Chicken Cutlets with Bacon, Rosemary, and Lemon

Wednesday night, Kate and Spencer came over to have dinner with us and to celebrate my birthday a little early.  They are moving to Michigan next week and will miss out on our other birthday plans.  They brought a delicious green salad that had lots of cheese, bacon bits, romaine lettuce, and red bell pepper, tossed with croutons and a vinaigrette.  Additionally, we had whole wheat couscous and the following main dish.

I was soo hungry that I forgot to take a photo until I was almost done eating.

CHICKEN CUTLETS WITH BACON, ROSEMARY, AND LEMON
- from Cook's Country magazine

Ingredients:
5 slices bacon, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:
1. Fry bacon in large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon with slotted spoon to plate lined with paper towels. Spoon off all but 2 tablespoons bacon fat.

2. Meanwhile, place flour in shallow dish. Season chicken with salt and pepper, dredge in flour, and shake to remove excess. Add butter to reserved bacon fat in skillet and heat over high heat, swirling to melt butter. When foam subsides, reduce heat to medium-high and cook chicken until browned on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate, leaving fat in skillet and over loosely with foil.

3. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic, rosemary, and pepper flakes.  Cook until garlic is browned and crisp, about 2 minutes. Add broth and lemon juice, scrape up browned bits from bottom of skillet with wooden spoon, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 4 minutes.

4. Return chicken and bacon to pan and simmer, turning chicken once or twice, until sauce is thick and glossy, 2 to 3 minutes. Adjust seasonings and serve.

Notes: 
1. I used chicken tenderloins instead of full breasts.  They cooked evenly and were very tender and delicious.  The only downside is that it takes longer to cook them.  I ended up adding more butter and bacon grease to get through all of the tenderloins.  

2. It is best to not have to clean puke off of your kitchen floor while the bacon is crisping.  It really makes it difficult not to burn it.  How is it that I can offer this advice?  Well, Kyle choked on a tortilla chip while in the kitchen and proceeded to puke ALL OVER THE FLOOR.  Yes, ALL OVER IT.  I managed to clean up the chunks just in time to wash my hands and prevent the bacon from burning.  After the bacon crisis was over, I was able to wet swifter the floor.  Then, Ben went to work with the Clorox wipes.  Ugh...it definitely delayed the meal.  
 

 

Spicy Peanut Chicken with Rice

I was supposed to have made this dish on Thursday, but a moldy bell pepper and a preschool ice cream social got in my way.  My plan was to take the kids with me to the store this afternoon to get another pepper, but I just didn't want to in the downpour.  It wasn't worth it for one ingredient.  I was ready to figure out another dinner option when Ben suggested making the dish without the bell pepper.  Although I prefer it with the pepper, it was still delicious.  I got the skillet really hot tonight and was worried that the garlic, ginger and chicken were going to burn.  Thankfully, they didn't, and the dish was better than ever! 

SPICY PEANUT CHICKEN

½ cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
½ teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, cut into ¾-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, finely chopped or crushed
2 teaspoons grated gingerroot
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into ¾-inch pieces
1/3 cup unsalted cocktail peanuts

1. Mix broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and red pepper.
2. Heat 12-inch skillet (or if you’re advanced, a wok) over high heat. Add oil, and stir-fry chicken, garlic, and gingerroot until chicken is done (about 3 minutes).
3. Add bell pepper to chicken and stir-fry for about 1 minute.
4. Add cornstarch mixture to chicken. Cook and stir about 1 minute or until sauce thickens. Stir in peanuts.
5. Serve over garlic rice. (see recipe below)

GARLIC RICE

Heat a little vegetable oil to your rice pan. Add a clove of minced garlic to the oil once it is heated. Add the rice to the pan and let it get a little opaque. Add chicken stock instead of water and bring to a boil. (Use the ratio of 1 part rice to 2 parts liquid.) Cover and simmer on low for 20-25 minutes.

April 11, 2012- Chicken and Prosciutto Salad

Yes, I know it has been months since I last posted. My excuses? Difficult pregnancy and an active toddler. I think that is plenty justification for my absence. I have no expectation or hope of maintaining a daily blog like I used to. But, I do think I will use this blog to highlight exceptional new recipes we have tried. For example, I prepared a Chicken and Prosciutto Salad with Arugula and Asiago, from Cooking Light magazine, last night and it was delicious! Here's the recipe:

Chicken and Prosciutto Salad with Arugula and Asiago

Ingredients

2 (1-ounce) slices sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Cooking spray

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided $

2 ounces very thin slices prosciutto, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 (5-ounce) packages baby arugula

1 1/2 ounces Asiago cheese, shaved and divided (about 1/3 cup)

6 ounces shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Place bread cubes on a baking sheet, and lightly coat with cooking spray. Add basil and garlic powder; toss well. Place bread mixture in preheating oven; bake for 8 minutes or until crisp.

