Why Not?

Hazelnut Honey Mustard Chicken

So tonight, I kind of just winged it for dinner. Not kind of, I completely winged it, no recipe, no idea, just started putting things together. I actually used to do that as a little girl. I would grab my stepping stool so I could see over the counter, grab a pot and all our condiments and spices. Then just start dumping everything together and mix it all up with a spoon, until my mom would catch me. Then of course, I would get my cute on, smile and say in the most adorable way, "I cookin' mommy!"

Ahhh those were the days! The days when I thought I was cooking, but it didn't really matter because mom was going to do the real cooking later that actually tasted good. Where now I actually have to cook and make sure it's good because I'm a big girl now :)

So I started mixing honey and mustard, and thought to maybe add some spice to it. I looked up and there happened to be a jar of Cumin in front of my. Why not? Sprinkled some of that in. Then I minced some ginger root and threw that in. Again, why not? Afterwards, I knew that I wanted to coat my chicken breast in something after dipping it in my honey mustard. So I looked around my section of the pantry, and could only find slivered almonds or crushed hazelnuts. Hazelnuts, why not?

So after I dipped the chicken in the ginger honey mustard and then coated it in hazelnuts, I put it in the oven at 400 until completely baked. While that was baking, I needed a side. Asparagus! So I cut off the ends and put them in a baking pan, but they looked so lame. So what did I do, I experimented! I somehow decided that it was a good idea to pour probably 1/4 cup of apple juice into the backing pan with a dollop of butter, laid my asparagus down in the "apple butter" if you will, then topped it with sliced onions, and sprinkled a little bit of garlic powder on it all. I mean, why not? So then I threw those in the oven with the chicken.

I would give this dinner a 6.5 out of 10. It was definitely good, and I will definitely make the chicken again with some alterations to the recipe. Maybe less Cumin spice or a completely different spice. The asparagus didn't retain much flavor as I would have hoped but I want to try again. Maybe put foil on top so the apple juice will get caught and will be sucked up by the vegetable. We'll see because why not? Right?

Pintrest Challenge: Smartie Pants

My mom is starting nursing school on Tuesday, and this will be her first time going to college. I am so proud of her that she is following a dream of hers and continuing to learn and grow, even as an adult. So for all those years that my mom supported me through school and sent me care packages, I thought I could return the favor. It's not much, but I made her this little Smarties candy package that was inspired from Pinterest.

I bought a package of Smarties candy, a small card that usually ties onto gifts that you write "to:" and "from:", and a container of foam flower stickers.

I stuck a small purple flower into a large pink flower, then topped it with a green dot. Wrote the little saying, "Good luck smartie pants! (not like you need it!)"

Here is the end product, hope she likes it! Good luck Mom! 

Smoky Chipotle Parmesan French Fries

Serves 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

3-1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon finely chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1-1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1-1/3-pound Idaho Russet Potatoes

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oil with the chipotles, Parmesan, paprika, lemon juice and salt, and set it aside.

Peel, wash, and dry the potatoes.  Then, cut them into french fry-sized pieces, about 1/4-inch sticks.  Add the potatoes to the bowl with the chipotle mixture and toss them until they’re completely coated.

Spread the sauced potato sticks on a baking sheet in a single layer, and place them in the preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes, or until both sides are golden brown and crispy.  They should be flipped about half way through the cooking process, with a flat-bottomed metal spatula.  Leave them on the baking sheet to cool.

Notes:

Exactly what are chipotle peppers in adobo sauce? Well, they’re smoked jalapeño chiles that are canned in a sauce that typically contains tomato puree, paprika, salt, onions, oil, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves and oregano. And a little goes a long way.  It’s hot!  For less heat, you can just use the sauce and for extra heat be sure you use one of the peppers, and keep a few seeds in there!

Our Souls Are Lost

I don't really know what the 29th photo challenge was, but I have to tell this story! Katelynn and I were playing around in photobooth on Sarah's computer while her and Paige were in the basement getting laundry. So we decided to take a scary picture and put it up on the projector and hide when they came up just to mess with them. This is the scary picture.

The funny thing is, Sarah changed her desktop picture, threw this picture away, and emptied her trash and this picture wouldn't go away. We reset the projector, we restarted her laptop, we connected the projector to my laptop and back to Sarah's, and this picture popped up everytime!! I told Katelynn that our souls are lost in the projector. It was so scary when it kept popping up, hahaha.

What We Did

Day 28 of the photo challenge was a picture of your day. Well the 28th was the day of Hurricane Irene, which we didn't get much of, but what we did have was a projector that our friend Lucas was so kind to lend us. We gratefully had power all day so we got to watch movies on the wall all day. Sunday some of the stuff we watched was Along Came Polly and the VMAs.

Ps. I am SO excited that Beyonce and Jay-Z are pregnant!!

My Baby Sister

Day 27 of the photo challenge is a picture of you and a family member. This is my youngest sister, Angela.

She just turned 4 this May, and this is us on her 3rd birthday. My younger brother and sister, Olivia and Stefan, came to get me in Boston, and then we drove down to New Jersey where my dad, his wife and Angela live to celebrate her special day. It was a lot of fun and so precious. Her mom asked her the night we got there, what her favorite part of the day was. And I guess she pointed upstairs and named Stefan, Olivia, my dad's parents and me. Her favorite part of the day was seeing her family come celebrate her birthday with her! So cute. I really miss her.

Galen's Unwanted Visitor

Day 26 of the photo challenge is a picture of something you're afraid of. Well, I have a real phobia of hair in the shower and spiders and I was too scared to take a picture of either. But it just so happened that we have a mouse in our apartment and I also am scared. I am a human for goodness sake, and I only want to live with humans. No rodents or bugs allowed!! I know this isn't a picture, but it describes my fear pretty well :)

My favorite part starts around 1:42