Yummy food, Kiddos, and Photo a day

Tonight for dinner, straight from the Cook’s Country magazine I made the following recipe:
Lemony Mediterranean Chicken and Rice

Why this recipe works:
To speed up our Easy Mediterranean Chicken and Rice, we started with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which required zero preparation. A salty marinade with garlic, oregano, lemon zest, and olive oil imparted rich Mediterranean flavors to the notoriously bland chicken breasts. Browning the chicken created a rich fond that we used to flavor the rice, which we were able to cook in a fraction of the time by parcooking it in the microwave.
Serves 4
Ingredients

• 1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped, plus 1/4 cup olive brine
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• Salt and pepper
• 4 (6- to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 1/2 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Instructions

• 1. Combine olive brine, 3 tablespoons oil, 1 tablespoon oregano, half of garlic, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, 1½ teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in zipper-lock bag. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and place in bag. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, turning occasionally.
• 2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Heat 1½ teaspoons oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side; transfer to plate. While chicken is cooking, microwave 1¼ cups broth and rice in covered large bowl until liquid is absorbed, 6 to 8 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.
• 3. Add remaining 1½ teaspoons oil and onion to now-empty skillet and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 teaspoons oregano and remaining garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add remaining ¾ cup broth and parcooked rice and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to skillet and cook, covered, over medium-low heat until meat registers 160 degrees and rice is tender, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer chicken to cutting board, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 10 minutes.
• 4. Off heat, stir olives, tomatoes, and 2 tablespoons parsley into rice. Cover and let sit until chicken is ready. Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 tablespoons parsley, remaining 1 teaspoon oregano, and remaining 1 teaspoon lemon zest in bowl. Slice chicken into ½-inch slices, arrange on top of rice, and sprinkle with herb mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Introducing Gremolata

A classic Italian garnish for osso buco (braised veal shanks), gremolata is made from minced parsley, lemon zest, and garlic. We adapted the idea, sprinkling our Lemony Mediterranean Chicken and Rice with parsley, lemon zest, and oregano for fresh, bright flavor.

• Small Package, Big Wallop
  Herbs + lemon zest = flavor.

Family consensus: thumbs up.  These recipes are kind of complicated and time consuming though.  I kind of like the quick 30 – 45 minutes cooking time.  But, I do really like the Gremolata – I just think that it sounds cool and tastes yummy too.  I bet it would taste yummy mixed with couscous or with a little garlic, added to Greek yogurt for a yummy dip.
Over the weekend Mike made the Black and White cookies that are on the cover of Cook’s Country.  I must warn you and add:  DANGER! DANGER!  These cookies are REALLY good.  Each cookie is about the size of a coaster and they are not low fat.  But I have been exercising each day and eating like an angel the rest of the day so I could enjoy a cookie each day, til they are allllll gone.  Mike is helping me of course.  But that is how yummy they are – it is worth the extra discipline!
On to Photo A Day.  I found out (and had heard about it from friends) about this photo a day thing. 
I haven’t posted for a bit but I did take the photos:
Monday 2/13/12– Blue
The most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen.

Tuesday 2/14/12– Heart
From a Young Women activity.

Wednesday 2/15/12 – New
Some fabulous, make me dream of spring/summer shoes I just got in the mail.

Hopefully I can keep it up.

To Groom or Not to Groom

This morning as we were sitting down for breakfast Mike grimaced at Ben's hair which pretty much looked like he had a bit of rooster thing on the side of his head.  Mike said, "Jill are you going to comb his hair?" 

Me: "Well no. I don't think he cares what it looks like."

Mike gave me one of those sidelong glares.

Me: "Ben, do you care what your hair looks like?"

Ben: "No."

Me: "OK, there you have it."

After Ben and Gabe made their mad dash to the bus I asked Mike why was it so important that Ben's hair was nicely groomed.

Mike: "Well because it's a reflection on us."

I had about a dozen snarky remarks ready to let fly, but I restrained myself. Probably because most of the remarks weren't clever - and I didn't want to start the morning off in any more of a bad way.

We ended it with an agreement - Ben needs a haircut.

Anyway - is it really a reflection on us? On me? The only time I do their hair is on Sunday. Gabe goes to school with a minor rat's nest on the back of his head almost every day. I try to smooth it out as best as possible (without using spit), but it doesn't do much. I just feel like it is not that important. I pester them every morning and night about a bunch of other things and there are just some things that I am willing to overlook.

Success with the "Quicker Turtle Brownies"

On Sunday I remade the Quicker Turtle Brownies from "Cook's Country" and they turned out beautiful and YUMMY! I hope you get the chance to make them because they are worth the effort - apparently quicker than the original recipe.  I shudder to think.

Yummy Pumpkin Scones

I made Pumpkin Scones this morning - Yummy.  Here is the picture and the recipe.

PUMPKIN SCONES

Serves 6

SCONES

2 cups all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons half-and-half
1 large egg

POWDERED SUGAR GLAZE

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk

SPICED GLAZE

1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch ginger
1 pinch ground cloves

Directions:
Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 30 mins

 TO MAKE THE SCONES:
1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Using a pastry knife, fork, or food processor, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half and half, and egg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball.
4. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle (about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide). Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal portions. Cut those three slices diagonally so that you have 6 triangular slices of dough. Place on prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake for 14?16 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Place on wire rack to cool.
TO MAKE THE PLAIN GLAZE:.
6. Mix the powdered sugar and 2 tbsp milk together until smooth.
7. When scones are cool, use a brush to paint plain glaze over the top of each scone.
8. AS THAT WHITE GLAZE FIRMS UP, MAKE THE SPICED ICING:.
9. Combine the ingredient for the spiced icing together. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (at least 1 hour). A squirt bottle works great for this, or you can drizzle with a wisk.