Making up for lost time with Cinnamon Clove Chicken and Homemade Applesauce

How is it possible that it has been over a year since I had a chance to sit down and write for Nashville Table and share a recipe or two!   Where has the time gone?  What happened in this last year?  How can this be?

Oh ya- third baby came!  That's it, now I remember.  Little Thatcher arrived and I gotta be honest here.... 3rd baby knocked mama off her feet!  You hear people continuously say, "Going from one to two babies was the game changer for us."  Or, "going from one to two was nothing, but two to three was where it got us."  I would have to say without even blinking, "Two to three WAS THE GAME CHANGER!"
Even though Thatcher has been the most pleasant, easy, low key, and delightful baby, something in my head happened!  Like...my brain fell out!  So this last year has looked like-  new baby, husband on 2 tours, my son going to kindergarten, teaching piano, trying to remember to shower and wash my hair, and running around chasing little sweeties!

However, I am happy to announce that in the last few months life has slowly begun to feel normal again.  Earlier in my blogs, you might recall, I wrote about the "sacredness" of dinner time.  In this house, we light the candles, turn on French music, and make dinner a nightly event with our family.  Well- for the last year, there have been no candles,  no music, mostly paper plates, and a lot of Praise Baby music in the background rather than my French music!  Now the food remained quite tasty, but the atmosphere has been loud and chaotic with a toddler, a baby, and my 5 year old, who, I love with all my heart, but he NEVER quits talking.  Dinner has been survival of the fittest, with Luke and I looking at each other with eyes that ask, "are we gonna make it?"

Thankfully,  things have finally calmed down.  We have found our rhythm.  The record player is turning once again, and Edith Piaf or Ella Fitzgerald is serenading me most nights as I prepare dinner.   Candles are lit, a glass of wine is poured, and we gather together at the table.  Sure, dinner is still a little rowdy-like my 5 year old still talks from the moment we sit down to the moment we begin to clear the dishes, and my 1 year old screams with a shriek that can crack every window in our home, while my 3 year old little girl sings and hums without ceasing.  But hey, at least the paper plates are gone!   Sounds nice, huh?  Anyone wanna come for dinner?

Fall cooking is one of my favorite seasons to cook.  The weather is dreamy, so it is still a wonderful time to grill, a GLORIOUS time to bake, and a beautiful time to start easing into those winter recipes that have been on the back burner since the year before.

Probably one of my favorite Fall Dishes is my Cinnamon Clove Chicken and  Homemade Applesauce.  Truly the best. (In my opinion)  Your house will literally smell like Fall.  Cinnamon Chicken-sounds a little strange, but the savory mixed with a hint of sweet?  Oh my word.  Trust me and try it out!

Cinnamon Clove Chicken and Homemade Applesauce

1, 4-5 lb. roasting chicken
2 lemons
olive oil
salt
cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice

Prepare oven at 425 degrees.

Clean and prepare the chicken for roasting.  Slice 2 lemons and stuff them inside the cavity of the chicken.  Rub olive oil all over the chicken, and lightly salt the outside of the body.
Then sprinkle about a tsp of cinnamon over the chicken.  1/2 tsp of allspice, clove, and nutmeg also just sprinkle on the body of the chicken.

Roast chicken at 425 degrees for 1 hour or 1 1/2  hours or until chicken juices are no longer pink when you cut into it.

Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.


Homemade Applesauce

I really like Barefoot Contessa's recipe for Homemade Applesauce.  I usually cut back on the sugar just a little bit, but overall, it is a wonderful recipe. The credit goes to Ina on this one.  Follow the link below.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/homemade-applesauce-recipe.html

Enjoy!!!!

Keeping it Simple

Summer here in Nashville has been pretty incredible this year.  Although there have been some very hot days (89 and 90 degrees is very hot for us!) overall, we have had mostly days of light rain, 75-80 degrees, and even days that felt a little chilly!   Everything is green and gorgeous and you would never think in a million years that it is the end of July.  It truly has felt like Spring most of the summer.   For the 4th of July we were actually in light sweaters and hoodies watching the fireworks.  I think that is the first time that has ever happened in my life!

Summer has been more laid back for our family this year.   Our third baby arrives in a little over a week and things have been kept very easy and slow for me this summer.  The weather, as I said before, has been on my side, thank the Lord.  However, for the last couple of months, I have definitely felt, "Is this pregnancy going to ever ever end!?!?!?!"   Keeping up with two other children while pregnant with a third has been quite interesting.  Or should I say, quite exhausting.  In all of it, we are so grateful for our sweet family and so very excited for our third babe to arrive.  There is not a day that passes that I do not wonder, "How in the world do women have 10 children?  Or even 6 or 7 for that matter?"   My hat is off to them, I don't have it in me.  I am not a trooper when it comes to pregnancy.  My husband is a huge help and gets the "best husband of the world" award.

Luke has had minimal travel with music, which has been really nice, and today I actually found time to sit at the piano and just play.  I think I mentioned before, I have been playing piano since I was 5 years old.  I am a classically trained pianist.   However, in these days of motherhood, I rarely get to just sit at the piano and enjoy creating.  I am fully aware that that season of my life will return, however, it is just not first place right now.  My kiddos are, and I am completely at peace with that.  Nine out of 10 times that I sit down to attempt to play through some music, I have a little girl and a little boy on each side of me, cramming themselves as close as possible to me in order for all three of us to fit on the piano bench.   I am not joking, I begin to play, and it takes them about 30 seconds to run from wherever they are in the house and join me as if I was begging them to come and duet or trio with me.   But, for the moments like today, where I got to be a solo pianist, I am so grateful!  Music gives me life, playing the piano gives me a breath of fresh air.  So, today was pretty dreamy!

