Recipe - Red Wine Chicken

This weeks recipe is one of my faves!  Adopted from Chef Meg's Red Wine Chicken recipe. Enjoy!

Chicken Breasts with Red Wine Sauce

Minutes to prepare: 10 minutes
Minutes to cook: 45 minutes
Number of servings:  6 servings*

2 T canola oil (I will sometimes use olive oil instead.  I'm an olive oil junkie so I typically use at least twice a much as a recipe calls for.  Oops!)
16 oz. chicken breast, skinless and boneless (You can also buy breast tenders and save yourself a step!)
1/2 yellow or white onion, sliced (I do not like onions, so I usually only use a half an onion in recipes.  But if you like em - use the whole thing!)
2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, with liquid
1 c mushrooms, quartered
1 clove garlic, minced (I buy the jarred pre-minced garlic and IT HAS CHANGED MY LIFE PEOPLE.  DO IT.  I promise you won't regret it. You can usually find it in the produce section not too far from the reg. garlic.)
4 oz (1/2 c) red wine (Don't use cooking wine!  I usually just dump whatever I happen to be drinking at the time in there - most likely a malbec or cabernet, but sometimes zinfandel or Menage a Trois!)
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 t chili powder
1 t thyme
2 t Dijon mustard

Slice the chicken breasts in half (if you bought breasts) and pat dry with a paper towel. Season with pepper. Place the oil in a heavy bottom medium size saucepan with lid; once the oil is hot, add the chicken. Lightly brown the chicken on all sides, remove from the pan and set aside. Add the onions and mushrooms to the hot pan. Cook, stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes or until the onions turn light brown. Add the wine; stir to combine with the vegetables and scrape the bottom of the pan to remove bits. Simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the wine reduces by half in volume. Add the remaining ingredients to the pan. Return the chicken to the pan. Bring mixture to a simmer and then reduce heat to low. Cover with a lid and simmer for 35-40 minutes. (You can garnish with chopped parsley, if you have some on hand.  I have found however, that I usually end up throwing 90% of it out if I just buy it to use as garnish for one dish though.)

*Makes 6 servings with 3 ounces of chicken per serving.  (We must eat way more than normal people because between Ryan and I, I find that this usually makes closer 3-4 servings!) Serve with half a cup of brown (or white) rice per serving and you choice of steamed veggie or salad.

Advent Art

Last week, we finally hung the Christmas gift that I received from my husband.

At our church Ecclesia, we used to have a person (usually a guy named Scott Erickson - look him up!) live painting throughout each service.  This is a print of a live painting that he did during an advent service at Ecclesia back in December of 2011.  It is titled "Annunciation" and depicts the moment when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce that she would become pregnant.  If you read my Advent post this past December, then you know how even MORE meaningful it was to me to receive this gift this year.

(If you would like to read a little more about this piece from the artist click here and if you would like to listen to the sermon from the service during which this was painted you can click here!)

This was SUCH a special gift to receive and now I get to look at it every day.  Thank you to my wonderful husband for being so thoughtful - this means so much to me!

Month 8 - Heidi

Month 8: Baby!

Age:  8 months

Weight: 18-19 lbs. or so

Major calendar events:  First Christmas!

Milestones:  Clapping, cut second tooth, giving "kisses"

Sleep:  Fabulous (most nights).  She's sleeping in crib in her own room typically from 8:00 p.m. or so until about 8:00 a.m. (give or take.) Occasionally, she will have a bad night and cry a lot before actually falling asleep but usually it just lasts for a few minutes.  She is however not sleeping in her crib during the day (yes, I am still holding her during her naps if we are at home) although, she isn't really into big naps at this point, and a lot of times she's napping on the go!  I think back to this time last year... I thought I was NEVER going to know what sleep was again.  Between pregnancy and having a baby I thought it would be 20 more years until I actually got to sleep.  But guess what?!  I was wrong.  Hang in there new mamas - you will see sleep again VERY soon! (I recommend getting baby on a schedule ASAP - we used Helen Moon's "Cherish the first 6 weeks" and it was awesome.  Heidi was sleeping through the night at 6 weeks. Babywise is another popular schedule/method!)

Likes:  Practicing her new tricks - waves at everything and loves clapping, playing in the bath, saying "mamamama", and smacking her lips together.  

Dislikes:  There are VERY few things that Heidi dislikes... but eating squash is one of them!

