Cranberry-Pear Chicken

I made one of my favorite chicken dishes last night, one I like so much that I am confident enough to share with you. I even took pictures while I made it. (I'm a wanna-be.) And I looked up the word fond (the browned and caramelized bits of meat stuck to the bottom of a skillet after cooking a piece of meat) so I could use it correctly. What is it they say about the best-laid plans? Mine went a little awry, but dinner still made it to the table.

Cranberry-Pear Chicken
2 tsp canola oil
¾ lb. chicken breast, boneless, skinless - cut in
1-inch cubes
1 ½ tsp all-purpose flour
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp salt

3 green onions, chopped
1 pear, peeled, cored, and chopped
¼ cup dried cranberries
¾ cup pear nectar
2 tsp coarse multi-grain mustard I'm not a huge mustard fan - I just used 1 tsp

Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Toss with flour and sauté in 1 tsp oil for five minutes, turning once to brown all sides. Remove from pan.

At this point your pan has a beautiful fond. This is the best part. It makes the dish. Don't burn it.

Add additional teaspoon of oil; sauté chopped green onion and pear for three minutes to brown the pears.

It smells so good right now!

Add the cranberries, pear nectar, and mustard; simmer, uncovered for 3 minutes.

This is the part where you deglaze that wonderful fond from the pan with the pear nectar. I used a little chicken broth too, because I like it saucy. Imagine my horror when I turned from getting the mustard out of the cupboard and saw/smelled my precious fond blackened and burnt. I guess I took too long hunting for the mustard. I guess I had the heat a little too high. I guess I am not the cook I wish I was. I know it was not the end of the world, but it upset me. I had to transfer the pears and onions minus the fond to a nonstick skillet. I added a little more chicken broth and pear nectar and hoped for the best.

Add the reserved chicken and simmer for one minute to glaze the chicken.

Maybe all is not lost.

Garnish with green onions and... 

Serve immediately.

with brown rice, Mmmm!

So, it turned out OK. It was delicious actually. The real question is, did the girls eat it? They asked for 2nds - of broccoli. They did eat the chicken after picking off all those pesky green & red things. They must think I'm insane for messing up perfectly good plain chicken with fruit and vegetables and sauce. That won't stop me from making it again though. I hope you like it too. Good luck with the fond!

Reading

The other night Gwen pulled out a stack of books at bedtime and instead of asking me to read them all to her, sat down and read them to her little sister. I love watching my girls learn to read. It is fascinating. I love the independence and discovery that comes as the letters on the page become words and the words become stories. I have loved watching Bethany read to Gwen, becuase it is such a sweet little act of kindness & because then I don't have to put down my book! Now, Gwen is reading to Cate. It fills my heart with love and gratitude for my little readers. I am excited for them to see worlds open up through books. I anticipate with joy the discussions we'll have about my favorites and the books that they'll introduce me to. The ability to read is a blessing of infinite worth and opportunity. I love seeing it sprout and grow in my children.

That night, her stack included:

Trashy Town

The Napping House

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?

I don't think she finished Sylvester, but she read the rest of them. (Sylvester is a great book by the way, very silly & sweet, all of William Steig's books are.) I have a low tolerance for bad children's book and I'll vouch for that list. Each one will hold up to multiple readings without making you want to stick a fork in your eye. Other picture books that make the cut:

Zen Shorts

I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean

The Witch's Broom

Fanny's Dream

The Waterfall

Where the Wild Things Are

Olivia

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

What are your favorites?

Recipes

I made chowder last night with a leftover ham that's been in the deep-freeze since Christmas. I got the recipe from Jena & Dedo. It was delish. Each one of my daughters' liked it which was a pleasant suprise because soup is not the little Lowe girls' favorite food. There are too many ingredients to worry about, too many spices, everything's all mixed together & there's no way to divide the vegetables from each other & leave off the sauce. 

Plus also, this wasn't just soup, it was chowder, so not only is everything all mixed together, but you can't even see everything that you're about to eat! They ate it though. The biggest suprise was Gwen. Gwen loved it. That is huge. She is our pickiest eater and will go days without food before tasting something she doesn't think she'll like. We've tried everything (bribes, shame, physical force) and now we're back to this is what we're having, if you're hungry, you'll eat it. The girls set the table while Matthew raved about how good the soup smelled and how much everyone was going to like it. I was trying to be optimistic, but suspected that Gwen would go to bed hungry, preferring to wait until she could have a bowl of Shredded Wheat for breakfast. I told her that this soup only had things she liked in it: potatoes, ham, corn, carrots, onions - wait, I didn't tell her about the onions, we don't talk about the onions, everyone knows they're there, but there's no need to bring them up in front of the children. I sat down determined to enjoy my bowl no matter what faces the girls made about the hot dinner sitting before them that I had slaved for hours in the kitchen to make. The faces never came. The comment about this not being their favorite never came (after hurting my & their grandparents' feelings one too many times, they are not allowed to say they don't like something at the table). The I'm not hungry statement never came. They ate it all up, thick broth, spices, onions, and all! Gwen actually finished her bowl. You only have to glance at her little bird-legs to tell that that is a rare occurence.