As I mentioned before, we have kept this summer very peaceful, very calm, and as restful as possible.  By the end of the day, I am dying to get off my feet, so to be totally honest, I have not had a ton of master chef cooking moments.  My goal has been to keep things simple, tasty, and healthy.  Luke is a fabulous griller, and like most of you out there, we do a lot of grilling in the summer.  So, he has prepared a lot of our main dishes which has been great and so helpful to me.

For you moms who need ideas for keeping it simple:  there are days, you just can't pull off a huge dinner.  Your brain is zapped, your body hurts, and you are just waiting to crawl into bed at 8pm (or whenever the last kiddo goes to bed.)  It is ok to have a very simple meal.  That doesn't make  you a bad mom, a crummy wife, or a failure.  What it does make is a easy night on you!  Here is an example of a super easy, but unbelievably delicious meal we had the other night.

Fresh garden tomatoes covered in cottage cheese and basil from my herb garden.   Sliced avocado with lemon pepper, salt, and drizzled with olive oil.  It was so wonderful!!!!  If I were not pregnant, I would have accompanied it with a fresh mojito, but that will come soon enough.   Dinner took me less than 10 minutes to prepare.  There were veggies and protein,  and the meal was bursting with flavor.
Don't avoid going simple.  We all need much more simplicity in our crazy lives.  The Europeans do it all the time.  Cheese and bread, a bowl of olives, meat and cheese plates,  pasta with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon?   If they can, then so can we!

Enjoy!

Falling in Love with Cooking -Tip #7

No children or pets in the kitchen while cooking.

 Cooking is MY time. That is probably why I enjoy it so much! My husband takes the kids to another room, and it is his time to play and entertain them while I prepare dinner.  It keeps the atmosphere peaceful.  Otherwise, my 4 yr. olds little fingers are continuously reaching on the countertop trying to snag whatever it is that I am cutting.  And my 21 month old is hanging on my legs or pushing the kitchen chairs over to the island so that she can "help" me cook.  She isn't helpful, but she is cute. Again, being a music city mom, I have had to prepare and cook ahead on the days that Luke is out of town.   I quickly learned that cooking while two kids are running around the kitchen is not a beautiful experience.  Furthermore, if that is the scene, then I always sit down for dinner with knots in my shoulders.

 What if your husband wants/likes dinner ready right at 5:30pm when he walks through the door so you have to cook with the kids hanging on your legs and crying?  Well than no wonder you hate cooking if that is your situation.  It's stressful.  Here is my suggestion.  Try saying this in a very pleasant tone, “Sweetheart, that is a great idea. If you want dinner at 5:30pm, than be home by 4:30pm to cook it yourself and have it prepared by 5:30pm,  I would love to eat at that time,  sounds perfect to me.” Otherwise, he gets home, takes the kids, gives you your first time to breathe all day, and allows you to pleasantly prepare the dinner for your family.   Being a mom is wonderful, but it is hard work, and we are just as tired at the end of a long day.   It is ok to be a wife and a mom AND to NOT feel like you are slaving away night and day.  We want to cook and prepare dinner for our family to enjoy.....we just need peace and quiet to do so!  Then we can truly say, “This was prepared with love!”   If hubby does get home by 6pm and it is too late to start trying to cook at that time I totally understand.  On the days that Luke is in the studio he is not home until 5:45 or 6, so it is too late for me to begin preparing dinner at 6pm.  This is where I cut myself a break, and turn on a nice educational show for the kids to watch while I peacefully prepare dinner.  They get there time to calm down before dinner and I get my time to calm down as well.  I do understand that this issue with "space" will change as my children get older. As I said before, my 21 month old daughter and many times my son as well, really do want to help me in the kitchen.  Bethany, is just not helpful at this time.  She reaches, grabs, and shoves things into her mouth that I am trying to prepare.  Jonah can be helpful at times and really loves to spend that time with me, so I do allow him at times to help me.  It's fun for him and it gives us something to bond over. However, again, it is ok, to say, "Tonight, I need some space, and mommy is just going to prepare dinner by herself."

 My second rule:  No pets in the kitchen.  My little yorkie, Sully, knows exactly what “out of the kitchen!” means.   He literally stands in one of the adjoining rooms to the kitchen and watches me.  I hate cooking with him under my feet.  At my parents, they have not trained their dogs to stay out of the kitchen, and you have to cook with a large German Shorthaired pointer's nose right at the counter, waiting for one drop of food.  While on the other side of your leg is a small yorkie shaking and waiting as well, and you continuously step on or trip over him.  Stressful!  These are those atmospheres/times that I would suggest that tequila shot I mentioned earlier before you start cooking!

Clear out the kitchen, clear out your head, enjoy the space, pour a glass of wine, and cook a lovely dinner.

Immersion Family Band with a Side of Street Tacos.

Some of our dearest friends here in Nashville are our Immersion Family Band (as we call ourselves).  They are those type of friends that you feel you have known your entire life.  You can tell them anything, say anything, sing anything, create anything, play anything, and it is just a safe and fun environment.  We laugh, cry, dream, write music, record music, share our hearts, talk very honestly, and then laugh a lot more altogether!

The band and the music was created by our great friend Anthony Skinner.  Anthony is one of the most talented songwriters I have ever met, and then to just tip it off, he sings, and has one of the most intriguing, unique, and phenomenal voices I have ever heard.

  
We meet on a regular basis, share a meal altogether, and spend the evening circled up, playing, singing, and worshipping together.  It is an amazing night of community and music and I leave with a full heart every single time.  

