Starting Over!

Here we go! I'm really going to try and do this yet again! So not my forte but, hey, everyone else is doing it, right? Hah! Had a discussion about cloth diapering and she said that everyone she knows does it because it's a fad, the in thing to do! Wow! Not sure what I think about that!

This weekend was actually pretty dull compared with last weekend. No tornados, birthdays, or family visiting to keep me busy. Kids are pretty much doing all the normal things. Mitchell running around half naked and Natalie flirting with all the new neighbors! Pretty normal around here!

Justin actually has to work tomorrow and none of the Army guys do. Oh well! Someday he'll get a day off that they don't, well, hopefully!

Tomorrow I'll try to post before 10.m. and maybe write a bit more. Off to bed!

Blueberry-Lemon Bread

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into thin slices
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (do not thaw)
• grated rind from 1 lemon
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs, beaten

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Lightly coat a 5-by-9-inch loaf pan with vegetable cooking spray.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it looks like coarse crumbs. Mix in blueberries and lemon rind. Stir in the milk and eggs until well blended.
3. Pour into pan. Bake 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn onto a wire rack.
   
   Variation: For Orange-Raspberry Bread, use the grated rind from 1 orange in place of the lemon rind and substitute 1 cup raspberries for the blueberries.

Here are a few of the recipes that I have tried out lately. Most from the Real Simple website, which I love. Most of the recipes are things that I normally have in the fridge or pantry and are very simple!

The lemon feta chicken is from a blog that I just heard about. She is another stay at home mom who loves to cook and shares all of her recipes!

Justin is on this new eating regime and it is hard to cook for him. It is the paleo diet! Basically from the paleolithic era and everything is to be basically veggies and meat. No dairy, very little grains and starches! Because I am pregnant and pretty much want to eat everything in sight, this is difficult! Plus, trying to feed Mitchell during his toddler picky days is also a treat!

Lemon Feta Chicken

Lemon Feta Chicken

Ingredients:
thin sliced chicken breasts
butter (optional)
salt & pepper
garlic powder
Feta cheese
1-2 lemons

Directions:
Place chicken breasts in a sprayed 9x13 glass dish. I like to slice each chicken breast down the middle so they are thinner(like butterflying), but that's just my preference. (So they're wide, but thin. Hope that makes sense!) I cover each breast with a little butter. (This is optional!) Then sprinkle each piece with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Sprinkle with feta. Take a lemon and cut in half. With one half, squeeze over the chicken. Slice the other half and lay slices over each piece of chicken. Cook at 350 for about 20 minutes. I broil it for the last 5-7 minutes so the chicken and feta are browned slightly. Voila! Enjoy

Salmon Fillet with Citrus and Thyme

• 3-pound piece skinless salmon fillet
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• kosher salt and pepper
• 1 orange, thinly sliced
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 12 sprigs fresh thyme

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Place the salmon on a parchment-lined baking sheet, drizzle with the oil, and season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Scatter the orange, lemon, and thyme around the salmon.
2. Roast until the salmon is opaque throughout, 20 to 25 minutes. Using 2 large spatulas, carefully transfer the salmon to a platter and scatter the orange, lemon, and thyme on top of it.

Cooking!

Maple-Glazed Salmon with Pineapple

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 4 6-ounce salmon fillets
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 fresh pineapple
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 cups cooked white rice

Directions

1. Heat broiler. Whisk together the maple syrup and mustard in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Place the salmon in a foil-lined 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Season with the salt and pepper. Slice the peel from the pineapple half and cut it lengthwise into quarters, then cut each quarter into 1/2-inch-thick triangles. Scatter the pineapple and jalapeño around the salmon. Brush the salmon with the syrup mixture.
3. Broil for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the salmon flakes easily when pricked with a fork and the inside is the same color throughout. Serve the salmon and pineapple with the rice and drizzle with the remaining glaze, if desired.

Busy, busy, busy!!!

We're finally getting back into a routine around here since we are done with visitors for awhile. Or, at least for a week or so! MOVING!!! So much to do and so little time to do it all with a toddler to keep busy! I'm really trying to balance out the sorting, cleaning, organizing, and packing with a some play time also. It's actually starting to get hot outside, so we'll have to plan around the heat pretty soon, meaning that we'll have to be outside during the not so hot times of the day.
I have started my lists of what needs to really get done before the move. Justin just told me yesterday that he has to complete a checklist before they will give him his orders. Great! Now that I know what the problem has been, maybe now I can encourage him to get it done. We really can't move ahead very well until we get orders. Then we can actually find out more details about the move. I'm actually thinking that it may be a bit delayed since we will have to get passports and do the medical physicals before we can leave. Hopefully we can get this all accomplished before the baby is ready!!!