I have been on a high ever since, feeling like a success as a mother & all that. I'm enjoying it now, because it will only last a few more hours, then I'll have to make dinner again & start all over.

After lunch today, I made the girls peanut-butter balls. I'm not sure why I'm admitting making such a thing on a semi-public forum, but maybe I have a niece or nephew out there that will appreciate the things. (Not a Fowler niece or nephew, your mom will feel nauseas just reading this.) Peanut-butter balls (& the next person to make them, please help me come up something else to call them) are a mixture of powdered sugar & peanut butter. That's it. Roll them into balls, roll them in a little powdered sugar and feel good about giving your kids a healthy snack. Except that they're not all that healthy. It's a great way to get them to eat peanut butter though! As if it's hard to get kids to eat peanut butter in the first place. Basically, they're something sweet when you don't have the time or energy to make cookies and you've already raided your marshmallow & chocolate chip stash.

That reminds me of a recipe Matthew & I discovered years ago... 

Have a hard time getting your kids to eat hot dogs and Ramen noodles? Try this!

Although I have not yet and never will make the Octopus and Seaweed Special, I've been on a roll in the kitchen and can't wait to try a recipe Jamie gave me for dinner tonight. I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, here's last night's success story:

Cheesy Vegetable & Ham Chowder

2 c. water

2 c. chopped potato

1/2 c. chopped carrot

1/2 c. chopped celery

1/4 c. butter

1/4 c. flour

2 c. milk

2 1/2 c. shredded cheese

15 oz. can cream style corn

1/4 t. black pepper

2 c. cubed/cooked ham 

In a large saucepan combine water, potato, and carrot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Simmer covered for ten minutes. DO NOT DRAIN. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and 1/4 t. black pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Add cheese to milk mixture cook and stir until cheese melts. Add cheese mixture to potato mixture. Stir in corn and ham. Heat through but do not boil. If desired, season with additional pepper.

(I simmered the ham bone in water, strained it out, & then boiled potatoes & carrots in the ham-water. Oh, & I added onions of course! I sauteed them with the butter before adding the flour & milk.)

Bike Ride

Today was a beautiful day for a bike ride. We went to Zion and rode along the Virgin River on the Pa'rus trail.

Gwen really is too big for the trailer, but Bethany's bike had a flat tire, so she rode the trail-a-bike & Gwen & Cate got pulled. It was nice to have all three girls attached to our two bikes though; it made crowd control much easier.

Of course, we couldn't just enjoy the sunshine & nature without me trying to hold a photo-shoot. With my new shake resistant, water-proof camera & recent discovery of Picasa's photo collages, I am unstoppable.

Story Time

Catherine, reading to her class of stuffed animals:

"Please can we do something Mom?" said the kids.

The mom said "No."

"Puh-lease!"

"No."

"Please Mom, can we get a horsey?"

The mom said yes!

"No!" said the dad.

Ouch, mean parents. I wonder where she gets the inspiration for her stories...

Traditions

Christmas was wonderful of course. It was so fun to see everybody. Let me recap the holiday with a list of family traditions (new and old) that were carried on in 2008.

Christmas Eve Pot-your-luck

Daughters, niece & nephew acting out the Christmas story & Dad reading Luke 2.

Christmas Eve jammies - thanks Mom!

Sausage

Hygiene Kits the day after Christmas

Rappelling

New Year's Eve Pot Luck

New Year's Eve Ball (Save the Last Dance for Me, Michael Buble)

Tea Party with Grandma Barton

Cross-country skiing up north

I cry the day...

In Bethlehem

Not far from Mount Moriah
where the Father of the Faithful
built an altar of native stone,
and binding Isaac, laid him
on the fire-ready wood
of sacrifice, before he saw
the thicket-caught ram,

Mary lays her firstborn son,
wrapped in swaddling bands,
on tinder-dry hay
in limestone
manger
of a stable-cave.

Fulfilled again are words
of Abraham—
God will provide Himself a lamb.

Sharon Price Anderson, “In Bethlehem,” Ensign, Feb 2008, 10

Christmas Everywhere

Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas tonight!

Christmas in lands of the fir tree and pine,
Christmas in lands of the palm tree and vine,
Christmas where snow peaks stand solemn and white,
Christmas where corn-fields lie sunny and bright.

Christmas where children are hopeful and gay,
Christmas where old men are patient and gray,
Christmas where peace, like a dove in its flight,
Broods o'er brave men in the thick of the fight;
Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas tonight!

