Celine Dijon Chicken

As soon as January 1st rolls around, and I start looking for more diet friendly recipes to help with our weight loss goals here, this is one of the first recipes I reach for.  It's from the cookbook 
Crazy Plates: Low-Fat Food So Good, You'll Swear It's Bad for You!

Celine Dijon Chicken
(Original Recipe serves 4, this recipe is doubled, because I have teenagers - this one serves 8)

INGREDIENTS
2 cup unsweetened apple juice
2 Tbsp each Dijon mustard and lemon juice
2 large shallot, minced*
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 tsp olive oil
8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
   (the tenders at Sam's Club are the size of a "normal" chicken breast I use those, pounded flat.  The chicken breasts in the stores these days are the size of a whole chicken!)
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream 
2 tsp each honey and cornstarch

*Our local small town grocery store does not carry shallots, so I often skip this, or use onion in place of it.


DIRECTIONS

1 Combine apple juice, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, shallot, thyme, rosemary, and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.

2 Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and cook for 2-3 min on each side, until lightly browned. Add apple juice mixture. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer, covered, for 5-7 min, until chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.

3 Gently boil remaining liquid for 3 min, until slightly reduced in volume. Mix sour cream, honey and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add to skillet. Cook and stir until sauce is bubbly and has thickened. Pour sauce over warm chicken and serve immediately.

Per serving:
203 calories
4.4 grams fat
0.5 gram saturated fat
27.2 grams protein
11.5 grams carbohydrate
0.2 gram fiber
66.8 milligrams cholesterol
188.1 milligrams sodium
% calories from fat: 20


Find more healthy choices at the Foodie Friends Friday Link Up:



Verses to Pray - Children

update - the next morning, Priscilla Shirer sent a tweet with a link to this post she wrote, with affirmations she speaks over her children.  I'll be making my own list for in my prayer notebook (Mobile Knee app - I'm pretty much all digital) using all of these great resources!

The MOB Society hosted a #PrayingForBoys Twitter party tonight.  Two of the questions involved scriptures to pray, and since praying scripture is one of my big goals for this year..  I took notes!

Colossians 3:23 
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, "

Jeremiah 17:7
But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.

I Peter 4:10
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

Romans 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Ephesians 2:4-5
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Psalm 92:4
For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
I sing for joy at what your hands have done.

Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Psalm 90:12
Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Proverbs 22:6
Start children off on the way they should go,
and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

Deut.  11:8
Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,

Luke 2:52
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. (Pray that our sons would grow the same way)

Philippians 1:9-11
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Psalm 16:8
I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

I Timothy 4:12
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.


Isaiah 61:3
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.


Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa


(printable label at the bottom of this post)

This is easier than it sounds.  Trust me.  The post is really long only because I typed out the steps the way I actually do this - placing ingredients in the right areas so I do not forget anything (I once forgot the vanilla) and so that I'm not wandering to the pantry and getting sidetracked, then forgetting what I have already added and what I still need to do.  (Sadly, this has been known to happen on many occasions, with many recipes, in my kitchen...)


Ingredients Needed:
5 C sugar 
6 T vanilla 
3 C cocoa powder
4 T  sea salt 
2 C dry milk 
1 1/2 C packed brown sugar
2.5 C chocolate chips

Materials Needed:
Baking sheet with sides (not a flat cookie sheet)
parchment paper
food processor or blender
Large pan (I used a nonstick dutch oven)
whisk (I sprayed mine with non stick baking spray)


Step One:
-Measure out sugar, placing in a saucepan.  
- Measure out vanilla - leave in a measuring cup or cup to the side of your stove
- Line a cookie sheet or baking pan (the kind with a rim, not a completely flat sheet - you don't want the caramel to run off the sides) with parchment paper

Make the Caramel

Caramel
5 cups sugar
6 T Vanilla

Heat the sugar in a saucepan - do not stir.  When it is all melted, occassionally life the pan and swirl it - still not stirring, but moving the sugar around.  Leave it cook for about 15 minutes, the sugar will melt into a deep amber color.
 The first time I swirled the sugar 
a few minutes later 
almost done


Remove the pan from the heat, and slowly add in the vanilla (it will pop and fizz & splatter - be careful) whisking the sugar until it is smooth again

Dump the mixture onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet with sides.  Let it sit to harden - it will take an hour or more to completely harden.

