I must say that I am particularly enjoying my boys' relaxed sports schedule - with flag football only on Sundays, we (I) have definitely enjoyed being able to come home in the afternoons, focus on homework, and just play outside. When I was a kid, I played soccer and softball, but 90% of my life was playing outside - climbing trees, jumping on the trampoline, playing massive games of hide-n-seek, exploring in the creek, running, running, running.... it was awesome! And where were my parents? My dad was at work and my mom was cleaning our house or cooking our meals. We had a big red bell in our front yard that my parents would ring when it was dinner time and my brother and I would come running home. I wish our kids, in this day and age, could grow up like that. It seems that we're all slaves to rigorous sports schedules, harder academics, and then there's that whole digital thing that we didn't have when we were little.
Oh well - it is what it is - so there's no sense in fighting it, BUT... we can put effort towards finding time for our kids to be kids and experience the great outdoors. And it is a great way of teaching responsibility and safety to our kids. My boys know the boundaries (that's not to say that they ALWAYS follow the rules, but it's a learning process). They know what parts of the creek they need permission to enter - what parts are okay anytime - what shoes to wear if they want to explore the creek - they know to call when they arrive at their friends' houses - and to call to let me know they're on their way home - they have learned to pay attention to the time and to be back when they say they're going to be back (or they lose the privilege of going out on their own for a period of time). And they get to have time away from me and be just with kids - where they learn life lessons. I do feel like there is WAY much more oversight from parents these days, and it has taken away the freedom to just be a kid, to some degree.
So, here's to giving our kids some freedom to just be kids!!
Last week, I stumbled across an old recipe that I tweaked just a bit and it was DELICIOUS! Easy enough to cook for a weeknight dinner and delicious enough to serve company, it's a great main dish - definitely one for your recipe box.
Two big chicken breasts fed my entire family and I had leftovers which I brought to work and thoroughly enjoyed at my desk the next day! The recipe calls for 4 chicken breasts, so if you have a larger family or one with bigger appetites, I suggest using 4 chicken breasts.
First, you pound with a mallet two chicken breasts. I put the two chicken breasts into a large gallon size Ziploc bag, zipped it closed and then pounded them until they were really thin (this way, the chicken juices are contained as you are beating them).
Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and put them in a hot skillet with melted butter over medium high heat. You should hear the chicken sizzle when you first lay it in your skillet (this seals in the juices), so make sure it's good and hot - but don't burn the butter! Cook the chicken in the butter for 5-6 minutes a side until both sides are golden brown.
While the chicken is browning, chop half of a small onion (or a quarter of a large onion) into very tiny pieces.
Remove the chicken from the skillet and set it aside. In the same skillet, add your chopped onion and one or two cloves of chopped garlic. Saute until the onion is clear.
If you have a toddler, make sure she is okay.
She looks a little guilty, ey? She was enjoying shaking salt and pepper all over the table. :)
When the onion is translucent, add 1/2 cup Dijon mustard and 1 cup heavy cream. You could use half and half (which has less calories and fat), but let's remember that I have no problem with calories as long as they're not carb filled. This was just about a carb free meal for me.
Stir until smooth and cook for 5 minutes or until thick and velvety.
Remove from heat and then stir in 8 ounces of sour cream.
I served this with some brown rice and vegetables (oh, and those yummy rolls I told you about). Everyone in my family loved this... except for Matthew, who disagreed with my decision to use onions. Some people are so picky.... (and no, I did not make another meal for him as I am not a short order cook).
Here is my plate. Isn't it pretty?
There is a little mustard chicken, roasted cauliflower, mixed greens salad with goat cheese, strawberries and toasted almonds and a roll. These are the rolls I told you about a couple of weeks ago. Mmm mmm.
Here is the recipe:
Mustard Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 TBS butter or margarine
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dijon mustard
1 cup heavy cream or half n half
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream
salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pound chicken breasts to 1/2 inch even thickness. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Cook chicken in butter 5-6 minutes per side until golden brown. Remove chicken to a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Add onion and garlic into the same skillet and saute until clear. Stir in mustard and cream until smooth. Cook 5 minutes until thick and velvety. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.
Coat chicken generously with the mustard sauce and bake 20-25 minutes until sauce is thick, bubbly and chicken is cooked through.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
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