Raspberry Balsamic Glazed Chicken

This is a delicious recipe that is super fast! I think it goes well with rice, but it is good enough to be eaten on its own.

Raspberry Balsamic Glazed Chicken

Ingredients

1 tsp. vegetable oil
Cooking Spray
1/2 cup chopped red onion (I used regular and it still turned out good)
1 1/2 tsp. minced fresh or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
4 (4-ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves (I used chicken tenders instead)
1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves (Or use raspberry jam if you don't mind seeds)
2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp. pepper

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes. Combine thyme and 1/4 teaspoon salt; sprinkle over chicken. Add chicken to skillet; sauté 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from skillet; keep warm. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, preserves, vinegar, and pepper, stirring constantly until the preserves melt. Spoon raspberry sauce over chicken.

*Serves 4

Sheldon and I tried Corned Beef for the first time yesterday to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. It was interesting and I don't think I would make it again, but now I can at least say I have tried corned beef. I decided against making cabbage, even though that is also a traditional St. Patty's dish. Maybe next year I will be more adventurous.

Swimmer Baby

So I have been seriously slacking on my posting and whatever happened to the Recipe of the Week? I don't know, I guess I just ran out of recipes ;) No actually, the recipe of the week column will be resumed next week, I'm sure to your great excitement! The biggest news for Sheldon and I is only 2 1/2 more weeks until we find out whether our baby is a boy or girl. The appt is on Sheldon is betting on a girl, due to some divine inspiration. I guess we'll find out how in tune with the spirit he is ;) j/k. I am trying not to think about it too much so I won't be disappointed. I had a doctor's appt. last week that went very well. I got to hear the heartbeat again and it was so cool, because they would listen to the heartbeat for a few seconds, but then it would disappear because the baby had moved. So the doctor would have to find the heartbeat again all the way on the other side of my stomach. I think we have a very active baby and I'm not looking forward to when the baby starts elbowing and kicking me. I have a feeling that this baby is going to be a lot like Sheldon and have super amounts of energy all the time. What have I gotten myself into! In other news, Sheldon is completely in love with our new car. He has probably read the car manual twice and examined every nook and cranny. I really don't mind because now he knows how to take care of our car. An early birthday present for him was to have our car windows tinted, which is definitely very cool, but I have trouble finding our car at night. I end up wandering around the parking lot looking like a crazy lady.

Our New Car!!

I'm sure many of you have heard already, but Sheldon and I bought a new car. We decided it was time to cut our losses and ditch our lemon of a dodge for something more reliable and with better gas mileage. We bought a Toyota Yaris and are loving it! We already initiated our car by celebrating and driving it up to Heber. It's super quiet and very comfortable. I'm also looking forward to air conditioning, since our dodge did not have AC. This car is definitely our baby for right now and getting royal treatment. We had a big piece of red carpet in our storage, so we pulled it out and stuck it under our car so we can wipe our feet before we get inside. If I can just learn how to stop backing into things then I think this car will last us a long time!

Black & White Angel Food Cake

This cake is definitely one of my all time favorite recipes. It's a very easy cake to make and also pretty cheap as the main ingredient is just a dozen egg whites. After having this cake you'll never be able to go back to store bought angel food cake!

Ingredients

• 1 cup cake flour (I actually use 1 cup all purpose flour minus two tablespoons and it always turns out fine)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 large egg whites
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa (Such as Hershey's Special Dark)*

Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoons tub light cream cheese softened
• 1 Tablespoon 1% low-fat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon unsweetened dark cocoa*

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325°.
To prepare cake, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and 3/4 cup granulated sugar, stirring with a whisk; set aside.
Place cream of tartar, salt, and egg whites in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Add remaining 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Beat in juice and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Sift flour mixture over egg white mixture, 1/4 cup at a time; fold in after each addition.
Spoon half of batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, spreading evenly. Break air pockets by cutting through batter with a knife. Sift 2 tablespoons cocoa over remaining batter; fold in. Spoon cocoa batter evenly over top of vanilla batter; break air pockets by cutting through cocoa layer with a knife. Bake at 325° for 55 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan; cool completely. Loosen cake from sides of pan using a narrow metal spatula. Invert cake onto a plate.
To prepare glaze, place powdered sugar, cream cheese, milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Drizzle half of glaze over cake.
Add 3/4 teaspoon cocoa to remaining glaze; stir well to combine. Drizzle cocoa glaze over cake. Refrigerate 5 minutes or until glaze is set. Garnish with strawberries, if desired.

*Note: Sheldon and I always double the amount of chocolate in the cake and the glaze because we like it extra chocolatey and it also turns out a darker color. Add as much chocolate as you prefer!

Our little cat's all grown up

This morning Sheldon went to open our front door and let our cat Mickey in. He thought he saw a stick lying on our mat and almost picked it up, but as he looked closer he realized it was the bones of a mouse. Our cat killed a mouse and then ate it on our front porch and left us the bones as a present. It was kind of sad to realize that my little kitty is all grown up and killing his own food now. At least we will never have a problem with mice :)

Sheldon, the new stay-at-home-mom

Last weekend Sheldon and I stayed with his parents so we could see his sister and her 3-month old baby that we hadn't seen yet. This is a picture of Sheldon and Enoch.Sheldon is so good with kids it makes me jealous. It really makes me look like I'm going to be a terrible mom whenever he holds a baby after I do. Every time he holds someone else's baby they are just so happy and content to sit with him for hours! Whenever I hold a baby it freaks out, maybe babies are like horses and they can sense your fear. A huge horse doesn't really scare me, but sometime holding a baby does because they're so helpless. Whatever the reason, I am considering having Sheldon become the stay-at-home mom and I will become the provider for our family. I think it will work out much better this way.

HI

Elaine wanted me to put something on the blog... so here I am...
umm, not quiet sure what I should say...

hmm,

well here's a picture I found, can you see him?