For the Christ Child who comes is the Master of all,
No palace too great and no cottage too small.

Phillips Brooks

from One Hundred & One Famous Poems

Pink Eye

Cate woke up with a swollen right eye. She said, "Dad, I got glue all over my eye. But I didn't do it."

I took her into the Instacare in Hurricane and the Dr. said it could just be a hold-over from her recent cold, but prescribed eye drops anyway. He said that with a 4x a day regimen, she should no longer be contagious after a day or so. 

Also, I have a new appreciation for my wife. I don't know how many times she has taken all three kids to the Instacare without killing them, but I know she has done it several times. I felt like I barely survived the ordeal... especially when the older children kept interrupting with loud questions and declarations. The doctor was telling me that if anyone else in the family should need the drops he would write a refill for the prescription. To which the oldest said, in her characteristically loud voice: "What is a refill?" and then, (not responding to my whispered, "We'll talk about it later.") "I don't have an eye infection; why would you give me the drops?" and then Gwen says, "My kindergarten teacher told me to NEVER take someone else's medicine!" ... Then, just after the doctor finished explaining the need for thorough hand-washing before eating, Gwen decides that would be a good cue to reach into the bag full of coloring books that I brought in with us and grab a cold Chicken McNugget and pop it in her mouth.

Little Baby

Baby Please Come Home

Staring at that cat is making me have guilt. "Great! Now I have guilt!" Name the movie, win a $50 gift card to The Home Depot. Just kidding, but not about the guilt. The cold hard truth is that I only felt real concern for that cat during the last 15 minutes of his life. Rest in peace.

Here's a little Christmas cheer to get our minds off of the dead cat. (Which we haven't buried yet because there's a foot of snow on the frozen ground.) This song makes me happy, even though Bono's a little creepy. He sure can sing.

Jack: In Loving Memory

Jack died last night. We hadn't seen him since Sunday, which isn't unusual-- but it has been so cold the last few days that we were concerned. Emily set out blankets and food, but we just didn't see him. He finally came home yesterday afternoon, cold and sick. We brought him inside, put him on blanket and a heating pad and tried to love him back to health. The three girls were worried, but Cate was most concerned. She kept sneaking out to the laundry room and patting him on the head (which isn't good for a dying cat) and telling him to get better. He wasn't. At bedtime, Emily picked him up and held him for a few minutes while he died. We had a good cry and went to bed.

In the last few hours I've been trying to remember everything there is to remember about the little black cat. And-- with the aid of a heightened and finely-tuned selective memory-- I have. So, from now on, I'll only share the good parts version of Jack's story. (And in my memory, we were pretty good cat-owners too.)

I woke the Three Birds this morning to let them know what happened last night. The girls stumbled into our room, got cozy in the covers, and we told them. They cried hard-- especially Catherine. (Cate has always had an adversarial relationship with Jack; from her time as a bald toddler when he would stalk her, crawling with his belly low in the grass in order to pounce on top of her shiny head and scratch. Even when he got older, and stopped lunging and scratching, he was never soft with her... but she still loved him. Cate wasn't sad about Jack's death only because of a selective memory, she loved him because she is loving.)

They cried. We told them of our plan to have a funeral later in the day. They cried some more. We talked about Heaven. We hugged. We reminisced. We cried again.

Here are some quotes from the morning talk:

Dad: "Do you remember how Jack would attack his back legs?"

Mom: "Do you remember when Jack would catch birds? ...lizards? ...mice?"

Bethany: "Do you remember how Jack would jump up and grab a sock if I waved it at him?"

Gwen: "Do you remember how Jack would chase a string if I pulled it?"

Cate: "Do you remember how I would throw a stick to Jack... and he would just look at it?"

More Snow

Well, it looks like it's going to keep on snowing for a while. The weather man says it may snow all night and all day tomorrow. Perhaps we'll even get some on Wednesday. I just hope that they don't call a snow day for the schools tomorrow because I need my Spring vacation in March.

Tonight Emily is working but the Three Birds and I went out for an adventure at Papa and Grandma's house up the street. Here are some pictures.

Let it Snow! (a little)

After walking the big girls to the bus stop this morning, Catherine & I had to cut the rest of our walk short due to some white flutterings from the sky:

Yea! I love it when it snows in Southern Utah. It gets us in the holiday spirit, gets the girls excited about playing in real snow when we go up north for New Year's and the mountains look so pretty & Christmas-y. But we don't have to wear snow boots to church or shovel our driveway because it always melts by noon.

Noon:

Now:

Meanwhile, I was shoveling the driveway. And it's still coming down.

12 Days of Christmas

Check out the Mo Tab's Christmas Countdown. They are featuring video clips of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" from last year's Christmas concert with The King's Singers. Click where it says Click Here for Day Three (or Four or Five or whenever you read this.)