With the band, there are no practices, no rehearsals, they just come together and the music is perfect.  It is a very unique situation.  Each member of the band is a full-time professional musician here in Nashville, so of course, the quality that each player brings is top notch.  However, when these guys get together, magic just seems to happen and those around who are able to be at Immersion that evening,  get to reap the blessings of the music.  We have truly become like family.  They are some of our very closest friends here in Music City.  We spend holidays together, cookouts, breakfasts, birthdays, and much more.  These are those people that have us over for dinner just as much as we have them over!  Our homes are continuously open to one another.  It is a beautiful relationship and we love them all!
Make sure you check out the videos below.  All the songs are downloadable on iTunes under Anthony Skinner.

Immersion sometimes will occur twice a month on a Tuesday or a Friday night.  It usually turns into a very busy day for our family.  Most of time we share a meal together with the band, but on the nights we do not, I have to plan ahead, because there is no time for preparing dinner for my family that evening.   If it falls on a Tuesday,  that day becomes a non stop, extremely busy day for us.  The morning starts with a weekly meeting that my husband has with our church (he is the band leader).  It goes from 9-12pm, he then comes home, and I leave to go teach piano lessons for the afternoon.  I walk  back through the door, and he loads his guitars and leaves for Immersion about 30 minutes after I get home.  I eat a quick dinner with our sweet kids, and then leave for Immersion as well.  

It is a crazy day and there is no time for cooking.  So, I pull out one of my crock pot meals for days just like this one!!

Street Tacos

This recipe was given to me by my sister, Jessica.  It is probably one of the most simple things I cook, and yet, it is one of the tastiest.  Don't you just love recipes like that?!?  Even better, it is healthy!   It is also one of my go-to's when Luke leaves town, because it will feed me and the kids for a couple of days.  It is difficult to cook when Luke is gone because I generally will have my 4 year old riding around our kitchen island on his fire truck with his fire hat  and fire coat on making very loud siren noises, while my 1 1/2 yr. old baby girl stands up and hangs on my legs and says, "hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me."  Can any mom relate?  Total chaos.  Not fun, not fun at all.  These are not the beautiful nights of cooking that I describe with a quiet, clean kitchen, glass of wine, and French music.  That is why I plan ahead. 

So, the Street Tacos are perfect for a busy day when you don't have time to cook that evening.  I serve the chicken tacos with corn tortillas, fresh cilantro, salsa, a dab of sour cream and a squeeze of fresh lime.  They are amazing!  If you are a busy mom and you don't have a lot of time for cooking, this is the recipe for you.  It is a game changer.

I have posted some Immersion Family Band videos as well as the Street Tacos recipe below.  I have no doubt that you will enjoy the food an the music!!!!!

Street Tacos:

3 Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts  (add more or less depending on how many you are cooking for)

1 package of taco seasoning

1 can of Rotel 

1 can of black beans-drained and rinsed  

1 package of Corn tortillas

1 lime cut into wedges

1 bunch of cilantro diced up
1 avocado, sliced

sour cream and hot sauce  (any other fixins you like on your tacos)

Turn the crockpot on Hi  (if you want it to cook slower and longer, than turn it on Low)

place chicken, taco seasoning,  and the can of Rotel with all the juices, in the crockpot. 

Cook for about 3 hours.  When the chicken is cooked through and falls apart, it is done. 

When the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the crock pot and tear it apart-it literally will just shred into pieces.

So Easy!  Place it back into the crock pot mixture and stir in the can of black beans (don't forget to drain the beans first!).

Use 1-2  warm corn tortillas  for each taco.  I like to double them, because that is how I have always been served authentic street tacos. (I usually heat mine in the microwave or oven to get them soft).  Fill each tortillas with chicken mixture.   Garnish with sour cream, cilantro, avocado and salsa and then for the finishing touch, squeeze the wedge of lime on top!   It is divine!  Thanks Jess!

Enjoy!

Falling in Love with Cooking- Tip # 6

-A Salt Bowl-
 I know, this is not a must, and probably even sounds ridiculous- but I love my salt bowl in my kitchen!   I am not even a huge salt fan, and I try to keep things low sodium,  however, something about having a salt dish next to your stove just makes you feel fancier and flashier as a cook!  Plus, you constantly need to season whatever you are cooking with salt and pepper (if you don’t do this, than this is why your food is bland and probably kind of gross) so it is handy to just have a salt dish next to your stove.  I would have a pepper dish as well, however, I do prefer the pepper to be freshly cracked, and I have a wonderful pepper mill that my mother brought me from Cortona, Italy.   So, I have to use that!

 Back to the salt dish, you just pinch and dab as you go along testing and tasting.  It just makes the experience fancier and more enjoyable!  Use a pretty, decorative, or fun salt bowl.  For 8 years, I used a wide flower bud vase that my husband and I bought at a wonderful old mansion in Ireland, where we stayed on our honeymoon.  I never used it for flowers, so finally I began using it as my salt dish, and I loved it, because it had meaning.  Luke broke it last year while cleaning the kitchen one night.    I was so sad! He was sad, and he swore he could glue it back together.....I now have a cute bowl from Anthropologie.

Falling in Love with Cooking- Tip #5

-A Great Cutting Board-

 A large bamboo or wood cutting board is a must in my opinion.  It will allow you to do all your prep and cutting without making every countertop in your kitchen messy.  My sister keeps those flimsy plastic cutting boards around.  She is a fabulous cook, but has the worst cutting boards!  I hate them! They bend, they slide, and they make the entire experience dangerous and stressful!   And they are tiny! You have no room, so if you try to prepare a salad for your meal, 1/2 of the ingredients end up off the board and on the counter.  Then you have a mess, rather than it all being neatly contained on your one big, amazing, wood cutting board.  My sister and I love to cook together, and thankfully, after complaining for years about her cutting boards (I can’t even call them that....cutting flimsy plastic place mats) she finally got a huge wood cutting board!   I love it!  I think she still uses her flimsy, dangerous, ridiculous, cutting mats.  But when I am in town, I pull out her huge, wonderful, practical,and useful wood cutting board.