Best moment:  Watching Heidi give Ryan a kiss for the first time

Worst moment:  I was in a situation where a non-family member was feeding Heidi spoonful after spoonful of canned whipped cream.  It was AWFUL.  (I wouldn't have been freaking if it was just a little taste - trust me this was more than one FULL adult serving.)  Just when I thought we were done, MORE was put on the plate and this person just kept going.  I know I should have said something, and I tried to redirect back to crackers (which I was still not okay with seeing as Heidi was given about 10 or so) but I was caught between being two people.  One side of me kept saying "just let it go, it's not a big deal, she's going to be fine, don't be that "mom" (I also hate confrontation so I was getting really uncomfortable thinking about snatching my baby back even though that's all I wanted to do.)  On the other hand, I was FLIPPING MY SHIT and about to go crazy on everyone.  This is MY baby and I'M the mom.  You don't give someone else's BABY that much food, especially dairy, ESPECIALLY fake, nasty, chemical-y dairy.  I was frozen between these two people (and also kind of stunned) to the point where all I could do was just drop subtle hints ("let's go back to crackers", "I'll call you when it's time to change her diaper tomorrow HA HA") however these hints were definitely not picked up on.  To a non-parent, this situation may not seem like a big deal, but when you see your child in a situation like this I promise it will affect you in ways you didn't know possible.  You get so possessive and your mind goes to all of the "worst case scenario" places.  I don't want to see Heidi unnecessarily uncomfortable (digestionally speaking) and I really hope this doesn't hurt her.  You also aren't supposed to give babies a lot of things because giving it to them too early could possibly cause allergies.  I really hope Heidi doesn't develop a dairy allergy because of this!)

Eating:  Breastfeeding like it's her job every 4 hours and exploring new foods often just for fun.  She did not like pureed apples, but prefers to just gnaw on big slices.  Bananas are also still a favorite (although, I give these to her sparingly because it makes her poop have all those weird little squiggly looking worms haha!) Sweet potatoes and avocado are also things she likes.  (At this point, squash is the only thing she WILL reject!)

Things I want to remember:  Uummm... everything??  I don't want to forget about all of the quiet moments where we are just enjoying her.  I worry about not getting this time with future babies when life is more crazy.  Also, I want to remember what a BIG deal all of the teeny tiny milestones are - and I ALWAYS want them to be a big deal with future children.  

Month 8: Mama

This past month was AWESOME!  We got to spend so much wonderful time with family and friends and were able to truly enjoy this holiday season.  I'm so sad it's over!  I can honestly say that life now feels "normal" and I feel 100% myself again.  Here are some pictures from this past month.

Church time with friends is the best time!

Napping with Uncle Freddie aka "Funkle".

Dinner with our whole "family" and our fav. Mediterranean restaurant - Aladdin's!!

Successful selfie with all the girls in the back (minus Heidi but she was there too).

Dog park time!  Heidi is having fun and so is Lucy.

Christmas Eve service with the fam!

Merry Christmas!!

Scary picture of Heidi's first time in the high chair and our first
dinner as a family of three at the table together!

Heidi did NOT like steamed squash!

Heidi's favorite time of day - bath time!

All bundled up for a run!

Morning playtime.

Teeth??

Car naps.  

NOT happy.

Poor baby.  Her headband fell down over her eyes while she was sleeping haha!

Church play date!

Grocery store naps.

Heidi's first bubble bath!  "What the heck is this stuff??"

Heidi loves apples!

Smiling babies and coffee.  Does life get any better??

Zonked.

Happy baby happy day.

My first turban-style headband to make for Heidi!  Hopefully the first of many.

Recipe - Lentil Soup

I decided that it's time to start incorporating some recipes into this thing (and since I pretty much alter every recipe I come across, I figured this would also help me to remember WHAT I actually changed!)

Every Monday this year (or as often as I can actually make this happen) I will post a new recipe.  Also - know that I am NOT a professional chef!  All of these recipes are super beginner to medium beginner level.  (The hardest most annoying part will probably be chopping up veggies!) I will never post a recipe that I have not personally made myself, and I will always credit the original source, unless I have drastically changed the recipe.  That being said, I would also LOVE to try some new recipes -  so feel free to send your favorites my way!

I will be kicking off "Project Recipe 2015" with a super basic one - Lentil soup!  (If you live in Houston, this might be a good one to curl up on the couch with this Thursday when the weather is supposed to get cold and wet again.) This recipe was originally sent to me by a coworker, but I have made some changes.  Here we go!

Lentil Soup

Minutes to prepare: 15 minutes
Minutes to cook: 60-70 minutes
Number of servings:  4-6ish servings

1 lb. Italian seasoned ground turkey (Jennie-o makes this pre-seasoned and it's all I ever use!  You can also substitute ½ pound bulk Italian sausage if you just can't live without the real stuff.)

½ large onion, chopped (unless you really like onions and you want to dump the whole thing in there - go for it!)

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

2 cups chicken broth (If you're using condensed canned broth, use 2 cans and add 1 cup of water.)

1 can (14 ½ ounce) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 garlic clove, minced

½ tsp(ish) crushed red pepper flakes (You can add more if you prefer things more on the spicy side - just be careful because a little bit goes a long way!  ) 

1 c. beer (This is a total guess.  I usually just eyeball it and dump as much as I feel like in there.)

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

¾ cup dried lentils, rinsed (confession - I have never rinsed them. Oops.)

In a Dutch oven, brown the meat.  (If you're using "lean" or "extra lean" no need to drain.)  Add the onion, green pepper, carrot, broth, tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper; bring to a boil.  Add lentils and beer.  Reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for 60 – 70 minutes or until the lentils are tender. (Sometimes we crack into it before the 60 minutes are up and its just fine... so if you're impatient like me...) I usually serve with a salad or if I'm super hungry I might also add a dinner roll too. 

