Happy New Year!

We're spending a pretty low-key family day today. Normally, we go and celebrate with some friends, but everyone seems to be suffering from a case of the sickies this year. Nothing wrong with staying home and ring in the new year with your head on your pillow, waking up in time to watch the fireworks displays, then going right back to sleep!
Actually, we are getting out a bit today...started the morning by taking the boy swimming while hubby was coaching the boys swim team this morning. I had plans on doing that last week as well on the day after Christmas, but the raging ear infection put a stop to that. After nap time this afternoon, we're loading up and heading out to the zoo for zoolights. It's a tradition for us to go every year (back even since hubby and I were dating!), and each time we've planned on going this year, we've been rained out. Today though, the weather is nice, so we're going! It was either today, or we didn't go at all.  I'll post a couple pictures later.
In any case, hope you have a safe and happy new year!

Caper Chicken

The boy, 9 times out of 10 will ask me to make this recipe when I ask what he wants to eat for dinner.  He loves it that much!  This comes somewhat as a shock to me because he's such a picky eater.  Something about caper chicken though, he just can't get enough of.  We knew he loved it when I made it one time and gave it to him and not only did he eat all that I gave him, but he kept asking for more!  I think he had nearly polished off a whole chicken breast by the time he was finally full!  If he can polish off a whole chicken breast at 4, I fear for how much food he's going to be putting away as a teenager!
In any case, I originally found the recipe at allrecipes.com.  I love that site too!  If I'm trying a new recipe out, it's either something I've found there or on pinterest.  The recipe is listed here, and I don't have a picture of the final outcome of this one because we finish it off faster than I can take a picture!
I don't measure out the spices, and I always double the sauce because there just isn't enough if you follow the recipe exactly.  Serve over some rice, and with a side of green beans, and you've got yourself a meal!


Caper Chicken:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I usually use 3...one for each of us, but have done as many as 5)
1 tsp lemon pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried dill weed
3 tbsp butter
1/2 c. whipping cream (I just buy the small 1 pint container of heavy cream and use the whole thing...doubles the sauce)
2 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed

Make sure your chicken is thawed completely before starting.  It makes the cooking process MUCH easier (trust me on this one...I somehow end up with chicken still raw in the middle for some reason and end up having to finish it for a couple minutes in the microwave and it just doesn't taste as good!).
Season (one side of) the chicken breasts with lemon pepper, salt, dill weed and garlic powder
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Place breasts in skillet, (seasoned side down, and season the other side...the extra seasonings in the skillet give the sauce more flavor) and increase heat to medium-high.  Turn chicken every few minutes, until brown, then cook a bit longer until they're cooked through.  Remove chicken to a warm serving platter, and cover with foil (or if you're like me, put them on the plate WITHOUT foil and into the microwave for a couple minutes)
Increase heat on stove to high, and whisk in heavy cream (in the skillet), stirring constantly so it doesn't burn. Stir until it is reduced to sauce consistency (it will bubble up a lot, and then settle down).  Remove from heat, and stir in capers.
Pour sauce over chicken and enjoy!

I make this with rice, and a little sauce goes a long way.  I've read that this is also pretty good served with pasta as well, but we prefer rice.

Mashed potatoes and chili

AKA...what I make for dinner when I don't feel like cooking. Tonight was one of those nights. I developed a raging ear infection when we got back from all of our Christmas festivities. :( Why is it that illness always comes when I get a "bonus" day off work? Oh well. At least I don't have to take a sick day or vacation day for it. After debating for a few hours yesterday, I took a trip to the doctor and am now on antibiotics. The only problem is that I'm still not feeling great, and therefore not in the mood to cook anything that takes a while lot of effort.
Enter the quickest dinner in our meal rotation. Hubby introduced me to this while we were still dating. I thought it was weird at first, but quickly became a fan when he first made it for me. Seriously...easiest.meal.ever. It can totally be made more gourmet with mashed potatoes from scratch, and chili from scratch however, when energy is lacking, open a can of chili, mix up some instant potatoes and dinner is served! Top it with some cheese, or any other toppings you desire, and you've got a quick and filling meal when you have a busy weeknight, or a night when you don't feel like cooking!

Merry Christmas!

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the season, I'd like to stop and wish a very merry Christmas from my family to yours!

Christmas Gift Tags

I try to make tags for the gifts we give at Christmastime every year.  Usually I have grand intentions, but the execution of said ideas doesn't fully come to fruition.  I remember a few years ago, I just took to using a sharpie and writing everyone's names right on the wrapping paper!  So much for cute, homemade tags!  Last year, I got as far as getting the tags punched out and then just scribbled the names on them.
This year however, I had a few extra minutes to add some finishing touches to them.  I think they turned out pretty cute!  I used my Creative Memories tag maker and punched out as many tags as I could get out of a 12 x 12 sheet of cardstock.  A quick dig through my stamps, and the perfect one was found!  Then, it was just a matter of stamping and embossing.  I used my versamark watermark ink pad, and some white embossing powder.  A blast of heat, and they were done.  All that was left to do was to write everyone's names on them.  They're not much, but I think they add just enough of a personalized, crafty touch.  If I can't find the time to make everyone's gifts, I can at least make some tags!

