Thursday, June 21, 2012

Cranberry Chicken Thighs

I bought a package of chicken thighs and had no idea what to do with them...  I searched  the internets and finally combined a few recipes (to match the ingredients I had)  and this turned out

 

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 small  red onion, chopped
  • 3 pounds chicken thighs
  • 2/3 cup ketchup
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
  • 1 (8 ounce) can cranberry sauce.  ( I had jellied but I think whole would be much better.

  • Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F.

  • Place the chicken thighs in a baking dish in a single layer and bake for about 25 minutes.

  • Saute the onion and butter in skillet on medium heat, until the onion is translucent, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard powder, and cranberry sauce, and heat.

 




Remove and discard fat from the  baking dish.  Spoon the cranberry mixture over the chicken thighs, and return to the oven. Bake until the cranberry mixture is slightly caramelized and the chicken is done, about 20 more minutes.
 
I served with Pioneer Woman's Corn Casserole from her latest cookbook.  The basic recipe is found on her website here, but the one in the cookbook is kicked up a notch.   Yummy in my tummy!!!


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Friday, June 15, 2012

Confessions

 I love reading cooking, decorating, and craft blogs.   But the thing that gets me down about them is all the beautiful/well organized homes I see.  During the school year I am barely home long enough to stuff food in my mouth and fall asleep, up the next day at 4:30 am...So things don't get accomplished. Maybe why it had been almost a year since I posted on this here blog.  Yesterday I had a day at home and time to get things accomplished, but I found my self just walking in circles in my house. You can walk in a completely circle inside my house from the living room through the dining room down the hallway and end up back in the living room.  I had no idea WHERE to start... Let me show you a bit of the mess I encountered.   
WARNING:: to my friend Lynette...(and anyone else with OCD)  don't continue to look.... you can't take it!!!




My Dining room table.  Why is there a random keyboard on the table? ::shrug::

The chair in the corner of the dining room with all the stuff I bought to redecorate the bathroom, oh and a purse and some knitting.  why is knitting with the bathroom stuff??? ::shrug::
The other side of the dining room, the built in buffet..


The den.. why does the rocking chair have a rug on the back of it and three purses in the seat?

A bag of clothes I got ready to donate a few weeks ago... and the bathroom scale.



Ok, now prepare yourself it gets worse.... let's move on to the craft room...

My sewing table... ::sigh::

Under the ironing board...


beside the ironing board, 

and the very worst of all,
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the table in the craft room!!!

I apologize in advance..... and I am off to tackle one room at a time...  just keeping it real...

PS.. I am not starting in the craft room, I would never make it to the other rooms...

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Hello Old Friend!!

Well, hello how have you been...Me, I have been fine just incredibly busy, and distracted.  I realized it has been almost a year since I have posted, but I have thought bout it and actually have some drafts of recipes and a camera full of photos I have taken for this here blog.  But here it is summer and I am back, with a resolve to be better.  This morning I checked Facebook and Missie Swayze posted that she had restarted posting on her blog There's 104 Days of Summer Vacation after a long time away and I thought why not, today is a good day to start, also happens to be a rare day I am actually home all day long, with no intention of leaving the house.  
So let's catch up.... and get some pictures off my camera card :)


This is last summer, surprise flowers blooming at the side of my house.

This is a  the top of a squash that I thought was just the cutest little thing :-P

This was when I played JUICY for 105 points in  Words with Friends and I was so happy I took a picture of it.. :D

This is my Mother with my great nephew Luke, who is also my grandpa..
I  grew up in Arkansas.
I will tell Grandpa Luke story someday

This is chocolate pie,  again it makes me happy!!!

This was crazy hair day at school.. I think I succeeded. :)

This was me trying to prove to people you can find GOOD clothes for cheap at Thrift Stores.

This is a quilt block I made for my son's STILL unfinished denim quilt... the story continues


This was Texas/OU game night.. Texas lost... and Luke lost the bet :(
This is a piece of vintage Friendship pyrex my friend Lynette got me for my b'day ... I was VERY HAPPY!!!
This is when Qman grew out his whiskers to play Santa Claus ... When he shaved it made me HAPPY!!!
This is my friend Lynette when we took her granddaughter's ice skating at Christmas and we got kicked out of the mall..
This is two bottle of Rodeo Red wine from Los Pinos Vineyards that my friend Jim Bob got me for Christmas.

This is where Thelma, Louis and Ethyl (also known as Lynette, Nan and Bobbie) went for New Year's Eve.
This is what Ethyl, Thelma, and Louise looked like outside of the Hotel. 

Spring day in Texas!!

The burger I had on 6th Street last week in Austin.  It was yummy.

There now you are all caught up on my year.  Actually, looking back on it, it was sort of an exciting year.. :)