Yum

So one of the things I dreamed of doing while I was a working woman was cooking.  Why couldn't I cook when I was a working woman?  Well... I have excuses about working 8 hours a day, early morning runs, not wanting to come home and stand around in the kitchen or spend evenings in the grocery store... whatever.  I just decided in my mind that once I was a stay at home mom I'd magically turn myself into a marvelous chef and learn things.  Kitchen things.

It started, as many of these things do, with Pinterest.  I'd pin easy meals that contained things I thought Jason and I would eat.  He can't eat cheese, I don't like peppers, etc. I also wanted them to be healthy. I decided this week I'd start trying one new recipe each week and I asked Jason if he minded since it could very possibly turn out horribly.  I've been known to burn things, not fully follow directions, substitute ingredients I don't have, etc. I'm probably the biggest goof-up in the kitchen you can find.

BUT, I'm a mom now so I need to have some skills.

I started with this recipe: Pan-Roasted Chicken with Lemon Garlic Green Beans.

This is mine...and I think it looks sophisticated.

I did not have any garlic (forgot to put that on my list), but I DID have garlic-y olive oil (don't ask), so I used that.  I did not have a juicer to juice one of my lemons so I just squeezed it a lot.  I only had skinless, boneless chicken breasts and I didn't use as many beans as it called for, which I should have.  My potatoes turned out perfectly, some of my beans were charred and my chicken was tough on top because I cooked it too long.  I thought cooking it longer would make it all more tender.  ha.  No.  But now I KNOW from experience what to do next time and that is a good thing.  It was edible and Jason said I should add it to our rotation with a few modifications.

Next week's recipe will be one I saw on the Today Show this morning.  It is called Chicken Pot Au Feu and it is a slow cooker recipe.  I'm going to need to borrow my sister's slow cooker or buy a bigger one because mine is small and sad, but this recipe looks delicious and I think it is one I can handle.  Slow cooker recipes are my friend because Eloise usually takes a good morning nap, which would allow me to get it all ready and cooking.  She does not always take an afternoon nap and around 5:00 p.m. (time to start cooking) she is sometimes a little fussy and just wants to be held.

Two other things I want to include in my "Yum" post, one of which is my new favorite snack!  Nature's Valley Oats and Dark Chocolate granola bars.  I usually stick to the regular old Oats and Honey, but decided to get wild and get dark chocolate.  I LOVE THEM.  They are 190 calories and they satisfy my sweet tooth while being a little better than things like cookies or a 3 Muskateers or Twizzlers (which is usually the desire of my sweet tooth).

And the second thing I've been loving is green tea.  I posted a while my personal recipe for it, but sometimes in a pinch I will buy some already made (although I prefer not to do this because I can make it so much more cheaply).  I love love love green tea and I have discovered this new (to me) brand that is delish!  The ingredients are sound and I love the taste.  So far I have found them at Rite Aid only, but I only recently discovered this brand so I haven't looked for it elsewhere. 


So there you have it!  My yummy thoughts for the week!