Maple-Roasted Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

This is a great recipe. We had it for dinner last night. It is from Real Simple. It was really simple to make.

I'm going to make it next time with all chicken breasts because Stephen doesn't like dark meat. It is cheapest if you buy the whole chicken and cut it into pieces yourself, but cutting it does take extra time. Oh, speaking of thyme. I have it growing here if you want to save the money and not buy the fresh thyme, just stop by and cut, no need to ask!

Also, I used the meat thermometer instead of just setting the timer for 1 hour and 15 minutes and it was done in about half that time. If you cooked the chicken whole, I guess it would take that long.

So here's the recipe with my changes for next time in italics:

Recipe for Maple-Roasted Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

1 chicken (3-1/2- to 4-pounds), cut into 8 pieces TRY 4 BONE-IN BREASTS
1 yellow onion, cut into 1-inch wedges
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks TRY 2 LARGE SWEET POTATOES
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons maple syrup
6 sprigs fresh thyme TRY PULLING OFF STEMS FIRST

Heat oven to 400° F. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. Arrange the chicken, onion, and sweet potatoes in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Drizzle the oil over the chicken and vegetables and season with the salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Drizzle with the maple syrup and top with the sprigs of thyme.

Roast, stirring the vegetables once, until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour, 15 minutes. USE MEAT THERMOMETER. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

TRY SHREDDING CHICKEN AND SERVING WITH JUICES POURED ON TOP

Tip: The maple glaze can also be used with a whole chicken or Cornish game hens.

Yield: Serves 4

CALORIES 625.18 (49% from fat); FAT 34.5g (sat 8.64g); CHOLESTEROL 222.91mg; CALCIUM 59.39mg; CARBOHYDRATE 19g; SODIUM 457.81mg; PROTEIN 56.66mg; FIBER 1.41g; IRON 3.98mg

Adapted from recipe in Real Simple, DECEMBER 2005
http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1132509

Tim Tam on the Brain

Jordan Gons is a friend of ours in our Community Group. His sister spent a significant time in Australia, where she discovered the Tim Tam cookie. Target is temporarily selling this treats in the USA and Jordan bought several packs last week, leaving one-and-a-half packs at my house.

I'm hooked. Those 95-calorie-per cookies are just TOO good. I have been craving them ever since they've been gone. I want to try a Tim Tam Slam.

Anyway, here are pictures of the new package and of someone else's Tim Tam on their plate.

Cream of Something Soup

We all have them. Recipes we feel guilty about because they have the trans-fat-sodium laden cans of cream of something soup, but we love our recipes too much to quit making them. I was so excited when I tried this recipe - it was cheaper and healthier. I also added 1/2 cup of cauliflower puree to it, at times, to make myself feel EVEN better. The nice thing about this recipe is if you are cooking for someone with a milk, egg, soy or wheat allergy you can use substitutes to make it allergy friendly. Anyway, here's the recipe. I adapted it to my own taste but included a link to the original:

Recipe for Homemade White Sauce (Also known as a Bechemel Sauce)

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup whole or 2% milk (plus more for thinning)
chicken stock, chopped mushroom, chopped celery, etc.
1/4 teaspoon salt
4-5 grinds fresh black pepper
1/2 cup cauliflower puree (optional)

In saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Once melted, add flour and whisk with butter. You have now created a roux.

Add milk to butter/flour mix a little at a time and WHISK, WHISK, WHISK!

Cook on medium-high heat, stirring often. Once sauce begins to bubble (DO NOT BOIL), reduce heat to low and simmer for 5-7 minutes more until sauce thickens and has a velvety consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

If sauce is too thin, whisk in more flour. If sauce is too thick, whisk in more milk. (You now have Sauce Bechemel)

Add 2-3 tablespoons chopped mushrooms for "cream of mushroom". Add 3-4 T chicken stock for "cream of chicken". Add 1 tablespoon pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce for cream of tomato. Add 2 tablespoons of chopped celery for cream of celery.

Adapted from recipe on http://www.5dollardinners.com/2008/10/homemade-white-sauce.html

Go to Jail

Sydney: Abby, your doll has to go to jail.

Abby: Why?

Sydney: Because she is naked. That's where you go if you're naked.

Abby: Okay. Will you babysit her later? She's allergic to popcorn. And here's her medicine.

Pictures of Personality

Okay, so it doesn't EXACTLY match their personalities, but here are pictures my friend, Molly, sent from this summer. They were taken at her daughter's birthday party.

Christmas Firsts

My first attempt at making Gingerbread cookies:
(These were made from scratch - I recommend buying the dough to save some time)



Stephen's first attempt at putting a bike together:



The first year I did something creative with the Christmas cards:



Brody's first spin on a car:
(He cannot walk into a room but he can DRIVE into one!)

Croup

Brody's been sick since Tuesday. Fever on-and-off. Sometimes low grade, tonight it spiked to 103.5F. Today he had trouble breathing, was wheezing. Took him to the pediatrician.

He has croup AND an ear infection. His first infection. I tried a breathing treatment tonight and it was more like a wrestling match. The medication was all over me, rather than in his lungs. Bracing for another long night.

The night before last when I was rocking Brody to sleep for the third time - at some wee-hour-of-the-morning time - and I was convinced I couldn't hold my head up much longer. I was reminded of something Adrian Despres recently told me, "THIS too shall pass. But this too shall PASS."

Don't want to miss God in it or miss the sweet time rocking my baby to sleep. This too shall pass. What a gift the present is.