Easy Creamy Chicken Orzo

Tonight, I planned on making chicken & orzo tossed with lemon juice, olive oil, and parmesan cheese.  This is always a simple, easy, go-to, especially in the summer (so good with shrimp, too!).  Considering the fact that it is abnormally cold outside, Rory and I both wanted to make this dish more of a winter comfort food.  I knew I wanted to add a can of fire roasted tomatoes because they add really good flavor to any Italian dish!  Rory wanted it as creamy as possible so he suggested throwing in some cream cheese (I was skeptical).  To our surprise, we ended up with a new winter comfort food that was super easy to make.

Ingredients:
1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
1/2 box of orzo
2-3 chicken breast
1/3 block of reduced fat cream cheese
white balsamic vinegar (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper, italian seasoning
garlic (minced or powder)

Making a fast, easy meal is essential on most weeknights.  The biggest trick is time management when you're dealing with different food items in various pots/pans.  Before I begin prepping the food, I put water in the pot and start boiling it for the pasta.  It always takes forever to bring to a boil!

1. Cube chicken into small, bite size pieces.  In a bowl, combine the chicken with olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, about one tablespoon of italian seasoning, garlic, and a few dashes of salt & pepper. I have found, thanks to my mom, that the vinegar (although stinky) helps add moisture to the chicken! Mix everything together and then throw it onto a pan-medium high heat.

2. While chicken cooks, add the orzo to the boiling water and cook boil for 9-11 minutes.

3.  Since the chicken is in small pieces, it should cook rather quickly.  Sometimes, I find myself using a spoon or spatula to slice the chicken into tinier bites as it cooks to speed up the process.  After the chicken is cooked, add the can of fire roasted tomatoes to the pan and mix with the chicken.  Then scoop in the cream cheese and stir until blended.  I also added red pepper flakes because we love spice.

4. Mix the orzo in with the chicken mixture. I like to pretend I'm on a cooking show so I sometimes add a splash of the reserved cooking water.  Stir & serve!  Don't forget to add parmesan cheese or mozzarella to the bowl.

Why Hello!

So, I've neglected my blogging recently.  Honestly, our DVR has filled up so every night after dinner, dishes, etc., it is so relaxing to just plop on the warm, cuddly, couch and catch up on shows with Rory. Dang winter! I guess laziness is a good thing, in doses.

Life has been pretty mundane in the Brannan household but I know it is the quiet before the storm of the holiday season! Here are my attempts to fill you in on the past month...

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I had a mini-Thanksgiving with my family before Rory and I left town to visit his folks.  We got together at our house and watched the Ravens game while having a Thanksgiving-ish meal.  We had turkey, cranberry, and brie paninis with cornbread stuffing and green beans wrapped in bacon.  I think this will have to become a new tradition :-)

During the week of Thanksgiving, Deaglan and I had a great time visiting old friends from Fairhill on our way down to Williamsburg. Only the really cool people wore jeans, boots, and blue and white shirts.  Oh, and I learned that it is impossible to have a Starbucks date with the little man! He was really fascinated on figuring out how the coffee was made. Katie, next time I think a long walk will be SO much easier :-)

Thankfully, we dodged traffic on 95 and made it to Williamsburg safely.  We had a great time visiting with siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents from out of town. I didn't take many pictures but most of our days were filled with food, sweets, lounging around, trying to play outside, more sweets, more food.

Deaglan enjoyed reading books with whomever (or whoever…? SO bad at that) was on the couch. Grandpa was lucky enough to read about a child's first 100 words.

 Cousin Stoy and Deaglan didn't mind helping themselves to some sweet, sticky buns!

Deaglan was a helper in the kitchen with Grandma and also loved playing in her spice cabinet.

 We rushed over to downtown Williamsburg one day to feed some duckies but were saddened to find that the ducks were smart and were hiding from the cold.  We tried to take the opportunity though to take a family photo.  Major fail so here are two snapshots of our best attempts….

If only Rory and I were focusing.

Deaglan sneezing in the sun.

And in all the other photos there was always one of us not looking at the camera.