Homemade Laundry Soap

I LOVE Pinterest!  I've found so many fun ideas there, and actually had a chance to try a few.  Well, this one pin in particular intrigued me.  I've always wanted to try making my own laundry soap and had seen this pinned quite a few times.  I figured I might as well give it a try.  I read through all the comments on the blog post and decided that it couldn't be too difficult to do and should last us a while.  If I could save some money on laundry detergent at the same time, I figured that would be a win!  I usually buy the big bottle of detergent and it lasts us quite a while.
To be honest, I'm really not sure how much we're saving or going to save because I hate doing laundry!  I do as little laundry as possible because a) I hate doing it, b) I'm never home to do it and c) I hate doing it!  Actually, maybe I should clarify that...the actual process of gathering up the clothes and physically putting them in the washer and dryer is easy.  Hubby does his own laundry and I wash my clothes and the boy's clothes, although give it another year or so and he'll be doing his own too.  It's the darn putting the clothes away that I just seem to never find the time to do!  I think I actually put clothes away 3 to 4 times a year, when mount laundry gets too high and when there's actually a day when there's nothing else planned and I go on a house-cleaning rampage!  The last time I put clothes away ended up in a trip to the hardware store after the bar in the closet came crashing down at 3am because of the weight on it!  The thing just snapped clean off the wall and made quite the racket in the middle of the night!  It didn't help that the wall support was also holding up the shelf in the closet either, and that was rather heavy as well.  The last 6 shirts I hung up did the poor thing in!  We discovered, in putting new brackets up that the closet rod was never hung level to begin with.  Funny what you learn about your house when random things start breaking and you have to fix them!

Anyway...the pin that I was going off of was here:

Source: beingcreativetokeepmysanity.blogspot.com via Erika on Pinterest

which led to this blog post.

It took me a bit of time to gather up the materials I needed because I wasn't really in a hurry, and every time I went into the store, they were always out of borax!  Eventually, I rounded everything up and had an afternoon where there were a couple of free hours for me to get it made.  The longest part was grating up the soap.  Since we've got a front loader, I not only grated the bar of soap, but ran it through the food processor as well to make sure that it turned into a really fine powder that would dissolve easier.  I also added in a bottle of Purex crystals to give the detergent a bit of a scent.

All that's needed for the soap is: (it can all be found in the laundy soap aisle at walmart)
3 bars fels naptha (I grated them up and then ran it through the food processor)
1 box borax
1 box washing soda
1 4lb box baking soda
1 tub powdered oxyclean (I used the larger, 3lb one)
1 bottle purex crystals (optional for a light scent)

I'm pretty sure we're going to have laundry detergent for a LONG time!  It only takes 1 to 2 tablespoons per load, and with as much detergent as this makes, a tablespoon is nothing!  I add the mix right in the drum when I do a load, instead of putting it in the soap dispenser on top.  I'm not sure why, but everything I read said to do it this way, so I do!  I finally found a big jar at walmart, and just had to make it look fun.  To be honest, I really was just looking for another glass etching project!  I don't remember what font I used, but I thought it looked fun.  I grabbed some spare vinyl, cut it out, weeded and put it on the jar, then let the etching cream sit for a bit before rinsing it off.  I'm pretty pleased with the result, and so far the soap seems to be working like every other brand of laundry soap that we've ever used.  As long as the clothes come out looking and smelling clean, it's a winner in my book!  Now, if I could just solve the putting-the-clothes away issue!

Homemade Chili

My mom used to make chili all the time when I was a kid (still does, actually), and I've always loved her recipe.  When I got married, I decided that I was going to impress my hubby with my mom's chili.  He'd had it several times when she had made it already, so he knew what he was in for.  My only problem with my chili-making endeavor, was that I had no clue really what I was doing!  Sure, I had watched her make it many times, but I never really paid attention to what went in the pot!  So began a series of phone calls that I would make to her (and at 31 years old, still do!) that when she answers the phone, the first words out of my mouth are "Stupid question from your daughter!".  We both get a good laugh out of it, and then I proceed to ask my question.
I digress...this particular question of how to make her chili recipe sort of left me baffled. I couldn't believe that it was that haphazard, and that easy!  The recipe I was given..."Go down the bean aisle at the grocery store and grab a can or two of each type of bean, a can of diced tomatoes, some pork chorizo, and a pound of ground beef.  Brown up the ground beef with some onion and garlic, then throw it in a pot with all the beans, tomatoes, chorizo, and whatever spices you want, bring it to a boil and serve."  I was shocked...it couldn't really be that easy, and what the heck was chorizo?!  I've since learned a lot more about cooking, and have discovered that sometimes the best meals happen when you grab a whole bunch of things and just throw them into a pot!  That being said, the first time I make something, I'll follow the recipe pretty exact and then when I make it again, I'll change things up to make it better.
Since it was cold and slushing out this weekend, and I had a pantry full of beans, I figured that chili would be the perfect comfort food!  I didn't have everything that I needed for it, but it turned out pretty good anyway.  I like to refer to this chili as a good way to make space in the pantry.  I think I used at least 10 cans by the time I was done!

Homemade Chili

-1 or 2 cans of whatever types of beans you want (don't drain the juices):

  I typically use:

Chili beans (2 cans)

Kidney beans (2 cans)

Pinto beans (2 cans)

White beans

   There's usually a couple more types of beans that I throw in (black, great northern, garbanzo, etc.), but this was what I had in the pantry

-Diced tomatoes

-Tomato sauce

-Green Chilies (this was not part of my mom's recipe, but we like the extra kick that it gives)

-1lb ground beef

-Onion

-Garlic

-Random seasonings (I use chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, cumin) to taste

-Pork chorizo

Brown ground beef with onion and garlic.  Drain (I usually rinse also because I don't cook with a ton of grease) and add to a stock pot with the beans, chorizo, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chilies, and seasonings.  Stir occasionally so stuff doesn't stick to the bottom and bring just to a boil.  Serve and enjoy!