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add prosciutto; sauté 4 minutes or until prosciutto is crisp. Drain on paper towels.

4. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons oil, juice, and salt in a small bowl; stir well with a whisk. Place arugula, half of cheese, and juice mixture in a large bowl; toss well to coat. Divide arugula mixture evenly among 6 plates; divide chicken, prosciutto, tomatoes, remaining cheese, and croutons evenly over salads.

Note:
The recipe is designed to make 6 servings.  I modified it for 2, making it a main dish rather than a side salad.  I basically used the same amount of chicken, croutons, prosciutto, and cheese as called for in the recipe and only served 2. I used less arugula, dressing, and tomatoes than the recipe called for.

August 11, 2011- Marinated Chicken & Home Grown Green Beans

Yes, it's been a very long time since I blogged.  And, no, I am not going to get caught up.  But, tonight's dinner was such a hit that I had to write about it.  I've just been too busy to keep up with a daily blog.

In May, my parents came to town and helped build two raised garden beds in our backyard.  They gave them to me for Christmas.  I have had some successes and some failures in what I chose to plant.  The spinach was a big failure.  The plants came up quickly, and then bolted just as quickly.  The plants never got big enough to harvest from.  One tomato plant just didn't make the transplant.  My broccoli was attacked by worms and then aphids.  We'll see if they ever produce anything to eat.  The lettuce came up quickly, and then just sat there, unproductive.  I'm not sure it will ever grow enough to harvest.  

Our success has come from the herbs, green beans, green onions, carrots, and, to some extent, strawberries.  I've had to cut the cilantro back over and over again.  Right now I am letting it go to see to see what coriander looks like:)  Our carrots continue to grow.  I'm not a big carrot eater, but Katie and Ben like them.  I figure we can donate what we don't eat to the food bank.  The green onions are healthy and growing.  Our strawberry plants have been producing sweet fruit, just not a ton.  

Tonight we harvested five strawberries and enough green beans to feed our family. I planted two kinds of green beans--pole and bush.  Katie and I picked a few of each variety tonight.  After tasting both, I have decided that the pole beans are too stringy for my liking.  Next year, I'm sticking with the deliciously sweet bush beans.  Here's cute Katie with our harvest:)

And, here's how I prepared the green beans:

GARLIC & PEPPER GREEN BEANS

Directions:

1.  Add trimmed green beans to a skillet of boiling water and cook for 3-5 minutes, until tender crisp.

2.  Remove beans and set aside.  Dump out the remaining water.

3.  Return the skillet to the burner on medium heat.  Add a little butter and a little olive oil, enough to coat the bottom of the pan.

4.  Add diced garlic, kosher salt, black pepper, and a couple dashes of red pepper flakes.  Saute until garlic starts to brown.

5.  Return green beans to the pan and toss in the garlic, pepper oil, cooking for another minute.

I also served grilled chicken breasts that I marinated in Grill Mates Tomato, Basil and Garlic marinade this afternoon.  Grilled on Direct Medium heat for 9-10 minutes, the chicken was almost perfect:) 

July 17, 2011- Chicken Enchiladas

This morning Ben flew off to Maine for a week of business meetings.  My goal for the week is to keep Katie busy and happy.  I guess that should be my goal every week, but it is most important without Ben to back up my lack of patience at the end of each day.  My strategy is to limit the battles I pick with Katie to those things that will lead to someone or something being hurt or damaged, behaviors that we never stand for, and blatant defiance.  As far as food goes, I'm going to let her dictate what she wants to eat.  It will definitely make my life easier this week.  The last thing I want is for Ben to come home to a cranky, exhausted wife.

For dinner, I reheated the left over enchilada from earlier this week.  I sat Katie on my lap and let her be in charge of the fork as much as possible.  She "helped" me cut it into small bites and even let her feed me a couple times.  She thought that was a hoot.  In the end, we were both full and still happy.  Great! 

