Monday Mealtime - Lemon Fennel Chicken

Who doesn't like herb-roasted chicken and potatoes? Everyone in my family loves to eat 'em and fennel smells so sweet and fragrant--like licorice--and since my husband loves fennel, I have a lot of it growing in my garden.

Sometimes I have to work to think up ways to use fennel. But a friend told me about a lemon fennel chicken she had for dinner and I thought, "I can do that."

So, I did.

I added my own little twist to the dish: garlic and parsley, plus some kosher salt to spice up the dish.

To get started, I went out to the garden and picked the fennel and parsley, plus (in my opinion) you can never have too many tomatoes so I grabbed a few of those.

Then I rinsed off the garden goodies and chopped up the parsley and fennel. My husband squeezed some fresh lemon over the herb mixture and cut up the chicken breasts to make a nice pocket for stuffing my herbs inside.


We stuffed the chicken breasts with our herb mixture and added some fresh chopped garlic. Of course we had to add a little extra salt and pepper but you could add whatever spices you like. Then we baked the chicken at 400 for about a half hour (next time I will cover the chicken in foil. That will help cut down on the dish washing and seal the moisture inside the chicken.

Plus, I (meaning my husband) chopped up some red potatoes, drizzled olive oil over them and mixed in some onion soup mix. When the potatoes were well-coated, I baked them on 350 for about an hour.

Then I chopped up some fresh fruit for a little fruit salad and made some homemade lemon ice-tea. I even added some lemon zest to the brew and it was really yummy.

This dinner took a little longer than I usually spend during the work week but with my husband's help it was fun and turned out oh-so-tasty. I hope you'll try it.

YUMMMMMMM

Okay, maybe I think this is the best salad in the world because I think cherry tomatoes are like bite-size bits of wonderfulness. Or like healthy candy.

But, here's how I put this salad together.

I went out to the garden and picked about 3 to 4 cups of cherry tomatoes.


Then I rinsed them off (even though they are organically grown) I still soaked them for a few minutes.

Then I sliced them in half, added about 1 and 1/2 cups of Calamata Olives (pitted)
And one pint of mozzarela cheese, in small ball shapes.

I tossed them together and whipped up some balsamic vinegar, olive oil and kosher salt salad dressing like this:

Take one-fourth cup olive oil
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon of salt
(shake the liquid mixture up then pour over the salad)

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Happy Halloween - a little early

How 'bout a scarey picture...well, it is a little blurry.

Some say better late than never. I say, "You can never start celebrating too soon."

And what better way to celebrate than with chocolate...?

I say there isn't any better way to kick off the holiday season than with Frankenstein, eyeballs and maybe an owl or even a fish.

So, let's start celebrating today. Try some holiday truffles, then let me know what you think. I say, "We all scream for Halloween...truffles."

Earth-Friendly Friday: Recycle, Reduce and Reuse

All three of these 2X4s are the same, well...if you use a little elbow grease to uncover the beauty



It's true. Old wood is beautiful - when you strip away the years of dirt, grime and use.

Reusing is simple - if you simply think ahead or . . . behind.

It all comes from the past. Why not look to local scrap yards, recycling centers and the past to recycle, reduce, and reuse?

One way is to reuse old lumber. And old-growth wood is much higher quality than new lumber. So, you will be saving a tree, reducing the waste in our landfills, and saving a little money (or green) at the same time.

My husband sanded down some old wood to make some new garden chairs. I'll post the finished product when he's done and I can hardly wait...

Falling . . .

Click on the picture to see us falling...over the waterfalls, I'm the one in the red helmet. Yeah, that's me having to climb back in the boat after falling out

Answer to Word for Wedneday

Evincing is to show clearly, to make evident or prove

If you want to "read all about it" check it out here.

Word for Wednesday - a game for Writers

Word: Evincing

Take a guess, what can it mean...?
Put your thought in "comments" please.

Then come back around 3:00 p.m. to see if you were "write" or wrong.