Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Binding and Some Food for Thought

I managed to finally finish all the bindings I needed to make for the placemats this evening.



I also have two sets of four placemats now machine binded.



Once all the binding is done by machine, I will take my time and start the hand slip stitching. I figure this will be good stuff to work on when I start stitching my Christmas towel sets on my embroidery machine. I can sit to the machine and change the colour threads when needed and hand stitch at the same time. I have a nice pile of plain towels purchased and ready to be stitched out. I am waiting for an order of threads to arrive. Once they arrive I'll be stitchin' like a mad woman on the machine! I still have alot of towels to purchase. I'm hoping to pick up a few more sets later this week when I am out running some errands.

The last few days, my new blogging friend Anita over at Life Via Serendipity and I have been talking about our little portable outdoor greenhouses we love to use in the summer. We both love to grow our herbs and flowers in them and I have had alot of success with ours the last two summers.

One of the things I mentioned to her this morning in an email is my new Aero Garden Trevor gave me for Christmas this past year. It is a dandy little hydroponics growing center I have in the corner of my kitchen counter where I grow dill, basil, oregano, thyme and mint.



I just love it!!!! If anyone is interested in them (well at least here in Canada) I know you can get them at Canadian Tire. For those living elsewhere I'm sure if you google "Aero Garden" you might be able to find where you can purchase one. My Aero Garden is so compact and takes up very little space on my counter.

Today I cut down some of my mint and made this FABULOUS grilled chicken recipe! Its one of our favourites. I normally grill it on the outdoor bbq, but during the winter months I like to use my indoor Cuisinart Grill. I forgot to take a photo of it, but trust me, its soooooooooooooo yummy!!! I promised Anita I would share the recipe here on my blog tonight. So this is for Anita as well as anyone else out there in blogland who would like to give it a try!

Honey Mustard Chicken Breasts

For the Marinade
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp coarsely chopped garlic
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

4 Boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (although I just use two for myself and Trevor)

For the Sauce
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 tsp red bell peppers (I like to use the Epicure dried bell peppers)
1/4 cup dijon mustard
2 Tbsp honey

To make the marinade:
In a medium bowl whisk together all the ingredients.

Rinse the chicken breasts under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place the breasts in a large, resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Press the air out of the bag and seal tightly. Turn the bag to distribute the marinade. Place in a bowl, and refrigerate for about an hour (I like to marinade my chicken for several hours for more flavour).

To make the sauce:
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil and melt the butter. Add the onion and bell peppers and cook until the onion is translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in the mustard and the honey. Set aside.

Remove the chicken breasts from teh bag and discard the marinade. Grill over direct medium heat until the meat is firm and the juices run clear, 8 to 12 minutes, turning once halfway through grilling time. Baste with the sauce during the last 5 minutes of grilling time. Serve warm. (I also like to keep any extra sauce for dipping at the table).

I will try and post another recipe soon. I haven't posted recipes in ages, and I love to share my recipes with you!

As for tomorrow night in the sewing room, my plan is to possibly get back to binding at least another set of placemats and perhaps prep my crumb quilt for the first free motion border. I will keep you posted.

Quiltingly Yours
Andrea

2 comments:

Anita said...

That little garden looks fabulous, I'm totally going to have to look into getting one. And the recipe...mmmmm, I can't decide whether to be strong and wait until my mint grows or go buy some at the store. The latter may win, I have some chicken breasts that I've been wondering what to do with. :D

Anonymous said...

That recipe sounds interesting and I'm going to look up those herbs. I wasn't sure how mine would do when I brought them off the balcony for the winter, but the chocolate and orange mints spread everywhere in the 18" box , and the pineapple sage is still healthy and producing. So back out on the balcony they've gone, and I'll see if I need to re-pot something!