Feed the Birds

We decided we needed to help out the birds in this weather, so we bought a bird feeder and some seed at Walmart. So far, I've only seen one bird near it. Oliver and Little Bit will love looking out the window even more!

Lemon Chicken -- How easy is that?

Last night, I made Ina Garten's Lemon Chicken Breasts from her cookbook, Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That? It was absolutely delicious! I accidentally grabbed chicken breast tenders at the store and the recipe calls for chicken breasts, skin on. I also didn't have fresh tyme leaves, but I used the ground stuff, and it worked just fine! I've decided that I need a zester. I used the one on my big grater and it took forever just to get 1 tablespoon of lemon zest. I'm pretty sure I didn't even have that much because I got so frustrated and stopped. Here's a pic of what it looked like...

This is the first recipe I've tried out of this cookbook, and I can't wait to try more!

Here's the recipe courtesy of Ina Garten's How Easy is That?:

1/4 cup olive oil

9 cloves garlic minced

1/3 cup dry white wine

1 T grated lemon zest

2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 t dried oregano

1 t minced fresh thyme leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 boneless skin breasts (skin on)

Lemon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan and add garlic. Cook for just one minute but don't allow garlic to turn brown. Off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt, and pour into 9 x 12 baking dish.

Pat the chicken breasts dry and place them skin side up over the sauce. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in 8 wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes depending upon the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done and the skin is lightly browned. If the chicken isn't browned enough, put it under the broiler for 2 minutes. Cover the pan tightly with alluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with the pan juices.

Dexter

Brook and I have discovered Dexter. We haven't loved a show this much since The Sopranos. We spent a majority of the weekend watching the first two seasons. This show is really great. The writing is clever. I love the music, of course. I also think Michael C. Hall is very attractive! Could it be the dark red hair? :)

Sugar Bowl

Here a couple of pics from our trip to New Orleans... We had an awesome time with our friends and made some wonderful memories. We were all happy to finally be home, though! Thank you, Al and Mark, for letting us stay at your house again. Thank you, Razorbacks, for making it to the Sugar Bowl! Thank you, Mona Lisa waiter, for returning my credit card. Thank you, swamp tour guide, for the swamp tour even though the alligators were sleeping at the bottom of the swamp. Most importantly, thank you, La Huerta, for your awesome service, low prices, & cheese dip! We missed you terribly!

Tacky Sweaters

Last weekend, we went to a tacky sweater/cookie exchange/ white elephant party. We came home with tons of cookies and candy, an awesome Santa cookie jar, Christmas socks, and a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone candle. Here we are in our tacky sweaters!

Christmastime

Our house was transformed the weekend of Thanksgiving. We had a couple of items break this year. The first was a very old plate that my mom gave me. Apparently, I had put it in the tree skirt last year so it would be safe in storage. Well, when I pulled out the tree skirt this year, I had obviously forgotten the plate was in there. It shattered all over the floor and there were lots of tears because that plate was very old and I loved it. Maybe I can find another one online somewhere. Also, I had a Mickey and Minnie snow globe that was destroyed during a cat and dog chase. I guess that's how it is when you have animals in the house. Here's a few pics of the decor around our house. I forgot to take a picture of the kitchen table. We have a small sled in the middle of the table with miniature presents in it. Of course, there are always some presents missing because Oliver and Little Bit love to get them out and bat them around the house. Oliver also loves to steal the cloth napkins from the table and put them in his water bowl. We call him the scientist since he loves to do experiments with stuff in his water.

Our tree...

The hearth...We put all of the Christmas cards we receive on it so it is filled by Christmas! The halltree...

And presenting, the AWESOME, Rhythm & Shoes Christmas tree!

Tomorrow night, Brook and I are going to make cookies & candy. He's going to make his Grandma's famous Golf Balls and I'm going to attempt to make my Grandma's famous English Toffee. Last Sunday, we went to Brook's parents' house and I got to help make some golf balls for the first time. I hope we do this every year and make it a family tradition. I'm sure our Grandmas would be proud. I still need to learn how to make my Grandma's chocolate peppermint sticks, fudge, and peanut brittle.

We've been watching Christmas movies since Thanksgiving and I think we've watched almost of them at least once. My absolute favorite is It's a Wonderful Life.

Vito pics

Brook and I decided we needed someone to drive us around town

Vito loves the fall. It gives him the chance to hang out on the leaves on the deck.

He eventually got used to his jester outfit on Halloween.