What's Cooking Wednesday - Balsamic Chicken and Pears

My mom found this recipe online at www.quickandsimple.com. We made a few changes but it turned out great! We served it with mixed veggies & quinoa. This was my first time trying quinoa & I really liked it. I made it with chicken broth instead of water. Quinoa is quite healthy with 3 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein per serving.

Balsamic Chicken and Pears

2 tsp vegetable oil
4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts (we used 8 boneless skinless thighs)
2 Bosc pears, unpeeled, each cut into 8 wedges
1 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp corn starch
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup dried cherries (we used craisins instead)

1. In non-stick 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tsp vegetable oil. Add chicken and cook 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, until juices run clear when pierced with tip of knife. Remove chicken to bowl.
2. In same skillet, in 1 tsp of oil, cook pear wedges until lightly browned and tender.
3. In cup, mix chicken broth, balsamic vinegar, corn starch and sugar until blended. Add chicken broth mixture and dried cherries to pan & bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Return chicken to pan and warm through.

Sorry I forgot to take a picture!

Read more...

First Tooth!

This post is a few days late because I was HOPING to get photographic evidence of Evan's first tooth but alas, it was not to be. As any mom can tell you, babies protect that little tooth with their entire being. I haven't even seen it yet much less got near it with a camera but I assure you it is there. If you put your finger in his mouth you get to meet it personally when he bites you. :)

In other news, we have hired a Nanny placement agency to help us find a Nanny for Evan. Dewey and I had many, many conversations to determine what kind of childcare we were going to use with Evan. In Calgary, childcare is hard to find b/c there are so many jobs available that pay more money. We narrowed our choices down to a dayhome or a nanny. With a dayhome I would have to get Evan out in the cold of winter very early in the morning. Dewey had been pushing for a nanny b/c it would be so helpful in other regards (cleaning, cooking, etc). I loved the idea but it is EXPENSIVE. Finally, we decided that it would be worth it. Cross your fingers for us that we find someone wonderful for Evan.

We are very excited that Grammy will be arriving today. She is going to visit for a week and then Evan and I are going to accompany her back to Alabama for a 2 week visit. I wasn't really planning another trip to Alabama but it just worked out. It will probably be the last trip to Alabama that I will make before I go back to work so I'm glad I'm going.

Have a good long weekend (in Canada anyway). :)

Read more...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Make a free ecard - it's easy!

Read more...

What's Cooking Wednesday - Vegetable Soup

This is a favorite of Dewey's. I serve it with cornbread. Before you ask....I really don't have a recipe for cornbread. I use the recipe from the back of a bag of White Lily Buttermilk Corn Meal Mix (which they do not sell in Canada so I have to bring bags of it back in my luggage from Alabama). This recipe is infinitely flexible based on what you like/have. This just happens to be what I used in it tonight.

Vegetable Soup

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil


• 1/2 a medium onion, chopped


• 1 large box of Campbell's Reduced Sodium Chicken Stock (brand doesn't matter but I wanted to give you an idea of the size)


• 2 cans of stewed tomatoes, chopped


• 1 can Romano beans, drained (I also use Mixed beans sometimes)


• 3 carrots, chopped


• 2 potatoes, peeled & chopped


• 1 cup whole kernal frozen corn

Heat oil in large soup pot. Add onions and cook until onions are soft...about 3 minutes. Add carrots & cook another minute. Add broth, tomatoes & beans. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes to an hour stirring occasionally. Add corn about 10 minutes before you serve. Yum!!!!

Don't forget to visit Shan to see what else is cooking this Wednesday!

Read more...

We Made It!

Through the cold that is. In case you didn't hear....it was -48°C here last week (with the wind chill). That is a bit colder than this Alabama girl can handle. Evan and I hibernated on Monday and Tuesday because I just couldn't bear the thought of going outdoors. The rest of the week was better so it wasn't a total loss. Shawna and her little boy Kohen visited Evan and I on Friday for lunch. Shawna is hopeful that I can teach her how to crochet. I've managed to teach her two stitches so far (single and double crochet) so we're off to a great start. As long as she only wants to make "straight" things such as wascloths or scarves we're going to be fine. I haven't ventured much past that myself so I wouldn't be a very good teacher. On Saturday night we had friends over for dinner (Doug, Diana and their little boy Daniel & Shawn, Shawna and Kohen). A great time was had by all and the babies were fantastically well behaved. Nana and Papa Don stopped by on Sunday and ended up staying for dinner. Plus the Giants won the Super Bowl (we were rooting for them b/c they were the underdog)! All in all it was an eventful and fun weekend.

Here are some more pictures of Evan from the last week or so. Had to post some action shots with Moscar. As always, roll over the pictures to see the text description.

Read more...