Fall Photography

My sister and I took a few scenic roads today to get some shots of the foliage. I have been fighting a bad respiratory infection the past few days and am still pretty sick, but I just needed to get out of the house and get some fresh air today. This seemed like my last chance to catch some color on the trees... it is already fading! :( It was a gorgeous day and perfect for catching some of the autumn beauty. 

Click on the images for a better view. Enjoy!

Apricot Chicken Thighs

Hey all. What a beautiful day, huh? This is what I'd call perfect fall weather! Chilly, a little breeze, sunshine... love it! Especially after all those cold, rainy, dreary days. I like an occasional rainy day, but after days of it I've had enough!

Meanwhile, I have been trying out new recipes while being cooped inside for the last few days. I personally am a fan of boneless chicken thighs. They are not only less expensive, but are more flavorful because they are a darker meat. We rarely buy chicken breasts in our house. The thighs and tenders are cheaper and come out far more tender. Anyway, I haven't been able to get to the grocery store this week, but had chicken thighs in my refrigerator that I really needed to use up. I then went to look for an onion so I could start chopping it up along with an apple to make my apple balsamic chicken and...

No onion. I contemplated making it without the onion, but that would just be wrong. Lol! So, I decided to try something new. I checked the fridge (which is running very low on items) and a thought suddenly hit me. I saw a jar of Apricot Jam and a new recipe started to form. Very simple, very quick.

Apricot Chicken Thighs

1 pkg. boneless chicken thighs

1 tsp. minced garlic

3 T apricot jam

olive oil

salt and pepper

Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat and add chicken thighs so they are flat against the pan. Sprinkle minced garlic and salt and pepper (to taste) on top. Cook the chicken for 2 minutes and flip. Add apricot jam and smear over each piece. Add a little extra to the pan so it can simmer into a nice glaze. If the pan seems dry you can add a little chicken broth or water. Continue cooking the chicken over medium heat until it is cooked through and slightly browned, flipping a couple more times if needed. 

And there you have it! Very easy. I don't like to let the brown bits in the pan go to waste, so you can either scrape them out and sprinkle on top of the chicken or de-glaze the pan and add a vegetable to saute with the yummy bits. We had our chicken with parmesan couscous and green beans. I had my husband guess what I used to make the chicken and he couldn't guess. The apricot is very subtle, but very delicious with the chicken. If it passes the husband test, it's certainly a keeper!

I have a couple more "husband approved" recipes in the making, and hope to share them soon!

Enjoy. :)

Apples

I am so happy I was able to get apples this year! We went to George Hill Orchard in Lancaster, MA. This was a little bit ago, but I wanted to post some pictures and share about the processing. I picked two bushels! They were actually drops, but I got 4 huge bags of beautiful apples. At first I wondered if the 4 bags would be enough for all I had planned to do with the apples... but then I got to peeling and coring them, and I knew that it was going to be a long road ahead.

My first project was applesauce. I peeled and cored and peeled and cored and cooked them all down to a yummy, slightly chunky applesauce. I did not use any sweetener, just spices. It was plenty sweet without anything else, and I kind of like the thought of eating applesauce and knowing it is 100% pure apple.

Next, on to apple butter. I don't have a picture of that, but once I get the jars decorated, I will get one up. The apple butter came out really sweet and yummy and is good on toast, biscuits, ice cream, and anything else you can think of! I bought burlap and plaid homespun fabric on sale that I'm going to use to doll up the jars.

Last, I really wanted to make an apple pie filling. I had a link sent to me of this great recipe for canning. I got all excited, because it was really simple and was going to make awesome Christmas gifts. But then I read that I needed this stuff called Ultra Gel to help thicken the sauce for the pie filling. Supposedly corn starch is not safe to use in things that you want to can, so they suggest Ultra Gel, which is a modified corn starch. Well, of course I was not able to find the Ultra Gel in any stores around here, and having it shipped in wasn't going to work since I needed to use up the apples. I ended up getting freezer bags and making a pie filling with corn starch.

The bags of pie filling flatten out and making storing in my tiny freezer manageable. I haven't tried baking with it yet, but we will see how it turns out. It looks, smells, and tastes fabulous, so I'm assuming there won't be any problems.

It took me days to use up all the apples, but it was worth all the time and effort. Canning takes a lot of time, but in the end it is great to look at all the jars of goods you have stocked in your pantry. :) The reason I got drops was because they are considerably cheaper. There's no way I was walking away from that orchard with 2 bushels of apples picked from the tree. I spent $18 on all the apples, and am content with the many ways I was able to use them!

By the way, salt water is the bomb. I'll tell you why. It keeps your sliced apples beautiful while you are peeling and coring. I always thought I needed to use lemon juice, but salt water is awesome for this. 