On our way home from Thanksgiving, we stopped off and visited my great-uncle Percy.  We are glad we could take advantage of being nearby because he ended up passing away a few days later.  At the age of 90, he still enjoyed doing crafts (he made Deaglan really cute stacking blocks) but he still tried his best to be active in his church.  He was a sweet, kind-hearted man who will be missed!!

Uncle Percy & Deaglan August 2013

In happy news, Deaglan is still walking around like a little stud.  When he is tired, he gets a bit sloppy and bumps into things which we find quite funny.  He makes more of a mess than ever but as long as he is happy and having fun, I typically don't mind!

He loves exploring cabinets.

D helps me cook by either being a clingy Koala orrrr occupying himself with some cool lids.

When I really need to get something done, my go-to is apple sauce or yogurt.  Tricky to pick up with hands and since he hasn't completely mastered the spoon, it provides pure entertainment for awhile.

In the past week, Deaglan started loving his puzzles.  He goes through them without hesitation and laughs when it goes into the correct spot!

When I am not putting him to work, he still loves throwing/kicking his bouncy ball around the house.  One day, he enjoyed a yummy cookie under the table…I honestly don't know why he was on the floor.

I would like to continue blabbing about our recent snow & Christmas-y things but the DVR is calling my name.  Glad I could finally fill all of you in some!  Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and are enjoying the holiday season.

Little Man's Room

It has been crazy around here, with a capital C. Ah!!  After a few weeks of being sick, I decided to be more productive & paint the office and our bedroom.  Words of wisdom…painting at night is an awful idea since the lights create odd shadows so it is impossible to figure out if you missed a spot.  At least now, we have two freshly painted rooms…now it's just a matter of hanging pictures which always scares me because what if I don't like what and where I hang something?  I've also been tackling my retirement plan that I forgot I had from VA (oops!) and then we've had to deal with health insurance with lovely Obamacare since we have our own individual plan.

Needless to say, any free time has been busy so I am allowing myself a few minutes this morning to sip coffee and blog while D attempts to nap.

Deaglan is now full on walking! Hence, why it is now really impossible to get certain things done around the house during the day. One morning last week, he woke up from his nap and just started taking brave steps, further and further away from tables/couches.  He would look over at us so proud! It is so fun now that he has his wheels on the move!  He entertains himself quite well since there is more to explore.  He also loves kicking and rolling a big ball around in circles on the first floor.  Every day he looks less and less like Frankenstein when he walks.  We had a mini-Thanksgiving with some friends last week while they practiced making their turkey.  Kristin captured these shots of D walking and my men in flannel enjoying yummy food. I have been really bad at taking pics recently!

For the longest time, I have wanted to share D's room!  I didn't not want a themed nursery because I knew I'd get tired of  it after a few months.  I really wanted to create a little boy's room with a few hints of nursery.

So I was given a pallet back in the summer and I challenged myself to make a bookshelf for Deaglan's room.  As I worked, I took step by step pictures and of course, I can't find the photos!! I basically just sawed off one little portion of the pallet.  To create the base, I took off one piece of wood from another section of the pallet and nailed it onto the bottom so the books would stay.  I soaked vinegar with steel wool and coffee grinds for 24 hrs to create a brown stain (if you want gray stain, leave out the coffee).  The pallet was fun to work with but I really wish it was easier to take the nails out of the pallet.  I still have a large portion of pallet left to make other things but the thought of dealing with the nails makes me cringe. My only quick solution I had was to saw off the nails but that still took awhile.  Anyway, I am very happy with this little bookshelf & Dealgan is a fan as well.  He likes walking up to it and grabbing off the books he wants.

Um, the teacher in me had to make a reading nook.  Squeezed it under a window in between his crib and dresser.

I used Annie Sloan paint to freshen up an old dresser the previous owners left us.  I really wanted a funky collage in his room to pop against the dark walls.  I painted a few cheap wooden frames from Michael's.   My mom had found the large "D" at a goodwill; it was originally gold but it was too dark against the wall.  Most of the frames have fabric inside which is a great, cheap piece of art! I bought a few pieces of fabric before we bought the house as inspiration for his room.  I hung pom-poms that were left over from my wedding shower.  Can you tell I am a pack-rack with things? I have an old wine box where I keep wipes, cream, lotion, etc.  Overall, I love it & hopefully it is something I can keep on his wall for a few years!

