Kitchen Adventures: Saucy Chicken

Good Evening Humble Readers! 

I'm slowly in the process of getting my pictures from our trip sorted out and finalized to show you all, but in the mean time, I have something fun to share.

The other night I wanted something tomato-y for dinner.  I went to the little grocery store across the back lane from us, looking for inspiration.  The only thing that really jumped out at me in the meat case were some chicken thighs... and that got me thinking.  This is what I came up with...

Saucy Chicken

4-8 chicken thighs (bone in, skin on, for more flavour)
olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
flour
1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz can)
1 med yellow onion, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
basil
oregano
rosemary
1 bunch of green onion, coarsely chopped


Heat olive oil in an oven-safe skillet or dutch oven.  Season both side of the chicken with salt and pepper, and brown in olive oil until deep golden brown, remove from pan.  Saute diced onion and garlic in the same pot.  When the onion is translucent, use a couple tablespoons of flour and make a roux.  Once the flour has cooked through, add the can of tomatoes.  Stir and allow to the roux to thicken the tomato juices.  If it ends up getting too thick, you can thin it with some chicken stock or water.  Add in basil, oregano, and rosemary to taste (I prefer a lot of basil and just a little rosemary) and stir.  Return the chicken to the pot, cover and transfer to a 300 degree oven.  Allow to simmer slowly in the oven for 35-45 minutes, until chicken is cooked through (I think it would be great to do this at a lower temp like 225 for a couple of hours to really allow the flavours to blend). 

I served it over rice cooked in two parts chicken stock and one part lemon juice,  Top with the coarsely chopped green onion.

It turned out soooo yummy and it is definitely going into my regular rotation.  I only made 4 chicken thighs, so I had a lot of sauce left over.  It was really good the next day over grilled pork chops and mashed potatoes.

Enjoy!

22 Weeks: Halfling Update

Good Morning Humble Readers!! 

I hope that you are all doing well this morning and that the weather where you are isn't too hot or too rainy.  We seem to waffling between the two here on the flatland.  I missed last week's Halfling update due to being at my parents' place, but I wanted to get back on track here. 

How far along? 22w1d

Maternity clothes? Of course.  Other than my jeans (still weird), I don't have anything that fits that's not maternity or worn with a bella band.  While we were in Kelowna, I picked up another pair of work appropriate pants and a few more t-shirts. 

Body Oddities?  So so many oddities... heartburn, weight loss rather than gain, leg cramps, stunning hair growth, stuffy nose, dry skin (especially on 'the girls).  But what's really weirded me out this week (and this is tmi) is the increased amount of earwax.  I know, I know... who notices this stuff?

Sleep? I struggled with sleep the whole time we were on vacation.  I can fall asleep easily, but I can't seem to sleep longer than three or four hours at a stretch, at the best of times. 

Best moment this week? The look on my mom's face when she heard the Halfling's heartbeat.  (Yes, I brought the doppler on vacation)

Worst moment? The long drive home on Sunday.  I was really uncomfortable in the car, and my feet and ankles were really swollen from sitting for so long.  I had also managed to strain something in my back, on the right side, which then with my hypochondriac tendencies, I started worrying that my liver was inflamed (a sign of pre-eclampsia that my OB mentioned).  Of course, it was just that a lower rib was slightly out (fixed by my wonderful chiropractor this afternoon)

Movement?  Off and on throughout the day.  I can feel the Halfling rolling, poking me, and shifting from one side to the other.  My Beloved is very anxious to be able to feel our Halfling from the outside.

Food cravings? Mostly sweets recently... and I'm not really a sweets person.  I'm trying to be careful about how much I eat of them.

Rings? Still on, but Sunday night when I was feeling so very bloated after the drive home, I had to take them off for a few hours.

Gender? Not going to find out, but I think it's a boy

Intense Dreams?  Constantly.  The weirdest one was about my Grandma R dying.  It wasn't really an upsetting dream, as we have been expecting and even praying that she could go soon (she really has no quality of life any more and lives in pain and confusion).  In the dream, my mom called me from Grandma's nursing home, and told me that she had passed during the night.  My Beloved and I dashed down there, and when we arrived, my high school friend 'D' was there and I was trying to tell him about Grandma, but he wouldn't stop tad dancing around me in circles long enough to hear me tell him the news.  He just kept tap dancing around me in the entryway of the nursing home. 

Medical Concerns? High blood pressure (on 50mg Trandate/Lobetalol three times a day). I will be going for multiple (3+) GD tests... yuck!

What I miss?  Proper sleep, energy for intimacy with my Beloved

What I look forward to? starting to work on the nursery, doing more practical prep for mat leave and the Halfling's arrival.

Emotional State? Up and down.  I found myself being rather irritable with my poor Beloved a lot more lately.  I think it's primarily due to my lack of sleep, but I really do feel bad about it.