July 16, 2011- Studio Chicken in Phyllo

A couple weeks ago my friend Jamie sent me a message to see how I was doing.  She told me she missed seeing new recipes on my blog.  She was right--I wasn't trying anything new.  I hadn't realized how much I had gotten stuck in a rut.  This week I made sure to work something new into my menu.  I was just winging it on the enchiladas last night, but tonight I planned something special:)

For one of my bridal showers over six years ago, I got a lovely little cookbook called "A Taste for Love: A Romantic Cookbook for Two" by Elizabeth M. Harbison and Mary McGowan.  I've only used it a couple times, but found a recipe in it this week that I thought I would be brave and try.  The bravery was needed for two things.  1- It calls for mustard which I usually don't like.  2- It is made with phyllo dough, which I've never used before. 

Before I give you the recipe, I have to say that I did the phyllo dough all wrong, but it tasted fine anyway.  Also, I was nervous about the mustard, but the tarragon and cream made a huge difference.  I really liked it!  It's a very rich entree, so we won't be making it frequently.  But, we liked it enough to make again.  Maybe quarterly:)  Okay, here's the recipe.

STUDIO CHICKEN IN PHYLLO

Purchase phyllo dough in the frozen food section of your grocery store.  Be sure to keep it moist by covering it with a damp towel as you are working with it or it will dry and crumble in your hands.

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast, boneless, skinless and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon peanut oil

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/8 cup country Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

10 phyllo sheets

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Place the chicken pieces, seasoned salt, and flour in a 1-quart plastic bag.  Close the bag and shake until the chicken pieces are coated.

3. Over medium-heat, bring the oil to bubbling in a small saute pan.  Place the chicken pieces in the pan and saute until the juices no longer run pink, about 5 minutes.  Transfer the chicken to a warm plate and keep it warm.

4. Reduce the heat to medium.  Whisk the mustard into the chicken drippings.  Add the tarragon and reduce slightly.  Whisk in the cream, blending it all thoroughly.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce is reduced by one fourth.  Add the chicken to sauce, remove from the heat, and set aside.

5. Brush a shallow 1-quart casserole with melted butter.  Lay 1 phyllo sheet into the casserole, patting to fit sides.  Brush it down with the melted butter.  Repeat the process with 4 more phyllo sheets.  Fill the casserole with the chicken mixture.  Layer 5 more phyllo sheets on top of chicken, buttering between each sheet. 

6. Trim excess phyllo to within 1 inch of dish edge.  Tuck the phyllo edges under and brush with butter. 

7. Bake for 15 minutes, or until top is crisply browned.

Notes:

1. As I mentioned above, I've never worked with phyllo dough before.  I knew that it was in the freezer and that it needed to be kept moist, but I didn't think to read the box to see that it should be thawed for two hours before using.  Instead, I opened up the box and the plastic bag it came in and started to unroll it.  Yeah...that wasn't the right thing to do.  It just cracked and crumbled apart.  Not having two hours to thaw it, I decided to just go with it.  I took the thin, somewhat frozen pieces and layered them to represent full sheets of dough.  It was a little difficult to brush on the butter since the dough kept wanted to come up with the brush, but I got it to work.

2. I used olive oil since I didn't have any peanut oil.  The substitution worked just fine.  

3. I didn't have a 1 quart dish shallow dish, so I used a 1.5 quart dish with 3 inch sides.  

4. I don't know what makes a dijon mustard "country."  I just bought one that looked more interesting in texture than Grey Poupon.  

5. The 6th step in the instructions didn't make sense to me.  I just put on the 5 layers of phyllo, brushed with butter between each layer, and pushed down the edges so that they wouldn't get crispy.  It seemed to work just fine. 

July 15, 2011- Chicken Enchiladas

I make enchiladas for the first time tonight.  I didn't do much research before deciding to try this.  They weren't bad, but I definitely could work on improving them.  If you have any great techniques or recipes you like for enchiladas, please send them my way:)  While he's never made them for me before, Ben told me during dinner that he usually doesn't mix sauce in with the chicken.  He has only poured it over the top before.  Here's how I made them:

1. I prepped a casserole dish with a little bit of non-stick spray and pre-heated the oven to 375 degrees
2. I took the rotisserie chicken that I shredded last night, heated it in a skillet, added 3/4 cup of mild enchilada sauce and a cup of cheese. 
3. I spooned the chicken/sauce/cheese mixture into three wheat tortillas and placed them into the casserole dish, seam side down.
4. I pour the rest of the can of sauce over the tortillas and topped with more shredded cheese. 
5. The enchiladas baked for 25 minutes.

