Accident Prawn Strikes Again!

Several months ago, I shared with you about a little rough patch I was having where every time I turned around, I seemed to fall down, bang into large pieces of furniture, burn myself or trip over something. One day, I even managed to get my hand slammed in my car door at the supermarket. It was after that last one, that my clever, sweet and funny friend, Manggy from No Special Effects, bestowed upon me the nickname "Accident Prawn".

Accident Prawn? Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!

Mr. SGCC and I laughed our heads off over that one. But, the funniest part was that the name stuck! Ever since, whenever I've dropped, spilled, tripped or slipped, I've been pelted with the taunting strains of "Watch out! There goes Accident Prawn!" or "Uh oh! Accident Prawn strikes again!" Even Mini SGCC has gotten into the act!

Well folks, though it pains me to say it, (and I mean really pains me), Accident Prawn has indeed struck again.

It all started on Friday morning when I was getting dressed to go out. I wanted to wear a pair of new jeans that I had recently gotten. A pair of new jeans in a size smaller than all my other ones. The jeans were a little long, but I didn't want to waste time hemming them. Instead, I decided to just wear higher heels. (Vanity is the quicksand of reason.) I dug out my favorite pair of Michael Kors sandals and slipped them on. With a four-inch heel, they kept the hem of my jeans off of the floor. My "skinny" jeans and I were good to go.

My jeans and I teetered all around town. We went to my office for a while to catch up on some work. We went to the post office, the dry cleaners, the supermarket and Mini SGCC's school. We had a perfectly enjoyable and uneventful day. Then, we went home.

We were carrying a bag of groceries in through the garage. That's when the inevitable happened. There was a small puddle of condensation from the air conditioner on the garage floor. I didn't see it until it was too late.

CRASH, BAM, BOOM!!!

The next thing I knew, my jeans and I were airborne! When we landed, milk, flour, broken eggs and the contents of my beloved Marc Jacobs bag were strewn everywhere. As I lay on that gross and grimy concrete floor, (Oh, shut up! It was the garage, people! Who washes their garage floor, for chrissakes?), I became acutely aware of throbbing pain in an elbow, a wrist, a knee, my head and especially a foot. My driving foot, to be exact. Oh yeah, there was blood too. This was not good news!

When my eyes were able to focus again, I realized that I was wedged between the bike rack and some huge sheets of plywood that we keep around in the event of a hurricane. I tried to get some leverage so that I could hoist myself up, but I couldn't. My injured foot wouldn't support me. No one else was home, so I was pretty much stuck there until someone came to rescue me.

shitfuckshitfuckshitfuckshitfuckSHITFUCK!!!

After about ten or fifteen minutes, (which seemed like hours), Mr. SGCC came tooling up the street and into the driveway. He was my knight in shining armor, except his armor was a gray business suit and his horse was a red Prius! After he helped me up and dusted me off, he guided me inside and over to the couch, where I spent the rest of the evening and most of yesterday with a bag of frozen peas resting on my foot.

Needless to say, for physical and emotional reasons, cooking a complicated meal for dinner was out of the question. However, there was no way I was able to hobble my sorry butt out to a restaurant either. We actually ended up thawing out some of that wonderful Beef Barley Soup that I made last week and had it with some leftover roasted chicken. But, if I had been able to cook, this awesome and very simple chicken dish that I made a few weeks ago would have been a perfect choice. It practically cooks itself!

It is called Chicken Orzo, and I found the recipe in a cookbook called Cooking Greek Style, put out by the St. Barbara Philoptochos Society of St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church here in Sarasota.

The original recipe calls for the dish to be cooked on the stove. I think it turns out better when baked in the oven. Either way, it makes for a delicious, hearty and satisfying meal, especially on a nippy Fall day.

Coincidentally, I found the Accident Prawn illustration on a web site called Uneetee. They sponsor a T-shirt design contest each year and it was this year's winner. The artwork is by an artist named Loy. Check out the site if you're interested. I just might have to get one for myself!

Chicken Orzo

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

4 pounds chicken pieces (I used thighs this time)

1 stick of butter

1 large sweet onion, chopped

1 pint mushrooms, sliced (You can use any kind you like. I used Baby Bellas.)

3 cups chicken broth mixed with 2 cups water

2 cups orzo

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt half of the butter in a large Dutch oven or other ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Brown chicken pieces in batches on both sides. Add more butter, a little at a time, if needed. Remove and set aside.

Saute onions and mushrooms in remaining butter until onions are soft and translucent. Add chicken back to the pot and stir.

Mix in broth/water mixture, cover and bake in the oven until chicken is just about cooked through, about 45 minutes.

Add the orzo, salt and pepper and mix well. Add a little more water if needed. The orzo should be kind of soupy, but not drowning in liquid. Continue to bake until liquid is absorbed and orzo is tender. This should take about 20-30 minutes.

Remove to a serving platter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. You could also serve this with some Greek yogurt on the side.

Enjoy!

Here are some other chicken recipes you might enjoy from the SGCC archives:

Oven Baked Corn Flake Crumb Chicken

Apricot Glazed Chicken with Dried Plums and Sage

Kickin' Chicken