Life In Photos #29

A week ago we went to the Sandwich Fair and my little met the most content, relaxed bunny I’ve ever seen in my life.

We also saw this absolutely fantastic breed of chicken. New life goal: attain afro chickens.

While reading outside one afternoon, this teeny tiny little bug landed on my book and, even after some gentle prodding, refused to budge. I had to blow him off to avoid smushing when I turned the page!

We took a walk at sunset and I attempted to have an impromptu photoshoot with my little…after a million silly faces I gave up. Sometimes it’s just not happening.

However, walks at sunset are now my new favorite thing as the fall leaves just look so extraordinary! So while the photoshoot with my daughter didn’t work out, I did get some fun fall themed shots!

I found an excellent reflective window (see below for the fabulous schoolhouse said window is from) which made for a fun selfie! I like how the cobwebs and window dust almost give it an old photograph feel.

This old schoolhouse is right next door to my apartment, and I have always found it to be so creepy! Definitely creepy in a good way, though I wouldn’t be caught dead near it at night by myself. I definitely want to come back here in different light and take some photos – it just screams haunted house to me. Although I don’t know when it was originally built, it has been in use since the 1800s. It was restored back in 2011, but the inside has so many class photos from the 1800s and 1900s which to me just adds to the creep factor! Chalk it up (HEH schoolhouse pun) to too many horror movies.

I think this is my favorite edit of the day. I really wish I could get that chain link fence out of there, but my PS skills are just not that good. However on the whole, I love the light hitting the tree leaves, and the paled out school house in the background.

Clockwise from top left…

1. Eli sits like such a proper gentleman kitty sometimes!
2. I’ve started the My Little Pony plushes for my little for Christmas. Coming along nicely!
3. We made some yummy fall Rice Krispie treats. This was my first time making them – I used to hate them as a kid!
4. Drafted four more patterns of plushes for Christmas presents. So much to do!

We were originally supposed to do our yearly family photo shoot today, but it is a cold and rainy mess outside, so that’s been postponed! Instead, a day of lounging and playtime awaits!

Strawberry Fields Salad Wrap

I rarely post ‘regular’ food recipes here. Baked goods, absolutely. I love to bake. And I love to eat what I bake. But as for normal food? Regular cooking or food prep? That I do out of necessity, not out of any love for it. However, the recipe I’m sharing today is one of my all time favorites for lunch or dinner. Inspired by a salad I had back when I was waiting tables in college, it is incredibly easy, incredibly delicious yet healthy, and not wildly expensive. All good things in my book!

Start with one wrap. I use Joseph’s Flax, Oat Bran, and Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas for the health boost, but you can use any wrap you like. Gluten free or just avoiding carbs? Skip the wrap and eat this as a salad – I do that when I forget to buy wraps! It’s just as delicious.

Lay down a bed of greens (at least 1 cups worth). I prefer this with baby spinach, but my three year old miss has gone on an anti-spinach phase lately, so we do green leafy lettuce which she will devour.

Then slice up some strawberries on top. Generally, I only use two. Three if they’re small, but two usually covers it.

Next up is chicken. I keep grilled chicken breast in my fridge as a household staple, so I just cut up some chunks of that and add it in.

A smattering of dried cranberries is up next – very few; probably only a 1/2 tablespoon at most.

Then a sprinkling of fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Again, no more than a 1/2 tablespoon; I definitely think I use less.

Top it off with a very small drizzling of balsamic vinaigrette dressing. I use very little; it adds a delicious tang to the sweet strawberries and cranberries, but I don’t like a lot of it.

Wrap it up, and devour! This has been my go-to lunch for months. It throws together in five minutes, and is absolutely scrumptious. Enjoy!

-Kayly

Kitchen Sink Chicken

I found a recipe on Pinterest titled ‘Rainbow Chicken’ which looked delicious. After a teensy bit of searching, I found the source of the recipe, which can be found here via Kitchen Parade. However, as I do with most recipes, I changed it up a bit, so here’s my version!

I refer to this recipe as ‘Kitchen Sink Chicken’ simply because it is so versatile. You can throw in any combo of veggies you want and it will still be delectable. That’s my kind of recipe. Also, my version feeds two adults + one toddler, however it can easily be adapted to more people – just up your ingredients proportionally.

Ingredients

• 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (This is just what I use – really use any kind of chicken meat you want!)
• 4 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 2 tbl red wine vinegar (or in my case you can discover you are OUT of red wine vinegar and make your own using 1 parts red wine to 2 parts apple cider vinegar! Works like a charm.
• 1 lemon
• 1 medium sized onion

For the vegetables you can really use whatever you want! I used:

• 1 zucchini
• 1 summer squash
• 2 small red potatoes
• 2 1/2 carrots (aka all I had left in my fridge)
• roughly 1 cup cauliflower florets
• roughly 1 cup broccoli florets

Neither my little one or myself like peppers, so we left those out. But if you like them – toss them in for sure!

Preheat your oven to 425F.

After gathering all my veggies, I started off making the spice rub first.

Then it’s time to chop up the big stack of veggies (excluding the onion and lemon). I totally forgot to take a picture of my pile of chopped veg. . .whoopsie daisy.

Then, chop your onion and line the bottom of the pan with them.

Take your chicken out, and give them a good rub down of the spice mixture with your fingers. I’d say I used about 2 – 3 tsps of the mixture per breast, just to give you an idea. When finished, lay them on top of the onion bed.

Looks pretty good already!

Next grab a (giant) bowl – large enough to hold your whole pile of chopped veggies with room for stirring! I used a spatula to transfer my rub mixture into the big bowl. Had I thought ahead, I would have just made the rub IN the big bowl. . .but I didn’t. Next time! Pour your veggies in on the top of the rub and give them a good stirring to thoroughly coat them as much as possible.

Spread the veggies around and on top of the chicken.

Then slice up your lemon, remove any seeds, and lay on top of your meal.

How delicious does this look?! Om nom nom.

Cover with foil and bake! Mine took about an hour and a half but my chicken breasts were very thick. I’d still say an hour minimum is a good place to start. Once done, let cool for 10 -15 minutes, then serve and enjoy!

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