Katie didn't have a big lunch, so I was not surprised when she wanted to eat dinner before the enchiladas were cooked.  She asked for and ate a bowl of oatmeal along with some cheddar cheese before Ben came home.  When Ben and I started to eat, she came over to ask "Whatcha doin?"  I told her I was eating and asked if she wanted a bite.  To my surprise, she said yes.  And then she said "I like that" and asked to be up on my lap.  There she sat for the rest of the meal, eating my enchilada.  I guess she was still hungry:)

July 14, 2011- Rotisserie Chicken & Salad

I had planned on buying a rotisserie chicken at Fred Meyer on Monday, but we were there too early to get one.  We went to Safeway, which is a bit closer to our house, to pick one up this afternoon after Katie's nap.  It was a fantastic chicken.  Much better than Fred Meyer's if you ask our family.  The chicken was moist and full of flavor.   It was definitely worth the extra dollar or two it costs to buy the Safeway chicken instead of the Fred Meyer one.  I served a salad made of butter lettuce, raspberries, and glazed walnuts for our side dish.  Katie had chicken and raspberries.

After dinner,  I removed and shredded the remaining meat from the chicken bones.  I'll end up using that in a meal tomorrow. 

July 13, 2011- Smoothies

Tonight we were all over the place with dinner.  Ben worked a bit late; so, Katie and I ate before we picked him up from work.  I made fruit smoothies for Katie and me out of the fruit and juice I had in the fridge and freezer.  I didn't measure out the ingredients, but here's what I put in them:

• Frozen banana, strawberries, blueberries, peaches.
• Orange/pineapple/strawberry juice.
• Water to thin it out a bit.

Katie seemed to really like her smoothie. I served it to her in a reused Red Robin plastic cup with a bendy straw.  She called it a fruit drink.  That works for me:)  In addition to the smoothie, she had pepperoni slices and cheddar cheese for her meal.  I had an Atkins food bar since I wasn't very hungry.  

Knowing Ben would be hungry when we picked him up, we took him some chicken strips we had left over from our lunch today.  They definitely hit the spot.  When we got home, he ate a few more of the pan fried chicken tenders I cooked up on Monday.  While no longer crispy, they were still good. 

July 11, 2011- Pan Fried Chicken Tenders

Tonight I made my best pan fried chicken tenders ever.  I didn't change much in my process except I was more patient.  I lightly coated the chicken tenderloins in a mixture of flour, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and a little cayenne pepper.  I heated olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat and added the chicken.  I dropped in a little butter to increase the smoke point.  (Thanks Food Network for that tip years ago.)  And then, I waited and waited and waited until they turned golden brown on the pan side before flipping them. 

While they were cooking, I thought I would quickly unload the dishwasher.  Katie was trying to "help", but she doesn't help or listen very well with dishes at this age.  While I was putting glasses into the cupboard, she started to pulled out a large glass mug.  I told her NO, asked her to put it down, but she didn't.  It quickly slipped out of her hands and shattered on the floor.  Thankfully neither of us was hurt.  She cried hard for a minute, but then stayed in the dining room chair and read books while I cleaned up.  So, the patience I needed to wait for the flip side of the chicken to brown came from having to clean up glass in the kitchen.  Hopefully I won't need a glass to break in order for the chicken to be cooked properly the next time. 

We had berry salad of raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries for our side dish. 

July 6, 2011- Baja Citrus Chicken

If you've read my  blog for a while, you know that we use Grill Mates marinade seasoning packets frequently.  The packaging for each variety lists two or three proteins that the flavors will work best with.  I usually don't sway from that list.  But, tonight I decided to try the Baja Citrus marinade on chicken tenderloins.  It was pretty good.  I don't prefer it to some of the other flavors, but it was just fine.  I marinated the chicken for two hours before broiling it.  I made a salad of butter lettuce, sliced strawberries, glazed walnuts, and poppy seed dressing for our side.  It is such a great summer salad. 

June 29, 2011- Aglio Et Olio with Grilled Chicken

Our friends Laura and David had us over for dinner tonight.  David was in charge of grilling the chicken breasts, tomatoes, and summer squash.  They were all delicious!  Laura made an amazing and simple flavored oil to toss the pasta with.  The pasta dish, Aglio Et Olio, is basically pasta with oil and garlic.  I didn't see the exact recipe she followed, but it included simmering minced garlic and red pepper flakes in oil until the garlic was crispy, but not burned.  She removed the crispy garlic and pepper flakes and drizzled the infused garlic over the pasta.  The crispy bits were served on the side for more kick.  

