Chicken with Orange-Ginger Glaze

I've had this recipe for a really long time.  It's from Cooking Light magazine circa like 2004, it's been in my cooking binder, I just never made it (not sure why).  Anyway, as I was putting together our "menu" for the week, I came across this recipe & decided to give it a whirl!

Ingredients

1 lb. of Chicken Breast Tenderloins
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/4 tsp. of pepper (pretty sure I added more than that!)
1/8 tsp. of garlic powder (pretty sure I added more than that!)
1 1/2 teaspoons of EVOO (I did 3 turns around the sauté pan)
1 navel orange
3 tablespoons honey
1 tsp of grated peeled fresh ginger
1 chopped green onion

Chicken with Orange-Ginger Glaze ingredients

1.  In a bowl, grate the rind & squeeze the juice from orange to measure 1 tsp. rind & 1/4 cup of the juice of the orange.  Add honey & ginger to the bowl & whisk everything together.

Orange-Ginger Glaze

2.  Season chicken with salt, pepper, & garlic powder.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken; cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until browned. (cook the seasoned side down first)

3.  Add the orange-ginger glaze to your sauté pan, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen the browned bits.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat & simmer, uncovered for about 7-10 minutes or until chicken is done & your orange-ginger glaze is syrupy.

Just about finished......

4.  Sprinkle with chopped green onions.

the completed dish, yummmmmmmmm!

I served the finished chicken over a bed of brown rice....it has a nice "chinese" food flavor to it.  If you aren't a HUGE fan of ginger, I'd cut the grated ginger in half, it was definitely a strong flavor, but really good!

Let me know if you try it, it's so yummy!

Why is Leap Day/Year Special?

This mythical day rolls around every 4 years, do you know why? 

I'd always sorta know about a Leap Year & why they are necessary or whatever, but it wasn't until yesterday that I was putting together an Internet Hunt for my students that I really did learn more about the day/year.  I also now have an incredible fondness towards February 29th (more on that further on in this post).

So Leap Year/Day:
So obviously, the year 2012 will have 366 days in the year as opposed to the usual 365, that doesn't take a math major to see that....
BUT, did you know that if we didn't add on this day to our calendar every 4 years our calendar would be off by about 24 days in just 100 years!  weird.....
It takes the Earth 365.242199 days OR 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, & 46 seconds to circle the sun, but our Gregorian calendar only has 365 days in a year, hence the need for an extra day every 4 years. 
Three areas of criteria must be met for a year to be a "Leap Year":
1.  Year has to be divisible by the number 4
2.  If the year can be evenly divided by 100, it's NOT a leap year, unless:
3.  The year is also divisible by 400
If you are lucky enough to meet that criteria, you are a LEAP YEAR! 
So 2000 is a Leap Year, but 2100 won't be a leap year.  And 2000 was a special year (not only because I graduated from high school that year) but becuase it was the first year that the 3rd criterion was used in most parts of the world since the transition from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar.
Also, Leap DAY babies refer to themselves as "Leaplings".....and it's LEAP DAY babies, not Leap Year babies....all babies born during a Leap Year are "Leap Year Babies"
COOL STUFF!  I found said cool stuff at:  http://www.timeanddate.com/date/leapyear.html
Stuff like this not only satisifies my very very random brain & thought process but also my nerdy history side!  LOVE IT!

So why is Leap Day/Year Special to ME?!
Well no, I'm not a leapling (a baby born on Feb. 29th), BUT Lake & I got married during a Leap Year (2008) AND our Rehearsal Day/Dinner was held on February 29th 2008, so we celebrate, for the first time, our "anniversary" of our rehearsal on Leap Day.  It's kinda silly, but kinda cute as well.

So Happy Leap Day & Happy Leap Year!  Enjoy 2012, I sure have so far!  :)

February 29th 2008

 

2012 Resolution: February Race (Part 2)

Race Goal:  28:30, a whopping 19 seconds faster than my previous time.