I know you will find most wood boards to be expensive.  Who wants to spend $75 on a cutting board? I don’t.  I found my bamboo board for $12 at TJ MAXX.  And I love it.  Literally the best decision I have ever made in my life.  Ok, not literally the best decision,  I have made more important decisions than my cutting board.

  Helpful tip: Do not use your board to prepare or cut any raw meat. Try to clean it with hot water, and not much soap as to preserve it.  My dear friend Katie taught me to frequently rub olive oil on your board to keep it from drying out.  This will also preserve it, and keep it in great condition for years to come.

Falling in Love with Cooking- Tip #4

-A Glass of Wine-
Well, I am back from the holidays.  It truly takes weeks to recover from Christmas and New Year.  And if you have children, you will understand that it takes 2 extra weeks from the initial 2 weeks of recovery!  So, I am finally feeling normal again, and trying to get back to my normal schedule of teaching, cooking, mothering, writing music, and blogging.  I want to continue down the path of hopefully inspiring some of you out there to begin a new journey this year of Enjoying/Learning to cook.   It is 2014, maybe it can be one of your goals?

My 4th tip for helping you learn to enjoy the process of creating in your own kitchen is this:  A Glass of Wine.....or two.

I don’t have a glass of wine every night when cooking, but I do enjoy one a few times a week while cooking.  It tastes lovely, pairs great with French music, and is truly calming.  Most of the time it is a nice red wine.  In the summer, it is a glass of Prosecco, chilled, Italian Sparkling wine, my favorite summer drink over the last few years.  I enjoy the Prosecco from Trader Joe’s. It is great tasting, and very affordable.  Sorry, music city moms, the TJ here doesn’t sell wine....yet.  I stock up when I go to Kansas City where the TJ’s does sell wine. If it has been a really long day and I am exhausted, I will make a French Press and have a strong, hot, great cup of coffee while I prepare dinner. This is also really enjoyable, and has the added benefit of keeping my eyes open past 9:15pm so that I can actually have a conversation with my honey.  If you don’t like coffee than I suggest wine.   If you are not comfortable with drinking wine, than find a drink that you enjoy, and pour it into a pretty glass so that it feels special.  Remember, you are setting the atmosphere!  If you love beer, than serve yourself a nice cold beer in a large frosted glass and enjoy it while you cook!  To each his own!  If it has been the ultimately difficult “mom” day, and you want to kill everything and possibly everyone around you, than I suggest a shot of tequila and a sprinkle of salt with a fresh squeeze of lime!  Just not too much before you pick up the cooking knife!  :)

As a mom, cooking with a nice glass of wine or a wonderful cup of coffee just feels like the finish line to me.  My husband is home, French music is playing, my kids will go to bed soon, (I adore them, but by 5pm, let’s be honest, we all start watching the clock), and I will have a few quiet hours in the evening before the next day begins.  I can sip my wine, prepare my dinner for my wonderful family, and then sit down and enjoy the beautiful food.

So, my suggestion to you today:  Plan your menu, turn on your music, clear out the kitchen of chaos, and pour a glass of wine.

Enjoy!

Falling in Love with Cooking- Tip #3

-French Music-

I love all kinds of music.   I am classically trained.  I was raised on Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, and many more.  I am a worship leader.  I write country and Americana music, I have a children’s lullaby album, and I am married to a man who introduces me to so much music it keeps my head spinning.  However, when it comes to cooking, pretty much one type for me:  French Music.

My sister got me hooked on great French music.  Luke is always asking me to change up the music when I cook, and that is when I say, “Oh honey, too many cooks in the kitchen.”  He gets to choose the music for clean up time after the meal, I choose the music for cooking time.  That is our arrangement.  As I said before, you will almost never walk into my kitchen during dinner time and not find French music serenading me in the background.  Now, if for some reason I forget to turn the music on, Jonah, my 3 1/2 yr. old, will always remind me during dinner, "Mom, we need French music while we eat."  No joke.

  Some of my favorite choices:  Edith Piaf, Django Reinhardt, Hans Zimmer, Eartha Kitt, Stephane Grapelli, and the great Charles Aznavour.  I am not saying that you have to cook to French music, but you might want to give it a try, I swear, it makes the food more beautiful.  If it isn’t French, than pick your favorite, but remember, try to make it pleasant and peaceful music, something that calms you.  This is your time of the day to let down and give a big sigh of relief.

Once in awhile I will stray from my French music and you might just walk into my kitchen and hear   Madeleine Peyroux.  She is another one of my favorite artists.  Her voice immediately makes you melt.  You want to look for the nearest bottle of wine, pour a sizable glass, and just disappear into her melodies.  She is pretty dreamy, so if you have not heard of her, please check her out!

Full Day of Christmas Music and More!

Today has felt like one of those non-stop days.  Wait, does every day feel like that?  I have had my usual lists of calls and "to do's"  that I am trying to get through.  Taking care of my two sweet kiddos, preparing dinner, teaching piano, and trying to get out the door with Luke by 7pm to attend a live video streaming of Brandon Heath- an artist who Luke is playing with tonight for a Christmas Show.

It's a busy day, and my multi-tasking skills are in full steam.  I had a friend and her baby over this morning for a play date.  While visiting with her, I prepared our dinner- Vegetarian Chili.  I have to admit, I was one of those people who did not like the thought of veggie chili.  What is the point, right?  Chili has meat.  So, if you don't want the meat, than just don't make chili.  Eat a carrot.  Until I came across this recipe!  It uses tons of veggies, of course, and then you finish it off with grating a large head of cauliflower into the chili.  The cauliflower acts as the meat, and you truly can't tell the meat is not there!  It totally amazed me, and is now one of my families' favorites.

