My most valued possession is my family. Even if you are living in a box
somewhere, and you have the love and support of your family, you will always be
wealthy. Love really is all you need. From love, great things will emerge. From
your thoughts, you can create greatness.This is what I need to remind
myself of everyday to be the best person that I can be. Live your life with
gratitude. Be thankful for all that you have everyday, even if it is your eyes
to see or your ears to hear or your feet to walk or your hands to create.
Understand your place in this Universe; how infinitesimally small you are, but
how huge a contribution your Spirit is. Don't wear blinders to the world around
you, you're not the only one here. Be kind, considerate, don't be judgmental,
love others, and yourself. Know that you are perfect inside; that you are
love.


Sunday, April 28, 2013

confessions of a thinkaholic: Sundays With Buddha

Hello, Everyone!

Happy Sunday. I have really been working on a lot of projects, lately. I had promised a long time ago several posts ago to share the link to my SmugMug account so you could check out more of my photos. I am by far NOT a professional photographer and I use a very modest camera, for now *hint hint*, but I try to capture those moments that make me remember the beauty of the world around us; one of our greatest gifts. I've been participating in Instagram recently and I am amazed at the talent and appreciation for beauty that is shared by so many. If you are on Instagram and would like to see what I've been up to, follow along with me at @nsteindesign.

I still have so many photos of the Smokies to edit and upload, but there are plenty in there, now, as well as many other galleries of photos. I'd love it if you could check out my SmugMug, and you can just by clicking this link!: http://nsteindesign.smugmug.com/

Well, I really do have a lot of projects that I want to start on and share with you. I'm hoping this rainy chilly weather here in (northern) Southern Illinois warms up and dries up so I can get started!

I hope you have a great 'rest of the weekend'. Thank you, in advance for stopping by my sister blog, "Confessions", I hope you enjoy the new series!

confessions of a thinkaholic: Sundays With Buddha: Week One "As a mother would risk her life to protect her child, her only child, even so should one cultivate a limitless heart with ...


Nanette

Sunday, April 21, 2013

A Quick Little Dinner

Hello

I hope this finds you all well. I know I've been on a bit of a hiatus, but I'm wanting to get right back into the blogging I enjoy so much. My last post explained a little of why I needed to take a break, and I thought I was going to be back after that, but I guess I just wasn't ready yet. I think I am now, though, and I want to share an easy post with you here. A quick little dinner I made tonight, thanks to a Weight Watchers recipe, believe it or not. And it was quite good. It passed the family taste-test with flying colors. And it really was quick to whip up.

Here's the recipe:

Lemon Chicken With Broccoli

Ingredients
      2 Tbsp all-purp flour, divided
      1/2 tsp table salt, divided
      1/4 tsp black pepper
      2 tsp olive oil
      12 oz uncooked, boneless,
      skinless chicken breasts
      1 1/2 cups fat-free, reduced-
      sodium chicken broth, divided
     2 tsp minced garlic
     2 1/2 cups uncooked small
     broccoli florets
     2 tsp lemon zest, or more to taste
     2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
     1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Directions
Combine 1 1/2 Tbsp flour, 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper on a plate. Add chicken and toss to coat. (I cut up the chicken into little chunks)

Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning as needed, until lightly browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes (mine did take a bit longer), remove to a plate.

Put 1 cup broth and garlic into the skillet; bring to a boil over high heat, scraping up the browned bits from the skillet. Add broccoli; cover and cook 1 minute.

In the measuring cup, stir together remaining 1/2 cup broth, 1/2 Tbsp flour, and 1/4 tsp salt; add to skillet and bring to simmer over low heat.

Cover and cook until broccoli is crisp-tender and sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in chicken and lemon zest, heat through.

Remove skillet from heat and stir in parsley and lemon juice, toss to coat.

Makes 4 servings, about 1 cup per serving.

And this is how I adapted it:



I gathered my ingredients. $12. That's it. Believe it or not. Including the 1 3/4 lbs thin cut and trimmed chicken, and I have three breast left to freeze for another meal.



 

I chopped the chicken into bite-sized pieces, mixed the flour, salt and pepper, and tossed each piece. Not as time consuming as you'd think, besides, I found it to be a perfect time to think.

I'm sure I used a bit more than the 12 oz of chicken, I didn't weigh it, but it turned out to be perfect for the amount of flour the recipe called for.



                                                 Fitting snug and perfect in the skillet...

                       

               The recipe suggested angel hair pasta, rice or couscous. We love couscous, but we always have that, so I thought angel hair pasta would be the perfect match up. I know the pot looks small, but the pasta shrank down quickly and it worked out just fine.

   

I added the broth and garlic, scraped the pan, and added the broccoli and let it simmer. This is where I had to improvise a bit. The next step in the recipe says to add 1/2 Tbsp flour to the 1/2 cup broth and add that to the pan, cover and cook until the sauce is thickened. This did not happen...


                                                   Lemon Zest from one large lemon...Yum!


 Anyway, back to my not-so-thick sauce...I uncovered the skillet, added the chicken and zest, and that still did not thicken the sauce. I was afraid that if I let is simmer any longer, my broccoli would turn to mush. So I quickly added another 1/2 Tbsp of flour and viola! Immediate thickness.  Not to mention how wonderful it smelled!


You can serve this separately, with some pasta tossed in olive oil and a little salt, pepper and garlic....


                                                             ....pair them side by side ....


...or serve on top of the pasta like I did, all tossed up...

DELISH!


I hope you are encouraged to try this one. I was done cooking and we were sitting down to dinner within 30 minutes. And for just $12 for all three of us, with pasta and chicken left over for another meal, what a bargain.

I've got a ton more pictures of places and things we've been doing lately, and I can't wait to share them with you, so check back for that. Also, if you read my other blog, I've got some great ideas brewing for over there, as well.

Thanks for reading today!

Have a great week...

Nanette

Saturday, April 20, 2013

A new post at Tiny Buddha

I have a new article posted on Tiny Buddha (tinybuddha.com). If you head over there you will find a lot of great posts by some really great people.  Thanks for taking the time to read my personal blogs and my submissions at Tiny Buddha.

Have a wonderful week!

Nanette

Friday, April 5, 2013

A little explination on where I've been...confessions of a thinkaholic: Coming back from a little time for myself...

confessions of a thinkaholic: Coming back from a little time for myself...: Hello, everyone, I have to apologize for being so absent this last month or so. I've been on a bit of a solitude mission. I haven'...

I want to hear from you! Please don't be shy...I learn from you, too! Your opinion matters to me, but, please, no judgement or hateful words here.Thanks!