I wanted simple things above his crib so it didn't compete with the opposite wall collage.  I hung left over decorations from his party.  Over a year ago, I made a picture frame note holder thing (thanks for the idea, Katie!) so I clipped photos of D's first days in black and white.  I needed contrast against the wall color so I threw up fabric behind it with thumb tacks to secure it to the wall.

Sick Days

For over a week, we've had a lovely little virus in our home.  It started with the typical runny nose, sore throat…but that turned into an ear infection for Deaglan and tonsillitis for me.  Rory came home today from work with all of my symptoms so I guess it's still here to stay for a bit.  Boo!

With that said, Rory made me soup the other night to to make my throat feel better.  Nothing beats good tomato soup with grilled cheese, especially this time of year.  The recipe he used was from a Comfort Food cookbook we received at our wedding.  It is our go to book when we want a hearty meal.  I was able to find the soup recipe here! The whole time he was cooking he insisted that I blog about it so here we go...

The Gist: He roasted tomatos on the grill while sautéing onion, garlic, and celery on the stovetop.  He added the tomatoes and creamed the soup with an immersion blender.  After patiently waiting for some time for flavors to do their thing, he added the cream and seasoning.  We ended up adding more salt, pepper, sugar and garlic to give a little more flavor.  It ended up being a perfect consistency with a good amount of sweetness but not enough to take away from the tomato flavor.

He also made some awesome grilled cheeses!  Avocado is our go-to when we make grilled cheese because the creaminess melts in your mouth with the cheese.  This time, he also added a little bit of pepperoni to spice it up a bit.

His top secret to making them really good, though, is that he adds montreal steak seasoning to the bread (shh!).  Flavored salt makes anything taste better!

Even though Deaglan wasn't feeling 100%, he still wanted to run around doing his usual shenanigans.  He loves spending time outside.  On rainy days, I keep him away from the back room because he will sit and bang/cry on the sliding doors to go outside.  A few weeks ago, he started walking on his own!  He was so proud of himself and could go a pretty good distance before falling.  Then all of a sudden he stopped trying to walk and I think it's because he wasn't feeling well.  He is started to try it again the past few days but he still loves to have someone hold his hand.

He likes to kick the ball around (inside and outside the house), play in tunnels and slides, play with Uncle Murph & Dublin, and investigate nature.

Old Window

Back in high school, Rory bought a few old windows.  He used one to create a collage and then the other windows just sat at his parents house.  Seven years later, we finally remembered to grab the windows from his parents!  I decided to paint the window a light turquoise color to stand out in our dark purple bathroom.  I mixed my favorite Annie Sloan paint with simple craft paint to create the color I wanted.  I used the chalk paint so I wouldn't have to prep the window prior to painting.  I bought a book of scrapbook paper (on sale of course!).  I chose a few sheets that would compliment the purple. 

 Then, I cut out a stencil with a manila folder that matched the dimensions of each window pane.  After each rectangle was cut out, I laid each piece on the glass and put dabs of hot glue in the corners to attach it to the window.  The glue didn't bleed through which was one concern I had.  I am happy with the result and I am sure I will be doing something very similar with the other windows we have!

Fall Things

This year, I am really motivated to celebrate Fall.  I think it is a combination of the fact that I was tired of summer's heat & humidity, it's Rory's favorite time of year, I love pumpkins, and I enjoy having a mantel to decorate.  As noted earlier, apple picking was a great Fall activity and I am constantly reminded by it because we still have about 15 apples to eat/bake with…oy vey.

