Lemon Chicken

I'm back again with another great recipe. It's always really good to have a tried and true recipe from someone else. I've been going over to my friend Kathy's for years and quite often she will serve this recipe with mashed potatoes. YUM! We recently had it over the weekend and while its not exactly summer friendly requiring about an hour of oven time. It's a good recipe to have in the repertoire. Bake uncovered.

This product has recently come to my attention and while its pretty easy to boil rice, I especially like Basmati, which does take a bit of time to prepare. This pouch is ready in 90 seconds and comes out beautifully.

So there you have it. A quick and yummy meal and its also gluten free which is a nice option.

Lemon Chicken
Boneless, skinless chicken (2-4) depending on size ( this dish works better if the chicken is not too thick)
Dredge chicken in flour, salt, pepper and thyme (pinch)
Fry in butter

Mix 1 cup white wine
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
And pour over

Fry 1 bundle green onion and 1 tray sliced mushrooms in butter. Put over chicken and bake, uncovered, for approximately 1 hour at 350F until chicken is tender.

Collie Envy

Two of my friends just adopted dogs and I must say, I'm having a little "Collie envy".
Let me introduce Finn...

Isn't he just gorgeous? Those kind eyes just melt your heart. He's so gentle and calm. Rescued from a shelter, he's about a year old and was surrendered. I don't know how anyone could give away such a sweet dog. He's got the best family now and he's going to have a wonderful life.

And then there's Jupiter....

Ahhh! the sweet smell of puppy breath. Jupiter is about 12 weeks old and also came from a Rescue organization. She seems to be the calmest puppy ever, and those markings! I am a sucker for those eyebrows and she has the tiniest white tip on her tail. She's going to be spoiled rotten and have a great life with her new family. Can't wait to see both of these dogs grow and develop their personalities in the coming years.

Freshly Made Sketches

As soon as I saw this week's Freshly Made Sketches 248,  I knew I wanted to use my wheat dies which I had never used before since they reminded me somewhat of the feathers. Who knew I would have to cut them out several times attempting to find the right colour. I'm not happy with my final colour selection even though I tried to darken them up by inking but I wasn't going to start again. It's a beautiful die but very intricate so it was fussy to glue down and this was NOT my first attempt. All in all, it turned out not too badly.... they always look better in person.

And here's the Sketch I based it on ...

I guess that's why they call them "challenges".

A new Monthly Challenge

In order to try and use some of our stashed supplies and save money by sharing stamps and dies, my friend Keri and I came up with a 30 day challenge. I have tried "joint custody" before but it wasn't specific enough. This new challenge seems to work really well. We can borrow whatever we want from the other person's stash for 30 days. Keri suggested we make 2 cards, one for her and one for me, that way we will actually use the items. So here is what we came up with for July, we both cased our cards, no need to be original is there?
I borrowed her MFT The Whole Herd stamp and die set..

and made us this card...

I wanted to try sponging the cloud background and I think it turned out pretty well.

Keri borrowed my Lawn Fawn set...

And made this card....

We have already chosen our items for August. Can't wait to see what we come up with.

Beautiful Northern Ontario

So this is what I have been enjoying for the last few days. It's been a tradition for many years for a large group of friends from our University days to meet up for the long weekend in August in the Kawarthas.
Our gracious host extends the welcome not only for the weekend but the week before and after depending on everyone's availability. It was so nice to relax, catch up with friends and enjoy the pristine waters of this beautiful Lake not to mention the delicious meals and many, many laughs. I feel so refreshed and ready to get back to the day to day chores with renewed vigor. So grateful to have this tradition and hope it continues for many more years. 

Happy Birthday Lindor!

My sweet girl turned 8 today. She got a few liver snacks and some belly rubs but we'll have to celebrate tomorrow as I just got back from vacation.

Hopefully it will cool off a bit so we can enjoy a long walk.