Easy chicken and rice bake

This a super easy meal to put together and forget about while you get other things done, because most of the meal is in one dish in the oven. Add a green vegetable on the side and you're set. My mom made variations of this a lot growing up, and I remember one of my favorites being the one where she just put chicken, rice, and a jar of salsa together and baked it...mmmm. I'm sure a lot of people have made this same or similar thing, but couldn't help but write it down at least for myself to have a record of for next time! We got three dinner servings plus two lunch servings out of this one cheap meal, so I'll definitely be making it again. It's not exciting to look at because there isn't a whole lot of color. If it would go over well in your family, add some veggies in there to cook with it. I served our green beans on the side.

Easy Chicken and Rice Bake

1 1/2 cups brown rice
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste
dried Italian seasonings to taste


Preheat oven to 375. In a 9x13 pan, combine rice and chicken broth. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings.
Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings on both sides, then add to dish.
Cook for about 40 minutes. Add the cheese to the top and put back in oven for 5 more minutes.

Whodunnit?

No, we didn't get robbed. And yes, we know "who" did it. Take a wild guess. Reason #3 to get a fence soon...

I had no idea there was so much batting in one throw pillow.Our 65 lb. lab still thinks he's a lap dog. Still working on that one!

In the presence of my enemies...

And no, it's not my enemies! And I'm so thankful that I've never been through anything even remotely like this, and cannot believe how inspirational this woman is after having been through this.
My grandma and aunt invited me to join them last night for their Christian Women's Club speaker-- Gracia Burnum. Maybe you've seen her on Locked Up: Abroad?? (yeah, we love that show) She and her husband were captured in the Phillipines by the Abu Sayyaf and were held in captivity for a year before her husband died in their SEVENTEENTH gun battle they had been through in that year. She was injured but rescued, and came home (to a town just outside of our city) to raise her family on her own.
Wow--she is now speaking all across the country and even has a sense of humor about what she's been through. When she was talking about her experiences, it was almost hard to believe, even though I knew she was telling the truth, just because it seems like something that could never happen. Now this part is even more amazing---her mission is to pray for these people that held her captive and she is in correspondence with them today (many of them are in jail). Wow! Makes me think a looooot about forgiveness and putting things in perspective.

Picture of the book is from Amazon...for a way better recap of the book, follow that link!

And, no, I haven't really made anything worth writing about this week. It was good stuff, but I've already shown it to you! Some really yummy homemade pizza, a chicken and rice bake, and hmmm...a PBJ? :)

Marinated Carrot Slaw with spicy shrimp

I got this idea from a neighbor from a reallllly long time ago. I was pretty surprised when my grandparents recently sent me a newspaper story showcasing "the little girl from down the street" as the top student chef in the country!! How cool!!


Her recipe is not available online, so you are just linked to the story. I used her recipe as an idea. I meant to actually use her recipe, but I copied it down and then left it at work, so I just went with the ideas that I remembered! I thought it turned out really well. I served the carrots over romaine lettuce with dried cranberries and drizzled a little extra of the marinade on top of my salad. Her original recipe also has julienned apples in it, which sounds awesome! I'll try it that way next time. I marinated some shrimp to make it spicy, cooked them, and topped the salad with that. Really good!!

Marinated Carrot Slaw

3 medium carrots, julienned
2 t spicy brown mustard
2 t olive oil
2 t white wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar
1 t sugar
pinch salt

Combine everything but the carrots in a small bowl. Add carrots and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Spicy Shrimp

1 lb shrimp
2 t olive oil
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 t minced onion
1/2 t garlic powder or 1 clove garlic, minced
1 T butter

Marinate shrimp overnight in everything but the butter, then cook the shrimp. When it is almost finished, add in the butter, let it melt over the hot shrimp, and serve.

Do we live in the desert??

Part of moving seems to be repeating many of the same projects we did at our old house in the last year. We hung some blinds today, started to plant some grass, and some other repeat projects, but the biggest and most difficult is definitely the fence.
Our yard is sooooo hard. Tons of rocks and really clay-ish ground. Norris has been out there for a lot longer on this fence than the last one and he hasn't gotten half as far, so I feel really bad for him! He's been working really really hard and we're both anxious to have a yard both for privacy and for a place for Bruno to run around. Until then, he's loving the backyard neighbor's sod..he'll go roll around in it and lay down and won't come home.
We only moved about a mile north, and we wound up with completely different ground! The results will be great, but until then, better make Norris a chiropractic appointment, because this project is definitely not good on his body!

Chicken Piccata

The first day of school is tomorrow!! I can't believe it's here already, but I am kind of excited to get started after a whole week of just meetings. Bring on the kids! Going to bed early tonight, but wanted to share a yummy dinner.
This is a good light recipe perfect for summertime weather. It comes from Cook's Illustrated The New Best Recipe book.

Chicken Piccata

Serves 4

2 large lemons (I would only use one unless you like a very pronounced lemon flavor)

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin

salt and pepper

1/2 cup AP flour

4 T vegetable or olive oil (I only used 2)

1 small garlic clove, minced (or use 1 shallot)
1 cup low sodium chicken broth

2 T capers, rinsed (didn't use)

3 T unsalted butter, softened (I only used 2)

2 T minced fresh parsley leaves (I used dried, about 1 1/2 t)

1.Adjust oven rack to lower middle position, set a large heatproof serving or dinner plate on the rack, and heat oven to 200 degrees.

2. Halve one lemon pole to pole. Trim the ends from one half and cut it crosswise into slices 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick; set aside. Juice the remaining half and whole lemon to obtain 1/4 cup juice; reserve. (next time, I would only use one lemon--so I would follow these instructions but omit that second whole lemon juicing)

3. Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towel. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Measure the flour into a shallow baking dish or pie plate. Coat cutlets with flour and shake off excess.

4. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat until shimmering. (If you need to do them in two batches, only heat half of the oil in the first batch). Place half of the chicken in the skillet (if all fits, go for it!). Saute until lightly browned, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes per side. Remove the pan from heat and transfer cutlets to the oven. Add the remaining oil and repeat process with remaining cutlets.

5. Add the shallot (or garlic) to the now-empty skillet and return the skillet to medium heat. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds for a shallot or 10 for garlic. Add the broth and lemon slices, increase the heat to high, and scrape the pan to loosen browned bits. Simmer until the liquid reduces to 1/3 cup, about 4 minutes. Add the reserved lemon juice and capers and simmer until the sauce reduces again to 1/3 cup, about one minute. Remove from heat and swirl in the butter until it melts and thickens the sauce. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve immediately.

Honey Glazed Carrots

I served these alongside the roast for a good Sunday dinner. The honey gave them just a little bit of sweet but not too much--I don't like really sweet cooked vegetables. The cilantro was a good flavor combination with the honey, and a little salt finished them off. I thought they were great! And, they're cheap to make!

I found the recipe from an old friend from church! She was always someone I looked up to, and it was fun to find her blog! It's a great name-- Daisies n Dump Trucks-- for her little boy and girl.

Another steamy picture!!

Honey Glazed Carrots

1 cup water

1 t salt

1 lb carrots

1 T honey

1 T chopped cilantro (optional)

Bring one cup of water and salt to a boil. Peel and chop carrots into bite sized pieces (as Kristen says, on the diagonal is more fun to eat!). Put carrots into boiling water and cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain off water and add honey and cilantro. Let sit for 5 minutes for flavors to blend. (Or, as Kristen says, mingle and introduce themselves to each other:)