I really wanted to print a "happy fall" banner that my friend showed me on Pinterest, but we are running low on ink, so I decided Rory's work documents are probably a little more important.  Instead, I grabbed a square of fabric I had left over from the wreath I made last year, folded it, and cut a bunch of triangles.   I strung it through twine and created a quick and easy banner.  I had a mason jar of flowers left over from D's party and a mum a friend gave us that I wanted to display in an area that Deaglan couldn't reach.  The flowers are nice and dried out  because I kill all plants…but at least with mums it's difficult to see that they're crispy.

Speaking of killing plants.  A few years ago, I purchased these mugs from Anthropologie.  I got the idea from a magazine where the mugs were filled with adorable succulents.  Well, that failed miserably when I tried.  My lovely husband even scrambled the mugs and added the letter "N" to spell "WRONG."  Ouch.  The mugs have just been sitting around so I finally put them to use with more flowers left over from D's part.

On Pinterest, I found some recipes awhile ago for an Apple Pie Smoothie & Pumpkin Smoothie.  I've been waiting patiently for October 1st to roll around so I could mentally prepare myself for such deliciousness.  The apple smoothie was really good but I recommend using a frozen banana.  I ended up putting the smoothie in the freezer for a bit to add a chill to it because the warmth made me want to gag.

For the pumpkin smoothie, I read a bunch of different recipes and then adapted my own.  I tried one with greek yogurt which added a yucky bitterness to it.  Another called for some ginger powder but I didn't care for that flavor either.  

For this smoothie, I added: (honestly, I didn't measure but this is what I think it was…)

About 1 cup of pureed pumpkin

3/4 cup of almond milk

1 frozen banana

1/2 tsp of cinnamon, all spice, and nutmeg

splash of vanilla extract 

2 tbsp flaxseed

Hm, someone else is a fan of these smoothies! I have to make them when D is napping or else he fusses until I give him some.

The first apple recipe I made this season was Apple Cheesecake Bars.  Sooo good and easy to make!  I cut them into circles with biscuit cutters to give out as gifts because they fit better into clear, plastic gift bags compared to squares. 

I also made Deaglan applesauce in the crockpot.  Once again, I looked at a few recipes and then just threw my own stuff together. I didn't want to add sugar so I used peach puree & agave.  The final product looked pretty gross but it tasted good!  I added it to pork chops, served it to D as apple sauce, or put it on top of other things he ate to give moisture and sweetness.  I'd say it was in the slow cooker for about 5 hours or so on high.

8 apples (mixed variety)
1/2 lemon squeezed and a strip of peel
cinnamin stick
1 cup of peach puree (the "stuff" my neighbor made that we honestly don't know what's in it)
drizzle of agave

I've never made apple pie.  It is Rory's favorite so I am not sure how I've gone ten years without making it.  I made this pie crust which I liked because it makes three crusts that you store in the freezer. I tried being cute and using an apple cookie cutter to make a design on top.  The top crust was larger than the bottom so I then decided to just smash it all together and not make it look cute.  Lattice shmattice. 

Ok, last recipe!  I love potato soup.  It is cheap, easy, and hearty.  Just like most soups, I love that you can play around with recipes because you can't hurt the soup.  If you add good things, it has to taste good!

I tried writing down what I did afterwards, so the measurements aren't exact.

Jalapeño Potato Corn Chowder

Ingredients:
5 or so potatoes (russet)
1/4 cup half n half…plus a little more
1/2 red onion
2 tbsp butter
4 cups broth
crushed jalapeño
2-3 pieces left over bacon
old bay, garlic powder & pepper
2ish cups frozen corn

Saute cut onion in butter for a few minutes. Then add garlic powder and jalapeños for another minute.  Add the bacon strips to add flavor to the butter for about a minute then take the bacon out, put aside, and cut into pieces.  Stir in a tbsp or so of flour to coat the jalapeños & onion.  Add the cut potatoes and broth.  Cook for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender (stab with a fork until soft).  Take off the heat.  I then used an immersion blender to smooth the potatoes but I have also just used a hand masher in the past.  Add half n half, corn, and bacon and return to the heat.  Then I added old bay and pepper to taste.  Definitely heavy on the old bay…yum!

The last thing I love about Fall is going on walks.  It is cold, crisp and smells like leaves!  Love the then & now of Deaglan!