Spatchcocked Chicken

A friend of ours introduced this type of roasted chicken to us and it is A.MAZ.ING.  This meal takes 30 minutes tops (including the prep work), and only 1 pan!

Spatchcocking is just the process of removing the back bone of a natural fry chicken.  When you get your chicken from the butcher ask them to remove the bone.  It makes the chicken flat and faster to roast while still maintaining the juices and yumminess.  This does not cost more money.  My entire chicken (organic & natural) was $5.41.

Ingredients:

1 spatchcocked chicken

salt & pepper

2-15 oz. cans garbanzo beans, drained

Italian parsley

Directions:

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Place in a cast iron skillet and cook at 500 degrees for 15 minutes.

2. Add chickpeas into the skillet and roast for 15 more minutes.  Add the parsley before serving.

3. Enjoy!

What I’m Lovin’ Wednesday: Milkies

Whoever said “there is no use crying over spilt milk” was clearly a big fat liar or not an exclusive breast feeder and they deserve to be punched in the gut (I kid of course…..no punching, but maybe I nice talk’n to).  I have definitely cried over spilling my milk and feel that it is completely justified!  The stuff has greater value than gold! I’d heard of Milkies before but I didn’t want to spend extra money on another product, that is, until I got closer to going back to work and realized how precious every drop of breast milk was.  Milkies is an insert that slides into your nursing tank/bra to collect the milk that leaks while you’re nursing on the other side.  I was noticing how absorbed my nursing pads were and was frustrated because my child could be having that instead of it being wasted and thrown in the trash. So I ordered the Milkies.  These things are amazing!  I had no idea how much milk I was wasting and now I don’t have to.  They really are easy to use, comfortable, and collect up to 4 oz. that you can dump into a bottle or freezer bag. I highly recommend Milkies for mamas who are going back to work, or have a low supply and want to make the most of every drop.

Obligatory Blogger Disclaimer: I was not paid for this post; I just really like this product.

Indian Butter Chicken

I posted this picture on Instagram last week not thinking too much of it.  Because of the number of responses and comments I received, I decided that I better post this recipe stat! This was my first attempt at making Indian Butter Chicken, but I'm sure I will be making this again; it was yummmmmmmy!

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken tenders cut into smaller cubes
salt & pepper
4 tbs unsalted better, divided
basmati rice
small onion
3 tsp curry
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground ginger
6 oz tomato paste
1 cup tomato sauce
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed & drained
cilantro
naan

Directions:

1. Salt and pepper chicken.  Brown the chicken in a skillet with 1-2 tbs butter, and set aside.
2. Prepare basmati rice following the instructions on the container. 
3. Melt 1 tbs of butter in a stock pot.  Add onion and cook on medium heat until translucent (4-5 minutes).  Add curry, chili powder, & ginger to the onions and stir for a couple minutes.  Add in tomato paste & sauce, then stir again.  And lastly, stir in the cream.  Once everything is incorporated, add the browned chicken, reduce the temperature to low and cook for 30 minutes stirring frequently. 
4. About 5-10 minutes before serving, add the peas, and 1 tbs of butter to the tomato cream. 
5. Serve the butter chicken over the basmati rice, garnished with cilantro and naan for dipping.
6. Enjoy!

Lapped By A Fanny Pack

In the morning Dutch & I go walking to work on our baby fat (Dutch it lookin’ to gain, and I’m lookin’ to lose…thus he sleeps while I walk).  Anyways there is an elderly woman with an obviously serious case of osteoporosis & a large fanny pack that we see.  She walks every morning and I see her through the kitchen window walking again when I’m doing dishes after dinner in the evening. When we walk in the morning this woman passes us every day.  I mean this woman is bookin’ it through the neighborhood.  It’s both embarrassing and inspirational.  She motivates me every morning to do better and try harder.   Ah-maz-ing fanny pack woman!  See how small she is in this picture?! That’s because she is so fast I can’t get my camera out fast enough after she passes us. Happy Friday!  Go and be a fanny pack woman! hehe

Keep’n it Real…..Again

It’s been a while since I shared some “real” pictures with y’all (here & here). It’s time to confess again. Here is what my living room looks like these days: a tangled mess of baby products & laundry.  To be honest, I love my new living room “décor”.

Baby Boy Pumpkin Patch

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was dreading the fall.  I still am.  In an effort to change my perspective, the Mr. & I have been thinking about activities we will get to do this fall.  These activities we have done before, but this year we get to share them with Dutch.  Going to the pumpkin patch this fall is going to be so much fun.  Yes we will be those parents that take a bazillion pictures with our kid leaned up against a pumpkin just to get the one perfect shot.  Of course the Houston weather will not have received the memo that the temps are supposed to drop in the fall and so my kid will be overdressed.  Oh well!

Baby Boy Pumpkin Patch by darbyhawley featuring a khaki hat

I’m co-hosting over with Kelly & Megan for Trendy Tot Tuesday.  Stop by and link up :-)

An InLinkz Link-up

Men In Spanx

I saw this yesterday and I die laughing every time I watch it.  I hope you get some Friday laughs from this lol Click here if you’re having trouble accessing the video. Happy Friday!

No Fall Please

I am a fall person.  You know it, I know it, the man on the moon knows it!  I love the season…the leaves, the food, the sports (oh how I love the football), the festivities & holidays, my pumpkin spice lattes, and the fashion (I have way too many boots to be living in Houston).

But not this year.  I’m not looking forward to fall. Not at all. 

For the first time in years, I’m loving summer and in denial that fall is right around the corner.

You see “fall” is synonymous with “work” in my mind right now.  I can’t believe that my 3.5 months of my maternity leave are almost over.  I just can’t believe it.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t like my job (I still really love & enjoy the work that I do), but I am not ready to leave my sweet little boy at home while I’m away during the day.  Just the thought of it brings unbelievably large crocodile tears to my eyes.  I’m not ready, and I’ll probably never be ready for it (not for his first day of kindergarten, or college, or his wedding day….none of it!).  Dutch and I have been attached, literally, for over a year.  Not having him with me all day every day makes my heart just ache and my stomach fall to my feet.

I know that I’m going to blubber my way all the way to school that first day back (let me be honest here, we all know that those crying sessions are going to occur more than just the first day).  I know that this is going to be a huge learning curve from everything to learning to juggle working outside of the home with motherhood and being a wife, to accepting that I am not going to be perfect or an overachiever in any area of my life.  I’ve got a lot of lessons that I’m getting ready to start learning.

If you have done this before, please share your tips with me.  What will make this easier for Dutch? What will make this easier for me?  Please say a prayer for us if you get a chance while we prepare for this transition. 

For now, I’m embracing every single hot day in Houston this summer.  I am NOT complaining about the heat.  I am NOT filling my agenda with “to do’s” and extra events.  I am NOT freaking out about meeting deadlines.  I am NOT counting down the hours of baby snuggles; I’m cherishing them.  I’m staying around the house in my pj’s all day loving on my baby.

Summer Baby Boy

Before I found out Little Peep’s gender, I was shopping for baby clothes.  (Doesn’t every new mama do that?!)

I quickly noticed how larrrrrrge the little girl clothing section was, and how incredibly small the little boy clothing selection was.  Since then I quickly found stores and brands that had the best selections for boys.  This summer we haven't spent much time outside yet with Dutch, but here are some of the clothes we will be sporting next summer.  rhino gingham shirt - chambray shorts – crab swim trunks – “one” onesie – rugby shirt – star flip flops – plaid shirt – overalls

Today, I’m link up with Megan & Kelly for Trendy Tot Tuesday; hop over and see some other great styles for kiddos!