Dishes, laundry and packing...not fun. Going home to Oklahoma...well worth it. :) See you soon!

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner!!!

Oh my goodness! You HAVE to try this dinner! It is SO easy and SOOOO GOOD! It's a Rachael Ray dinner. Prep is a cinch but it does take more than 30 minutes if you include cook time. Try it anyway. And don't try to skimp on calories and not make the gravy. It truly makes this meal go from "plain-jane" to WOW!!!
Here's how I made it:

"Plain Jane" Chicken & Potatoes With Roasted Garlic Gravy

1 head garlic
Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling
2 packages chicken parts (legs, thighs, wings and/or breasts), about 2 pieces per person, bone-in and skin-on
4 to 5 tablespoons grill seasoning, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 medium Russet potatoes, cut into small wedges
2 heads broccoli, cut into spears
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups chicken stock (not chicken broth)



Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Put Easton in his bouncy-seat on the kitchen counter while I cook.

Cut the tip off the head of garlic, exposing the very top of the cloves. Drizzle the top of the garlic head with EVOO, wrap it tightly in tin foil.



Place the garlic head in the oven and let it roast for approximately 45 minutes. Do not overcook! When the garlic is finished and cool enough to handle, squeeze the cloves out of their skins and into a small bowl. Mash it with a fork.


Arrange the gross looking and even gross-er feeling chicken pieces in a roasting pan, drizzle them with EVOO and season them with grill seasoning.



Roast the pieces in the oven alongside the garlic, until they reach an internal temperature of 165ºF, about 35 minutes.

Scrub potatoes with cute little potato scrubber.





Slice into wedges. Toss the potatoes with EVOO and grill seasoning, making sure that they are evenly coated.



Uh oh! Easton's fussy.



Pick Easton up, kiss him and play with him for a few minutes.



Realize he's fussy because he's got a dirty diaper. Change diaper.



(He's so helpful! See how he hold his little legs up so I can get the diaper changing over with? He's been doing that for months...little smartie!)

Wash hands. A LOT! Play with Easton. He chews on my thumb and then looks up at me as if to ask "Mom, are you SURE you washed your hands after that diaper change?"



Yes, son. I did. A LOT! That was a gross one!

Put Easton in his swing and return to making dinner. Wash and cut broccoli into florets. Toss broccoli with EVOO and grill seasoning.



Transfer the vegetables to separate baking sheets and roast them in the oven, along with the garlic and chicken, until they are tender and crispy, 20-25 minutes.





Once the garlic, chicken, and vegetables are in the oven, melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.




Sprinkle the flour into the butter and stir the mixture, allowing the flour to cook slightly, about 1 minute. Whisk in the chicken stock, allowing it to simmer and thicken, about 3-5 minutes.



Add the roasted garlic mash to the gravy, stirring to incorporate and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve some of the broccoli, potatoes and chicken with a good helping of the roasted garlic gravy over everything. Enjoy! Best chicken dinner I ever made! :)



Now here's the recipe w/out pictures and my comments so you can print it out if you want. Please try it and let me know what you think if you do.

"Plain Jane" Chicken & Potatoes With Roasted Garlic Gravy

1 head garlic
Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling
2 packages chicken parts (legs, thighs, wings and/or breasts), about 2 pieces per person, bone-in and skin-on
4 to 5 tablespoons grill seasoning, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 medium Russet potatoes, cut into small wedges
2 heads broccoli, cut into spears
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups chicken stock (not chicken broth)

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.

Cut the tip off the head of garlic, exposing the very top of the cloves. Drizzle the top of the garlic head with EVOO, wrap it tightly in tin foil. Place the garlic head in the oven and let it roast for approximately 45 minutes. When the garlic is finished and cool enough to handle, squeeze the cloves out of their skins and into a small bowl. Mash it with a fork.

Arrange the chicken pieces in a roasting pan, drizzle them with EVOO and season them with grill seasoning. Roast the pieces in the oven alongside the garlic, until they reach an internal temperature of 165ºF, about 35 minutes.

Toss the potatoes and broccoli separately with EVOO and grill seasoning, making sure that they are evenly coated. Transfer the vegetables to separate baking sheets and roast them in the oven, along with the garlic and chicken, until they are tender and crispy, 20-25 minutes.

