Project Life - Week 43

Welcome to Project Life 2013! If you are new to my blog, welcome! I hope you will stay a while. I'm Jessica, wife to Juan, mommy to 2 year old Maddie. I am also an electrical engineer by day and I am participating in Project Life, a different way to record our lives by taking one photo a day. This was inspired by the fabulous Becky Higgins who has put together a wonderful kit to make this challenge easier.

I am using the digital kit on shutterfly (hopefully Olive once it has been released), find more info at http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog. This digital version uses Shutterfly and is SUPER easy to use! See my completed pages for 2012 using the Shutterfly Cobalt kit HERE.

And finally, my POTW (pictures of the week):

Wednesday - Maddie saw my box of Cabbage Patch kids stored up on the top shelf in my closet. These are from when I was a little girl. She told Daddy that she wanted them and he got them down. She was frantic to play with the "babies". I finally gave in and let her play with them, briefly. One day soon they will be hers.

Friday - I finally broke out the Halloween decorations today. We don't have many, but Maddie was excited to see this skeleton.

Saturday - Nana got the kids pumpkins and these great wooden features to add in lieu of actual carving. The kids did great with them and were very proud of their pumpkins. Maddie's was a bat that is now sitting on our hay bale in front of our house.

Sunday - We bought a car today. A 2003 Mazda MVP. We needed a vehicle for my mother-in-law to take Maddie to and from school in. We've been playing car swap/mix-up for the past couple of months and it has been very difficult with both Juan and traveling for work. We only hope we didn't purchase a lemon. It was $4200. We later realized that neither of us even opened the hood. We are just NOT car people. Hopefully the Lord is watching over us and pointed us in the direction of a safe and reliable vehicle. Maddie thinks it is quite fabulous!

Monday - I made a pinterest dinner tonight - Alice Springs Chicken from Favorite Family Recipes. It was quite delicious!

Ingredients

• Honey Mustard Marinade:
• 1 c. Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
• 1 c. honey
• 1/2 c. mayonnaise
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• Chicken:
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 c. sliced mushrooms (10?12 mushrooms)
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• salt and pepper
• paprika
• 8 slices bacon, cooked
• 1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2 tsp. finely chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

• Use an electric mixer to combine the mustard, honey, mayonnaise, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Whip the mixture for about 30 seconds. Place chicken in a Ziploc bag and pour in about 1/3 of the marinade. Seal the bag and press out as much air as you can and marinate in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
• Chill the remaining marinade until later. After the chicken has marinated, remove chicken from bag and discard the marinade that it has been soaking in. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and heat an ovenproof frying pan large enough to hold all four breasts and 1 Tbsp. oil over medium heat. (If you don't have an ovenproof frying pan, transfer the chicken to a baking dish).
• Sear the chicken in the pan for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown. Remove pan from heat but keep chicken in the pan. As the chicken is cooking, in a small frying pan saute the mushrooms in the butter. Brush each seared chicken breast with a little of the honey mustard marinade being sure to save a little extra that you can serve on the side later with the dish.
• Season the chicken with salt, pepper and paprika ( I am usually pretty generous with the paprika, I love the flavor). Stack two pieces of cooked bacon, crosswise on each chicken breast. Spoon the sauteed mushrooms onto the bacon, being sure to coat each breast evenly. Sprinkle 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese evenly onto each breast followed by 1/4 cup of cheddar.
• Bake the pan of prepared chicken breasts for 7-10 minutes or until cheese is thoroughly melted and starting to bubble. Sprinkle each breast with 1/2 teaspoon parsley before serving. Put extra honey mustard marinade into a small bowl to serve on the side.

Maddie LOVES puzzles right now. This large dinosaur floor puzzle is almost a daily exercise. She can put the entire thing together by herself. Once in awhile she says, "I need help, mama." but usually I can just tell her to find a green piece and match it up. This was a wonderful birthday present!

Thanks for visiting!