What's for dinner? Casbah Chicken and Couscous

Mmmmm. This was fantastic! I love the savory and sweet combination and the Moroccan flavors. It was a very light dish and perfect for a summer dinner. This was originally a Pampered Chef recipe, but since I didn't have any of their Moroccan Rub on hand, I created my own.

Moroccan Rub
(note: this recipe makes up about 3T., but you only need 2T. for the recipe. Adjust the quantities if you see fit. It will be pleasantly spicy with the cayenne, so leave it out if you don't want a spicy dish. I think this would also work well with tofu instead of chicken.)
1/2t. cinnamon
1t. cumin
1t. ground ginger
1/2t. cayenne
1t. garlic powder
1t. onion powder
1t. sugar
1t. kosher salt
3/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 t. coriander
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. turmeric
1 T. paprika
1 T. lemon juice

Additional ingredients:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 medium red onion sliced thin
1/3 c. blanched slivered almonds
1/2 fresh cilantro leaves
1 large ripe mango
1 T. vegetable oil
1 can chicken broth (14 oz.)
1/2 c. water
1 pkg. (10 oz.) uncooked plain couscous

Combine chicken pieces and 1 T. of the Moroccan Rub and toss to coat. Set aside.

In a 12-in. skillet, toast almonds over medium heat 4-6min. or until golden brown. Remove nuts from skillet and set aside. Add oil to skillet and heat until shimmering. Add chicken to skillet and cook and stir 5-6 min. or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.

In a medium size bowl, combine broth, water, remaining 1T. rub. Add onion to skillet and cook 4-5 minutes or until onion is tender and beginning to caramelize. Add broth mixture and bring to a simmer. Stir to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet.

Slice mango into thin wedges. Stir mango, couscous, and chicken into broth mixture. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Roughly chop cilantro and toss with almonds into couscous and serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings

What's for dinner? Chicken in a Pot

This is one of our favorite dishes that is sooooo easy to make. We discovered it while looking for dutch oven recipes for our camping expedition. It turned out to be fantastic (or we were starving by the time is was ready), and so we've made it again and again. I have altered it a bit to our tastes and ease of preparation. Enjoy!

You will need:
A dutch oven--like our awesome new ceramic coated Lodge! (If you are camping, of course use your regular cast iron dutch oven. Yes, we have 2 of these as well-one for cobbler. )
4-6 chicken breasts, or a whole chicken quartered
1/2 c. white wine (I love Beringer White Zinfandel)
~3 T. olive oil
1 can of diced tomatoes (Italian style with Basil and Oregano)
4 t. Minced garlic
1 large yellow onion, chopped
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Get cookin'!

Heat a dash of olive oil in your dutch oven, then brown your chicken breasts about 4 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Add your onions to the dutch oven and sautee until almost translucent. Add the garlic to the onions and sautee another minute. Put the chicken back in and add the whole can of tomatoes (with the juice) and add the wine. Season with some salt and pepper, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes. Don't overdo it or the chicken will not be juicy and tender.
So, this is not the greatest picture, but we were in a hurry to eat and I had to snap a picture before it got devoured!

My latest creations

I've been diligently sewing for the past few weeks for my friend.  She needed two nursing covers for baby shower gifts, but couldn't find exactly what she was looking for, so she asked me to make her some.  Here's what I came up with.

 

My nursing covers have a lined, terrycloth pocket to put keep your nursing pads or baby's pacifier.  You can use the pocket to wipe baby's mouth.  They have removable boning for ease of washing and a snap in strap so you don't mess up your hair! (Patent pending for these design features.)

I used the leftover fabric to make a cute drawstring bag to store your nursing cover.

 The other things I have been working on for myself and my friend are wetbags for our cloth diapers.

Using your saved plastic grocery bags will work for a while, but that gets old rather quickly, so I came up with a design for a wetbag to store your dirty diapers/clothes and wetwipes in that's washable and reusable.  My wetbags have a waterproof PUL inner that is sewn separately from the outer to prevent wicking.  I also sew with polyester thread and a polyester zipper to prevent wicking and leaks.  My bags feature a strap that opens up so you can snap it to your stroller handle if you want. The outer is a high quality boutique cotton.  Easy to care for, just turn it inside out and throw it into the wash with your diapers.  Dry on Medium. 
This one is a large and will hold 4-6 diapers.  It has a bubblegum pink zipper and topstitching and pink snap on the handle.  Too cute!!
 

 I am setting up an Etsy shop to begin selling my creations on a larger scale.  Stay tuned!

And here is one of my all time favorite creations.    Fiona just turned 7 months, has started sitting up on her own and got her first tooth a few days ago!  Yes, the play/craft room had gone a bit crazy while I was sewing like mad.  7 wetbags, 2 nursing covers, and 2 drawstring bags later . . .

1,2,3 Everywhere!