So-while we I visited with my friend, I prepared the veggie chili, fed lunch to the kids, and cleaned up. Now, I am working on my phone calls and my lists, cleaning up behind my children, and am getting ready to leave in a few minutes to go and teach piano lessons.  It is just one of those days!  I will get home, feed the kids dinner, take that shower I so desperately long for, yet haven't had time for today (don't judge me, I am doing the best I can) and then I head off to the Christmas show.

Just thinking about everything already makes me excited for bed!

This is a typical day for us here in Music City.  We juggle a lot of things at once, work in rehearsals and recordings, play in shows, keep our family happy, and then somehow find the time to sleep.

Tune in for the live stream Christmas show tonight at Brandon Heath's house.  You will enjoy it!!!  It starts at 9pm Central.  Just click on the link below and it will take you to the live stream that begins at 9pm.

http://brandonheath.net/

Falling in Love with Cooking - Tip #2

-A Great, Sharp Knife-

 This revolutionized my cooking.  I have a beautiful, expensive knife set.   I use ONE knife at all times.   A great chef knife, or Santoku knife.  That is all you need.  If you spent less that $100 on a knife, it is probably not a great knife.  They are usually around $99.00 or more in a store (I purchased mine at Bed Bath and Beyond)  and you will use it forever.  It is worth every penny, and truly makes cooking more fun. You can find them a little cheaper on Amazon.  See links below.

My family teases me, because when I vacation at a beach house or cabin, you will always find my Santoku knife, wrapped in a dish cloth in one of my grocery bags.  I literally cannot go somewhere else and cook without it.  And guess who comes and borrows my knife for the whole vacation...my family members!    It ruined one of my vacations once because I was stuck with the cabin’s cheap serrated knife for the whole week!  I have never made that mistake again....I’m really not kidding, that is the pathetic part!

I am obsessed with cooking with a sharp, good knife.  And if you spend the money on a great knife, spend another $25 or more on a great knife sharpener.  A great knife is useless if it is dull.  It is just as frustrating.   If you think a knife doesn’t matter, and it wouldn’t make a difference to you, then I will tell you now....you have been using a cheap terrible knife.  Because once you prep food with a great knife, you can’t go back.   My Santoku knife I have had for 6 years, and use it for everything!

Santoku knife on Amazon - Buy Here

Santoku knife with sharpener- Buy Here

Roast Chicken

   

     My absolute weekly “go-to” for dinner is a roast chicken with roasted vegetables.   I roast a chicken almost every single week. We love it, and for some reason, the taste just never gets old.   It is a great way to get a lot of vegetables in at dinnertime, and I can use the leftover bones to make and freeze homemade chicken stock.  It makes your entire house smell amazing, and anyone who walks through the door while it is roasting will immediately think you must be a cook sent straight from Heaven. Another plus:  I have found that buying a whole chicken is a few dollars cheaper than buying a chicken that has been cut up. You are being charged for the fact that the butcher cut it, so just buy it whole and save a few bucks and get you something nice for yourself....like a cup of coffee.  It is a simple yet elegant meal and always turns out looking beautiful and way more exotic than the time that was put into preparing it.

A few of my tips.  (Recipe will follow)

-One whole chicken (I always buy hormone free, no antibiotics, vegetarian fed, and sometimes, I will spend a few extra dollars (and not get that cup of coffee) and buy organic.

 -Any vegetable you like-this is the great part!   Just open your fridge and pantry and throw on the roasting pan whatever you like/have on hand.
These are the veggies I love to roast with a chicken: onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, asparagus, and carrots, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts. Lately, I have been adding fennel.  Fennel is my new love!!!!  I always try to have something green on the platter, so if I have asparagus, I roast that, if I have broccoli or brussel sprouts, I roast those. Just have something green, for health and beauty!

 My sister makes fun of me, because I love, love, love mashed potatoes!  So, I do, on occasion, mash the potatoes instead and then make some gravy from the chicken juices.   I do not do this every week, because as we all know, white potatoes basically have no nutrition.   As my mother would say, “it is like eating white paper.”  However, they taste fabulous.  I think I love them because my mom never made them once, my entire childhood.  Seriously, not once.  So, I love and adore them, and literally have to resist not making them every week.  My mother and I fight every single year over the holiday menu, because I insist on making mashed potatoes.  She says, we only need one potato, and it will be the sweet potato casserole.  I reply, “I am an adult, and I will make mashed potatoes if I want mashed potatoes.”  I am not joking, we fight about it every single holiday season.  Ok, enough about mashed potatoes.  See?!  I could go on and on about them!!!  It's embarrassing.

So.....I try to roast sweet potatoes more often than using white potatoes.  Again, it is just a healthier choice.  We eat to live, not live to eat!  You can prepare Roast Chicken several different ways.  Let your creative chicken juices flow!!!  Wait, is that gross?   All you have to figure out is the best way you like it.   I tend to make Herbed Roast Chicken the most.   I love it, it is always perfect.  As soon as I pull it out of the oven, I immediately tear off the wings and eat them...I can’t resist!  Luke always cuts the chicken up for us, and makes fun of me because he never finds the chicken without its two wings already missing.
    Here are a few of my varieties of roast chicken:
         -Salt and pepper-it is wonderful and the flavor speaks for itself -

         -Herbed Chicken (Salt, pepper, and dried herbs) -usually Herbs of Provence- generously cover it with the herbs.

         -Lemon Chicken-(Salt, pepper, garlic, and lemon)- I stuff the inside with lemon slices and garlic. Cover the outside with salt, pepper, and dried basil.