Now breathe a sigh of relief - the hard part is over.  All that is left is to mix things together.

Step Two:
measure out the other ingredients, set them beside your blender or food processor.

Break the hardened caramel into pieces, then place in the food processor and pulverize.
Add the salt, pulverize some more
Add the brown sugar and powdered milk, mix thoroughly into a powder
(I have a LARGE food processor, if you make this full recipe - you can cut in half - you may need to mix in a large bowl)
Dump all of the now powdered, mixed together, ingredients into a large bowl.

Place the chocolate chips in the food processor.  Add 2 cups of the mixed powders, and pulverize the chocolate chips.  

Mix everything together well.


This is the label I used.  It is not round, and ideally I would have cut it out and glued it to card stock, then attached it to the jar lid.  But instead I placed it on the insert, then placed the jar ring over top.  It was quick and easy.  Simply right click on the photo, save it, then you can paste it into a word, or google doc.  Paste it a few times, to print as many as you need on one page.

To see more 
24 Days Of Simple Christmas Projects
http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2013/11/24-days-of-simple-christmas-crafts.html






Chocolate Pretzel Reindeer Rods


Last week-end we went to Bethlehem Pa for our anniversary.  In one of the chocolate shops downtown, they had these adorable reindeer "peeps" on chocolate covered pretzel rods.  They were not cheap.

The next day we stopped at the Peeps store - did you know Marshmallow Peeps are made in Bethlehem PA?  I did not know that before last week-end!  They had the reindeer heads, so I bought a few packs.

The chocolate covered pretzels are simple - melt chocolate (I like the wafers from AC Moore best - the ones at Michaels are waxier, and chocolate chips never work as well for me) swirl the pretzel rods in it, then place on wax paper to dry. I sprinkled them with colored sprinkles before they dried.

To attach the marshmallow reindeer heads, I spread some chocolate on the back of the marshmallows, then set them on top of the pretzels.

Once dry, I wrapped them in saran wrap and tied a ribbon around them.

Quick and simple!  I'm going to put 2 in each gift bag with the jar of salted caramel hot cocoa and a bag of homemade peppermint marshmallows.

To see more 


Memory Ornaments



For our sons first Christmas away from home, I made him an official "Get The Tree Day" box & shipped it out to him on base.  We wanted to make him ornaments with family photos from over the years, so when I went into JoAnns with my 40% off coupon and saw these, I was inspired,

 25 Wedding Favor Tins



I simply cut out photos and glued them in, then added some glitter for "snow".  Placed the top on them, glued a ribbon around the edge and a tie on the back.  I used the labels meant to be used on the front, on the back to write descriptions of the photos.

These would be great for small vacation mementos like sea shells from the beach, beach sand, pebbles...


Our sons first tree on his own, with the memory ornaments on it.


To see more 
24 Days Of Simple Christmas Projects
http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2013/11/24-days-of-simple-christmas-crafts.html


Christmas Reads 2013

I like to read seasonally, when I can.  In November I read Thanksgiving themed  books, and starting December 1st I switched to Christmas stories.  So many of the Christmas stories are overly sappy, or over the top ridiculous cozy mysteries, but I've really enjoyed some of the stories I have read so far this year.

My 2013 Christmas Reading List:

My Favorites:


Letters From Father Christmas by JRR Tolkein.  This is a charming book of letters written by Tolkein to his children each Christmas.  The photos are beautiful.  Although I read almost exclusively ebooks, for their convenience (they are always with me when I am waiting in carpool lines, and easy to read in bed) I think I want to own the "real" copy of this book.

Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah
This one was hard for me to place.  I didn't love it.  But it stuck with me in the oddest way - keeping me from putting it on the Not My Favorites list.  It's a short story, so if you pick it up, don't quit on it when it gets really odd - it has a good ending that explains a lot if you keep with it.

Duck The Halls - Donna Andrews
This is apparently the latest book in a somewhat long series - I think this was book 16?  I enjoyed it enough to look forward to reading the rest of the series next year.  It's a cozy mystery, but not overly sappy.  There is a humorous tone to this book, and I've read that the earlier books are hysterical.

I read my first Diva book at Thanksgiving, then devoured the entire series.  Quick reads, these are among my favorite cozy mysteries.


I'm currently reading this one - so far it's good enough to make me think I might like to read more by Parker.  It's a short read, less than 200 pages, and the mystery is intriguing so far.


