Author: Kathleen

Honey Mustard Chicken

As far as homemaking goes, I may be a little behind the curve.

Strengths: cleaning, organization, scrapbooking, getting the bills paid on time, and taking care of you if you’re sick.

“Growth areas” (this is therapy speak): sewing, gardening, decorating, and COOKING.

I am completely inexperienced with cooking, which at times makes me feel like less of a woman, or something. (I’m exaggerating, people.) Anyway, I know I’m not going to go from newbie to chef extraordinaire overnight, so I’m starting slow. Hence my goal #2, cook dinner once a week for a month.

This is the meal I cooked on Friday, and hopefully I can follow it up for the next three Fridays to complete the goal.

Honey Mustard Chicken (from my friend Ellen)

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup prepared mustard
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste and place in a lightly greased baking dish.

3. In a small bowl combine the honey, mustard, basil, paprika and parsley. Mix well. (I used a whisk.)

4. Pour 1/2 of this mixture over the chicken.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn chicken pieces over and brush with the remaining 1/2 of the honey mustard mixture.

6. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Let cool 10 minutes and serve.

My notes:
I made the full recipe so that we would have leftovers, but I have also cut it in half before and it was just as good. I made Rice-a-roni to go with it, and I’m so proud of myself for also making green beans! Neither David nor I particularly like vegetables, so it’s hard to get each other to eat them. Also, in the interest of full disclosure, this did sort of stain my pan yellow. So you might want to stay away from using any pans you bake brownies in.

Verdict:
The meal turned out nicely and David liked it too even though he doesn’t really like chicken. He said there was so much good sauce that he barely noticed the chicken flavor. I’ll definitely make this one again. Remember, if I can make it, you definitely can!

July 6, 2009
#55. Change Passport to Married Name.

Another easy goal out of the way! All I had to do for this one was shell out the $75 fee and get my paperwork together. It required me to mail in my old passport, and while I was not sorry to see that horrible picture go I was sorry to part with all the stamps I had acquired:

Three examples: France, England, Ireland.

Just the other day I got my new passport in the mail. All clean and blank and empty, full of potential. David has never been out of the country so I hope to take him one day.

Oh, and they also mailed me my old passport back. :)

July 4, 2009
Some Things I Bought

I decided to go on a random mini shopping trip after work last night and this is what I picked up:

1. Bath & Body Works foaming hand soap – I love foaming soaps. They make it so much easier to wash my hands. And I love these scents: Wild honeysuckle, sea island cotton, and rainkissed leaves. Only $3 each right now!

2. C.O. Bigelow everyday lip balm – I was in the market for a new petroleum based lip balm, and this looked like as good as any. $5, and so far I really like it.

3. Scentport home fragrance diffuser – Picked this up because it was on sale for $4, and who doesn’t love a fresh linen smell to their room?

4. White ceramic shell – I was browsing TJ Maxx, and thought that this would be a perfect place for us to collect our change. For $10 we have a cute little decoration that is now the centerpiece to our new kitchen table, and hopefully it will be the end of me finding change all over the house (a girl can wish)!

5. Nike swim cap and goggles – I hate the goggles that I’ve been using, and have been really wanting a smaller, less bulky pair. I’ve never tried a swim cap before, but I think it’ll make things a lot easier. (Speaking of swimming, I swam the entire race length – 750 m – freestyle, without stopping, this week for the first time! I was very proud of myself.)

6. Pedometer – I’m going to start wearing this at work. I know I must walk miles during the day, and I want to prove it!

7. Target woven mirror – This was a bit of a splurge at $60, but I’ve been stalking it for weeks (I’ve actually visited it several times at the store before this) and it will look so great leaning on our mantle once we paint the fireplace white!

I haven’t shopped in awhile and this was a spur-of-the-moment trip, so it made me happy. :)

July 3, 2009
#33. Get Promoted!

I am just knocking these goals out all over the place! Now I need to work on getting some more of the easy ones out of the way so I can get cracking on the time-consuming and difficult ones.

Yesterday I was promoted! I knew that I would achieve this goal, because it happens after one year of employment. But it wasn’t just like all I had to do was stick around for a year. There was a very lengthy process involved before I was ready to have my evaluation. I’m so glad to have it behind me! Now I am officially a “clinical colleague”.

The evaluation itself wasn’t too intimidating; all the work had been done previously. I had to rate myself in about 50 bazillion categories and be prepared to give reasons why I gave myself that rating. My director and manager rated me on the same categories, and during my evaluation I read over what they said about me. For the most part the ratings were the same or one point lower/higher than I gave myself, and I had no disagreements. We talked about my goals, some classes I want to take, and my involvement in hospital committees. Then she told me what my pay increase will be, and when it takes effect. It’s very nice to work for a company that, as told to me by its lawyers during orientation, “will never run out of money”.

I feel a lot more relaxed about work now, and with camp out of the way I have a lot more discretionary time. I’m looking forward to tackling some more home improvement projects soon, finding more furniture that we need, attempting to cook more often, and of course spending quality time with David, which is my favorite activity. :)

July 2, 2009
#46. walk the kemah boardwalk

The weekend right before I went to camp David and I were adult sponsors and small group leaders for a Disciple Now event for the youth group in our church. One of the fun things we did with the kids on Saturday was go to Kemah. I was excited because it was one of the items listed on my 101 goals!

Really bad picture of the entrance

The very first thing we did (before David lost his nerve ;)) was ride Bullet, the wooden roller coaster. And although it was jarring, it was a blast! If I was rich I would have bought the photo that they took of us while we were on the ride. It showed me smiling, and David with his eyes about to pop out of his head. I was more than likely smiling because I was watching his expression. :) He actually enjoyed it, though!

Then we spent a bunch of time just wandering around. We realized there wasn’t much to do without money; all it is is shops, rides, and restaurants. But we were with my friend Lauren and another friend from church, Steve, so it was a good time. We challenged Steve to take the test of strength. He was talking a big game and he almost hit the mark!

After awhile we met up with the rest of the adults from the church and had a yummy (free!) dinner at Landry’s. I made sure there was enough time to grab some ice cream. Then we went back to meet up with the crazy teenagers. It was definitely a fun day!

Me and Lauren at the end of the hot day.

One more item down!

June 30, 2009