This is the recipe I used for the pie filling. http://www.howtobaker.com/recipes/pies-cobblers-recipes/freezer-apple-pie-filling/

Balsamic Apple Chicken

So, I am in love with food blogging. I am almost always looking for new recipes to test on my hubby. This has been his absolute favorite and we have it just about every week. Many people (including myself) are looking for quick, easy meals that are delicious and affordable. Here's my own recipe on a yummy, fall meal. 

Start off by chopping an onion and an apple. Both your preference as to what kinds you want to use.

Saute over medium heat in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Sauteed apples and onions send a wonderful smell throughout the kitchen. One of my favorites! :)

After a couple minutes, add chicken. Make sure it is flattened out on the pan (I love my cast iron!) so it can sear well. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Flip after 2-3 minutes. 

Drizzle with 2-3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with a little brown sugar and let it simmer. After a few minutes, it will begin to coat the chicken with a yummy, sweet glaze. Flip the chicken and let the other side brown up. I like my chicken nice and golden because it makes it more flavorful, but you can cook it how ever long you want. Just don't overcook or it will be very dry. :-/

I love polenta. I make creamy, cheesy polenta by following the directions on the back and then adding a bit of milk and grated cheese. Make sure you salt the water - else, it will be rather bland.

Choose whatever vegetable side you like. We chose fresh spinach that I cooked down in the same pan I cooked the chicken in. The brown bits in the pan gave the spinach lots of yummy flavor. 

Serve chicken over polenta and don't forget all the caramelized apples and onions to top!

Balsamic Apple Chicken

1 pkg. boneless chicken thighs

1 apple

1/2 of large onion

1 T olive oil

2-3 T balsamic vinegar

1 T brown sugar

salt and pepper for seasoning

Chop onion and apple. Saute over medium heat in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. After a couple minutes, add chicken thighs so they are flat against the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Sear 2-3 minutes and flip. Add balsamic vinegar and brown sugar and simmer down until it makes a glaze. Make sure both sides of the chicken have been coated and are golden brown. Serve over creamy polenta and enjoy!

It's Friday!

I made it through the week! Yay! It has been busy, busy. Today I am recovering a bit and trying to keep my allergies under control as they threaten to take over my day! The change in weather is so awesome, but it give me allergies, and I don't like that. Who does?

My week has been full, and yesterday was quite tiring... and exciting at the same time. :) My sister, Aly, came over for the day to help me finalize some vacuuming and mopping at the house. At 6:30pm the ladies from the church arrived and filled the apartment! It was a bit of a squeeze to get everyone seated for our time of hearing adoption stories from two women, but we did it! It was wonderful to hear how God had blessed the ladies who adopted their children even though they weren't able to have their own babies. It is something to be thinking and praying about if Kyle and I aren't able to have children. My heart goes out to the many children without parents and in foster care that need a family to love them. We think it's worse in other countries, but the statistics for America are just as shocking.

Anyway, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and were able to roam around during our time of tea and snacking. Everyone left around 9:45pm.

Kyle came home early last night at about 10:30! That was exciting. There aren't too many nights that he gets back earlier than 11:30pm. He was a wonderful hubby and heated up some rice packs for my back that was aching and I dozed off after taking some antihistamine.

This morning I reluctantly got out of bed so I could have Kyle drop me off at my parent's. I decided to weigh in, wondering what the scale would tell me. I haven't gone to the gym in a while, and am so upset about that. There's not much I can do, though, when Kyle's schedule is so crazy to take me and mine has been busy as well. I think all of my house cleaning has paid off - both the jobs and my own home. I lost TWO MORE pounds! :D So that's 12 pounds total. I have found the secret, and it's this. Don't starve yourself. And if you are going to have a more active day, make sure you eat enough so your body can function. Otherwise it's going to be a battle. In the beginning of my whole determination to get thin again, I was eating very little and being very picky over what I ate. That was good in a way, because it got me into a habit of knowing how many calories were in just about every item I ate. But at the same time, I think my body was in shock from eating so little. Now I don't worry so much about it. I have an occasional ice cream on the weekends, or a sweet from the party. But it's all about what you do in moderation. If I were at the gym 3-4 times a week, I'm sure the weight would fall off at an even faster rate. I'm still happy with 12 pounds gone though. I feel so good, and am really determined to get to the 20 pound mark by November!

Well, I better get some things done now. I'm collecting a bunch of things for my sister-in-law's sweet sixteen party tomorrow. Oh, my busy week is not done yet. ;) I'm excited for it - we have lots planned!

Have a good one,

A Busy September

Things have really picked up around here. Our September schedule has been and is packed! I have added two new things to my weekly schedule, which are JOY Club and another house cleaning job. Those seem to fill in the gaps some on top of quite a bit of things going on during the weekends.

