Happy Hump Day!
The week is moving along quite nicely. 
Looking forward to the weekend. Fishing & Father's Day!
This past weekend we went to an art festival in town on Saturday. Had fun just walking around & looking at the stuff & people watching. After that hubby & I stopped at a new "saloon" in town. Had a couple of beers & shared an appetizer. Was fun getting out.
Sunday, we were up early & at a friend's house who live on a lake by 7:00am.They took us out on their boat & we did a little bit of fishing. We couldn't stay out too long becayse he was involved with the Parade of Homes that is going on & he had to work that afternoon. But that little bit of time was fun, even though the fishing wasn't so great. Hubby was the only one who caught anything & it wsn't worth keeping.
Monday morning started off with a bit of a scare. I got a phone call regarding my mammogram that I had done on 6/4. There was a "tiny" spot that they wanted me back in so that they could enlarge that area & get more readings. Also a cyst that they wanted to take a better look at. So I went in that afternoon & left feeling relieved, as after more images were looked at & an ultra sound was done, they decided that it was nothing to be concerned about. They do want me back in 6 mos. instead of 1 year though....just as a precaution. Always better to be safe than sorry!
Speaking of scares....last Thursday, daughter woke up not feeling well. She already had an emotional week dealing with some personal issues, then she felt like she was coming down with something. She had to work so she loaded up on cold meds (for her sore throat & aches & pains), Advil for her headache, then she took her regular allergy pill. She negelected to eat anything though (which she already had not been eating well the past few days) I got a phone called around 2:00 that afternoon saying that I needed to go to her work & pick her up that she had fainted. Come to find out, she had been feeling so bad, she thought she was going to be sick, so she was on her way to the restroom & fainted on the way. Fell face forward. She came to with several employees & customers staring down at her. They had called 911 & the paramedics took all of her vitals & checked her out before they allowed her to get up.
She has learned the hard way that you don't take that much medicine & you also need to have food in your stomach.
She ended up with a black eye, bruises & has been pretty sore from the fall. But she is about back to normal now. (or as close to normal as zany jr. can be!)
This book that I am reading right now (at the beginning of my post) is very good. A real page turner & hard to put down.
I won't load you up with a lot of pictures. I actually haven't taken that many.
Here are just a couple from the art festival...
Belly dancers performing
hubby spotted these 2 eagles soaring over the park...
Of course, they were way up there...so not a good shot, but still very exciting getting to watch them.
The wildflowers along the river.
Back at home, a goldfinch coming to visit..
Just for fun....I guess that I am pretty well balanced by the result of this!
| You Are 55% Left Brained, 45% Right Brained |
 Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports. |
Pasta with Lemon Chicken and Sun-dried Tomatoes
Serves 4
4 skinless chicken breast halves
1 Tbl of olive oil
8 oz of penne pasta
4 garlic cloves minced. (In this recipe it's important to use fresh garlic. I use my microplaner to get it very finely minced)
1/8 tsp of crushed red pepper (or to taste)
1.5 cups of chicken broth
3 Tbl of lemon juice (fresh)
2 Tbl of butter
1/3 cup of sun-dried tomatoes (in oil, pat them a bit with a paper towel to reduce oil and fat)
4 cups of fresh baby spinach (6 oz)
1/4 - 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp of Italian herb seasoning
Start a pot of water to boil for your pasta.
Place your chicken in a sauté pan and add 1" of water. Make sure the chicken is almost covered. Bring to a simmer and cook the chicken for approx 15 minutes or until no pink remains. You might need to turn the chicken when half way through in order to make sure it cooks through. Cut open a piece and make sure no pink remains before proceeding. When cooked take it out of the sauté pan and place on a cutting board. You are going to take two forks and shred the chicken. It's easy. Just hold one fork in each hand. Poke them in the chicken near each other and pull apart. If you are going along the grain of the chicken it will pull apart easily and you'll get shreds. If it's not exactly right just adjust the position of the chicken and try again. Even if you are just getting chunks that okay. You'll master this technique eventually. You can cube the chicken too, if you prefer. Set aside while you work on the sauce.
Pour the water out of the pan and wipe it clean. Cut the sundried tomatoes into narrow strips if they came whole. Set them aside. Add one Tbl of olive oil, the garlic, the crushed pepper and cook on medium 2 -3 minutes. You do not want to brown the garlic. Just get it all heated.
Add the chicken broth and the lemon. Increase heat to high.
While this is getting going cook your pasta in a pot of boiling water according to the directions on the box. Should take about 8 minutes to cook.
Go back to your sauce. When the sauce comes to a boil turn it to a gentle boil and cook for about 10 minutes or until the liquid is reduced to about a cup.
Reduce heat to very low and add the butter and the sun-dried tomatoes. At this point if your pasta is not yet cooked, turn off the heat under the sauce, and wait. When the pasta is done, drain it and put it and the chicken in a pasta bowl. Then finish the sauce by adding the spinach. You can turn the heat on low, and just toss the spinach around until it wilts a bit. (If the pan was turned off you need to get the sauce warm again before adding the spinach). I like mine to taste really fresh so I don't cook it much at all. Add this whole mixture to the pasta and then add the Parmesan cheese and mix. Add the herb mixture and mix again and you are ready to serve.
This dish stands on its own very well. All I add is some crunchy bread to dip in the sauce or serve the bread with butter and you are all set.
This next one is perfect for a quick meal. Also great for warmer weather. And is super easy!
Southwestern Chicken Layered Salad
Dinner just got easier! Layer a deliciously fun meal in just 15 minutes.
Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 15 min
Makes: 4
servings
At least it will be a short week.
It scared the bejeebers out of me & I told Lori to hurry up as we needed to get to the house! She was trying to bark & howl back at them...silly girl! We heard them for quite a while that night & then nothing since, so hopefully they were just moving through & are now out of the immediate area.
Where IS the time going to? This huge home, 3 acres, being a wife & a mother & then also finding time for me & to play is keeping me VERY busy. I have not been a very good friend here lately, and for that I apologize. I am only afraid that it is going to get worse with summer coming...yard work, gardening, fishing.... I will try to make it over here more often. Believe it or not, I am not going to post any pictures whatsoever on this post. I just wanted to drop in to say hi & to apologize.
I picked up a bag of them a while back at the Farm & Fleet store a while back & they were so good that I now buy a bag every week. They are evidently made exclusively for this store as even the label says Blain's Farm & Fleet on it. They are TOO good!
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