Lemon Chicken

Hello everyone! I feel like I have been so bad about posting on my blog lately! It seems like every time I say I'm going to do it that night I end up doing something else! Well I have this lovely hour break between class and work so I might start working on my blog from campus haha!

Well speaking of campus it is my last semester of graduate classes! After this semester all I will have left is my internship! eek! I can't believe I am almost done. It is kind of overwhelming the thought of having to look for a job in a matter of months. Right now I am trying to focus on the three major tests I have to pass and then I will worry a little bit more about looking for a job. I don't know about any of you but I seriously HATE applying for jobs. So much anxiety. Even working on my resume makes me nervous because there are so many ways to do a resume! Ugh! At least this semester isn't looking like it will be too terrible class wise. I am talking research methods, gestalt therapy and my practicum class. Not to mention I will be in an elementary school one day a week observing and actually teaching/counseling students. Ok now I'm more nervous about the semester... Maybe I should just think about the delicious Lemon Chicken I made the other night for dinner.

I made this one night last week when my friend Elizabeth came over for dinner. I found the recipe of course on Pinterest. The website it actually came from is DisneyFamily.com. I have started looking at Pinterest to see what I want to make before I make my grocery list. Keeps me trying new recipes and helps me save money by not buying things I don't actually need. One of the reasons I loved this recipe so much is because of how light it is. When I saw that in called for frying the chicken I was a little nervous... but you don't really deep fry it so it is ok. It also reheats really well!

Lemon Chicken
Ingredients: 
- 2 large chicken breast fillets cut into bite size pieces
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2-3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 4 thinly sliced scallions, to serve
- 1 large lemon, zest and juice (1/4 cup)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions 
1. Put the chicken in a bowl with the soy sauce. Leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
2. To make the sauce, whisk together the lemon zest and juice with the sugar, water and cornstarch in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly until thickened, then keep warm.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan. Whisk together the egg yolk and cornstarch in a small bowl to make a batter. Toss the chicken in the batter and fry for three to four minutes on each side until golden and cooking through.
     * I had issues at this step. When I mixed the egg yolk and the cornstarch it just made a gooey mess not really a batter. After talking to some people they suggested having them separate. Like dipping the chicken in the egg yolk and then the cornstarch. If you try it this way let me know which works best.
4. Transfer to a plate and spoon the warm lemon sauce over the chicken. Scatter the scallions over the dish before serving.

* I chose to serve the chicken over some angle hair pasta. The lemon from the chicken added a nice light lemon sauce also to the pasta. I also did not add the scallions because being on a tight budget I don't worry to much about garnish.

PS- I am running in my first 5K on Saturday!!! eeekkk I'm so excited and also very nervous. I am sure that I will be able to finish the race I just hope I don't trip.

Pesto and Sun-dried Tomato Chicken

Hello all! So I am super excited to say that I am going to run my first 5k race on the 25th! My brother in law is the head track coach at the high school he works at in Cary. He is hosting a 5K as a fundraiser for his track team. If you are interested in running let me know and I will tell you how to sign up! I am super excited because a week after I finish my training for the couch to 5K. It is so awesome that I have stuck with it and using the program really helped! There were times I wanted to give up but I kept on pushing forward and I'm glad I did because it really has paid off. I have also been running with a friend who has helped to keep me motivated. I am going to try and keep running so that I don't loose the ability to run haha. I don't want to go backwards!

Ok so onward to what this post is really about. Pesto and Sun-dried Tomato Chicken!!! This is a recipe that I got from my Mom. It sounds hard to make or really fancy from the sound of it but it is really simple! I have made this one a few times before. One of the things I like about this is that you can make just as much as you need. I usually make two or three servings worth to have leftovers. But you could just make one or you could make eight it is really just based on what you need or want. I usually serve the chicken with saffron rice and broccoli.

Pesto and Sun-dried Tomato Chicken
Ingredients:
- Chicken
- Pesto
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- Panko bread crumbs (seasoned)
- Parmesan Cheese

Directions:
- Pound Chicken in between wax or clear wrap
- Layer pesto and chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- Fold in half
- Dip chicken in Panko bread crumbs and parmesan mixture. I just eye ball it. I would say its like 2 part bread crumbs to 1 part cheese.
- Put on sprayed baking dish
- Bake at 350 for 45min to an 1 hour

Easy and Creamy White Chicken Enchiladas

Well I have finally gotten moved and summer school is finally over! I also have finally gotten a chance to buy real groceries again. I know that is a lot of finales but that is how these past few weeks have been. I feel like I have been busy but there isn't much to show for it. Hopefully I will get to do some crafting before classes start back.

