A Winner!

Last night dinner was a huge hit with my family.  This was so easy and delicious and well worth passing on.  So here ya go!  (You better try this).   

Grilled Mojo Chicken

• 1 large orange
• 3 limes
• 2 Tb fresh parsley, flat leaf, minced (I used 1 Tb dried)
• 1 Tb fresh oregano, minced
• 1 Tb fresh thyme, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 lb skinless chicken breast
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Grate 2 tsp zest from the orange and squeeze 1/3 cup juice.  Grate 1 tsp zest from the limes and  squeeze 1/4 cup juice.  In a shallow glass or ceramic dish, stir together the zests and juice, and all but the last 2 ingredients. Mix well.  Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Add chicken to marinade and turn to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

Cook on grill on medium heat.  Or cook under broiler in your oven on high for 5 minutes on each side.

I served this with diced and grilled sweet potatoes, yams, and red potatoes.  I also made tortellini caesar salad. (Leave me your email if you want this recipe). This was a great combination and perfect if you are having guests.

Birthday Fun!

It was Allison's 9th birthday this weekend so we had a party.  Here's a picture of the cake I made for her.  I learned how to make daisy's in my cake class the night before.  

I used this great frosting recipe I found with lemon zest in it.  (It doesn't make for a very smooth cake).  Oh well, live and learn.

Aren't they the cutest ragamuffins ever?   I can't believe I have a 9 year old.  I am not old enough.

WAL*MART {It's a Love/Hate Thing}

Things I love about Walmart

• Lower prices on about everything.
• Right down the road from my house

Things I hate about Walmart

• Their produce {bleh!}
• Their check- out lines. {I unload my cart very specifically so that all the heavy stuff is together at the beginning and the fragile stuff is at the end, otherwise they throw them into the same bag and crush everything.}
• Their customer service.
• The smell.

And yet, the things I love about Walmart are enough to keep me coming back.  I wish I wasn't such a cheap skate!

Shwew!

Sorry I am so slow to blog, but I have been frantic trying to finish these cookies for an anniversary cookie bouquet. Here's the finished cookies minus the basket.

I will be back on Friday as I have a birthday cake to make and I have to play catch up on all the laundry I've ignored the last 2 days.

Cookie Chaos

Last week I made cookies for 2 baby showers.  I love the brown and blue theme on this one.  These cookies turned out really cute.  Chocolate is so hard to work with though so the lines could be better.  I have a cookie bouquet this week, so I will let you know how it goes!

A Death in The Family

Today is a sad day at our house. This morning when I came downstairs, I discovered that our pet parrot, Cowboy, died last night.

We got Cowboy 3 years ago when our friends uncle passed away. No one in their family wanted him, so Jeff took him in. Cowboy was 25 years old then. (They can live 75 +).

Cowboy had a potty mouth when he first came to live with us. Apparently his previous owner had quite the vocabulary and Cowboy picked up on it. I will never forget when he told the loud neighbor kids to f--- off. Thankfully he stopped cussing and we decided we could keep him.
He loved Jeff and nobody else. His favorite game was to chase me around the house and torment me. Then he would laugh at me loudly. Naughty bird! He kept me on my toes, that's for sure.
We will miss his "hello" when we walk in the door and his "cracker" every time we eat peanut butter.

We loved you Cowboy. (And don't worry, I won't let them bury you in the sandbox).

Spotlight

This is my sister-in-law Wendi.  Not only is she beautiful, a mother of 2 boys, and wife to Kevin,  she is an amazing photographer.   She has a studio set up in her home.
 
She took a pause after the birth of her 2nd son, but she is back up and running again.  Check out her blog here for some great deals on photo sessions.   Check out her website here to view her gallery of pictures.

I love this Valentines Day card she made of my kids last year.  Too funny.