Mushroom-Marsala Skillet Chicken

This recipe comes from Good Housekeeping Fast Weeknight Favorites

• 4 medium skinless boneless chicken breast halves (1 1/4 lbs)
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/8 t ground black pepper
• 1 T olive oil
• 10 oz sliced mushrooms
• 1 large shallot, finely chopped
• 1/2 C reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 C Marsala wine
• 2 T chopped fresh parsley

1. Cut chicken into pieces (approximately 2 inches). Sprinkle with 1/4 t salt and pepper.
2. In nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add chicken breasts and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides and chicken loses its pink color throughout (6-7 minutes). Transfer to platter; cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
3. To same skillet, add mushrooms, shallot, and remaining 1/4 t salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are browned, 3 minutes. Add broth, wine, and any juices from platter; cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced by half* (about 4 minutes). Stir in parsley. To serve, spoon sauce over chicken. *if you want it thicker, you can add some corn starch mixed with water.

Serve with garlic mashed potatoes or over pasta or with rice.

220 calories

36g protein

4g carbs

5g fat

82mg cholesterol

470mg sodium

**if you have concerns about the cooking wine, just know that there is less alcohol in it than in vanilla (just sayin').

Lemon Chicken Pasta and Peas

I know! PEAS! The truth is I like peas as long as they are still crisp and not mushy. I like peas as an ingredient but not as a side dish. I found this recipe in a recipe book I picked up (total impulse buy) at Sam's Club. It is the Good Housekeeping Fast Weeknight Favorites. So far I've been very pleased with the food and the "fast" aspect. Slow food is great but when I'm cooking for 1 and 1/4 (yes, Eden only counts for 1/4 of a normal eater) the payoff of slow, deliberate cooking just isn't there for me. Quick, easy, balanced meals are the way to go and this book seems to fit the bill for me right now.

Total Time: 30 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

• 8 oz pasta (they suggest extra-wide egg noodles - I used chinese noodles because that is what I had)
• 4 oz stringless sugar snap peas
• 1 C shredded carrots
• 1 C frozen peas
• 1 C chicken broth
• 1/2 C heavy or whipping cream (or in my case I have to use Soy Milk because of E's lactose issues)
• 1 t freshly grated lemon peel (I think it could have used more)
• 1/2 t coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 C skinless chicken meat–cubed

1. In large sauce pot, cook noodles as label directs. Add snap peas to pot 1 minute before noodles are done.
2. Place carrots and frozen peas in colander. Drain noodles and snap peas over carrots and peas.
3. While noodle mixture drains, in same sauce pot, heat broth, cream, lemon peel, pepper, and salt to b oiling over high heat. 
4. Add chicken and noodle mixture to sauce; heat through, stirring constantly.

Each serving: about 510 calories, 33 g protein, 52 g carbohydrate, 20 g total fat (9 g saturated), 158 mg cholesterol, 750 mg sodium.

Chicken, Tomato, Spinach and Tortellini Soup

I wanted soup the other day. We've recently discovered Eden is lactose intolerant and so I could go to my stand-by of potato soup. I looked in the pantry and here is what I came up with:

• 1 Can Chicken Broth
• 1 Can Stewed Tomatoes
• 1/2 C Chopped Chicken
• 3/4 C uncooked Cheese-filled Tortellini
• 1/2 C Fresh (or flash frozen) Spinach
• Italian Herbs (I used thyme and basil) to taste
• Pepper to taste (the broth and tomatoes both have plenty of sodium so you shouldn't need salt)
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese for on top (this is low in lactose so I used it, if you aren't dealing with LI issues you could use Parmesan)

1. Put the broth and tomatoes in a pot and bring to a simmer. 
2. Add herbs (dried or fresh) - you could also add garlic here.
3. Add the chicken and tortellini. 
4. One minute before the tortellini is cooked through add the spinach.
5. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle cheese on top.

Serve with bread or biscuits and some fruit.

This is a beautiful soup with a hearty yet fresh taste–not heavy. I will definitely be making this again!

 (I really should get pictures of my food so I can show you but I'm always to busy devouring it to take a picture so you'll just have to take my word for it.)

Preschool: X is for eXercise

Last week was my turn to teach preschool again. W and X. For "W" we talked about "winter" and went on a winter wonderland walk. The weather cooperated and we got a nice dumping of snow over the weekend. That was fun. We talked about what happens to different kinds of plants and animals in the winter. We read books about winter. It was fun.

Then it was time to focus on "X" and so I told a story about how "X" was best friends with "E" and as long as they were together "X" was great. We talked about some "ex" words like "exciting" and "extra" and "exactly" etc. Then we spent the rest of the time talking about eXercise and why it is so important. We talked about how it helps our blood, breathing, muscles and bones. We talked about the right kinds of "fuel" for our eXercising machines (bodies). 