Your Questions... Answered!

Good afternoon Humble Readers!

I had planned on giving you a run down on the vacation today, and as it's Monday, I also wanted to do a weekly Halfling update.  But... honestly, after spending several hours this morning catching up with many of you, I'm pooped! 

So, instead I'm answering your wonderful questions!  They were interesting, thought-provoking and fun!

Marianne asked: What is your fave Harry Potter book and why?  My favourite is not one of the common favourites.  I love love love Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  I confess, the first time I read it, I had the usual response... Harry is whiny, mopey, and generally not the hero he had been up to this point.  But, upon rereading it, I found that I fell in love with Delores Umbridge.  She is the best un-bad bad guy I have ever read.  I can't help but love to hate her!  Her obnoxious pink and lace personality combined with her need to be in control makes my skin crawl in the best possible way!

Kakunaa asked: What is the craziest thing you have ever done on a dare?  Oh Kakunaa, have you forgotten that I am a hobbit (albeit three times removed)?  I generally stay away from dares, but sometimes adventure is thrust upon me.  Once, many many years ago, I went parasailing.  I'm not good with heights, and I'm really terrible when I can't have my glasses, so it was very nerve-wracking being towed along way up in the air like that.  Other than that, most of the dares I succumb to end up involving food... eating ridiculously hot wings, or weird stuff like chocolate covered ants. 

Amy asked: What were you "into" when you were a teenager?  I was a nerd.  A total nerd.  I loved reading (still do).  I loved cooking (still do).  I loved boy bands, particularly New Kids On The Block (still do).  My bedroom was covered in pictures and posters of them.  I actually have a box that full of stuff I had up on my walls, and some of my other memorabilia from that era. 

Kristin asked a ton of questions:  How did you and the mister meet?  We were matched on eHar.mony dot com on Valentine's Day 2006.  Yup, we could be on one of their commercials... and I totally endorse their process.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure when it comes to reading?  Oooh that's tough...  I love rereading old favourites.  And I have a history of reading a lot of geeky sci-fi/fantay stuff.  But I guess my guiltiest pleasure is steamy romance novels.  Generally, regency era romances. 

Salty or sweet? Both, at the same time!  :)  I lean toward the salty side of things... but put a little bit of salty with my sweet and I am a happy happy girl!  The olive oil gelato I had at Otto (Mario Batali's restaurant) was a perfect balance of salty sweetness.

You mentioned your crazy family, what makes them so crazy?  To explain it all, it would take a separate post, which I will do sometime... but here are the basics.  My bio-parents were 'forced' to get married by their parents when my bio-mom got pregnant with me (mom was 17, dad was 20).  Two more kids and 9 years later, they split up.  My bio-dad remarried first, to a woman with three kids of her own.  My bio-mom went through several live in boyfriends before remarrying a guy with four boys.  We (the three kids) went back and forth between the bio-mom an bio-dad for a few years before things settle out with me with mom and my sister and brother with dad.  After she and her second hubby split, and a couple more boyfriends later, I decided that I had enough.  I moved in with my best friend and her parents... these are the people I am referring to when I make general mentions of 'mom' and 'dad' and 'my sister'.  I moved in with them just before my 17th birthday, and they have been my parents ever since.  There is some other craziness, but I don't want to overwhelm you all with too much Jerry Spr.inger fodder all at once.

When are you coming to North Carolina to visit?  LOL!  Well, the Carolina's are on my list!  Someday I want to do a road trip of the east coast, north to south. 

And last but not least... Cadnawes asked:  If you had had a bad day, what would be your ideal comfort-filled evening?  Hmmmm, I would want to come home to an already prepared comforting meal... like chicken curry or beef dips or an oven roasted chicken with the fixings.  After dinner, I would want to curl up on the couch with my Beloved and a good movie or a good book.  If I could, I would talk my Beloved into a foot rub.  Simple, but oh so restful!

This was fun!  If you have more questions, fire away... Now I'm off to continue on wading through my reader!

I'm Baaaack

Good Evening Humble Readers...

My Beloved and I have just returned to our stifling hobbit-hole, and the suitcase hasn't been unpacked yet.  11 hours in the car (including meal and pee stops) is enough to break anyone's spirit.  The trip was good, and I will post pics and an update tomorrow. 

I just wanted to say I will be jumping on the ICLW bandwagon tomorrow, and getting caught up with you.  I have loved reading your comments over the last week and I can't wait to answer your questions (if you haven't asked me any yet, please do!). 

Q & A With the Hobbit

Good Afternoon Humble Readers!

I'm going to be on my way home soon, and I thought it would be fun to do a Q & A post... you ask me the questions, and I answer them. 

Ask me about food, my crazy family, books, Broadway musicals, whatever!  When I get back I will answer all of them.  Nothing is off limits... within reason...

See you soon!