Running is still going good. I can run for 25 minutes without stopping or walking. I am running my first 5K on August 25th. My brother-in-law is putting on a 5K to raise money for the high school track team he is coaching. If you are interested in running there is still time to sign up just let me know!

The first thing I have made now that I have more than ramen noodles was Chicken Enchiladas. I found the recipe of course from Pinterest. The website it came from is actually Food, Family and Finds 

Easy and Creamy White Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients:

Got a little burnt on top but still tasted good :)

- 6-8 Corn Tortillas (Enchilada size)
- 1 pre-cooked plain rotisserie chicken, shredded
- 1 cup sweet corn
- 4 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese, divided in half
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
- 1 10oz can cream of chicken soup
- 1  cup sour cream
- 1 4oz can chopped green chilies
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions: 
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Fill the center of each tortilla with a handful of shredded chicken, a tablespoon or so of the corn, and a pinch of the shredded cheese.
3. Roll and place in the bottom of a baking dish with the seam side down.
4. In a pot over medium heat melt the butter. Add flour and whisk into a thick paste.
5. Add chicken broth, cream of chicken, sour cream, chiles, salt and pepper.
6. Whisk gently for about 5 minutes until warm and smooth.
7. Pour sauce over the enchiladas and top with remaining shredded cheese.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes and serve warm.

*So when I made this I ended up only using about half of the whole chicken I shredded so I was able to freeze some. And my enchiladas were still very full.

Expressive Arts

Oh man it has been a while since I have last posted. Life has been very busy now that classes have started back. I never thought I would say this but I am ready for the fall semester to start because summer school is so intense! Not this past week but the week before I took the Expressive Arts Institute for Children and Adolescents. In other words we learned was of using expressive arts therapy techniques for working with children and adolescents. The class is taught through hands on learning so it was a lot of doing and creating art than it was sitting and listening to a professor lecture. Which was fine by me because I love crafting! By the end of the week however I was so burnt out! Below are pictures of some of my work :)

This was the front of my journal. I ripped up pictures from magazines to make everything excited for the purple part of the flower. That is cut from tissue paper. I had the front of my journal say "Be Open" because I wanted to remember to be openminded to new ideas that were going to arise throughout the week. 

This was a clay creature that I made the first day. We talked some about animal magic that morning and my animal was a raven. When we were doing some meditation before we created our clay figures I kept thinking about the raven as my professor talked. So this my attempt at a raven. 

This was the inside front cover of my journal. This is the one thing that doesn't really represent anything. I guess if I think about it, it could be how I want to be calm and go with the flow. 

This was a reflection about my clay raven. It is hard to read in this picture but pretty much right now I feel like a raven in a storm not knowing where I will find a job or when but when I do I will be like a raven flying into a rainbow. Thats the hope anyways haha!

The second day we did a drumming workshop. We pretty much just did some open drumming. The red represents my drumming pattern that I came up with where the other colors are when my pattern would grove with someone else's.  

On the left side is a representation of some of the improve acting type of stuff we did. It was a lot of fun. I was running out of time so I couldn't do a whole lot. On the right top I know it is hard to see but we were told to pick a shell from a pile. They all had other shells and things attached or growing on the. It is hard to explain.. sorry. We were asked to draw what we saw in or on our shell and then talk about what it could represent. The bottom is the inside back cover and I was just trying to make it match the front side cover. I used yarn to make the swirls this time which I thought looked pretty cool. 

This was an artistic reflection on the move meant that we did one morning. I think this was my favorite piece I made all week :)

On the left side is a journal response to a mindfulness walk we did followed by some meditation. For those of you who do not know what mindfulness is the best way I can think to describe it is it is a way of being fully present in the moment and not letting your mind wonder. The right on the bottom is a shape poem I wrote about looking for love. And the top is a reflection on writing poems. 

This is an artistic reflection on a poem I wrote about rain haha. It rained all week so it is what came to mind! 

This is the back of my journal. Since the front had a sun shine I thought the back should have a sun set. Again to make the sun set I ripped up magazine pictures to get the colors I wanted. The blue and purple is tissue paper. I wanted to bring in the raven again so I made it out of feathers. It says freedom because this week really helped me to find freedom from some of the mental noise that had started to bother me again. 

Ok so this is not something I made. It is a picture of my friend Morgan and my friend Mike's piece of nature. We were asked to find pieces of nature that spoke to us. When my friend Mike picked this flower the whole stem came off too. It was just too funny so I had to take a picture. Sorry Morgan! 