We brought a green salad with pears, Craisins, and a balsamic vinaigrette to go with the meal.   For dessert, they offered us David's mom's famous mint, chocolate brownies.  We were fortunately to be introduced to these brownies almost a year ago when they got married.  Our eyes lit up when we saw them on a plate:)  Tonight, after dinner, they introduced us to Kinect.  What fun!  We plugged holes in a glass box, jumped in a large river raft, and looked ridiculous doing it.  Katie even got into it, jumping for everything. 

June 28, 2011- Chicken Alfredo and Corn on the Cob

It was our turn to host our PEPS group tonight.  Usually I make something from scratch, but decided I just couldn't add that to my schedule this week.  I opted to purchase chicken alfredo with penne noodles from Costco for our main dish.  It was delicious and super easy.  Preheat oven; bake for an hour; serve.  How nice not to be stressed about getting the food done in time!

We also served corn on the cob for the first time this season.  I think Katie ate 1.5 ears of corn!  The other families brought a green salad and Klondike bars:)

June 26, 2011- Chicken Burritos

We made chicken burritos tonight, using the left over diced, seasoned chicken we had from Friday.  I really appreciate how well the chicken reheats.  It is one of the best left-over foods in my opinion. 

June 24, 2011- Chicken Burritos

I whipped out chicken burritos for dinner tonight.  The chicken tenderloins that I pulled out the freezer were almost defrosted when it was time to start cooking.  That made them the perfect texture for chopping.  When they are completely thawed, it takes a long time to dice them.  I put the diced chicken into a hot skillet with some vegetable oil.  Once cooked completely, I added one and a half packages of Lawry's chicken taco seasoning and a half cup of water.  After the water cooked down, I added the seasoned chicken to burrito tortillas in which I had already shredded cheddar cheese.  We have grown accustomed to using shredded rotisserie chicken for our burritos, but this was equally tasty. 

Katie had some cheddar cheese and left over chicken strips, which were kind of rubbery. 

June 12, 2011- Penne Rustica

Jennifer, Ben, Katie and I drove up to Lynnwood this afternoon to help Kate and Spencer unload their U-Haul trailer.  The trailer was completely unloaded 25 minutes after we arrived!  We all got to meet Kate's dogs Ana and Sota, named for Indiana and Minnesota.  Katie did pretty well with them, but was definitely too nervous to be left alone with them yet.  They are much bigger than she is and would have just knocked her down out of excitement.

After the trailer was unloaded, we went to Macaroni Grill for dinner.  I had Penne Rustica-- roasted chicken and aged prosciutto tossed with Parmesan cream sauce then baked until golden.  Ben and Jennifer shared the same dish, but did not opt out on the shrimp like I did.  We all agreed that they have made their portions a bit more reasonable.  In the past the dish was overwhelmingly large.  Katie had spaghetti with meatballs. While it didn't seem like she ate much, she did keep herself occupied during most of the meal.  Kate and Spencer shared a dish of Pollo Limone Rustica-- roasted chicken sauteed with imported penne pasta, lemon-basil cream sauce and fresh spinach, then baked until golden.

Wednesday, 5/4/2011

Ben helped me get the house back in order after last night's PEPS group.  I can't believe how far the toys were scattered in our house.  Crayons were everywhere.  We had left over chicken fajitas for dinner tonight.  Ben added shredded cheese to his and I added a bit of hot sauce.  I was pleased with how well the chicken reheated.  It was still moist and retained some of the smoky grill flavor.  Since I didn't include the recipe for the chicken last night, here it is.

CHICKEN FAJITAS
from The Weber Gas Grill Cookbook

Ingredients for the marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin


Additional ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 6 ounces each
1 red onion, cut into 1/2" slices
4 plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2" slices
1 red or yellow bell pepper, stem and seeds removed and cut into quarters
6 large flour tortillas
1 avocado, sliced
Salsa

Directions:
1. In a shallow, non-metal container combine the marinade ingredients.  Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels.  Add chicken to the marinade, turning to coat each side.  Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours, turning occasionally.
2. Remove chicken breasts from the marinade and discard the marinade.  Grill the chicken breasts, onion slices, tomato slices, and bell pepper quarters over Direct Medium heat until the meat is no longer pink and the vegetables are tender, turning once halfway through grilling time.  The chicken and onion will take 8 to 12 minutes and the tomato and bell pepper will take 6 to 8 minutes.  Wrap tortillas in foil and place on cooking grate.  Heat for about 1 minutes.  Cut the bell pepper into strip and slice the chicken.  Place chicken, onion, tomatoes, bell pepper and avocado in warm tortillas and roll up to eat.  Serve with salsa.