          -Cinnamon and Clove Chicken-  In the Fall, I love to prepare the chicken with salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. It is so amazing. I serve it with homemade applesauce. It tastes like Fall! It is so dreamy!

 Basic Recipe for Roasted Herb Chicken:

 1 whole Roasting chicken-(the one below is 4.5 lbs.)
 2 onions -cut into big chunks (the bigger you make your veggies, the prettier the presentation)
2 sweet potatoes (or white potatoes)-peeled- I leave some skin on-again, just because I think it looks prettier.
 2 white potatoes
1-2 crowns of broccoli (or some other green veggie) (below I used brussel sprouts)
5-6 carrots-peeled and cut into large pieces
1 fennel bulb- large dices

 -preheat oven to 425 degrees -place the chicken on your roasting rack (if gizzards are still in the chicken, just remove them)  -Drizzle olive oil all over the chicken, and then massage oil into the skin of chicken, completely cover- WASH HANDS with soap and water -Generously salt and pepper the inside of the chicken as well as the outside. -Cover with dried herbs inside and out. -Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. (I would begin checking the chicken at 1 hour, you don’t want to overcook, and remember, it will continue to cook slightly after you have taken it out of the oven) Cook until the juices run clear when you slice between the breast and the leg. (a friend taught me to wiggle the legs and if they are loose, the chicken is ready, if they are still very tight and don’t move freely, it needs to roast a little longer)  In the picture above, I used fresh herbs from my garden and stuffed the cavity full of basil, oregano, and rosemary.

Enjoy!

Falling In Love with Cooking - Tip #1

-A Clean Kitchen.

     Here is what I believe to be a major tip to enjoying cooking in your kitchen space.
   
     You are an artist, and an artist would never start with a messy canvas.  They start with a clear, white, and calm canvas.  Do not begin with chaos surrounding you.  It will just make you feel immediately defeated.  Try to clean as you go.  Years ago, Luke and I made it a habit to have the entire kitchen almost completely cleaned before we sit down for dinner.  That way, after dinner, we just basically have the plates, silverware, and glasses to put in the dishwasher, and the counters to spray and clean.
     
Side note-tip to feeling like a successful mom:  Go to bed with your house picked up each night.
You wake up and feel on top of your game rather than the poor, sad loser at the back of the race.  You go to bed with a peaceful house, and wake up with a peaceful house.
   
     Back to the clean kitchen: growing up, my dad, who is the most amazing and gifted administrator (however, the most irritating administrator when you are being constantly “administrated” or what I like to just call “bossed” by your dad) ran a very tight ship in our home alongside with my mother.   Now that I think of it....both my parents are bossy, extremely bossy!   But, we grew up in a beautiful, organized, clean, peaceful, and pleasant home where everyone wanted to come over and gather around our dinner table at all times!   Back to my dad-I heard at least 2,000 times growing up, “girls, clean as you go, clean as you go, it makes it so much easier.”  And you know what? He is right, it makes it so much easier!  And when entertaining, it is nice if you clean as you go, because when you guests arrive, they are not overwhelmed by a messy kitchen and secretly thinking in their minds, “Dear Lord, I hope this kitchen is sanitary now that I am about to eat the food that was prepared in it.”   And again, it brings them a feeling of peace as they prepare to dine at your house.
      You will notice, I will speak a lot about “peace”.   It is important to me.   A peaceful home is one of my greatest desires.  And as almost every mom can agree, it takes work to obtain peace, but it is a great desire for all of us in our crazy, errand running, diaper changing, baby feeding, toddler chasing, guitar playing, amp repairing, pedal board fixing, speaker cabinet drilling, travel gear case hammering,  craigslist trading- ok, wait, I just got lost in my “married to a musician world”- never ending daily lives.

How to Fall in Love with Cooking

I hear so many people (mostly moms) talk about how they wish they just enjoyed cooking more.   I get it- it is the end of the day, we are tired, we can hardly form a sentence.  The last thing you feel like you have energy for is a beautiful dinner.   And let's be honest, that's why most of us turn to something unhealthy in that moment.  Because unhealthy = quick and easy. When I am exhausted my first thought is, "Yum, Mexican food."

 So here are a few of my suggestions, must haves, tips, whatever you want to call them, for falling in love with cooking.  I will post one new suggestion in each blog over the next couple of weeks.  Also, stay tuned for my go-to favorite recipes.

 -Set the Atmosphere-

 You will never, and I mean never, walk into my home at dinnertime and find me cooking without French music playing.  About 50% of the time, I will have a glass of wine poured that I sip on as I prepare my dishes.  I have so many friends who don’t like to cook.  Part of my goal is to help you!   The first way to become a good cook is to figure out the best ways to ENJOY cooking!   I believe the key “ingredient” to that, is creating a beautiful and peaceful atmosphere in which to do your cooking.  I can genuinely say that I look forward to cooking 99.9% of the time, ok maybe 99.8% of the time.   It is rejuvenating, peaceful, creative, enjoyable, and fabulous thinking time.  And when I present whatever amazing dish I have created, I feel so proud, so fulfilled, and so excited to eat!  If you are a friend of mine, you will often hear me shamelessly compliment my own dishes!  You know what?  If you are a great cook, you know you are!  And there is no reason why you shouldn’t enjoy every bite as much as the person that you have prepared the food for is enjoying it!  I will sometimes be so excited about what I have cooked, that Luke laughs and tells me I am embarrassing him and to get a hold of myself!!  He is just kidding though, he loves that I can cook, and he fully delights in the rewards of it!

 In the next several blogs, I will share my tips on beginning the journey down the delightful road of enjoying/learning to cook!

