Chillaxin'

They know I am a prime candidate for chilling out today. The raccoons at the wildlife center defeated me yesterday. Over 50 of them to clean up after, feed, and remove from hanging off my pants. My pants were so drenched with water it was difficult keeping them on with a husky little guy wanting to be carried around on the seat of my pants! Another was attached by his teeth on the back of my BOGS which was like dragging around a ball and chain! There were also squirrels, possums, geese and a lone groundhog who refused to tell me if Fall was upon us or will be late. I gave  him another pink blanket in return for his uncooperative nature but did not give him brussel sprouts as he appears to hate them. Tis a beautiful day to keep chilling with these furry babies before I start a much calmer day. 

Chuck does not predict the weather.

This is a honey of a chicken dinner

I saw this recipe 2 weeks ago from TipHero on social media after a friend shared it. I noticed it when I had a bunch of tomatoes to use up but I used them in other recipes and then I left town and doled out the remaining tomatoes to anyone who would take them. This week I don't have any tomatoes since critters are eating them. No more pretty tomatoes like these from my garden for the rest of this year.

Fortunately this is a recipe you can  adapt to any kind of potato and any kind of vegetable you like. I substituted 1 inch chunks of red pepper instead of the tomatoes and used chunks of russet potatoes instead of the red ones. I think asparagus and baby carrots would be a great combo. This could be a go to recipe that changes every time you make it.  I used 2 T. apple balsamic vinegar and 2 T. raspberry balsamic vinegar because that's what I had. I really liked that combination of flavor. I like recipes you can change up to suit your own tastes but what I really like about this recipe is that it is made in ONE pan and if you line your pan in foil you don't even have to wash it! I mix the marinade in the zip lock so I don't dirty a bowl. I had a long day feeding baby squirrels at the wildlife center so was looking for an easy meal and clean up.

Everybody needs to eat! 

HONEY BALSAMIC SHEET PAN CHICKEN

Serves 4 to 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 6 tablespoons honey
• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ¾ teaspoon dried rosemary
• ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 pounds chicken breasts (4 each), trimmed
• 1½ pounds baby red potatoes, quartered
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the balsamic vinegar, honey, a tablespoon of olive oil, garlic, thyme, rosemary, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Stir well to mix.
3. Place the chicken breasts in a resealable plastic bag and pour the marinade over the top. Seal and toss the chicken to evenly coat. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
4. While the chicken marinates, place the potatoes and cherry tomatoes on a sheet pan. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and stir to coat. Bake for 25 minutes.
5. Remove the sheet pan from the oven and toss the green beans with the potatoes and tomatoes.
6. Remove the marinated chicken breasts from the plastic bag, reserving the remaining marinade in the bag. Place the marinated chicken, evenly spaced, on top of the vegetables. Pour the marinade from the bag over the top of the chicken and vegetables.


1. Return the sheet pan to the oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, periodically basting the chicken breasts with the pan juices, until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius).
2. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Spoon the pan juices over the top of each chicken breast before serving.

Spicy fish on the menu!

Tortilla Encrusted Chipotle Tilapia with Avocado Sauce

• 1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
• 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from the can
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 4 tilapia fillets
• 4 oz. tortilla chips, crushed

• 1 small avocado - peeled, pitted, and cut into large chunks
• 1/4 cup low fat cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  1/4 tsp. dried cilantro or to taste, fresh if you have it!
• 3 tablespoons milk
• salt and pepper to taste

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1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray or use parchment paper to line pan. I use parchment paper every chance I get!
2. Combine the chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, salsa, and 1 tablespoon lime juice in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Coat both sides of tilapia.   
3. I crush the tortilla chips in a plastic bag for easy clean up! I used the tortilla chips from the Mexican grocer so they don't crush as finely as the regular grocery store ones. I liked the chunkier pieces. Place the crushed tortilla chips into the bottom of a deep dish and cover both sides of filet in the crushed chips. Arrange the fillets on the prepared baking pan.
4. Bake the fillets 15 minutes; turn and continue to bake until golden brown, another 10 to 15 minutes.
5. While the fish bakes, place the avocado, cream cheese, cilantro and 1 tablespoon lime juice in food processor until smooth. Stir in the milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the consistency is similar to a pourable sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the sauce over the baked fillets to serve.
   Wonder what to do with those leftover chipotles and sauce? Put them in a zip lock bag, flatten them out and freeze until you need them again. They will easily crack off in the amount you need.
   
