Catalina Chicken and Whistling Women
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Cooking does not have to be a complicated thing. Neither does life. Keep it simple whenever possible, like this Catalina Chicken!
This past weekend I came across a book that I could hardly put down. I generally go to bed about an hour early each night to give myself time to read. (Sidenote: It is amazing how much giving up television has improved the quality of my life!).
So I came across this book and I’m going to tell you a little about it, but not enough to spoil it should you decide to read it, too. It’s called Whistling Woman and it is based on the ancestors of the authors. So many of the history, stories, and personalities of the characters echo those of my own heritage. My people were descended from Cherokee and “Black Dutch”, with a little Swedish, Irish, and German thrown in for good measure. The women in this book, and the men, too actually, could have easily been related to me. Their background, personalities, and even some of the family stories sound like they came from my own people.
The main character is a girl named Vashti Lee. Only, she hates that name so she insists that everyone call 
her Bess. Her grandmother is a Cherokee from North Carolina (where my Cherokee ancestors are from). One day, Bess is picking berries with her great grandmother and a lady walks by. Her grandmother tells Bess “She’s a whistling woman”. Bess asks what this means and her grandmother declares “You know what they say, a whistling woman and a crowing hen will never come to a good end. That there is a whistling woman. She whistles all day long and she don’t care none who hears it!”. (This is paraphrased from my memory of the book).
Bess decided right then and there that was exactly the kind of woman she wanted to be. The rest of the book follows along as she grows into a woman, struggles with a life that washes over all of us unexpectedly from time to time, and learns to be strong – just like her grandmother told her she would be someday.
I come from a long line of whistling women. Some might view them as eccentric, head strong, stubborn, or even trouble makers. Some of them were tiny little women in stature but never afraid to go head to head with a man twice their size. So many stories swirl around in my mind that were passed down to teach us inner strength and fortitude, joy and gratitude. Unfortunately, not many of the stories are fit to be shared in such a public venue so you’ll have to catch me when I’m doing one of my talks in person to hear them :). Some of my best friends have been whistling women and those who I admire most..whistlers all.
Looking back on my life and even living it from day to day, I do believe I was born to be a whistling woman.
And I find my whistle becomes louder and more out of tune the older I get…and that suits me and my maker just fine 🙂 You can find out more about this book and buy a copy in paperback or ebook by clicking here.
Today’s recipe is simple. It needs only three ingredients but you can feel free to dress it up and add more if you like. But you know, cooking does not have to be a complicated thing. Neither does life. Keep it simple whenever possible. That gives you more time to whistle 🙂
To make this, you’ll need an onion, a bottle of Catalina Dressing, and some Chicken.
I am using boneless skinless chicken breasts here but you can use whatever you like and you can easily make enough chicken for 6 people with this same recipe, without having to add any additional dressing or onion.
Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker, top with onion and dressing. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or on high, 3-4.
Now we’re gonna make our yummy sauce to go over it!
Oh by the way, when your chicken is done it will be pink. I don’t mean pink like it was before it was cooked, but I mean pink as in the red catalina dressing will have turned it pink. We’re fixin’ to cover that up so don’t worry. Besides, take a spoonful of that sauce or try a forkful of that chicken. Chicken that tastes like that can be any color it wants!
When chicken is done, remove chicken breasts from slow cooker and ladle the sauce into a saucepan.
Take 2-3 tablespoons of flour and vigorously stir it together with equal amounts of water. Pour this into the sauce.
Bring just to a boil over medium heat while stirring constantly.
Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for a few minutes, or until desired thickness.
Pour over chicken.
Enjoy.
Were you destined to be a Whistling Woman? Do you have Whistling Women in your life? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!
Ingredients
- 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 16 ounce bottle Catalina Dressing
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2-3 tablespoons flour
Instructions
- Place chicken in bottom of 5 or 6 quart slow cooker. Top with chopped onion and entire bottle of dressing. Cover and cook on low, 7-8 hours or high, 3-4 hours.
- Once chicken is done remove it to plate and cover with foil to keep it moist. Ladle sauce in slow cooker into a small sauce pot.
- In a cup, vigorously stir together flour with 2-3 tablespoons water using a fork. Pour into pot with sauce.
- Place sauce over medium high heat and bring to a boil stirring constantly with a whisk. Reduce heat to low and simmer until it reaches desired thickness, just a few minutes more. Pour over chicken and serve.
Nutrition
“Many people lose the small joys
in the hope for the big happiness.”
~ Pearl S. Buck
Submitted by Jenny. Click here to submit your own.
Thanks for the recipe will try this with the gravy. Yum…Chicken breasts are on sale this week. The crock pot is always on standby especially during this time of year when we are preserving our vegetables/fruits. I plan to download The Whistling Woman to my kindle sounds like a great read. Have a blessed Day!
Thank you for your kind words about the book. This was written by my cousins. Bess is my great aunt, and Thee was my grandfather. It is amazing to read about my ancestors. There are sequels as well…..hope you can read them as well! Thx again!
Oops….Bess was my great aunt 🙂
“to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” Titus 2:5
As one of the authors of “Whistling Woman”, I cannot thank you enough for talking about our book. This is a wonderful site – I’ve already tried the recipe and love it!
Our great-aunt Bessie, the main character in this series, was truly a whistling woman, a woman who was independent and strong and lived her life the way she saw fit, not by what was dictated to her. We are thrilled you loved the book enough to talk about it and your comments have certainly brightened our day. We cherish readers like you who are so generous and willing to share their thoughts with other readers. God bless.
I make a Catalina chicken similar to this and I add 8 oz. can of crushed pineapple undrained. It’s great. Thanks for your inspiration!
🙂
My grandmother used to say something like this when she would hear me whistle. Guess she thought it wasn’t ladylike. My dad liked to whistle and I wanted to be like him. Got to be a better whistler than my younger brother. HA! My grand mother’s family lived in Texas and her people were probably from the British Isles as there is no memories of any other language being used. Her madden name as Neil.
Thanks for sharing Charlotte!!
My dad also used to say “whistlin’ woman and crowing hen…” when he would hear me whistle. I’d love to know where everyone who had this quoted to them is originally from (state, etc). My dad was from the SC. And he never said this to my older sister. Maybe she didn’t whistle, but more likely it was my personality he was commenting on!
LOL!!!