New Font

Just wanted to let you all know (whoever of you are partaking in the blog) -  I changed my font.  My dear family,  who cannot for the life of them NOT give their opinion, even when I kindly ask them to just keep it to themselves, went ahead to inform me that the font on my blog was "laborious" I believe was the word that they used.  Actually, even though I am kind of kidding (not about my family giving their opinions) I actually went back and read through my blog, and after giving myself a headache, I realized, the font was a little difficult.
So, enjoy the new font, hope it makes it a little easier on your eyes.  Oh gosh-are we getting old?

Luke's Spaghetti Meat Sauce

I promised I would share my home made marinara sauce.  It truly is the simplest dish, yet I have never made it for anyone without getting compliment after compliment!  Try it out and wow your honey tonight!  I call it Luke's sauce because it was one of the first dinner's I attempted to make for him when we were married.  My original recipe came from a jar...it took me a few years to figure out this one, and I have never strayed from it.

Luke's Spaghetti Meat Sauce

1 1b. lean beef
1  medium sized onion (sometimes, I am not in the mood for the onion and leave it out) Great both      ways
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of fresh basil
salt and pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes  (if you are nervous about the spice, omit or add just a sprinkle)
2 - 28 oz cans of Crushed tomatoes
1/4 - 1/2 cup of red wine (use a wine that you would drink)


Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauce pan or skillet.
Brown the meat.  When the meat is browned and cooked through- drain and set aside
In the same pan reheat a few more tablespoons of olive oil.  Saute the onion for about 2 minutes, then add the garlic.  Sprinkle of salt and pepper.

After the onion and garlic have cooked for a few minutes, add the meat back to the pan.  Another sprinkle of salt and pepper, and crushed red pepper.  Pour in both cans of crushed tomatoes,  chop of 1/2 of your basil (leave the rest for the end) and add 1/2 cup of red wine.

***Moms- At this time, grab a wine glass and also pour yourself a cup.  It makes the cooking more pleasant and relaxes you at the end of your busy day.  If it is the morning and you are preparing the sauce for dinner that night...well maybe hold off on the wine and have a nice cup of coffee.  :)
If it is late in the afternoon and you are beginning the dish, there is no shame in an afternoon glass of wine!

Bring sauce to a gentle boil and immediately turn down to medium low and cook, uncovered, for 45 minutes - 1 hour.  I believe this is one of the secrets to a great sauce!  Let it cook for a long time.

Before serving, chop up the rest of your fresh basil and toss it in.  It brings a freshness back to your dish.  (add as much as you want, you can't go wrong here)  Salt and pepper if needed.
* If you don't have fresh basil, then add about 2-3 Tbls. of dried basil when you are sauteing the onion and garlic.
I learned from a chef that when using dry herbs, toss them in with the other ingredients that you are sauteing...it wakes them up!


Serve over your favorite whole wheat or whole grain pasta, or gluten free pasta if needed.

I love to serve Spaghetti over Angel Hair pasta, it tends to keep it a little lighter and you don't feel horribly heavy after eating it.
I also serve it with Whole Wheat Penne pasta as well.  (honestly-I use whatever is in my pantry)

Enjoy!

Having Children = Having Adult ADD

In my last post (My Journey in the Kitchen-Thank you Martha)  I had every intention of sharing my Marinara recipe at the end of the blog.  Instead, I reached the end and happily posted it right away.  The main point I wanted to share in that particular post was my recipe, and that was completely forgotten.  Adult ADD-  I blame my children.

I can honestly say, there are times I wonder if I have adult ADD due to the absolute nuttiness of a house with children in it.  They wake up talking, they go to bed talking.  Silence?   I have no idea what that sounds like anymore.  My son has my gift of talking, he never stops.  I believe his talking has actually somewhat cured my urge to talk....because I don't have a chance anymore.  I literally find myself competing with Jonah at times to tell Luke a story.  Then I realize what is happening, and I actually feel embarrassed that I was trying to outtalk my  3 1/2 yr. old.

Adult ADD.  All moms know EXACTLY what I am talking about when I say "pregnancy brain."  I cannot explain it, but you literally can't think straight when your entire body is working to build a human being.  It is exhausting!!  While pregnant with my first child, Jonah, I unloaded groceries 2 different times and could not find the fresh milk the next day that  I knew that I had bought the previous day.  Where was it?  Always found a day later in my baking dish cabinet....and yes, I said 2 different times, it didn't happen once, it happened twice.  Fresh milk (now not so fresh) stored safe and sound in my baking dish cabinet.  Another time, I could not find for the life of me the leftovers to an amazing dinner I had cooked the night before?  Where did I finally find it?  Yes, that's right, in the drawer below my oven.  Spoiled....again.  This is pregnancy brain.  My best friend stared me straight in the face during my second pregnancy and said, "I love you so much, but I have never seen you dumber."  The sad part?   The pregnancy brain does not go away once you have your baby. It then just morphs itself into Adult ADD.  If you are a mom and you cannot relate to what I am talking about, and thinking, "I never feel like I can't focus around my kids.   I never feel like my head is floating off my body."  So sorry, but I am pretty sure I would say you are lying...and if you were one of my friends and said you could not relate to this.  Well then, I would most likely have to phase you out, because I would simply not understand you.

So all to say, I was looking forward to posting my recipe, and then totally forgot and blissfully pushed the "publish" button.  Yes, this was the same day that I actually almost took my dog's heart worm pill.  You read correctly my friend,  I found my dog's heart worm pills (while organizing my pantry-mind you, I did not set out to organize. I put something up, saw some misplaced objects, and began organizing-Adult ADD) and thought, "oh my gosh, poor Sully, I must give him one."   I opened the tablet tossed the pill in my OWN mouth and reached for my water glass.  As the cup reached my lips, I realized what I had done, screamed, and spit the pill out.  That's right folks, no lie, I almost took my Yorkie's heart worm pill.  In my entire life of owning dogs, this has never happened once.  I blame my kids.