Not My Favorites:

Lost December by Richard Paul Evans
The parable of the prodigal son, retold.  It wasn't a bad story, it was well written.  I can't explain why I didn't love this - I just did not.  

Long.  Tedious.  





Still on my to read pile:

  • A Kidnapped Santa Claus - L. Frank Baum
  • Log Cabin Christmas Collection - Wanda Brustetter
  • An  O'Brien Family Christmas - Sheryl Woods
  • C Is For Christmas - Wiersbe
  • Christmas Carol Murder - Leslie Meir
  • A Christmas To Die For - Marta Perry
  • Decked With Folly - Kate Kingsbury
  • Eat Drink & Be Buries - Kate Kingsbury
  • Herald Of Death - Kate Kingsbury
  • Holiday Buzz - Cleo Doyle
  • Holiday Wishes - Nora Roberts
  • The Magic Of Christmas - Trisha Ashley
  • Merry Christmas Alex Cross - James Patterson
  • Mischief  & Mistletoe - Mary o Putney
  • Mistletoe And Mayhem - Kate Kingsbury
  • Mistletoe Murder - Leslie Meier
  • Rest You Merry - Charlote MacLeond
  • Cat Bearing Gifts - Shirley Rousseau Murphy
  • Silent Night - Mary Higgins Clark
  • The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus - L. Frank Baum
  • Snow Angel - Glenn Beck
  • Twelve Days Of Christmas - Trisha Ashley
  • What Happens At Christmas - Victoria Alexander


My 2012 Christmas reading list is here:
http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2013/01/christmas-reads-2012.html

My favorites were:

Hercule Poirots Christmas - Agatha Christie
Christmas Sonata - Gary Paulsen
A Winter Dream - Richard Paul Evans
The Christmas Box - Richard Paul Evans
The 12 Clues Of Christmas - Rhys Bowen 
A Highland Christmas - M.C. Beaton

I liked the Rhys Bowen book so much that I read the entire Royal Spy series this year, the latest book in the series is waiting for me to read after Christmas.  

The Perfect Baby Blanket!

  24 Days Of Simple Christmas Projects

The Perfect Baby Blanket!

I am so in love with these blankets! The weight is absolutely perfect, they take about an hour to make, and they are really cute!  

Simply take one yard of cotton print, and one yard of minky dot print, and stitch them wrong sides together.  I sewed around the edges - about 5 dots in one the long sides, and 3 dots in on the shorter sides  

Then sew whatever pattern you would like to "quilt" the two fabrics together.  I did four diagonal stripes across this one.  The dots on the minky fabric make this so simple!  

Then to finish the blanket, roll the edge over twice, and sew.  I did this rather thinly, but for the next one I'll make the edge much thicker, or use a second fabric for binding..  I didn't have a second fabric that worked well with this one.

To see more 
24 Days Of Simple Christmas Projects
http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2013/11/24-days-of-simple-christmas-crafts.html


Felt Embroidery Candle Wraps

 
Felt Candle Wraps

I'm so excited about these, they are my favorite new craft.  Wrapped around a $4 candle from Michael s, these will make great hostess gifts, & teacher gifts, this Christmas.

Last year while shopping at a small, locally owned, department store, I found these:
This is a simple velcro wrap to go around a jar candle.  The possibilities for these are endless, and are going to be great for all the little cross stitch projects, felt embroidery, small quilting projects, punch needle embroidery..  there are all sorts of craft skills that could be used to make these! 

I started with felt embroidery, because it is the fastest simplest craft I know.  

The wrap is just a little bit longer than a standard felt rectangle, so I used my sewing machine to stitch a piece on each side to lengthen it.  This was the only time I used my sewing machine for this project.  The pieces could have been hand stitched, or even hot glued, or you could buy larger pieces of felt to start with.
Next time I would just sew the dark blue material, and I would do all the embroidery on the lighter blue first, then attach the lighter blue to the darker.  Or, embroider first, then add the pieces to lengthen it.  


I used a hot glue gun to attach the Velcro.  Remember to put it on the front on one end (shown on the right), and the back on the other (not visible,on the left).

==============
An Index Of My Craft Related Posts

24 Days of Simple Christmas Crafts - A Scarf

24 Days Of Simple Christmas Projects

A Very Simple Scarf

This is so simple, it is a great "learn to crochet" project.  Or you could do a fancier pattern, or knit it, if you already have experience with knitting and/or crocheting.