Actual Time: 28:41, so the site says I ran it slower, but hey, I go by my watch & if my watch says 28:41, I ran a 28:41, suck it race clock!  And ACTUALLY I just noticed that I PRed, AGAIN!  For some reason, I thought I'd run my last 5K in 28:40, so I was a little upset that I was just 1 second slower.  I mean c'mon, if you're gonna fail, FAIL BIG!  But now I'm super happy!!!!!

The Race: Run4Hope, it was put on by the Rape Crisis Center.  The race was at Brackenridge Park, again, same exact course.  The weather was much more bearable this time though, my health....not so much.  I hadn't felt well on Friday, so I went to bed early hoping I'd feel better.  I woke up & felt a little better, but not 100% & my tummy hurt :(  So I ran, fast at the beginning, then I think my body got mad, so around mile 1.5, I pulled back, basically so I wouln't throw up & clipped along at a slower pace for about four tenths of a mile (one song).  I started feeling a little better & kicked it in the last mile, felt great after that!

Mireya, me, Kristen & Anne
getting ready to run

Who'd I run it with?:  Kristen, Mireya, Anne, & her hubby Mike.  While I was there I saw another friend who was running, it was quite the popular race!


Coming Up (March Race):  Leah & I are running a 1/2 Marathon Relay on Sunday, March 18th that runs through downtown SA.  I'm not sure the exact mileage, but I know it's more than 6.5 & that I'm running the longer portion, but it's flat.  My goal is just to keep it at 10:00mins/mile pace, since I'm not exactly sure what the mileage is.  I haven't run more than 5 miles since the Vegas 1/2 (DISASTER) & I'm a wee bit worried, so we will see how this turns out.  I'm not sure I'll have the chance to run any longer distances before the race.....and I know I'm not running the week prior to the race since we're going to New Orleans at the beginning of my Spring Break & I'll be in the Valley for the end of my break, so yeah.......wish me luck!

On another note, some of my JLSA buddies & I will be starting a running club next month, which I am so excited about!  We are going to try to meet twice a month, once during the week for an evening run & one run on the weekend.  We're also hoping that we can get larger groups in on the "Race a Month Challenge."  Our first "official" JLSA Running Club run is set for March 27th, YAY!

A "Picture" Pefect Party

I love hosting events, I love having people over to do things, I love attending such things, but in the end, it's just about spending time with people that you care about & want to be around!



our food spread, yum yum!

 I was reminded of this on Sunday when I attended a very impromtu Academy Awards watching party with some of my very favorite San Antonio ladies.  We're a busy group of gals & organizing a dinner together was proving to be quite the task!  We did however discover that we were all free to watch the Oscars together & *poof* instant party!  Bring over a snack & get ready to gossip, talk smack about how truly disturbingly skinny Angelina Jolie has become, rate the Hollywood elite on their fashion sense (or lack thereof) & CATCH UP!  All of those things were accomplished, plus more!


Shaunda, Rachel, Janine, Michelle
Laura & I getting ready to watch
the Academy Awards









I'm blessed with the best husband that a girl could ever hope for, amazing family here in San Antonio & in all other parts of the country, AND incredible friends!  Kinda funny that a silly little awards show gave me such a huge reminder :)

2012 Resolution: February Race: Part 1

Race Goal:  Under 30 minutes, I know that was my previous goal, but this was a last minute race that I hadn't planned on doing, so I just wanted to keep at a decent pace.

Actual Time:  28:49, that's right boys & girls, PR!  I hadn't even realized that until I saw my January race post, how exciting!!!

The Race:  Cupid's Chase 5K at Brackenridge Park.  We started at Koehler Pavilion & ran an out & back.  Mile 2 was essentially a loop within part of the gravel trails of the park.  The course was OK, not the greatest, there were lots of places that had really uneven surfaces, BUT all in all it was a good race.  VERY COLD Race!