This is my sons latest game.  He takes all of the nursing pads out of the pocket of the chair I nurse his sister in, spins around and throws them in the air and says "they're everywhere!"  and then proceeds to run around and pick them all up.  He did this repeatedly for at least half an hour yesterday.  It kept his sister entertained nicely while I put away her clothes.  When that game got boring, he stacked all of the nursing pads up and pretending we were all eating sandwiches.  Then they became hats.  He's very creative when it comes to things I would rather he not play with.  :)

Culinary Bliss

My husband and I are confirmed culinary enthusiasts. We love to travel, not for the sites, but mostly for the new tastes we will discover on our adventures. Our vacations have turned into culinary vacations-forget the Louvre, we want to eat! Not really, we did see the sites, but we also visited a wonderful little bistro in Paris twice and ordered the exact same thing on a 4 day stay because it was heavenly! (I had a fabulous goat cheese crepe over mixed greens and Chris had duck confit with fries cooked in the duck fat. YUM!) We sought out a quaint little restaurant with only 4 tables, an open fire grill, and some of the best steak and blood sausages we have ever had. We are even still trying to replicate the delicious Adana Kebab we had in Turkey. And, while I would definitely have to pass if I was ever offered the Ayran again (Turkish yogurt drink), I always want to try new dishes. I feel I would have greatly missed out if I had stuck to the familiar American style foods while traveling. My figure probably feels otherwise.

Over the years, we have developed a great appreciation and love for international foods and find that we enjoy creating them together at home. We love to make chicken curry, pad thai, empanadas, and other ethnic delights. Our spice cabinet is overflowing and our fridge now contains things like tamarind paste, fish sauce, and shrimp paste (super stinky stuff by the way).

We had gotten out of the habit for awhile of having fresh vegetables and herbs and we've found lately that we really miss them. I've started a large herb pot with a few cuttings and now it is quite bountiful. Fresh herbs and garnish can add such a wonderful finish to a dish that gives it such aromatic and visual appeal that it could be a boiled napkin for all you know and you would gladly eat it. Not to say you should ever pass trees off as food. Though my son likes to eat his broccoli "trees". Anyway, I digress.

I have always had a dream of having my own little mini farm with enough to sustain our family. It must include sheep (for wool spinning and lamb meat), chickens for meat and eggs, and definitely pigs. I would have a lovely big garden full of veggies and an orchard with fruit and nut trees. This is my dream, and while I might enjoy it for awhile, I think I would definitely need some help tending it. :)

So, since I can't have my own little mini farm right now, we've been looking into the next best thing-produce and meat co-ops. We've looked into Pinckney Farms near us in Charleston. They are a CSA. ("A CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is a straight forward partnership between community members, farmers, and the land. It serves as a direct link and responsible relationship between people and the food they eat, the land, and those who grow it.") It's a pretty neat concept-you buy a "share" of the crop up front. For $380, you get a bushel size box of food to feed a family of 4-6 each week at a drop point near your home for the 12 week growing season. So you end up getting a variety of different types of vegetables at their peak throughout the season. I can't wait to try it! I think it's great that you get the opportunity to get fabulous fresh produce while supporting a local farm and at substantial savings to your family. By the same token, we are also wanting to get a "beef share" from a local cattle farm. They will cut and divide a side of beef to your specifications and package it for you to pick up. You know exactly what the cows are being fed and injected with and you get another great deal on the food. Can't beat that.

This is making me pretty hungry. Gotta go see what's for dinner.

Getting Intimate with my Dryer

While waiting for the dryer to heat up a bit, I thought I would fill you in with the latest. My dryer is not something I have ever wanted to experience up close and personal. I have never had the desire to even stick my head into the dryer. Ever. But, today was different, because last night I failed. Failed to check every single little pocket on all of my family member's clothing before putting it in the wash. Failed bigtime, because what is the one thing that you don't want to find when you pull your warm, snuggly, sweet smelling, freshly laundered clothes from the dryer? You guessed it . . . GUM!! Smeared all over the inside of the stinkin dryer. . So, I'm investigating the heat it up and rub a wet Bounce sheet on it gum removal method. I really hope this doesn't require too much elbow grease. I don't have a lot to spare with the two little kiddos. At least they're having a nap and I'm enjoying my coffee before delving into the dryer abyss. ahhhh. Wish me luck.

UPDATE: Yay, this totally worked! I wrapped a bounce sheet around a sponge and wet it with hot water while i had the dryer warming up. I went through about 4 dryer sheets, but it took it right off. Nice and sparkly!

Capers Island Eco Tour-Fun!

Myself and Fiona "catching blue crab"

Chris and Liam catching crab

a ghost crab

What a relaxing day we had yesterday. We went on a Crabbing tour with our Family Playtime local moms group. Capers Island is one of the barrier islands off the coast of Charleston. It has a neat area called the "Boneyard Beach" which is where the island has been eroded and left exposed twisted tree stumps. It was so peaceful and beautiful, and with the breeze and warm water, Liam had a blast playing in the shallow water. He did, however step into places where the water was over his head, so you have to be pretty careful in the tidal creeks. I got kudos from another parent who witnessed my graceful rescue of my son under water while wearing Fiona in her baby carrier! Not fun, but everyone was fine and we felt "refreshed" afterward. Haha. We tried our hand at catching blue crab using a hand line, chicken neck, and net. Nobody had any luck that day. We did catch some ghost crabs and a decorator crab though. Saw some dolphin feeding and found a tidal pool full of teeny hermit crabs. We are going to try to come back to Capers with our own fishing boat and do some more crabbing and surf casting. This is also a good place to bring your dog and kids and just let them run free. There's not too much trouble they can get into here. Our tour guide and captain were great. We got a brief education on the area and its wildlife at a level the young kids could understand. Unfortunately Liam had missed the dolphins feeding when we were heading back because he had had enough fun and sun and was already napping! We all had a great time and are looking forward to going again soon! And, I especially enjoyed meeting some more of the families in our group. Yay!