Lemon Tarragon Chicken
http://savoryseasonings.blogspot.com/
4 chicken breasts
3 Lemons (2 zested and juiced, 1 cut into slices)
½ cup Chicken broth (or ½ cup of broth created from deglazing sauté pan)
Tarragon, dried
Salt
Pepper
Wash and dry chicken breasts, then trim any fat off chicken, then slice breasts in half horizontally to create 2 thin strips of chicken. Dry chicken breasts one more time to ensure all moisture has been removed (the chicken will get a better golden sear and there won’t be any popping in the oil from water droplets).
Heat a sauté pan over medium heat. After waiting several minutes for the pan to become hot, add a small amount of olive oil (1 TBSP) and wait one minute for the oil to become hot, then place chicken breasts in oil and season with salt and pepper. Once the meat has made contact with the pan, leave it alone until you see it browning around the edges. You don’t want to move the chicken until the chicken is golden brown. Flip and continue cooking until the other side is equally browned. Remove chicken from pan and add 1/2 cup water to deglaze the pan. Reserve broth from pan and add chicken back into the sauté pan.
Sprinkle chicken breasts with the juice of one lemon, tarragon and lemon zest. Top with lemon slices, then bake in the oven at 350 F for 5 minutes. While chicken is finishing baking in the oven, combine the ½ cup of broth created from deglazing the pan (or by using ½ cup of chicken broth) and the juice from one lemon. After chicken has cooked in the oven for 5 minutes, pour the chicken broth mixture over chicken and bake for 5 additional minutes.
Serve with a rice pilaf.
*****
This is such a simple dish with such great flavor. Tarragon is a perfect compliment for chicken but a little goes a long way. Too much and it becomes overpowering. I enjoy adding a little bit of lemon zest to the rice pilaf. Thanks to my Mom for this great recipe. 
1 Ekim 2012 Pazartesi
Lemon Tarragon Chicken
Freezer Inventories
This time of the year our freezer is always overflowing from summer produce and it seems impossible to keep track of what's buried at the very bottom. I find myself digging through the layers to see what we have on hand in order to put together our meal plan. Items get forgotten and now that we have two freezers my sweet husband is always asking which freezer an item is located. 
Here is what I have put together that has really helped keep our freezers organized, keep items from becoming lost, insure a regular rotation of food and ease the meal planning process.
We divided our freezers into the following sections:
Smaller freezer
Meats, beans, broths and freezer corn. 
Larger freezer
Fruits, vegetables, dairy, bread products, desserts, freezer meals and components to meals.
A full inventory of the freezers were made and the items are listed by category. A box with a 1 is listed for each container or bag of the item. There is plenty of room to cross off each item as it gets used. 
There are also lots of open boxes to mark with more items as they are added to the freezer. This has been a perfect set up for us and I love how easy it is to see what's in the freezer and what I need to stock up on.
If you would like a copy of this Excel file to use for your own freezer inventory, feel free to email me at savoryseasonings{at}gmail dot com.
Roasted Vegetable Spread
Roasted Vegetable Spread
http://savoryseasonings.blogspot.com/
1 red bell pepper, sliced into rings
1 medium onion, sliced into rings
4 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 small zucchini, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 ounces cream cheese
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Pita bread, for serving
Preheat oven to 400 F. Place the bell pepper, onion, garlic, zucchini, and olive oil on a cookie sheet lined with foil and toss until the vegetables are coated. Spread out the vegetables evenly on the sheet pan and place to the oven to roast for approximately 45 minutes or until the vegetables become soft and start to turn brown on the edges. Stir occasionally.
Remove from the oven and cool completely.
Place the vegetables in a food processor along with the cream cheese and process until well combined and spreadable; do not process until completely smooth.
Taste and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Spread on soft bread, such as foccacia or pita bread. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
*****
This spread is fantastic in pita bread. It is also a perfect spread for sandwiches or as a spread in grilled quesadillas. Recipe adapted from Alton Brown/Good Eats.
Keeping life organized
I have this whiteboard in our kitchen to help us keep track of important habits and tasks that we want to make sure we follow through on during the month. I have three sections: This Month, This Week and Today. Routines like date night, family activities, prayer, and exercise are all printed with thin magnets on the back. At the beginning of the month I list all of our tasks/activities for the month on the board. As we complete tasks, I pull them off. I also write “to do” items on there with a dry erase marker. Items that I’m not going to schedule on our calendar but are tasks I want to be sure I don’t forget such as calling a friend, making bank deposits, going to the library, visiting a park, spending more time reading with my daughter, etc.
I love how this board serves as a constant reminder of the important things in life along with the simply tasks necessary to keep a household running.
The quote on the wall came from me needing to readjust my perspective in life. I had a pretty severe neck injury two years ago that prevents me from doing many activities that I once enjoyed. It was very challenging at first to think that I would never do anything “big” again. But as my perspective changed, I realized that through small acts of service, small moments of quality time with my daughter and simple pleasures would all add up to be the more important things in life.
We have been using this white board for almost a year now and it has continued to be a perfect set up for reminding me of tasks that can easily slip through the cracks when life gets busy.
I recently heard that our brains are for creative thinking, not for remembering so to write things down so we don't spend our days trying to remember everything and inadvertently forget to focus on creative thinking and brain storming.
Canning Peaches
Canning Peaches
http://savoryseasonings.blogspot.com/
1. Wash jars and lids, then leave in dishwasher to keep warm
2. Wash peaches in a clean sink with cold water
3. Boil water for syrup
4. Blanch peaches in boiling water for 30-60 seconds, then submerge blanched peaches
in ice cold water
5. Peel skin, remove pit and slice in half (or in thirds for extra large peaches).
Store sliced peaches in a bowl of cold water while preparing enough slices for a
batch.
6. Heat water to 180 F, simmer lids in water
7. Add 2/3 cup sugar to each quart jar, then add 1 cup of boiling water. Stir until
dissolved, then pack peaches to ½ inch below rim.
8. If needed add more water to cover all peaches
9. Wipe down jar top and place lid and screw on ring finger tight
10. Place jars in rack above boiling water to acclimate
11. After a minute or two gently lower jars into hot water. Add more water to
ensure jars are covered by 1” of water.
12. Bring to a boil and start timer
13. After processing for the correct time for your altitude (I process mine for 25
minutes), remove from water and allow to cool at room temperature and free from
drafts
14. The following day, remove rings, check seals and wash jars.
15. Home process foods last for up to 3 years.
*****
On the stove you will want a large stock pot to blanch the peaches, a medium size pot to boil water to pour into the jars and a small pot to simmer the lids. I put my large water bath canning on our propane camp chef outside on the back patio. It frees up room on our stove and keeps all the heat outside.
A bushel weighs 48 pounds and yields 16-24 quarts (2.5 pounds per quart)
Guidelines are from the National Center for Home Preservation 
30 Eylül 2012 Pazar
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