   
   
   

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Eating my vegetables

Cauliflower Biscuits (adapted from Cooking Light)

1 cauliflower head, leaves removed

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup nonfat Greek yogurt or sour cream(I had sour cream)

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

2 eggs

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F or 375 F if using a dark coated pan like I did. Steam cauliflower for about 12 minutes or until very tender, then transfer to a food processor. Add minced garlic and pulse several times until smooth and creamy.

Transfer mashed cauliflower into a large mixing bowl. Add in two whole eggs, cheddar cheese, Nonfat Greek yogurt, salt and pepper and mix together.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Then, slowly fold the egg whites into the cauliflower mixture.

Coat a mini muffin pan VERY WELL with cooking spray.Then fill the cups to the top with the cauliflower mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove from the pan, and set on a cooling rack.

Baked Tomato Slices 

I have a few tomatoes to use so I drizzled fat slices of the biggest tomato pictured above with really good olive oil, sprinkled on fresh ground Himalayan pink salt and fresh ground pepper and a few Panko crumbs mixed with an equal amount of shredded Parmesan cheese and tossed them in the oven alongside the biscuits! 

Asian Green Beans

I had just enough green beans from the garden today, about 1 1/2 cups,  that I broke into one inch pieces and cooked until just tender. In the meantime I sautéed up a small container of Baby Bella mushrooms with two diagonally cut ribs of celery and some slices of red onions until crispy tender. I added the beans and saved a cup of the water and added 1 T. of good soy sauce and 1 T. cornstarch to it and tossed that in for a nice sauce that cooks up in about a minute. Toss in 1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds and a little fresh ground pepper to taste and you are done! I usually add sliced water chestnuts too but I didn't have any.

All in all a great vegetarian meal to use some of these garden vegetables. 

Tomorrow.....eating tomatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Mid Century Room for Mid Century Me

When I started this redecoration process it was going to be my chance to go monochromatic. I am just no good at it, obviously! I love monochromatic when other people have it but it just must be genetic that I can't live with it. I need at least one room with color so this is it.

I'm sorry about the glare on the Lane Perception hutch but my bookshelf idea with my vintage, not so vintage, resale and flea market glass wouldn't stand a chance with a kitten or 4 in the house so the glass doors went back on! The paintings from my friend, Lady Antique Dealer, are what pulled it all together. I simply could not have found anything I like better.

Some other little gems that help pull it together are my 'mother-in-law vases'.  I have started calling them that because most of them purchased have been from a daughter-in-law law that wants no remembrance of said mother-in-law! As a mother-in-law of three lovely young women I am certain they will want mine!!

My vases are spilling over from my foyer where they are a great burst of color especially in the morning when the sun shines in! Who needs coffee when I have this.

I have found all the tables on my local online garage sale site.  I've had to do a little restorative work on them but for the price I paid I am more than happy to do that.

Can't forget funky lamp! May or may not stay but for now it is too heavy for the littlest cat to knock over and break like the last lamp so here it is. 

Swedish pottery dots for more great color!

It's always changing in here because it is so much fun thrifting things!

Gnome home

The cutest thing happened in my garden yesterday! I know gnomes are real or how would he get from the last place I saw him to underneath the giant mushroom?? Jerome is the real deal.

My oasis

   

    

    

I haven't written a blog post for quite some time and won't burden everyone with a long one here. My yard and gardens received an amazing amount of my time and effort this year so I am at the point of simply happily enjoying it. It has been hot, REALLY hot but that heat has fueled rain events so everything is still looking quite happy which makes ME happy. August is soon upon us so it seems to go downhill from there, so enjoy my garden with me. It's a wonderful year for phlox! I have some of my Mom's which are always the prettiest!