Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Cooking during the week, not a good idea...

Last night...

Picked up kids from daycare. Gave Lily a library book I picked up over my lunch hour. She read the book all the way home. I carried her inside the house (very unusual given her toddler independence to do it herself) facing away from me while she continued to read. I placed her inside the door to the house so I could go back to the van and get Harrison. Harrison and I had to squeeze through the door because Lily had sat down right behind the door and continued to read while still wearing her coat and hat. For 15 minutes. I used that 15 minutes to get Harrison in the high chair and tended to the dogs (fresh water and a bathroom break). I soaked a couple cheerios and let Harrison entertain himself trying to pick them up. I gave him a couple pieces...he made a strange face but liked them. He was entertained for approximately 10 minutes.

I had some chicken I needed to use and I had a recipe I have been meaning to try so I decided last night was the night. Started boiling the OJ and cooking wine but had to tend to a hungry Lily. The boiling mixture boiled over so after giving Lily some goldfish I cleaned up the mess and started cooking the rice. Harrison was getting hungry and since he couldn't get any cheerios into his mouth I started to feed him his winter squash. You have to continually spoon feed him until the jar is gone or he will let you know his displeasure with your relaxed pace. Lily was done reading so I put on a CD that goes with another book. This is our first book on CD so she didn't quite understand but enjoyed hearing the story and looking at the pages, although out of order. Wonder how much liquid escaped from my over boiled pot and if it would significantly impact my recipe...couldn't do anything about it so I added the maple syrup. Cut up fresh rosemary, mix with S&P. Heard the garage door. Yay!!! Randy was home early. Instructed Randy to finish feeding Harrison his 2nd (smaller) jar of baby food.

Rub rosemary/S&P onto chicken breasts, heated olive oil and butter in pan and cooked chicken. Gasped at the book on CD when the evil step mother said Snow White must be killed and she wanted her heart to know she was dead. Randy stopped CD and started preparing Lily's plate. I added the liquid mix to the chicken breasts to cook a few more minutes to thicken the sauce. Got Lily some creamed corn (which she loved) and rice, then she tried the chicken. Randy and Lily both loved the rosemary chicken and gave it a thumbs up so I'll keep the recipe close for future use. But I'll attempt to cook it without distractions. If it's good without the full recipe just imagine what it could taste like with all the ingredients!

For anyone interested...

Rosemary Chicken with Orange-Maple Glaze Via Allrecipes.com
SUBMITTED BY: LINDA W.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup maple flavored syrup
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS
1.Bring orange juice and wine to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat slightly, but keep high enough to continue a low boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in maple syrup and continue boiling for another 5 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until glossy and just slightly thickened. Set aside.
2.In a small bowl mix together the rosemary, salt and pepper. Rub mixture on both sides of chicken breasts, and set aside.
3.Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken breasts, cover skillet and saute for about 5 minutes on each side until lightly browned. Pour orange-maple mixture over chicken (mixture will boil and bubble). Reduce heat to simmer; cover and let cook for another 10 minutes, basting occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and sauce has turned into a rich, thick glaze.

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