A few weeks ago we were able go up to Maine for the weekend and stay at the family "camp" for a night. It was good to cross over the Maine border again and experience the slower life for a couple days. It was very peaceful and quiet at camp, which was what we needed.

Last weekend we went on a family outing with my parents to a corn maze. That was a lot of fun! I had never been through a corn maze, so that was a new experience. After that we went to Kimball Farm in Lancaster, MA for some ice cream. We heard it was awesome ice cream, but we never expected our servings to be as big as they were. My brothers and Kyle had a hard time with the large serving and none of them were able to finish it in one sitting. It was so good.

This weekend we are going away again. This time it is to NH for my sister-in-law's 16th birthday party. My sisters and I are helping coordinate the decorating. I enjoy party planning and am excited about this Saturday when we can put it all together!

So we have been quite busy and in the midst of it all, it has been very hard to get exercising in. Of course that's the problem for many... But I have been watching what I eat and have been getting exercise in many other ways, like both house cleaning jobs, outings, etc. It really isn't the exercise that targets burning a lot of fat, but it has seemed to get me by. I am at the ten pound mark now! That is very exciting and motivating. This week is pretty hectic for me, but I hope to get to the gym tomorrow.

I have JOY club tomorrow, house cleaning for 4 hours then prayer meeting on Wednesday, a ladies' meeting here at my home on Thursday night (which is taking a bit of work to get ready for) and traveling to NH on Saturday morning. Friday will be spent packing, taking a breather, and preparing last minute things for the bday party.

I am glad to be keeping busy, though my body does not seem to want to keep up. Allergies have hit me again with the weather change and I am feeling pretty tired all day.

I'm excited for the rest of this fall season, and can't wait to do more canning and different projects around the house!

There's a lot more that I could go on about, but I'm afraid that would take too long. Hah, shame on me for not keeping up with the blog. It's been almost a year that I have been without internet here at the house, but I am hoping that we will be able to afford it soon. :)

One more note - I am looking to expand my house cleaning. If anyone is interested or knows anyone that would be, please let me know! I would like for friends to refer me to people that they know, so that I will know if the situation is safe or not. If that makes sense…?

Enjoy the evening. I love cool, autumn nights!

<3

A Busy September

Things have really picked up around here. Our September schedule has been and is packed! I have added two new things to my weekly schedule, which are JOY Club and another house cleaning job. Those seem to fill in the gaps some on top of quite a bit of things going on during the weekends.

A few weeks ago we were able go up to Maine for the weekend and stay at the family "camp" for a night. It was good to cross over the Maine border again and experience the slower life for a couple days. It was very peaceful and quiet at camp, which was what we needed.

Last weekend we went on a family outing with my parents to a corn maze. That was a lot of fun! I had never been through a corn maze, so that was a new experience. After that we went to Kimball Farm in Lancaster, MA for some ice cream. We heard it was awesome ice cream, but we never expected our servings to be as big as they were. My brothers and Kyle had a hard time with the large serving and none of them were able to finish it in one sitting. It was so good.

This weekend we are going away again. This time it is to NH for my sister-in-law's 16th birthday party. My sisters and I are helping coordinate the decorating. I enjoy party planning and am excited about this Saturday when we can put it all together!

So we have been quite busy and in the midst of it all, it has been very hard to get exercising in. Of course that's the problem for many... But I have been watching what I eat and have been getting exercise in many other ways, like both house cleaning jobs, outings, etc. It really isn't the exercise that targets burning a lot of fat, but it has seemed to get me by. I am at the ten pound mark now! That is very exciting and motivating. This week is pretty hectic for me, but I hope to get to the gym tomorrow.

I have JOY club tomorrow, house cleaning for 4 hours then prayer meeting on Wednesday, a ladies' meeting here at my home on Thursday night (which is taking a bit of work to get ready for) and traveling to NH on Saturday morning. Friday will be spent packing, taking a breather, and preparing last minute things for the bday party.

I am glad to be keeping busy, though my body does not seem to want to keep up. Allergies have hit me again with the weather change and I am feeling pretty tired all day.

I'm excited for the rest of this fall season, and can't wait to do more canning and different projects around the house!

There's a lot more that I could go on about, but I'm afraid that would take too long. Hah, shame on me for not keeping up with the blog. It's been almost a year that I have been without internet here at the house, but I am hoping that we will be able to afford it soon. :)

One more note - I am looking to expand my house cleaning. If anyone is interested or knows anyone that would be, please let me know! I would like for friends to refer me to people that they know, so that I will know if the situation is safe or not. If that makes sense…?

Enjoy the evening. I love cool, autumn nights!

<3