Pan Fried Chicken with Orange Salad

Last night I officially finished going through some old Taste of Home magazines, cutting out recipes I'd actually try, and recycling the rest of the mag.  I've been on a mission to organize my random recipes - sorting by type, laminating them, and putting them in a binder.  Sounds easy enough right?  I have A LOT of random clippings from magazines, recipes I've printed, and old magazines.

I found this gem in a stack.  It comes from a Jan 2005 edition of Redbook (No, I don't have THAT many magazines laying around, but I did obviously cut this out awhile ago!).  I had about three helpings of the salad the other night and M requested the chicken again for lunch the next day.  Can't go wrong when my picky eater loves it!

Chicken Milanese with Organe-Arugula Salad
*Note from my sub list that this is not an exact science for me!  :)

Orange-Arugula Salad
1/2 tsp grated orange zest
3 Tbsp fresh orange juice
1 Tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil (I used my fancy-pants hubby's avocado oil)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Half of a fennel bulb, stalk, and leaves removed, halved lengthwise, cored, thinly sliced crosswise (1 c) --- I did not go out to get fennel.  Instead I used celery!  :)
3 small oranges, peeled, in sections
1/2 c thinly sliced red onion strips
2 c baby arugula leaves (another sub!  I just used a baby greens mix in one of those rectangular cartons)

Chicken Milanese
1/3 c plain dry breadcrumbs (I used panko)
1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese
3 T chopped parsley (oops, thought we had some of this, but didn't.  Instead I grabbed some basil I think)
4 (4-oz) thin-sliced chicken breast cutlets
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
Flour, for dredging
1/4 c fat-free egg substitute (I cracked two eggs!)
Olive oil cooking spray

1. Orange-Arugula Salad: In a medium bowl, whisk zest, orange juice, oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper until blended; stir in fennel, orange sections, and red onion.  Place arugula on top (do not toss).
2. Chicken Milanese: Mix breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and parsley on a plate to blend.  Season the cutlets on both sides with salt and pepper.  Dredge cutlets in flour, patting off excess, then dip in egg substitute, letting excess drip off.  Coat cutlets with breadcrumb mixture.
3. Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  lightly spray cutlets with cooking spray (I just sprayed pan... not cutlets).  Fry cutlets 1 1/2 to 2 min. per side (I always do a little more... I get worried about cooking meat all the way through!!), until golden and just cooked through.  Drain on paper towel.
4. Toss salad and enjoy!

Sunday Sillies

C was upset that I couldn't carry him and M said, "Well, Mommy has a BABY in her tummy!"  He looked to Daddy and declared, "And Daddy has a puppy in his!"

Watch out, this one's a rant!

I think most people would say I'm a fairly positive person.  I sure try to be anyways, but I'm ready for a little blog rant.  I'll blame it on the pregnancy; this poor sweet baby sure makes a great scapegoat!

First of all, since I mentioned the baby: setting up my OB appointment.  Let's see.  Basically when we found out where we were moving to in March, I started soliciting advice from area ladies (via my sweet SIL LJ) about local OBs.  I chose one and in April I called a local hospital to start the process.  (At that point, we did not have a place to live yet; JJ was making a trip to ND at the end of April/beginning of May, but we did know which hospital JJ would be working at, so it seemed natural to deliver there.)  So anyways, back to the phone call.  The gal said they would not be able to do anything because I didn't have a local address and also because they didn't have my records.  Ok, fine.  I finished out my OB appointments in KS and had my files transferred to the new doctor.  A short while later (while we were still in KS), a gal from the local office called and said, "This is so weird.  We have your files here, but don't have you in the system at all.  Do you have an appointment here or something??"  WELL, gosh, I sure would've liked to be in your system and would sure have liked to have an appointment, believe me!  Then, when I said who I preferred to see, she got a little huffy and said, "There is NO way you'll get in to see her with such little notice.  You would've needed to call earlier to set up an appointment with her.  You could see a NP, but that's about it for your first appointment here."  That's the EXACT reason why I called in April, you dodo foofy!  (term stolen from C).  Then, a nurse called to talk to me about my preggo history, etc. etc. to add to my file.  I indicated that time that my doctor in KS had requested that I have an ultrasound at my first appointment in ND because I would be over the 20 week mark by then.  She said that was no problem and said she left that note in my chart.  At my appointment, the nurse said they can't order that and wasn't sure how that happened... SO... long story short, I had to come back a week later for my ultrasound, at 22 weeks.  It wasn't that big of a deal, really, especially since I've been feeling so good and since we weren't finding out gender anyways, but at EACH step, I felt like I was trying to be proactive, was stopped, and then was basically told I should've done what I actually HAD done!!  Phew.  That felt good.  Thanks for listening.

