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, September 15, 2013

confessions of a thinkaholic: On Another Note...

Hey, there. Here's a very personal post that I have been sitting on and debating on whether or not to share. So, I guess I'm sharing. It is important to me to share what I think is important, if it means it may help someone else. Thanks so much for reading my blog(s). You will never know how much it means to me, but I will always try to tell you.

Have a great week ahead, and be good to each other, and to yourselves.

Nanette


confessions of a thinkaholic: On Another Note...: I haven't written any other post besides the Sundays With Buddha in a really long time, so I thought now would be a good time to sort of...

Chicken with fresh-from-the-tree Plum Salsa...Yum!


Hi there! I thought I'd share another quick little dinner I whipped up using some of my treasures I got at the annual Peach Festival in Grafton, Illinois at Pere Marquette Lodge at Pere Marquette State Park. After an unseasonably cool summer, this day was pretty warm, but a great day to browse what the local farmers had to offer. We bought a bunch of plums and big juicy peaches, the absolute best I have ever eaten, actually; picked fresh early that morning.

I knew I wanted to do something with those plums for dinner, like a plum sauce with chicken, but I didn't know what. I went on the search and found something that we really liked. I altered it just a little, but you can get the full recipe here


Look how beautiful these are!


             It's a great feeling to support local farmers and get something this beautiful and delicious.





So, this is what I did. The recipe called for a couple of ingredients that I didn't have, like lime juice and fresh basil but it turned out fabulously.
I started with two trimmed boneless, skinless chicken breasts, olive oil and two plump, ripe plums fresh from the tree.




I washed and diced up the two plums and a home grown jalapeno from my dad's pepper plant...

         

                                                 ...and gathered the rest of my ingredients...





  • 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin  

  • Now, this is what the recipe called for, and I didn't halve the ingredients for the two breasts I used instead of four, but it made just the right amount for the size of the chicken breasts I used.



     Stir together the plums, jalapeno, onion and 1/4 tsp. salt in a medium bowl and the brown sugar, cumin, and remaining 1/2 tsp. salt in a small bowl. I rubbed my chicken with the brown sugar mixture working rather quickly as the brown sugar melts fast. What I did next varies from the recipe, but made the raw salsa very delish!

    I cooked the chicken in the olive oil in a nonstick griddle skillet over medium heat for several minutes on each side. When the brown sugar started to caramelize I turned the heat to low and added a little water to loosen the sugar from the pan. I took the chicken out and added the juice from the skillet to the salsa in the bowl. I folded it until it was blended well and let it sit while I made the rest of my dinner.
    That was just a simple box of Near East Parmesan flavored couscous and Green Giant Sugar snap peas. The couscous literally takes five minutes, just enough time for the peas to steam. When the peas are done you can drain them and serve, but I always sauté them with a little olive oil and salt in an omelet pan. Yum!




    We like our peas right on top of our couscous and our pears right on top of our chicken, and, boy, was it delish!
        
                 Don't forget, you can get the full recipe and many more at MyRecipes.com. Enjoy!


    And please keep checking back. I will give it my all to get this blog back up and running with more projects, recipes, fun and adventure...promise!

    Have a great week

    Nanette