Saturday, March 26, 2011

The good news and the bad news...

The good news is that it has been sunny now for three days running.  Beautiful!  The bad news is that it is FREEZING.  It has barely made it out of the 20s.  At 10:15 am, with the sun shining, it is only 23 degrees.  Brrrr!  I had to go to the Oldest Son's first varsity lacrosse game last night, and let me tell you it was chilly!  I had on long johns, two sweaters, a long down coat, thick socks, Uggs, scarf, hat, mittens, two blankets, and I was still cold!  They won the game, so that was good news.

On Thursday night, the sun shining inspired me to take some photos of dinner and inspired the Darling Husband to fire up the grill.  Here is one of my favorite ways to grill chicken.

First, you need some fresh lime zest
and some fresh lime juice
and some fresh chopped garlic.
Put it all in a small bowl and add some chili powder and crushed red pepper flakes.
Then,whisk it all together.  Place the chicken breasts (this marinade is enough for 4 large or 5 - 6 smaller sized chicken breasts) in a ziploc bag, one at a time, and pound until an even thickness, about 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick.
Put the pounded chicken breasts in a new ziploc bag and add the marinade. (Throw away the bag you pounded the chicken breasts in immediately.  It is really gross!) Squish the marinade and the chicken all around in the new bag.  The chicken can marinate anywhere from 15 minutes to 24 hours.  That is another reason I love this recipe - you can make it ahead or make it at the last minute.  Grill the chicken about 5 minutes per side.  Pounding the chicken breasts ahead of time ensures even cooking, so your chicken doesn't dry out on the edges while you are trying to cook the centers.  So good!

Grilled Lime Chicken

This marinade will marinate 4 large chicken breasts or 5 - 6 smaller chicken breasts.

Mix together:
Zest and juice of two limes
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 teaspooon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 - 1/3 inch thick. Place chicken in large resealable plastic bag with marinade.  Squish around to coat.  Marinate 15 minutes to 24 hours.  Heat grill and grill for 4 - 5 minutes per side or until done.  Season with salt and pepper.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Honestly...

Man, it has been a tough March around here.  Rainy, dark, and cold.  I have tried to take pictures, but photos in the dark with artificial light just don't look as nice and appealing as photos taken in nice, bright, natural light.

Last week, on the 20th, I really tried.  I took Tiny Dancer's birthday bouquet apart (most of it was past its prime) and made a cute little windowsill arrangement to cheer me up.
The arrangement is adorable and springy, but please note the GLOOM and RAIN out the the kitchen window.  Add to that, it was about 35 degrees outside and now you have a good picture of March in Michgan.

When it is like this, there is only one thing to do.  Make soup.  I tried my best to take some semi-attractive photos of me making potato soup.  Please forgive the darkness.  It's not my fault.  Blame Mother Nature.

Then I decided to make some cheddar biscuits.
All in all, things turned out pretty yummy.
The biscuits...
and the soup, topped with bacon and cheddar, of course.  This soup is like eating liquid mashed potatoes, which is all good!

Tiny Dancer wanted me to take a picture of her eating her soup.
You know its nasty weather outside when your child decides to eat dinner in her Snuggie!  I hope spring comes soon...

Potato Soup

3 pounds russet potatoes (about 5 large)
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup sour cream
1 stick butter
1 cup milk
1 can chicken broth (soup can size)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
garlic salt to taste
cooked bacon, shredded cheddar, and sliced scallions for garnish

Peel, rinse, and cut the potatoes into thirds. Place in a large pot with water to cover, add salt, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are VERY soft (about 45 minutes).  Drain the potatoes and return to pot.  Mash potatoes with potato masher until very smooth.  Add sour cream and butter (I cut the butter into small chunks) and stir until melted.  Add the milk, chicken broth, and pepper and bring to a simmer.  Season to taste with garlic salt.  (I like a lot of garlic salt!)  Stir well and serve in bowls topped with garnish of choice.  So good!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Dreaming of Sewing

I have been thinking about sewing all of the time lately.  Unfortunately, time is the problem.  I have no TIME to sew, and so I am left thinking about sewing.  I have a couple of projects in the works, but have not been able to get to them.  Hopefully this weekend, after the 14-year old birthday sleepover on Friday night and the family birthday dinner on Sunday, I can find some time to sew.

Here is my last finished sewing project.  It is small, but functional.  Tiny Dancer used her Christmas money and bought herself a Kindle.  She reads - a ton - and got tired of carrying big books back and forth to school. 

Here she is, enjoying her new technology.

She is reading The Hunger Games.  She sped through it, and immediately ordered Catching Fire, quickly followed by Mockingjay

She makes her English teacher mom proud.