Happy cooking!

2015 Resolutions

Happy New Year!

Now I'm not normally a resolution person.  In past years, I have promised myself many things and continued to let myself down.  I have promised to floss every day, start taking a multivitamin, lose a few pounds... and then several weeks (or months) later I actually realize that my resolutions had gone completely out the window.

However, this year I thought we would make more of an effort to make some changes in our lives.  Some are "goals" and some are just more along the lines of "make more of an effort to..."  This way, our resolutions are more "loose ideas" and less of a strict must-stick-with-this-or else list of rules.  I have decide to share what things we are prioritizing this year and perhaps my publicizing them will help us stick to them!

1.  Cook more - I have come to the realization that I pin a zillion recipes on pinterest and then never look at them again.  I want to change this.  Even before January 1st, I had already tried 3 new recipes - one breakfast and two dinner recipes!  The goal for this new year is to cook more, and incorporate 4 new meals per month.  (Side note - I have also realized that 80% of the pins on my "food" board are desserts - more specifically chocolate!  I am also going to try to make an effort to make more of these, maybe one a month or something like that.  Although, I am a firm believer that you can never have too much chocolate if the dessert resolution doesn't work out it won't be the end of the world.)

2.  Work out more - This one is fairly stereotypical, but now that I don't have a baby inside of me anymore, (well, it's really more like now that I am no longer recovering from having a human come out of me) I want to get back into a more regular workout routine.  I also spent a lot of (some) time in high school and college lifting weights, which I would also like to get back into.  I'm not sure if my pelvis is quite ready for another half marathon quite yet (the half I ran in November was pretty rough - which I will write more about later) I would at least like to make sure that I am keeping up with the shorter distance runs.   I'm trying to keep this one simple.  No "must work out 5 days a week" or "must lose 10 pounds" or anything super strict like that.  Just make a effort to be active more and a lazy ass less.

3.  Tithe - this is a pretty big one for us right now.  We have been thinking and praying about what God says about this and what he directly instructs us to do as Christians.  We will be making some major changes to our budget so that we might be able to give according to HIS will.

4.  Be on our phones less - okay this one is probably more for me, but now that Heidi is getting "older" (aka more observant) I want to make a very conscious effort to spend less time looking at my phone.  I don't want her to see me staring at a screen constantly and I don't want her to have the desire as a toddler to "be like mommy" and always have to have a toy phone/screen/whatever in front of her.  I am also resoluting (yes I realize that is not a real word) to click less links on facebook.  So-and-so shared this link "15 Obnoxious Celebrity Faces!"  "10 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Did THIS!"  "Watch This Video It's So Hilarious!"  I should be spending less time reading that garbage and more time doing something else, so I will try to limit clicking on those links to only those that look super appealing and semi-informative.

5.  Become more active members of our church - I am a firm and passionate believer that one hour of church per week does not make you a follower of the Lord, the hands and feet of Christ or true member of the church, in the same way that running for a half a mile once a week does not make you a marathon runner.  Especially after my brief stint as an employee of a church, I have realized how truly important it is to involve yourself in more than just sitting in a service once a week.  The church IS the people and if the people aren't doing anything or being active participants than what do we have?  We have been super guilty of this at various points in our lives, so after talking about it for what seems like forever we finally took the leap and got in contact with a community group that meets semi-close to our house.  January 5th, we attended our first gathering and it was AMAZING!  I have missed having that community SO much and I am so thrilled to see where that journey leads us.  I would also like to involve ourselves in other ways through our church as well although, we haven't quite narrowed that one down yet.  Perhaps we will volunteer with the childrens' community and/or maybe contribute to the homeless ministry.  Pray that God will continue to place this on our hearts and guide us so that we might fulfill His will!

6.  Live more simply - This one is a little more ambiguous, and I am continuing to pray that God would reveal what this means for us exactly.  I know that there are some material things that we do not currently struggle with as a family (the need for fancy cars, the newest Apple toys or fancy decor for our home) but I know that there are still many things that we can change about our lives so that we are living more focused on the Lord and less on worldly things.  No matter how much or how little we have, I want to lay down those things holding us back from drawing nearer to Him.  As Jack preached this past Sunday, Christianity is a marathon and like taking off a jacket during a race and tossing it aside we must also toss aside those things keeping us from running a better race.  (I'm sure he said that way better than I just did but you get the gist.)  What does this mean for us at this point in our lives?  I'm not sure yet.  Spending less money that's for sure.  (Less Starbucks, less eating out...etc.)  but in what radical ways can we live simpler lives, desire less, compare ourselves to others less and be more satisfied with what He has provided to us?  I know he will speak to us and our hearts so we can know what this truly means.

Spending less and living more simply by learning to make my own
mochas at home - including homemade chocolate syrup!
Take that Starbucks!  Recipe found here!

Wishing you and your family a joyful new year that is filled with love, growth and peace!