you don’t celebrate Christmas, did you do anything special? I’ve read that Jewish people eat takeaway Chinese food or eat in Chinese restaurants in some parts of the world.
- Do you want to share any reflections about your 2022? Feel free to add some words in the comments section of this post.
- Are there Christmas movies or TV you like to watch?
Photographs
Here is a gallery of photographs. You can click on one and scroll through them.
Endnotes
[i] https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/handbook-australian-emergency-management-arrangements/
[ii] Mostly because my favourite Boxing Day breakfast is leftover pavlova. It feels naughty but at the same time, there’s usually fruit involved.
[iii] Agaricus bisporus
[iv] from the tree in the genus Macadamia.
I do hope you find a way to continue your blogging, I’ve always enjoyed your posts. Here is to a better, happier and more relaxed new year.
Hi Karen, thanks and likewise, I hope 2023 is a beautifully joy-filled one for you
Happy New Year Gary!! Every time I see your recipes I’m convinced that we have similar tastes. I’m sorry to hear that twitter suspended your account. Is that an Elon thing? I barely look at twitter but have heard about all of his carry on. I’m glad that you’ve kept this blog though. Here’s to a great 2023 for you!
Hi Lorraine,
Thanks, I agree. I think it’s why I enjoy your blog so much.
I was playing with some profile settings and accidentally clicked on birth year incorrectly. I suddenly got a message that Twitter is for people older than 13. Fat thumbs and fingers on the keyboard!
I hope you and Mr NQN and your pets have a wonderful 2023.
I’m sorry about your hardships. I do hope you’ll continue with the blog, because I enjoy it, but I can understand how much work it is and how time consuming.
To answer your questions, I celebrated Christmas by inviting a couple of friends over for the extended weekend. I planned an extravagant Christmas Eve meal, and several days-worth of breakfasts, thinking that we’d eat out the rest of the time. Then we got snowed in, and I had to cook three meals a day for everyone, which wasn’t something I really wanted to have to do. It turned my “vacation” into a ton of hard work. One of my guests is a good cook, and could’ve helped, but he came down with the flu and we had to banish him to the back bedroom! And then there was all the shoveling. But the snow was beautiful, and it was good not only to have friends, but to be with them.
I have to say, though, that on the whole, I had a good 2022. I had one of the best summers of my life – and that was quite a highlight.
I had no idea you were a Trek fan! I’m a HUGE Trek fan. “Enterprise” had issues, to be sure, and I felt they were finally working them out, but too late … so I’m not surprised it was cancelled. Have you watched any of the recent series?
I have to confess to liking Hallmark-type Christmas movies. But you can only see a few, or they very quickly become cloying.
Wow, Jeff, that sounds like an eventful Christmas weekend.
I’m grateful that I don’t have to contend with snow here. At the moment, we’re experiencing some delightful summer weather.
Star Trek is like comfort food in some ways. I’m currently in season two of my Enterprise rewatch and enjoying it.
I look forward to 2023 and reading your blog. It’s always full of great cooking tips and ideas.
Cannot believe you were taken off Twitter–although, that place seems to be an unmade bed of a whining child. FB is just annoying. But, not seeing you would make me miss you. I think of you often while in the kitchen, but it is nice to read you in my emails!! One of the most interesting things I made this year was a chocolate log. Unfortunately, the chocolate ‘shavings’ looked more like sawdust left by an angry beaver than curls of chocolate! But, it didn’t taste like sawdust!! Another fun thing I’ve been making are tater patties. Except the spouse calls them lefse, which is NOT right. These are thick and have cheese and leftover meat in them. Lefse is a flat potato tortilla. Thinking of you even thinking about retiring makes me feel old. Gary, we cannot be ready to do that yet!!!!!!!!!! Although, to be fair, my body feels much older than a vintage 65 mustang!!! More like the one in the garage covered by a tarp and left for the squirrels. Speaking of vintage, best Christmas movies. The last year added a couple more to my favorite holiday movie lineup. The first is a Bogart movie, ‘We’re No Angels’. So much fun!!!!!! The other is also old and in black and white, ‘The Man Who Came to Dinner.’ It defies description and is awful and hilarious!
Hi Kris,
Twitter and Facebook have changed a lot. When I started on Twitter, it was much more social, and I met people worldwide. Now it seems to be a place for people to vent their political, sexual, and religious views and to become mean when people ask questions.
I started a new Twitter account for food at https://twitter.com/randomyummy
I saw some of your posts on Facebook with your chocolate log and potato creations. They looked great. I’m sure they tasted and continue to taste great no matter what they’re called.
In my mind, I’m still a young man; it’s a pity my body continues to decay.
Instead of Die Hard and The Hunt for Red October, which I had planned on, I started a rewatch of Enterprise. I’m enjoying it.
Can’t go wrong with Star Trek!!!!!! <3 The Hunt for Red October is a Christmas movie????
Yes, The Hunt for Red October is set around Christmas time.
I’ll be jiggered!!!!!!!
Hi Gary, I think that loads of people would love to veg out in front of the telly on Christmas day instead of enduring a stressful day with relatives they can’t stand. If you post less we will understand. I think the problem with working in the health service is that they keep trying to change things eg command and control versus local decision making, moving around teams, a new IT system or “upgrade”, clinicians as managers v managers as managers. By the time you’ve been round the block a few times it gets extremely wearing. I would say it is just a feature of being middle aged. The good thing is that you will LOVE retirement. What a beautiful view from your balcony. Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year.
Hi Katharine,
Thanks. I look forward to being retired and enjoying my hobbies.
Methinks your most valuable and enjoyable professional years are as yet to come ! And why should anyone working with their mind ever ‘retire’ ? My late MIL was still pulling her weight at 95, was a delight to her (literal) lovers at 97 and said a brief adieu three months before turning 100 having thoroughly enjoyed her life . . . . why hang up your boots halfway thru’ the trip . . . 🙂 ?
I didn’t say what age I would choose for retirement. While the Australian Public Service doesn’t stipulate an age, I don’t see the recommended retirement ages as an end. There are always options.
Oh Gary Lum – you knew you would hear from this bird a few hours north . . . tho” I honestly do not know i dare wish you anything at all for what is left of Christmas !!! Have just read your rant and thoroughly enjoyed it ! Well not all ‘approved’ but ‘enjoyed’ ! You have a gorgeous view out of the window and rather handsome toe nails to boot ! The Christmas Feast looks acceptable enough . . . tho’ I would not touch KFC with a bargepole – pity the grape does not make an appearance and I cannot ‘growl’ about ALL that much ice cream on Christmas Day !!! At least the very hot Thai green curry I ended up having had quite a few glasses of a rather beaut chardonnay attached ! Oh, the glass is not empty ! Christmas – hope you did not delete the Joe Hildebrand article I sent you yesterday . . . I just say I am Buddhist and am in peace ! The year? . . . if my IQ even vaguely reaches what you have put down . . . too many of 2022’s frustrations and quiet angers seem similar . . . I bury mine less than you do . . . easier !!!!! . . . but many of your aims for the year coming travel in the same direction as mine . . . feel good about life for the rest of the day and tomorrow and the day after . . . life is not about celebrations but being content > happy ! . . . I daresay hugs are not part of your life . . . 🙂 !
Hi Eha, thanks, Thai green curry sounds perfect for Christmas lunch. Enjoy another glass for me. I’m enjoying a ginger ale with some torn mint leaves.
I hope the rest of your day is enjoyable and fruitful.