Dinner Tonight

I love spring and, even though it isn't quitespring yet, I am dying to roast a chick with asparagus. This will b dinner tonight we are subsituting reds for new pots and olive oil for butter - the skin wll be on the chick while cooking - but only the children will get to eat the skin (adults really shouldn't:)

We'll have a huge toss salad on the side as well - with fresh parmagiano! yummy!

I hope maybe you get a chance to try this and enjoy it too!



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Here's our pick for poultry one-pan wonder: One whole chicken, cut up, and a single pan -- plus some citrus, new potatoes, butter, and newly in-season asparagus -- create a meal to welcome spring. We like scrumptious, dark, crispy skin; to achieve this, use a shallow roasting pan (that means three inches deep or less). Deeper pans trap more steam, which keeps meats from browning well.
Prep: 10 minutesTotal: 1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients
Serves 4
1 1/2 pounds new potatoes, halved
3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 package cut-up whole chicken (about 3 pounds)
1 bunch asparagus (1 pound), trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
6 sprigs fresh thyme
Directions
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Place potatoes and half the butter in a roasting pan; season with salt and pepper. Roast, tossing once, until potatoes are golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
Place chicken, skin side up, on top of potatoes; season with salt and pepper. Roast until chicken begins to brown, about 20 minutes.
Scatter asparagus, lemon, remaining butter, and thyme around chicken. Roast until asparagus is tender and chicken is opaque throughout, 5 to 15 minutes. Serve chicken, vegetables, and lemon drizzled with pan juices.

Beware of Secret Spies

Beware! Our chittlins are secret spies (uh oh, not so secret anymore.) DH - who has a cold, and I woke up to our children sneeking around - dressed in their darkest clothes acting suspiciously... they were hiding behind furniture, whispering and plotting... and then, DH I turned a corner and they jumped up from behind the couch and yelled "AHA! " and started snapping pictures of us with their digital camera (courtesy of grandma). They also had a pillow sack full of spy gadgets, a flashlight, a notebook of our everymove, spy membership cards... and yes their digital camera! As DH and I walked around the rest of the museum (that's what we call our house) we found little traps that they planted for us - Costco sized pancake syrup bottles behind doors, card boxes to make us slip, and all sorts of other little traps. I guess that we were the bad guys:)

Ok, Ok, enough about Valentines Day!

So here are the last few pictures... lil Mike with his new found love - he gave her a heart shaped box of chocolates after school:) She was THRILLED! Another of Maria in her fancy pants. Lastly our Valentines dinner buffet - including heart shaped pizzas from Wenelli's. It was such a FUN night - too bad that it is only once a year. I wonder what movie Mike and I are going to see>

Baby Blanket Couture

My found again hobby is sewing. I am starting to sew baby blanket couture - the fabrics re not typical baby pastels. I love color combination of chocolate brown with robins egg blue. This quilt was made for my new nephew (who I have yet to meet). I used my new ruffler foot to do the border, and the embroidery function on the machine to personalize it. It was so much fun to make that I'll probably start selling them.

Sew Much Fun for Valentines Day

Totally inspired by my friend Jen to get creative and dust off the old sewing machine - I embellished these jeans for Maria for her school Valentines Day party. What a great time we had going to the store and buying little remnants - then I made patch appliques with satin stitched edging and fusible web. Fringe ribbon was put on the front pockets and around the top of the ruffle.

Now I am begging Mike for a serger and ruffler foot for my sewing/embroidery machine.

I can't wait until she comes home from school so she can try them on!

Now, onto the First Communion Gown. I am taking apart my wedding veil and some applique off of my gown to make it!

Thanks Mom and Jen Wilderness!