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.

Just some of my mishmash

Ben composed a schedule for himself on Sunday and was able to accomplish everything on the list before 12:00 pm - right before it was time to get ready for church.  Gabe added his own flair to the list with sosij and pancacso - otherwise known as sausage and pancakes. FYI - Ben didn't write an entire book, merely added about 50 words to the book he is writing - "The Ninja's Quest".  You can look for it in about 5 years.

On to other mishmash. Tonight Ben let is slip that Dad is his favorite. I don't think he was trying to be discreet because it was during dinner so of course I overheard. I mentioned that I might be a little be hurt about this to which Ben responded, "I like you too Mommy, but Dad is just so awesome!" Boo Hoo. I guess it is just a good reminder that I have been a little bit too much of a taskmaster these days.

 

The trick is to remember to be silly... they love it when I am absurd and silly.  You know what one of their favorite games with me is?  I pretend like they are naughty little cats and they are not allowed in my kitchen. When the try to come into the kitchen I spritz them with a water bottle and growl "Get out of my kitchen."  This game tends go on for quite some time.  It is time to get out the water bottle.

 

Now to food.  For dinner I made another meal from Cook's Country.  For dinner I made Weeknight Spaghetti and Meatballs.  I would give it about a 6 out of 10.  I like a little bit more flavor in my sauce, but it was still pretty good. I liked that it was fast. The boys needed a little coaxing... but they loved the meatballs.  Sam, who loves pasta, gobbled up every last bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner from Cook's Country #2 and Sammy the light maestro

First off I made a yummy dinner tonight courtesy of Cook's Country again. I made Spanish Chicken Cutlets with Yogurt Sauce.  The boys wrinkled their nose at it and managed to eat all the bites I requested (or else I bring out the can of dog food). Mike and I enjoyed it very much. The chicken was nice and tender - dredged in the yogurt sauce and then panko bread crumbs, and the yogurt sauce was tasty.  I used greek yogurt which is a little richer than the average plain yogurt. I tend to prefer the Greek yogurt. On the side I cooked some quinoa in chicken broth and after it was done I added about 1 1/2 tsp of lemon juice along with some sauteed zucchini, shallot, and orange pepper (sauteed in olive oil).  The quinoa was well liked by everyone.

Now on to Sammy

Going to church with a toddler is always an adventure - there is no such thing as a toddler that can sit still in his chair.  At least I have never encountered one. We tend to let Sammy wander a little bit. He usually makes his way back to us so we let him do a couple of rounds.  This is where Sammy is the politician - he likes to smile at people, inspect their items on the floor and make his farewell.  He never stays too long in one place, just enough to make the person he is visiting his friend. 

This Sunday we were a little late and ended up sitting in the back. Sam started going around the gym area (where we sitting) and we were watching him warily, ready to stand up at any moment.  Sam has recently discovered that there are some light switches that he can reach and that is a temptation too great to pass up. You can guess what happened. All of the sudden the lights were dimming. Sam had hit the light switch jackpot!  Lots of light switches in a row and he was hitting every one of them.  The speaker during church said over the microphone, "someone's little boy is playing with the light switches."  Yep, that was our little man. Mike dashed off to scoop up the little criminal (or politician - in some cases it could be interchangable).

The good thing is, that is not the most embarrasing thing that has happenend during church. Ben peeing all over the podium while giving a talk during primary was pretty good.  Or I think it was Gabe that asked loudly why his penis gets hard when he has to pee was pretty fun too.

I can't wait for whatever happens next.

Let them eat dog food

Dinner time is always a time of joy and a time of tears. We have managed to establish a silly ritual in which the boys seem to think that their food can only be consumed once they have determined how many bites to take - mom or dad being the one that sets the number. Usually 15 to 20 bites. It drives me crazy that dinner has become a countdown. Along with the counting there is usually some grumbling and complaining about certain ingredients.

I spend about 30 to 60 minutes preparing dinners because I really enjoy food and I like to cook. I refuse to be a short order cook. I make one meal and if you don't like it... well that leads me to the best part.

I bought a can of dog food - we don't have any dogs. I put the can of dog food in the middle of the table and I said, "I spend some time making this meal for you and I am tired of the counting and complaining. If you don't like what I make then you are welcome to eat the dog food because anything that I make is inevitably better than dog food and I am tired of you treating the meal that I make for you like it is dog food."  That night I received accolades for the meal I made.

The dog food currently sits in my pantry and on an evening that I make something a little different I bring it out just to remind them that anything I make is better than dog food... at least I hope it is.