Charisma Loops & Threads Yarn

I like this yarn - it's soft and warm works up beautifully.  It goes on sale 2 for $5 at Michaels, although it's 2 for $7 this week.  

For the scarf above, all I am doing are 18 stitches of triple crochet, using a J/10 crochet hook.   I'll use two skeins for this scarf.  Count your stitches every row or two, to make sure you do not drop or add any stitches.  I did the amount shown above one evening while watching tv..  I'll easily finish it in a second evening.

There is a simple tutorial with photos on how to triple crochet here:
http://www.lionbrand.com/faq/116.html
(The site above has both step by step photos, and a video tutorial)

Or go to YouTube and search triple crochet - YouTube is great for learning how to knit and crochet.


To see more 
24 Days Of Simple Christmas Projects
http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2013/11/24-days-of-simple-christmas-crafts.html




Why I Won't Wear Pink In October


Today I put the bright pink cover on my miche bag.  I checked the calendar first, to be sure it was November, and that it is once again safe for me to wear pink.

I know it practically makes me anti american, but I will not wear pink in October.  I will not buy pink duct tape, or pink shopping bags.  Even when the pink flatiron with the ribbon on it goes on 75% clearance, I'll  pay more for a non pink version - it bothers me that much. 

I avoided an entire town for the month of October, because they were "painting the valley pink" for October.  All of the stores were decked out in pink, one with bras used outside as a "humorous"  display.  I didn't research how much of their profits they were donating to any sort of cancer research or support - but my guess would be that it's awfully close to 0%.  

Because that's the second lie in all of this pink.  That by buying pink, you are supporting something - research, or mammograms, or something.  (Amazingly, most people have no idea what they are even contributing towards - and not all cancer research money is spent equally. )
 
"Get your very own FREE Think Before You Pink® Toolkit containing all the information and tools you need to deepen your understanding of the politics of breast cancer and help others learn the truth about breast cancer and pink ribbon marketing. - See more at: http://www.bcaction.org/2013/09/10/pinktober-alert/#sthash.OW6EHYUl.dpuf"

But the first lie, the one that annoys me the most, is that wearing pink shows support, or promotes awareness.

High school football teams all across the area have a "pink out" night.  Some of the cheer squads spend around $100 for pink uniforms & poms just for that night.  The football players wear pink socks and pink arm bands.  Pink balloons & streamers decorate the stadiums.

How does this make one single person more "aware" of breast cancer?  I do know of one local High School that fundraised before their pink out night, then at half time presented a check to a non profit cancer society.  Kudos to them.  That kind of action I can get behind. 

"People go around showing off their new pink swag like they're the bee's knees, but ask them what the symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer are, or if they've heard of triple negative breast cancer, or lymphedema, and you'll get a blank stare and a change of subject. Thinking you are becoming more aware is a hell of a lot different than actually being more aware. " http://www.huffingtonpost.com/seporah-raizer/cancer-messed-with-the-wr_2_b_4202781.html
 
Pink socks on my football player?  Pink pom poms and shirts where none of the proceeds go towards anything at all?  That annoys, and baffles me.  One mom told me it's because "so many of the boys know someone who has suffered from breast cancer and they want to show their support".  Ok...  Then how about on a Saturday they mow the families grass, rake the leaves, buy her a meal and deliver it, wash her car...  We are teaching our children that saying we support something shows our support, when we should be teaching them the actions that actually are helpful and supportive.

"The monthlong celebration of breast cancer awareness, now known as "Pinktober," kicked off last week when the mailman delivered our family's copy of Sports Illustrated for Kids. On the cover was a pink-clad NFL-er promoting -- along with everyone else -- breast cancer awareness month, or BCAM.   We have reached the happy point where Pinktober now targets a demographic group of 11.5- year-old boys with a vague "awareness" message."  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-reid/poverty-breast-cancer_b_997417.html

What might be enlightening, for pink out nights, ONLY those directly effected by breast cancer wear pink.  If your mother, aunt, sister, or cousin has breast cancer, wear the pink socks, or pink t-shirt.  One night of the year, not all month.  

And think about that a minute please.  Veterans Day is one day.  Pinktober is 31 days.  Please, let that sink in.  