Tuesday, 5/3/2011

It was our turn to host our PEPS group tonight. I decided to make chicken fajitas before I knew Ben wasn't going to be home for the evening.  He had a business dinner he had to attend.  I knew I could postpone, but I thought I could handle it on my own.  Yikes, I was wrong.  At about 4:30, I realized that I still had a lot of preparations to do to make the house friendly for five kids to be running around.  The group was scheduled to arrive at 6:30 and the table of craft materials had to go upstairs, the folding chairs had to come downstairs, the bathroom needed cleaned, the diaper pail emptied and moved into Katie's room, the counter cleared and cleaned, the dining table uncovered, toys gathered and arranged for play, etc.  And, I still need to cut up the peppers for the meal.  I barely got everything done before the first family arrived.  Well, I got everything done except for turning on the grill.  That definitely should have been done before they arrived.  I answered the door looking quite frazzled and immediately left Katie with Mike and Naomi while I ran out to turn on the grill.

I placed the marinated chicken directly on the grill and the veggies, tomatoes, red onion, and bell peppers, on a tray on the grill.  The propane tank ran out while I was cooking the food.  I'm not sure when it ran out, but my guess was that it stopped right after I flipped the chicken.  I wasn't confident that I knew how to safely remove and replace the tank, so I asked Andy for help.  Turns out, I would have done it correctly, but I am very glad to have had help.  Anyway, it took me an hour to get all of the food grilled, ready for everyone to eat, and finally sit down myself.  I learned that preparing fajitas on a grill takes a lot of coordination and that timing is crucial.  The flavors were good, but the veggies were cold by the time I ate.  I need to thank the other parents for watching Katie while I managed the food prep and Naomi for cutting the peppers for me.  

This was a meal that just took way too long to prepare, and it was next to impossible to have everything finish cooking at the same time.  Also, I barely had enough peppers and tomatoes to go around. I have tons of chicken left over, but the veggies are all gone.  Oh, and I totally underestimated how much salsa our group would consume.  I thought that one container of salsa would be enough for the chips and fajitas.  Nope.  That was a bad estimate.  By the time I was ready to eat, I was able to scrape maybe one teaspoon of salsa out of the container.   So, never again will I host the group by myself.  I definitely needed my other half tonight. 

At the very end of the night, I did my best to take a group shot of the kids.  Talk about impossible! They wouldn't stop moving, and I chose the wrong lens.  With all of the dinner prep, I forgot to prepare for the photo.  Here's the best of the photos I took.  Again, I definitely needed my other half tonight.  

Thursday, 4/28/2011

Our friends Laura and David invited Katie and me to have dinner with them at their new home tonight.  We got a tour of their home and a slinky demonstration while dinner was cooking.  Laura made chicken cacciatore--chicken braised in a tomato-based sauce with onions, garlic, and white wine.  It was my first time having that dish, and I was not disappointed.  It was delicious and seemed relatively easy to make.  Laura was kind to make a dish that was low in carbs to help me out.  I made a green salad with mushrooms and diced bell peppers to go with the meal.  

I brought peas, carrots, and chicken for Katie's dinner.  I forgot to bring her booster seat, so she was a wiggle wart throughout the meal. After we ate, Katie, Laura, and I went to our church choir practice.  The best part of the rehearsal was when Katie decided it was time to start singing.  She stood under the alter and sang at the top of her lungs with the choir.  She wasn't saying any words, but was giving the big "ah" her best.  What a delight to see her starting to "sing."  I wonder how long it will be before she can carry a tune;)

Wednesday, 4/27/2011

Katie and I made it to the grocery store this morning and stocked the fridge for the rest of the week.  I pan fried a pound of chicken tenderloins.  I heated a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil in a skillet, seasoned the chicken with a lemon, sage seasoning salt, and then fried the chicken until a little brown on both sides.  Katie had some of the chicken with carrots and sugar snap peas for dinner.  I cut up the chicken into a green salad with mushrooms, orange bell pepper, and Italian dressing.  It was pretty darn good for a green salad.