Brandied Chicken with Mushrooms and Apple

Saturday night dinner....I had made this a few years ago and liked it so decided to try it again because it really is pretty healthy - just a little olive oil.  Usually we think of apples with pork but it is really good with chicken also. Apples add such a new dimension to chicken and then with the onion too - excellent!!  This is not as spicy as Kirby and I prefer so for you folks with children - go for it!!

• 3-4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (I pound mine and then cut into 2 pieces)
• 3 T. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1/4 pound mushrooms, quartered
• 1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 tart apples, peeled and sliced (granny smith or pippen)
• 1 C. apple juice
• 1/4 C. brandy
• 2 T. flour
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in a large skillet and brown chicken.
2. Add sliced onion and saute for 5 minutes, then add the mushrooms and more oil if necessary.
3. Simmer for 5 minutes more and add the apples.
4. Pour the apple juice and brandy over the chicken and bring to a boil.
5. Cover and simmer for 30 - 35 minutes.
6. Adjust seasoning.
7. Transfer the chicken, mushrooms and apples to a serving dish leaving as much of the liquid in the pan as possible.
8. Mix the flour with enough water to make a smooth paste and stir it into the hot sauce.  Continue with medium heat, stirring constantly for 2 to 3 minutes or until sauce is thickened.
9. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Note: Goes well with rice.

Sun Room Update - Final, I think

I know, I keep telling you that the sun room is finished and then I add another picture and talk about it some more.  But I am having so much fun.  That is all it really is....it is all about the fun!  OK, so, we have added some stuff to the room as you can see.  We put a rug in front of the door, and more important, in front of the Doggie Door.  I put a plant in the corner that seems to be very happy and then today Kirby hung our new picture.

I took the picture last fall at Shem Creek from the new boardwalk. 

One of the things I love about this picture is the BIRDS!  They are everywhere.  Not sure they will all show up here on the blog but just check it out!

South Carolina Flag

I love it when I come home at the end of the day and see the South Carolina Flag flying at our house!  Thank you, Kirby!  Even if it is a little twisted from the breeze, it is a most beautiful flag!

And - from this website -

Dating back to 1765, the South Carolina State Flag reminds us of its role in the American Revolution and maintains its place in the annals of the Civil War with a design that was formulated as a National banner when the state seceded from the union on December 20, 1860.

Components of the current state flag were first seen in 1765, on a banner carried by South Carolina protesters of the Stamp Act. The banner that the protesters hoisted displayed three white crescents on a blue background. Ten years later in 1775, Colonel William Moultrie was asked by the South Carolina Revolutionary Council of Safety to design a banner for the use of South Carolina troops. Colonel Moultrie chose a simple and direct design that displayed a crescent on a blue field. The new flag was the same blue color of the soldier's uniforms and the crescent echoed the symbol that the soldiers wore on the front of their caps.

Almost 100 years later, South Carolina seceded from the Union it had fought to create. A new banner was needed to fly above the newly created nation. Many designs were reviewed but the General Assembly settled on one simple change to Moultrie's Revolutionary War design. A Palmetto tree was added and centered on the blue field. The Palmetto, the South Carolina State Tree, had been attributed as instrumental in Colonel Moultrie's defense of Sullivan's Island against an attack by British warships in June, 1776. Cannonballs fired at the fort from the British ships could not destroy the walls of the fort which were built of Palmetto logs. Instead, the cannonballs simply sank into the soft, tough Palmetto wood.

The flag that flies over the state of South Carolina today is of the same design that flew over the independent South Carolina during the Civil War.

Stuffed Pork Loin with Spinach, Mushrooms, Walnuts and Feta Cheese

REALLY, REALLY good!!  That is what this was.  A dinner for company.  Get all your chopping done ahead of time, putting everything in little dishes and ready to throw in.  The prep is the key.  Once I did all my chopping in leisure, it was a cinch to cook and assemble.  It passed the Kirby test too!

• ½  cup chopped red onion
• 2 T.  canola oil
• ½  cup chopped mushrooms
• 3 teaspoons minced garlic 
• 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
• ¼  cup chopped walnuts
• ¼ cup parsley
• 1 T. Rosemary, finely chopped
• ¼ cup feta cheese crumbles
• 4 boneless pork loin chops (at least 1 inch thick) 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. In a large skillet, sauté onion in canola oil until tender. Add chopped mushrooms and garlic, cook one or two minutes longer.  Add the spinach, parsley, rosemary and walnuts; cook and stir just until spinach is wilted. Remove from the heat; add feta cheese and set aside to cool
2. Cut a deep slit in each pork loin, forming a pocket. Stuff 1/4 cup spinach mixture into each chop; secure with toothpicks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. In the same skillet, cook chops in oil for 4-8 minutes on each side, until lightly browned.  Remove chops and place in a shallow baking dish. 
3.  Bake 15 – 25 minutes, depending on how thick your pork chops are. Pork should no longer be pink inside, but don’t overcook, or it will be dry and tough. I take mine out when they have just turned from pink to very faint pink as they will continue to cook as they rest on the counter.

 PLEASE let me know if I appear to have left something out of this recipe.  It is really hard to remember everything when you are cooking.  I have gone over it and over it but I just cooked it so I am blind to it.