But mostly, we eXercised!

I made "snowballs" out of plastic bags wadded up and taped. Then they practiced throwing them at this big fat snowman. This was their favorite activity. We used these same snowballs to practice catching. I'd say their name and then throw to them so they could catch, then when they all had a snowball I'd say their name and they'd throw it back to me so I could catch. It really was a good eXercise.

Pushups. 

sit ups (did you know 4 year olds don't have the core strength or coordination to do sit ups? Well, at least these four didn't. It surprised me.)

ribbon dancing (probably the second favorite).

Balance beam

balance beam with "weights" (soup cans)

We also did yoga (cat, dog, and mountain poses), hiking (a pretend hike up the stairs), jumping (across a river - a blue rug), army crawls, jumping jacks, and a few others.

The time flew by and the kids loved it! I found most of my lesson plan ideas here. It is a great resource for getting your kids moving!

Christmas Calendar (under $10)

I bought this shelf at Deseret Industries for $3. It was green, falling apart, had some bad repairs made to it, and was just ugly. Somehow I saw potential (but not enough confidence to have taken a before picture). I really love how this turned out. I spent $6 on the wood rectangles for the numbers but everything else I already had. I really love the subway tiles (stickers) on the sides. This is a project that actually turned out better than envisioned. I thought I'd buy number stickers but I couldn't find any that I liked and then I realized that I own a colored printer (duh!) and I could choose my own typeface and colors. I love how they turned out. I embellished with Christmas stickers I'd bought earlier and voila!

Project: Earring Holder/Display (for $3)

I've been needing a way to organize my earrings. I had seen plenty of examples of cute ways to display and organize fun earrings and I wanted to do something similar.

This is what I ended up doing:

I bought an unfinished picture box frame from the HobLob at 50% off making it $2.50. I removed the glass and distressed it a little. Then I stained it with some stain I already had.

After the stain dried, I used some of this netting and covered the picture box two or three times. I just used hot glue and made sure it was nice and tight. Then I put the frame part on with the fasteners it came with and voila!

It was fun placing all my dangling earrings in this. It is so much easier to find what I want to wear now. I'm quite happy with it!

Magnetic Nativity Project - Easy and Fun

I wanted a nativity that Eden could play with and that would be durable, portable, and easy. This is what I came up with:

I bought this small (probably 6"x8") whiteboard for under $3:

Then, using craft paper I already had I made the background (blue sky, green hills, sandy ground):

I just used double stick tape to put it onto the whiteboard:

Again, using craft paper I already had, I made this simple stable. You could simplify it even more by leaving off the rafters:

Next I printed off these images. They can be found here. Then I covered the images with contact paper and cut them out:

I covered the stable/background with contact paper and placed magnetic tape (that I already had) on the back of the nativity images:

My total cost for this project (excluding items I already had) was less than $3. If I had purchased the magnetic tape and craft paper it still would have come in under $5. I have given some of these as gifts (and plan to do some more). Eden took hers to church last week and it was a great quiet Christ-centered activity for her to do during the talks.

Mind your "Ps" and "Qs"

It was my turn to teach preschool again and this time we had "P" and "Q."

For the letter "P" we mostly talked about painting. I showed them some of Phil's art books and we discussed the difference between various styles and mediums (without any technical language). Not surprisingly, they all liked the more realistic paintings and water colors the best.

Next, I set up four stations (because we have four kids in our preschool). Each child got to spend time at each station. The stations were:

1. Painting with brushes and a large piece of paper.
2. Finger painting.
3. Traditional water paints.
4. Water paint pencils.

The kids had lots of fun and they were mostly clean at the end.

We also talked a little about pennies and I had them count pennies and then we used flash cards to pick a number and they counted out that number of pennies.

After the other kids went home, Eden continued to paint. She loved the water colors and started to really do some interesting things. She spent much time over the next several days painting. Phil would be so proud.

For the letter "Q" we did the following:

• We told a story about how "Q" always wanted a best friend and then when he met "U" he realized he'd found one and decided that they would always stick together. The children took turns re-telling the story and then they took turns being "Q" and "U" and following each other around the room.

• We made crustless Quiche. (3 eggs, 1/3 C Ricotta Cheese, 1/3 C Shredded Colby, 1/3 C Milk; blend in blender; pour into ramekins; bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes). The kids each got to choose what extras (bacon bits, spinach, etc.) to add to their quiche. When they were done, we ate them and Nestle Quick for snack.

• We made Quilts. We used sticky-backed craft foam of various shapes and each child got to design their own quilt. I was surprised at how much they enjoyed this activity. Even the boys really got into it.

• We sorted coins in order to find the Quarters. Then we did various counting and number games using the quarters.