My recipe for home made marinara (spaghetti sauce)  will be posted this week.   So stay tuned!!! (If you have the capability).

My Journey in the Kitchen-Thank you Martha

I never enjoyed cooking when I was younger.  Wait, I take that back, my best friend, Anna and I always made "no bake" chocolate oatmeal cookies (or as we called them, "doo doo" coookies-sounds yummy huh?)  And that was the extent of my cooking skills, we literally made cookies you didn't have to bake.   My mom is a great cook (when she actually takes the time to care about it).  Growing up in a small town in Arkansas, I can remember being the only one I knew in my world that had salads with goat cheese, and cranberries, and almonds in it.  Sure this is the normal salad now, but not 20 years ago in Arkansas.  My mom has always been a great and very healthy cook-she is terrible, and I mean terrible at desserts.   My older sister always had a flare for great cooking.  She helped my mother in the kitchen most every night.  After high school she spent a few months in Europe and the Canary Islands with a missionary team.  The entire time she was in the Canary Islands, her assignment was to help in the kitchen with the cooks.  So, she learned amazing things there, and I remember her coming home and being all the more interested in cooking beautiful dishes that tasted as great as they looked.

So, my job at dinner time in the Swift home was setting the table.  Man, I sure can set one beautiful table!  My mom tried several times to include me in the cooking-however, I ALWAYS burned the garlic bread,  and the one time she called me and asked me to start the baked potatoes in the oven, I burned them as well.   So, I was only asked to fill the ice water glasses, set the table, and light the candles in preparation for our family dinners.  I didn't like cooking, I wasn't interested, and I wasn't good at it.

Then I got married.

I married Luke when I was 22.  He is the love of my life and the man of my dreams, so of course, I wanted to bless him with beautiful dinners.  I remember one of the first meals I cooked for him in our small apartment in Kansas City.  His favorite food is Italian, so I attempted to make a simple Spaghetti.
I opened the jar, poured it into the pot, sprinkled some salt, pepper, and garlic powder, brought it to a boil (I would have simmered it, but I didn't know what that meant at the time) removed it from the heat, and poured it over the overcooked noodles.  We had no table at the time, so we sat on the floor and enjoyed our first pasta dinner in our new home.  He loved it, thankfully, and I thought it was pretty good myself.  I remember that I actually bought a very nice sauce in a jar--it wasn't Ragu, so it turned out somewhat decent.   Now I look back on that and think "gross".  But hey- you gotta start somewhere.  I will never forget that meal-it was precious and we were so happy to be married. So now every time we move (we have moved 5 times since that first apartment) I always make our first meal in our new home Spaghetti.  Thank God, my recipe these days is much better-and it doesn't come from a jar.

So, how did I get interested in becoming a good cook?  Honestly, I loved Luke, and I wanted to cook great dinners for him.  He was my first inspiration.  My second inspiration- Martha Stewart.  I know that sounds so cliche, but it is the truth.  I began watching The Martha Stewart show (before she went to prison and had her home shows-not her talk shows with an audience) most days at 2pm.  She would have a craft segment, a gardening segment, and a cooking segment.  I was totally inspired by her.  And slowly but surely, every dish she prepared, I would think, "I can do that."  That dish would become our dinner that night.  I had some major flops, but most of the dishes I would copy from Martha, I was able to pull off fairly decent.  Each night I would place my beautiful dish on the table in front of Luke, I was so excited, so proud of myself, and totally inspired to keep on impressing Luke with my skills!  In learning how to cook, there were also hundreds of calls to my mother and sister....hundreds.  My journey through recipes and cook books began, I subscribed to the Martha Stewart Living,  and began reading and believing I could do anything if I just tried.

Cooking has become a moment of creativity and clarity in my busy days.  As dramatic as it sounds, it helps center me at the end of the day.  I have learned to make it a moment of peace in my crazy days as a wife and mother.  I know that seems impossible when you are a mom, but in the next few blogs, I will share some of my secrets that will hopefully make you fall in love with cooking!

      My most recent monthly issue of Martha Stewart Living to add to my collection.

A Little About Myself

I am a wife, a mom, a musician, a private music teacher, and a homemaker. I have a full, exciting, non-stop, entertaining life here in Music City. My husband is a professional guitarist who travels, records, produces, and directs bands. We have two children who make our life even happier and more adventurous than it already was before they entered it. I have been a musician since I began singing every Barbra Streisand song I knew at age 4, and playing Chariots of Fire on the piano by age 5. I write, sing, and record whenever I am blessed enough with the time to do so. I have finished two albums and am currently working on my third. I am a trained classical pianist, and teach private piano lessons during the week. At times, motherhood has placed my music on the back burner, so in the meantime, I place every yummy thing to eat on the front burner to keep my mind and world filled with creativity, beauty, and love! I love and adore cooking and entertaining. I entertain at 1-2 times every week. My husband travels quite a bit as a guitarist, so when he is away, I have to hold the fort down by continuing to teach, take care of the kiddos, set up time with my girlfriends -in order to not become a sad and lonely mom who only wears her yoga pants (black of course, because it makes her feel skinnier) and her hair in a dirty bun because she never sees anyone- and also continue cooking healthy and wonderful meals for my kids and me, while he is away. It’s a lot! But when you are a musician in Music City, your life runs on a different pace than the rest of the world, and the only ones who truly understand that pace are all the other self-employed musicians! We work, we travel, we create, we LOVE what we do, and it is a weird and crazy life, but because of us....you all have great music to listen to!