A Thankful Heart

Anyone else tired of staring at that recipe? How about this face for a change?

Better late than never, some pictures & commentary from our lovely Thanksgiving weekend "up north." I didn't take any pictures of the actual feast or even the actual day, but I did get some footage of the adorable baby Eve. I'm sorry if you're not as smitten with her as I am, but Maryann, I know that you are! Here is a video of Eve being mauled by her three cousins.

Theywerethisclosetohertheentiretime.

I love that video because Eve makes her scrunchy face, does her best to remain in control of all of her toys, looks up as soon as her dad says her name, waves, smiles, scowls. She is just the cutest thing ever and dripping with personality. I can’t get enough of her. I love being an aunt. Dennis & Katie, we loved hanging out with you too, even though I spent most of the time making a fool of myself talking to Eve in a high voice. You can see the disdain in her eyes can’t you? What is your problem woman? Speak like a normal human being. Of course, she wasn’t so disdainful when I was sharing my Fuzzy Peach with her now was she? (My dessert from Bistro 258 in downtown Ogden - yum!)

(Cate took that picture!)

We took the little girls this year on our annual day-after-Thanksgiving hike. Cate fell on her face after about minutes on the trail and got a bloody nose, a flowing, bilateral, crying & smearing all over her mom's sweater one. She made a full recovery within 15 minutes despite the fact that this picture looks like she has elaphantitis. It’s just because she’s wearing 2 coats & big gloves.
Gwen bonded with Ma and Bethany bonded with Ross on the hike. Ross told Beth that there was a castle in the rocks up the canyon & she was sure she could make out the ruins. Daron & Christina came too. I have developed a new appreciation for my little brother since he married that girl. I wish we lived closer, so we could hang out in downtown Ogden more often. You guys know the best places to eat! Mom & Dad, thanks for hosting & feeding our little tornado of a family. & brothers, thanks for making me laugh.

I am so thankful for the family I have, that we all get along, that we love each other & can laugh together. I am thankful for my sister that I feel so close to even though she lives so far away. I am thankful for my husband and our home and family. I am thankful for my Heavenly Father and His plan.

“All that we hold dear, even our families, our friends, our joy, our knowledge, our testimonies would vanish were it not for our Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”(President Monson, Treasured Gifts, Ensign 2006 and John 3:16)

White Chili with Salsa Verde

What to do with your leftover turkey:

This is a recipe that Emily came home with from Relief Society that calls for ground turkey. Tonight she made it with chopped-up leftover turkey and it was much better than the original.

White Chili with Salsa Verde

Chopped onions (the recipe calls for 1/2 cup, we diced about 5 small ones.)
1 Cup diced turkey leftovers (or 12 oz. ground turkey)
1 garlic clove, minced

3 cups water
2 cans great northern beans
1 can diced chilies
2 teaspoons chicken bullion granules
Pepper
1/4 Cup water
2 Tbs. Flour

Cheese
Salsa Verde

In a soup pan, saute the onions until caramelized, add turkey and garlic. Stir in water, beans, chilies, bullion, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Stir together flour and water and add to thicken.

Serve with Salsa Verde and grated cheese on top.

Now check this out. Sarah Palin after pardoning a turkey in Alaska:

Hi Aunt Maryann!

More pictures, video, etc. coming. We miss you Hoosiers!

Butch and Sundance: Los dos amigos son malos y muy guapos.

We usually have a no TV policy from Sunday to Friday after school, but tonight (after a few stressful evenings and some hectic days at work this week) I decided to watch a movie: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Emily was at work so it was just me and the three birds. They were interested in watching a cowboy movie, having seen another great cowboy movie-- Three Amigos-- at Grandma and Papa's house last week.


Here are a few quotes from the girls as they watched with me:

At the beginning of the film--

Cate: "Yay! Three Amigos!"

Bethany: "Are those guys good or bad?" "Why are the good guys in this movie bad?"

Gwen: "I think that one is handsome... No, that one is handsomer."


Later in the movie--

Cate: Asleep. (This movie isn't as exciting as Three Amigos.)

Bethany: "So, are those guys still bad? Why? Don't they want to be good? I think they are going to become good at the end of the movie."

Gwen: (dressed in Bethany's cowgirl hat and boots.) "Is that girl (Sundance's girlfriend) a cowgirl princess, or just a cowgirl?"


Right before the final scene of the movie (Butch and Sundance are in Bolivia; they are bloodied, cornered, and about to run out to meet their fate.)--

Cate: Still asleep.

Bethany: "If they had become good, those people wouldn't want to kill them."

Gwen: "That one is handsome." (And later) "Well, they are both handsome." "They are bad, but they are handsome."