New Recipe of the Week

Hello dear readers, and welcome to another exciting episode of New Recipe of the Week! This week's recipe is citrus chicken with mango pico de gallo. It's great for summer, and can be tweaked to suit many palettes. This one is something I pretty much made up as I went along, so the measurements aren't all exact. Feel free to use more or less of each ingredient to fit your personal taste.

First, we need a marinade. Chicken is so dull without a good soak in the flavor pool. For this recipe, I used a simple citrus mixture.

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest
juice of one lemon
l tsp minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk all ingredients in a medium sized bowl.  Once your marinade is blended, pour it over your chicken. I used boneless skinless breasts. Any cut will do, however.  Then place your chicken in the fridge for a few hours.

When it's time to cook, heat some olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and cook until done and browned on each side. (About 8-10 minutes per side.)

I have to confess that the real star of this dish is not something I made. It's pre-made mango pico de gallo from the produce section at Walmart! It is surprisingly fresh- tasting and really delicious. It's great on this chicken and good with chips too.

When the chicken is finished cooking, simply top it with the pico and serve. So easy right?! I think this recipe would be just as good with a nice chutney instead of the mango pico, or even traditional tomato pico de gallo. Even Ben, who doesn't have the most varied palette in the world, thought this was good! Here is my completely non professional picture of the end result.

  

I served this with some oven roasted potatoes and a fresh salad. The potatoes are super simple too! Again, this isn't an exact recipe, so feel free to adjust it. 

3-4 small to medium potatoes ( I like red skinned or yukon gold best)

approx. 2 tblsp olive oil

salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. 

 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Chop the potatoes and toss them in a bowl. (I slice them pretty thin so they cook faster and get crisper in the oven.) Add the olive oil and seasonings, and toss to coat. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a cookie sheet, and bake them in the oven for about 30 minutes. That's it! 

Thanks for tuning in everyone! Happy cooking! 

For My Bathing Beauties

Today is Wednesday, and we are in what I like to call "the doldrums" of the week. It's not Monday, so we can't complain about that, and it's not Friday so we can't celebrate the arrival of the weekend. This gives me a bad case of the midweek blues. So, to pick myself up, I decided to do another decorating post! (I can hear you cheering...haha.)

Today I want to talk about the girls' bathroom.  I have gone ultra feminine in this room, with frills and more frills, and pink. It started with the purchase of a shower curtain.  This shower curtain, to be exact.

The curtain is (of course) from the Simply Shabby Chic collection at Target.  It is very similar to organza fabric, so I had to hang a solid white liner behind it to make it less sheer. I love the frills!

For hooks, I went with another Simply Shabby Chic item. I found these lovely crystal shower hooks that remind me of antique drawer pulls.  Aren't they pretty?! I like how old fashioned they look.

  

After the shower curtain, I knew I needed some coordinating towels. So, once again, I turned to Target and more Simply Shabby Chic. I promise they are not paying me to write this blog....

  

These are the hand towels. I also have the matching bath towels, but apparently I forgot to take a picture of those. I love these because they are so feminine, and they match the shower curtain perfectly.  And have I mentioned the frills?! Having little girls has really affected me! 

Now, on to lighting. Of course the room has the standard vanity lighting and overhead light. But where is the fun in that? Enter the nightlight. 

  

Yes, I shut the door and turned out the lights just for this shot! It's hard to see the details on her, but she's a kneeling fairy, with a serene expression on her face. I picked up this little beauty at Hobby Lobby. I love that she reminds me of Victorian lighting, and since the light comes from inside her pink dress, it gives the room a warm pink glow. 

The only thing missing now is pink bath towels. I'm one of those weirdos that likes decorative towels...and then towels you actually use for drying off. The pink ones will be used while the white frilly ones just sit pretty.  

Thanks for reading today! Tune in tomorrow for our New Recipe of the Week! (I know I just did one Sunday, but hey! It's my blog!) 

Captain Daddy

Today was a very proud day for our family! Ben was officially promoted to Captain. Sadie and I went to the ceremony, and she removed his Lieutenant rank. I'm glad that she was able to participate.

Last night dinner, I told Sadie that Daddy was going to be a captain today. So I said, "Can you say Captain?" She said in her adorable way "cat tan!" We all got a good laugh at that. Then I had an idea. I turned to her and asked "Can you say Captain Daddy?" She excitedly said "Cat tan Dah-ee!" That resulted in more peals of laughter from all of us.

The title has stuck too! She said it all the way to the ceremony, when I told her we were going to see daddy. "Yay! Cat tan dah-ee!" was what she shouted over and over. She is such a daddy's girl, and it warms my heart when she gets so excited to see him.

I am truly thankful that God saw fit to bless me with such a wonderful family. Ben is a wonderful father and a great husband. With our second little one on the way, I think our little family feels complete. So, (since I know you are reading this!)  thank you Ben for all you do for us, and we are so proud of you! We love you!

Let Freedom Ring

Happy Fourth of July to my readers! I hope you all stay safe and have a great time, whatever your plans may be.

I think it's important to remember why we celebrate this day. It's not just about parties, fireworks, and hotdogs. It's about America, the land of the free. And we are free because of the brave! We owe a debt of gratitude to our men and women in uniform, who line up willingly to defend our nation.

So pack up that cooler and head to the water, or fire up that grill and light some fireworks! Just don't forget why we have this holiday. After all, it's America's birthday! And she deserves a celebration!

New Recipe of the Week: BBQ Edition!

