Monday, November 24, 2014

Baked Chicken Thighs, baked potato and perfect Broccoli

Quick and Easy Crowd Pleasing Meal

Having a four month old leaves this mom short on time and creativity in the kitchen.   This is a dinner that I can whip up in about an hour with very little hands on prep needed.  It's as cheap as could be and pretty healthy too!
You'll need:
A sheet pan (optional wire rack)
Chicken thighs, bone in, skin on
Garlic salt
Olive oil
Bamboo skewer
Your favorite potatoes 
Medium sized saucepan
Butter
Sour cream
Black pepper

Heat oven to 350

Lay chicken thighs out on sheet pan (on top of wire rack if you have one)

Sprinkle generously with garlic salt.

Poke holes all over potatoes with bamboo skewer. The holes don't need to be really deep.

Lather potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt.

Place potatoes on top rack in oven.

Place chicken pan on the rack below. 

Set timer for one hour.

Check the skin of the chicken. If it's crispy and hard when you tap on it then chicken is done. Remove from oven and set aside.

With your oven mitt, squeeze a potato. If it yields easily then it's done. Remove them and set aside. 

Boil saucepan of water with a big pinch of salt.  I use sea salt, but you can use whatever you have on hand.

Take broccoli crown and pull apart or cut into smaller floweretts. I break them off from the base and then slice the base into bite sized pieces.

When water comes to rolling boil, toss the broccoli in. 
Set timer for four minutes. 

Test broccoli for doneness by stabbing with a fork.  If the fork goes through easily, it's done. 

Strain broccoli and plate your dinner.
Everything should bea perfect temperature at this point and the chicken well rested. 

Top the potato with butter, sour cream, salt and pepper and enjoy your meal!

Leftover chicken is great as is, cold or warm. You can also make a chicken salad out of it or chop it up and add it to any dish you like!
Leftover baked potatoes are great for breakfast on a cold morning!

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

I'm gonna be a mommy!

July 23rd is my due date! I've been commenting on baby boards for the last couple weeks, I found out that I adore giving advice and support. There's some judge mental meanies out there though, so I decided to channel my helpful energies into my blog.
When my friends and family found out we are having a baby they showered my with hand me downs so my office is piled high with things for someone I've never even met. It's quite a weird sensation. So I think I'll wait until I'm done with my finals this semester, then I'll delve into thaw nesting stage and highlight my journey for all to see and enjoy!

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Homemade beefy oatmeal puppy bites

Ingredients:
Fresh beef stock
Oatmeal
Whole wheat flour
One egg

Equal parts oatmeal and flour, pour in beef stock and whisk to combine. Achieve a sticky cookie dough consistency. Whisk in the egg.
Use two spoons to drop walnut sized balls of batter onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 11 minutes. Let cool. Treat your pups to these healthy little snacks. They'll love you forever!



Tuesday, January 7, 2014

I fixed my own dryer!!!

Yesterday I watched a couple YouTube videos and grabbed some random tools. I headed out to my clothes dryer armed with minimal knowledge, inadequate tools and the gumption to disassemble this big machine that won't get hot enough to dry even the smallest load!  Although I had a few frustrations, a few hiccups and a few yelps from dropping things on my bare feet, I successfully accessed the inner workings of my fifteen year old machine and vaccines it out. I pulled a dense six pounds of lint, sand and dirt from the inner vent. Luckily by the time I needed to put it back together, my big strong Mike woke up and helped me piece the puzzle back together... Our reward? Our first successfully hot, dry load of clean laundry in close to a year!!! Cheers to energy, gumption and YouTube! We've been wanting to splurge on a new dryer but it has been far from in our budget. Now we can use that money for something for the baby! Yay!

I'm gonna be a momma!

The word is out! I'm 11weeks and 6 days preggers! I got my first sonogram a week ago. My little peanut was rolling around, arms and leggies flailing about. I am so excited! I've wanted to be a mom since my mid twenties. I never imagined myself into my thirties without child. This baby has changed my life, maybe even saved my life! For sure he/she has saved my sanity!  I've been tired for a couple months now. A lot of lounging around and sleeping. I've had no alcohol, caffeine or any medication of any kind since I found out at two weeks. I splurged on a shopping trip to Sprouts recently, I bought every healthy food I crave without feeling guilty for spending extra money. Either I'm early arriving into my second trimester of all the good food I've been consuming has awoken me from my lazy, uncaffeinated, uninspired state. I can't wait to hold my baby!!!