Progressive 4

Here are this weeks progressive photos.  The flowering pear tree seems to have changed the most.  It is actually getting leaves already.  Everything seems to have gone from nothing to leafing in 2 weeks time.  I feel like if I could just sit still and watch closely I would see the leaves growing.  It is that fast this year!

No train this week.  I actually like it better when the train is there.  And it is still so dark at 7:15 in the morning when I am taking these pictures.  I like taking them at just about the same time each week so we can watch the weather also.  The grass is greener and the weeds are beginning to green up.

This picture doesn't seem to change week after week.  But soon we will see the trees leaf out.  I noticed some little buds this morning.  The pink tree lost most of it's beautiful buds in the rain we had on Sunday.

Here are the previous entries if you want to compare -
March 12th - Click Here
March 6th - Click Here
March 5th - the pear tree - Click Here
February 20th - Click Here
They all will open a new window in your browser.

Do You Like Dogs?

If you like dogs, you will love this website!  Check out "Life With Dogs".  You will see all the newest dog videos that will make you smile.  They did me anyway!  That is what dogs are for - to make you smile!

Progressive 3

This is the "Flag Pole" picture of my progressives.  I am amazed at my camera - it was pretty darn dark outside because of daylight savings time.  You can even see the light on in my office.  But it was a beautiful morning - bright and clear.  I wanted to get my 'train track' picture but for some reason there was a police car parked there with is lights on and no one in the car.  Either it was a game or he was out tromping the weeds in search of - something.

When I got home it was much brighter!!  Yea!  And just look at the Flowering Pear Tree!  It is certainly flowering now.  Everything is blooming and there is pollen everywhere....streams of bright yellow on the ground when it rains.  Allergies are running rampart!  Everyone is complaining that this is the worst year in a long time.  Here is last week's Pear Tree.

Family Fun and Comfort Food

My daughter and her family came to dinner and games last night!  I love it when we can ALL get together and spend time laughing - and that is exactly what we did!  They had had a stressful day attending a funeral of a family friend so I took it upon myself to lighten things up a little bit for them.  And also - to feed them comfort food!

Dinner was grilled burgers (thank you Kirby!!), home made macaroni and cheese, some blue cheese coleslaw and then for dessert we got cherry cheese pie.  All very comforting - and fattening!  But we loved it!

After dinner we all agreed it was time for a round of 'Apples to Apples'.  If you have never played, you really need to.  It is a game of trying to decide what the 'judge' will think.  We laugh and scream and taunt all through the game and have a blast!

Each person is dealt a hand of cards with words on them like WORM, EIFFEL TOWER, ATOMIC BOMB, QUEEN ELIZABETH, APPLE PIE.  Just random words.  The judge selects one card from a stack with a word on it like CREEPY, PURE, BORING.  You chose the card from your hand that you think is described by the judges word. If the judge selects your card,  you win the round and get to keep the descriptive card.  And for extra fun after we play I always collect the cards and assign them to the owners - like this -

I won so I will go first - I was swift and dainty, ridiculous and masculine, selfish but timeless and earthy.
Christie won 6 cards - She was cuddly and normal, feminine and dramatic, unusual but normal.
Michael and Kirby both got 5 cards.  Michael was boring but powerful, inspirational but fake and creepy.  Kirby was appetizing and repulsive, delicious and filthy and ordinary.
Brendan came in with 4 cards and was cheesy, idiotic, pure and luscious. 
And here is the best one!  Casey only got 1 card - the big loser was Hostile!


We all had such a good time and the laughter is always the best!  Below are the recipes for the Mac and Cheese and the Cherry Cheese Pie so take a look and try them yourselves!

Cherry Cheese Pie

This is such a quick, easy and delicious dessert.  I first made this back when I was a very young housewife and mother.  It is a classic that has stood the test of time.  I went to the grocery determined to purchase a ready made dessert but the only thing that looked really good to me was the cheesecake with cherry topping.  Why, I asked myself, buy one that won't be near as good as the one I can make?  So, I circled bake to the baking aisle to get the crust and cherry pie filling.  I usually already have the sweet milk and cream cheese at home.  Years ago I had to make the crumb crust myself but today - ah, so easy!  I promise you will love this and so will your guests!

• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk (generic isn't as good)
  
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (8 or 9-inch) prepared graham cracker
• 1 (21 oz.) can cherry pie filling, chilled

1. BEAT cream cheese until fluffy in large bowl. (I used a hand mixer) Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla.  
2. POUR into crust; chill 4 hours or until set. Top with desired amount of cherry pie filling before serving.

Macaroni and Cheese

I love the simplicity of a good Mac and Cheese.  I know - it isn't good for us but isn't it OK to have it just once a year or so.  This recipe is the simple one I have always used.  I have tried others but this is just plain good!

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 pound elbow macaroni
4 cups coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese (about 16 ounces) or a mix of your favorite cheeses

1/8 tsp paprika
1/3 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Butter a 3- to 4-quart gratin dish or other shallow baking dish.
2. In a heavy saucepan melt the butter over moderately low heat. Add flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add milk in a stream, whisking, and bring to a boil, whisking. Add mustard, cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer sauce, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 2 minutes.
3. In a kettle of salted boiling water cook macaroni until just al dente, about 7 minutes, and drain well. In a large bowl stir together macaroni, sauce, cheese, and then transfer to the prepared dish.
4. Sprinkle the macaroni with a small amount of paprika and then sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over macaroni.
5. Bake macaroni in middle of oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.