Today, I'd like to start a weekly feature for this blog. I think I'll call it "Recipe of the Week" and each week I will find and try out a new recipe, and let my readers know how it goes! I thought today would be the perfect place to start, since I'm cooking for the Fourth of July.

This week's recipe is slow cooker ribs with homemade bbq sauce. As I work on this entry, the sauce is simmering on the stove and it smells delicious! It is so simple to make. You just need to allow yourself a couple of hours for the sauce to cook, as well as about 5-6 hours to cook the ribs.

First, I seasoned the ribs. I personally believe it's a waste of time to cook meat if you aren't going to take the time to add some flavor first. You can probably use any combination of spices you'd like, since this part isn't actually included in the recipe. I used salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika.

 

After seasoning the ribs on all sides, I put them in the fridge to sit while I worked on the bbq sauce. I mixed the ingredients according to the recipe, and left it to simmer for two hours. (The recipe calls for 1 hour of cooking time, but I found the sauce wasn't thick enough at that point.) After simmering, this is what the sauce looks like. 

  

I then took the ribs out of the fridge and seared them in a pan with olive oil over medium high heat, until they were browned on all sides. (This is something I do to all meat cooked in a crockpot...I think it makes it taste better.)  I tossed the ribs into my slow cooker, along with some sliced vidalia onions and about half of the bbq sauce. I added about 1/3 cup of water also, to make sure there would be enough liquid in the pot for cooking. If I had beef stock on hand, I probably would have used that instead of water.  I poured the remaining sauce into a bowl and placed it in the fridge. I will use this half for saucing the ribs once they are done.

Once you have everything is in the pot, just close the lid and set the heat setting to high.  Allow the ribs to cook for 5 hours, and you've got yourself some ribs...no grill necessary! I'm serving these with some fresh corn on the cob and a salad. 

Here is the recipe! 

For the ribs:

2 lbs of pork ribs

Medium vidalia or white onion

Seasoning to taste

BBQ Sauce 

For the Sauce (Recipe courtesy of Claire Robinson of The Food Network) 

• 1 (7-ounce) jar or can organic tomato paste
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons spicy dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons BBQ seasoning mix
• 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 4 cups water

Whisk all the ingredients together in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by about half or to desired thickness, about 1 hour.

Cool completely before transferring to an airtight container and storing in the refrigerator.

This sauce is good for a week in the fridge, or you can freeze it for up to 6 months. 

Happy cooking y'all, and happy Fourth of July!! 

A Quick Nursery Project

Baby girl version 2.0 is due November 7th, and that seems like an eternity to me right now. So, to keep myself busy while  version 1.0 is napping, I've begun making little things to decorate the nursery.

Yesterday's project was framing fabric. I know it sounds a little strange at first, (at least it did to Ben, and the lady at Hobby Lobby...), but it really is a neat idea! Here is what you'll need:

 

Picture frames of your choice. I used two plain white 8X10 frames, but you can use as many as you like in whatever size you choose. 

 

Fabric in your choice of colors and prints. I'm using a bright green print and a lavender gingham, to match the nursery colors. 

  

Tulle or ribbon for hanging. 

I bought 1 yard each of the fabric, to allow for correcting my inevitable mistakes. (I'm still a newbie crafter after all.) When I got home, I used the cardboard from the frames as a template to cut the fabric to size. I left a little extra on the edges to allow for attaching it to the back of the frame. 

I used double sided tape to secure the fabric in the back, but you could probably use fabric glue for a more permanent hold. I used the tape just in case I ever want to replace the fabric with photos. 

Then I simply reassembled the frames and attached a loop of tulle to the top of the frames using a heavy duty staple. Here is the finished product. 

  

As you can see, I flubbed a little on the lavender frame, when I didn't pull the fabric tight enough. (This would be why I bought extra fabric and used the tape!) That is an easy enough fix that I will tackle during next nap time.  Overall however I'm pretty pleased with this little project! It doesn't take long and I think it will look neat on the baby's bedroom wall. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful Saturday and a great Independence Day! Thanks for reading! 

Lesson Learned!

I love Zulily.com. For those who don't know, Zulily is an online discount "club" that offers everything from baby clothes to home decor. It's free to sign up. And I'm addicted.

During one of my recent hunts, I came across a darling little pair of red shoes. I thought to myself  "Independence Day is coming. Sadie has a navy blue dress. Sadie needs these red shoes!" So into the cart they went. Along with a red and white striped scarf for yours truly.  I was satisfied that my little girl had the perfect outfit for America's birthday.

....And then the shoes arrived. I excitedly signed for the box and sat down on the couch like a little kid on Christmas morning. I found the scarf first and set it aside. I was most excited about those little shoes. I opened their separate box, pulled off the plastic wrapping, and froze.

The shoes squeaked. Not a little creak when walking, I mean they SQUEAK. There is something in the heel that makes these shoes squeak like a dog toy when stepped on.  I couldn't believe it.

Ben saw my face and started laughing like it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen in his life. Sadie, of course, was thrilled. She lit up and started hopping up and down while shouting "Squeaky! Squeaky!"  I just shook my head and put the shoes on her feet.

You can probably guess what happened next. Sadie commenced her own little parade around our house, squeaking up the stairs and into the playroom...down the stairs and into her bedroom. The shoes could be heard from anywhere in the house. So I turned to Ben and said "Well...at least we'll never lose her!"

So, boys and girls, today's lesson is this: always read the description carefully before buying! Otherwise you may end up with squeaky shoes on an enthusiastic toddler.

  

PS- these are the shoes.