Who'd I run it with?:  Alison

Coming Up (February Race, Part 2):  Still planning on doing the Run 4 Hope 5K at Brackenridge Park on February 25th....I wonder if it'll be the same course?!  My goal is still 28:30, I'll have more people around to push me at this one, so we'll see!  :)

February 5K Race Bib (Race #1)

Cowboy Dip

For Super Bowl Sunday Lake & I went over to a friend's home for their Super Bowl Party.  Everyone was asked to bring an appetizer, side, or dessert.  Since I'm the self-proclaimed App Queen, I went with what I knew! 
I made my "Cowboy Dip" which has been making people happy since 2003!  I got the recipe from one of my college roommates sister in laws....does that make sense?  I did change it up though....if you've ever eaten with me you know that I loathe black beans, I have a very strong hatred for them.  This baffles people & they just don't get it.  I just don't like the texture of them, they're really really chalky & yeah....so anyway, the original recipe calls for a can of black beans as well....you are more than welcome to add in your own, I will however pass on them....

Cowboy Dip
1 can Corn (Drained)
2 Small Avocados
2 Roma Tomatoes
2 Green Onions
1 handful of Cilantro
2 key limes (juiced)
2 tablespoons of Red Wine Vinaigrette
Salt & Pepper to taste



the batch that I made on Sunday was doubled, so that why I have so much more of everything!

 *Put the corn in a large bowl (make sure you drain it!)
*Dice up your tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, & avocado
*Add them to the bowl with your corn
*Gently mix together your ingredients

A couple of slicing tricks:

With my green onions I cut off both ends, then cut the entire stock in half.  I then cut all my halves at the same time.  It makes for a much quicker chop.  Thank you Racheal Ray!

For the avocado I score it in the skin, length wise, then horizontally.  Once you get it scored just turn it over into your bowl & give it a gentle squeeze.  I have found this to be the easiest way to control an avocado.  Just be careful with your knife while you're scoring!

*Squeeze in your lime juice
*Add in your vinaigrette
*Mix together all of your ingredients
*Taste & then you can determine how much salt & pepper you'd like to add

This is meant to be a "chunky" dip.  I've also just used it as a side salad.  It's really good with scoops chips!  Let me know if you try it, this is always my "go to" app when I'm not sure what else to make :)

Fashion Swap: Love Theme

just some of the yummy appetizers brought

over by the guests, yum yum yum!

This past weekend I hosted my 3rd fashion swap.  The theme for the evening was love....in honor of Valentine's Day of course!  I've had 2 other fashion swaps, one was last spring & we had an asian theme & then over the summer I hosted one at my parent's house & the theme was fiesta!  Yesterday's party was great!  Everyone was asked to bring over an appetizer & 5 items that they were willing to "swap"  The items could range from outer wear, dresses, skirts, tops, accessories, or jewelry.  I provided the desserts for last night's swap.  It's a really fun idea & I think everyone walked away with some really cute stuff. 

decisions, decisions!

The way it works:

I set up 2 tables & tape down "signs" with a category on them, i.e.:  Dresses, Tops, Jewelry, etc.....

As guests arrive they put their name on 5 slips of paper.

They then fold the slips & place them in 5 seperate bowls.  These bowls then indicate 5 "rounds" of swapping.

Guests then take their items over to the tables & seperate as necessary. 

Round 4 of the Swap

As the hostess, I grab the first bowl & just begin calling out names.  The guests can choose an article from any category, it doesn't matter what you brought.  I designate rooms in the house as "dressing rooms" & during each round the guests will try on what they want & keep what they like.  The rounds just repeat.

I limit the swap to 5 items, but you can do as many rounds as you like.

At each swap I've hosted, some people have brought more than 5 items, at the end of the 5 rounds I allow for a "free for all" & you can grab whatever you want.  Whatever is still left over at that point I donate to Goodwill.

Shaunda & Michelle enjoying the food & fun
time after the swap

It really is that easy, or at least I have found it to be that easy!  :)

Once the swapping is over, we eat & drink.  Although no one's stopping anyone from partaking in that during ;)

This is one of my favorite events to host, it's so fun to see what everyone brings.  I've always enjoyed it & good times are always had!  I think my next one will be sometime in the summer.....maybe Paris themed....hmmmmmm

even little miss maryn had a great time!