A new look for an old bookcase

Hello everyone! I feel like it has been a while since I have posted. Life has gotten pretty busy. I am packing up my house because I am moving in like 2 weeks! But I made some time for some crafting! I have this bookcase that my oldest sister Jennifer and brother-in-law Todd gave me for a high school graduation present. When I got the bookcase it was unfinished so I painted it light purple and lime green. Those were my colors for everything when I was in college. Well I decided it was time for a face lift and I wanted it to look a little more grown up. So I painted it black. It looks so much better and way more grown up :)

Before

After

If you may remember I said I wanted to do a couch to 5 K. Well so far so good! I have finished the first two weeks. It is at the third week that the workouts really pick up so we will see how it goes. But I am enjoying it so far and it is nice to just be able to put shoes and workout clothes on and go and not have to get my bike to the greenway to get some exercise. 

Race for the Cure and Ham Hawaiian

Hello everyone! This past weekend I was part of the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure. It was so awesome to see all of those people out there supporting Breast Cancer research. Now if only we could give that kind of support to all cancer research that would be awesome! But that is another rant :) It was so cool to see all of those people running and walking. It was pretty inspiring and almost made me wish I could run. I walked with my Mom and my oldest sister Jennifer. We saw tons of people who were part of teams and whole families out there. We decided that next year we wanted to get my whole family out there. Thats my other sister Erin, both brother in laws and my Dad. We promised we wouldn't make them wear pink shirts or tutus. Granted I did see some cute little boys who were about 4 who had tutus sewed to the front of their shirts. They were so stinking cute. Now before you start thinking wow I didn't know Meredith was a runner. Well I'm not haha! Most people walk the path and those who run just weave around the walkers. I was thinking about how cool it would be to be able to run the race next year. I have always wanted to be a runner so I am going to take this new inspiration to start running. I kept seeing those couch to 5K workouts on Pinterest so I thought I would look into. I also found out that I can get a free app for my phone that tells me when to start and stop running. I did my first workout yesterday and it really wasn't bad! You have to run 3 days a week for about 2 months. Wish me luck on my new adventure! I will keep you all post on how it goes and if I don't tell you about it NAG ME to go run!!! No I'm serious make me do this!

Pre-Race Picture!

Now on to the yummy food part of the blog :) I made this dish called Ham Hawaiian that my Mom made all the time for us when we were younger. This dish is super yummy and of course pretty easy. 

Ingredients: 

- 1/4 cup margarine, divided

- 1/2 green pepper chopped

- 2 cups cooked ham, chopped

- 1 9oz can pineapple tidbits

- 1/8 tsp cloves 

Mix these ingredients with pineapple juice:

- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar

- 1 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch

- 1 1/2 Tablespoons vinegar

- 1 1/2 teaspoons prep. mustard

- 1/8 teaspoons pepper

- 3/4 cold water

Directions: 

1. Melt 2 Tablespoons margarine. Add green pepper and ham. Cook for 5 minutes. 

2. Drain pineapple reserving juice for sauce mixture. 

3. Mix juice with sauce mixture. Stir into ham and green peppers. Cook until thickened. 

4. Add pineapple and heat. Add cloves.

5. Serve over rice :)

Recipes not from Pinterest!!!

Holy Moly I have two new recipe that is not from Pinterest! My friend Rebecca a Mexican Casserole for me a week or so ago so I made it for myself this weekend! It was so good and very filling. The other recipe is not really new to me. My Mom gave me this recipe a while ago and it is one that I make on a somewhat regular basis because its easy and super yummy!

Mexican Casserole

I took a picture with a piece out so you could kind of see the layers.

Ingredients:
- 6 flour tortillas
- 1 can refried beans
- 1 1/2 cups salsa
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 2 cups Mexican cheese
- 1 pound ground beef or turkey
- 1 packet taco seasoning.

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. In a microwave safe bowl mix together refried beans and salsa. Microwave for 1-2 minutes until spreadable. Set aside.

3. Cook ground beef and drain fat. Add taco seasoning and water as said on package. Let simmer for 10 minutes

4. Spray pan 9x13 dish with Pam. Rip up 3 flour tortillas and place in bottom of dish. Layer half of the meat then half  the bean mixture then half the frozen corn and cheese. Then repeat another layer.

5. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes. 

I usually make it with rice and broccoli :)

Chicken- Wine, Honey, Soy

Ingredients:

- 4-6 pieces chicken

- 1 cup white wine

- 1/2 cup honey

- 1/4 cup soy sauce

Directions: 

1. Sprinkle garlic on chicken. Brown chicken in skillet just until lightly brown.

2. In a bowl mix wine, honey and soy sauce. Pour on chicken. 

3. Simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour until chicken is cooked through. 

This week I also grilled some salmon that my Mom had given me. I think I drive my parents crazy when I try something new for the first time because I feel like I call them every couple of minutes. The salmon I had was already marinated in something. Sorry I don't know what it was already in. I made it with a baked potato. The salmon was a little dry. I think I over cooked it but I was more worried about it being under cooked.