Rant #2: a little road rage.  It has taken me some getting used to our new city's interstate system.  I have found it pretty easy to get around EXCEPT for one thing.  All of their on ramps are in screwy locations!!  Basically, if I want to head west (left), I'm pretty much guaranteed the exit ramp will be on the east side (right).  Pretty much.  Except when I remember this rule, of course!  :)  And then, the on ramps USUALLY turn into off ramps, which means people just getting off want to get over and people in the right lane might not want to move over because their exit is coming up.  UGH!  Do you SEE the dilemma people?!  I know I'll get used to it, but until then I WILL grumble, grumble, OK??!

Rant #3: my face.  Ugh.  This pregnancy has been really weird.  For my head.  I have constant breakouts coupled with the fact that I seem to be allergic to my old used-forever-and-never-had-a-problem shampoo/conditioner.  Granted, it's the cheap kind, BUT STILL.  I've never had a problem.  And now my head itches.  The end.      

Solving the "I Wanna Watch a Show" Conundrum

My kids' default, probably not unlike many of their peers, is to want to watch TV.  My default is NO SCREENS.  Especially not in the summer!  Moving back home means we need to soak up these rays, people!  At my kids' ages (5 & 3), they are not totally independent, so we decided to come up with an "Activity Jar" (actually made from my hubby's pottery when we took Ceramics together in college... awwww for cute!).  We brainstormed our favorite activities and put them on slips of paper.  Then if my kids need ideas of what to do, we pull a slip.  So far we haven't decided on any hard and fast rules - like you HAVE to do that activity for a set amount of time - if they want to put it back and draw again, that's ok at this point!  :)  So far, I'm sure in part to the novelty factor, they are in love with pulling an activity from the jar and do the activity with enthusiasm.

Here is our activity list:
Brain Quest cards
Activity Book
Dance Party (a family favorite!  Disney Pandora and we are SET!)
Lace Ups
Trains
Take a Break (Quiet time on the couch -- C-man put that one in -- interested to see what happens when that one is pulled!) 
Play Princess (Or any dress up)
Pretend Play (like House or Kitchen)
Paper Airplanes
Puzzle
Read
Go to Library
Bake Something
Playdoh
Go for a Walk
Board Game
Color/Draw
Legos
Hide and Seek
I Spy
Do a Chore (one of my inputs!  But seriously, they enjoy wiping down pretty much any surface from the table to the sink!)
Watch a Show (there is a bonus slip of this in there! I do have to say I enjoy most of their shows and feel good about them watching things like Magic School Bus and Wild Kratts!)

What are we missing?  What are some of your kids' favorite activities?

Happy Playing!

Cooking Win (yay!)

Alternate title: You mean these kids eat at least three times a day, every day?!

JJ officially started work this week (so far 3 days on payroll... but who's counting?) and I am the chief cook and bottle washer.  Sunday night I completed my meal plan for the week and added to the grocery list a few breakfast and lunch staples. 

I am just not a great "on the spot" cook.  Maybe I just don't have my "kitchen legs" yet, but I can't do what JJ can do, which is throw stuff together without prior planning or a recipe, and it tastes good.  Jerk.  I mean... awesome!  SO, what is the point of this?  I had a WIN the other day with an on the spot lunch that was a hit! 

I had used up our bread making french toast the other day (and forgotten to take the next loaf out of the freezer [did I mention we just recently reuppped our Sam's Club membership?]), but we did have frozen tortillas.  I got out the fryin' pan, warmed several tortillas up on low (one at a time), smeared them with pb & j, and rolled them up.  Viola!  PB & J Rollups!  Add in peaches and cottage cheese and tater tots and by golly, my kids survived another meal made by their mother! 

New year... new post

Today I turn... more than 30... ;)  [I even updated my profile... no longer the typical 20-somethings...] and I think I might jump start this blog thing again.  Our lives have had some big changes:

*JJ graduated from Med School (woot woot!)
*We moved across the country for Residency (to our home state- yay!)
*We are expecting Bambino #3 in October
*I finished out the school year, but will be staying home for a while (double yay!)
*We're gearing up for MVJ's first year of elementary school - that's right - Kindergarten is just on the horizon!

So let me reflect a little bit.  I loved LOVED our time in KS.  It was an awesome adventure and really the only downfall was lack of family within 10 hours of driving.  But, it was a big downfall.  I also loved teaching.  I really enjoyed what I did, and more than that, I enjoyed the people I worked with and the kiddos I got to interact with (sorry for those dangling prepositions... I am back home, dontcha know).  But I am thrilled about this new enterprise of being home.  Armed with a background in Education, a new subscription to a cooking magazine on my Kindle and hardcopy (from JJ for my bday!), Pinterest, my own crazy brain, and lots and lots of prayer, ready or not, here we go!