Do a google search on "Pinktober" and you will find story after story after story from women who are suffering from breast cancer and shudder to see the color pink.  It doesn't support them.  It annoys them.  It hurts them.  It embarrasses them.  Those who are proud to wear pink are often, intentionally or unintentionally  completely self centered.  "Look at me!  I'm wearing pink!  I donated 2 cents to some random charity I know nothing about so I can wear this pink shirt and you all will know how much I care!"  

"A friend shared with me what happened at the beginning of the Kansas City Chiefs game.  Here's the video in all it's non-glory (assuming you can get through the 30 second commercial at the front end).  Forty-nine...yes 49 planes flew over Arrowhead Stadium spewing pink smoke.  kctv5.com/video I watch that video, and I just have to wonder -- How many mammograms that would have paid for???" 

And the 3rd lie..  Breasts are the most important thing about women.  "Save the tatas".  We'd never hear "Save the testicles", now would we?  There's no month devoted to some color for colon cancer, or testicular cancer, or even, pediatric cancers.  (I can't imagine a local business displaying jock straps the way they displayed bras this month) An entire month, year after year, devoted to breast cancer.  Not human trafficking, not support for our Veterans, not even cancer in general.   

The most ridiculous "support" advertisement I saw on facebook this year was "free the tatas!"  A day to go bra-less, to "show support".  Uhm..  avoiding the obvious disrespect for women who have just had mastectomy's due to this illness you are "showing support for" - isn't going bra-less an obvious physical sign of LACK of support?  I'm assuming some man came up with this idea, in order to get his co-workers and female friends to take off their bras.  What amazes me is how many women I know who spread this around facebook.

So, so, so well written.. share this instead of the graphic below!
Look at the Ad. Not the half naked woman, READ what it says above it.  This was all over facebook this month.  "Support Breast Cancer".  Not support awareness, not support research - support breast cancer.   Oh yes, aren't we all very "aware"...  

Next October, instead of wearing Pink, send this article to your girlfriends:

Schedule your mammogram, and nag your friends to schedule theirs.

Or don't wait.  Share it now.  Because breast cancer, contrary to popular belief, is not an October disease, and wearing pink will not stop it.  

Basic Baked French Toast

I found that by baking french toast, instead of frying it, it gets nice and firm and crusty on the outside, and has a better cooked through texture in the inside.  This is officially my favorite way to make french toast!

Thick Slices of Bread (I used a loaf of homemade wheat here)
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups of milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
splash of vanilla
a sprinkling of salt

1. Mix all ingredients, except bread, together
2. Dip bread in mixture, soaking both sides
3. layer in a pan, bake at 375


Snowmen from Electric Tea Light Candles

24 Days Of Simple Christmas Projects
Day #1

Snowmen From Electric Tea Light Candles

These candles are pretty easy to find at the Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Dollar General - any of those stores with the word "Dollar" in their name.  :-)  Depending on the store, they are 2 or 3 for $1.  Most of us will have the embellishments on hand in our craft stashes, making this a really cheap starter craft.

I used E600 glue to attach the hat, and the ribbon to hang them.  (You can find e600 glue in the automobile section of Dollar General) a white gel pen to accent the hats (which are simple black card stock) and a black sharpie for the faces.

 These will be really cute hanging off gift bags this Christmas!

I saw this idea on pinterest, then googled it and found that it is not a new idea at all..  and the variations are endless!


This is the very basic idea that I started with.  Drawing the face on is so much easier than I expected..  I found that for me, 5 dots for the mouth worked well, and the "secret" is to make the eyes a little bigger, if the face doesn't look quite right.  (she has some other candle ideas in this post as well) http://christyrobbins.blogspot.com/2012/11/four-holiday-candle-ideascheap.html


This one has an adorable hat and scarf, and has a magnet on the back.  What a great idea!  At the bottom of her post she offers to share her cricket template if you email her.
http://noelmignonlayouts.blogspot.com/2012/12/easy-snowman-magnet-with-free.html



This Stampin Up Demonstrator got fancy with hers - and she gives you step by step directions.  I love the scalloped punch she used on the back of hers, I used that idea from her.  I like the paint she used in place of the sharpie too, for extra dimension
To see more 
24 Days Of Simple Christmas Projects
http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2013/11/24-days-of-simple-christmas-crafts.html


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