Once the garlic, chicken, and vegetables are in the oven, melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour into the butter and stir the mixture, allowing the flour to cook slightly, about 1 minute. Whisk in the chicken stock, allowing it to simmer and thicken, about 3-5 minutes. Add the roasted garlic mash to the gravy, stirring to incorporate and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve some of the broccoli, potatoes and chicken with a good helping of the roasted garlic gravy over everything. Enjoy!

One of the things I've been doing lately is reading. When my eyes are crazy I can't do too much of it and when they're not too bad I read voraciously, as though making up for lost time. I've always loved reading as many of you know so it shouldn't come as a surprise that this is the way I usually unwind.
Here's what I'm reading now (or have on my coffee table waiting to be read):

T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton One of her Kinsey Millhone alphabet series of books. I LOVE these books! Can't wait for the rest...Hurry up, Ms. Grafton! Can't you write more quickly?! I'm in the middle of this one and am having a love/hate thing with it as I do with all good books. If it's a good, interesting read I love it and completely immerse myself in the characters and their story but hate when it's over and feel a little like I'm missing a friend. Sounds weird, but if you're a reader like me you know what I mean.

I really enjoyed The Red Tent by Anita Diamant and found some more books by India Edghill along the same lines. Queenmaker is about King David's wife. Wisdom's Daughter is a novel about Solomon and Sheba. I LOVED Queenmaker and can't wait to get started on her next book. They are fascinating!

Woman in Red by Eileen Goudge

One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus

Double Cross by James Patterson Can't wait to start this one. It's the newest Alex Cross book and I've been on a waiting list for at least a month for this one. Like the Grafton novels, once you read one...you're hooked!

Anyway, that's what I'm reading now. Anybody else reading anything good?

Easton,
Well, mama is running way behind on my monthly letter to you, sweet baby. It's been a busy time. It seems I say this every month but you are growing SO FAST! I cannot imagine not being home with you every day to see all the new things you are learning to do. My very favorite time of day is first thing in the morning when I walk into your room. You give me a smile that lights up your whole face and seems to say "Hi mama! I've been waiting for you!" That smile gets my day started off right every single day. It seems you smile from the minute you get up until the time you go to bed. You are such a happy baby! The only time you fuss is when you are tired and even then it's almost like you are afraid you'll miss all the fun if you're sleeping. Trust me, little one...when you're sleeping I'm doing dishes, taking a shower, doing laundry and other not-very fun stuff. You're not missing a thing. The weather has started warming up finally and I am so happy to be able to get outside! You aren't quite sure what to make of the wind and the bright sunshine but once we're outside for a while you seem to enjoy it. We have fun dancing and being silly. It's a good thing no one is here to witness all my terrible dancing but making you smile is all I'm concerned about and my crazy moves seem to do the trick. You have started sitting in your highchair for short streches of time while I'm cooking or cleaning the kitchen. You like being where the action is and being able to see what's going on. You watch every move I make and it certainly makes mama feel special when you can't take your eyes off of me. :) I am so excited about our trip next week! We will be seeing both sets of your great-grandparents for the first time and I cannot tell you how special that will be. Plus you'll be seeing your grandparents, your aunts and cousins too and I am so happy to be introducing you to all the people who are so important to your daddy and me. I used to tell your daddy "You're my favorite." I still tell him that but now I say it to you too. You're my favorite little guy and daddy's my favorite big guy. I also tell you "I love you best" and call you the best baby in the world. And you are! :)
Thanks for being my sunshine.
I love you, little monkey!
Love,
Mama

Where do I even start? I have been keeping busy lately. I helped a friend get ready for her mom to come home from the hospital, cleaned my house a lot and took Easton to his 4 month check-up. I have also had to use those awful dilating drops lately so I haven't been able to look at the computer screen in about a week. That's getting better but I still have to use those drops once a week and they dilate my eyes for 3-4 days at a time. Needless to say while I'm on these drops blogging will be sporadic at best.

Easton is getting so big! He weighed 15lbs 11 ounces at his last check up and was 24 1/2 inches long. He's at that stage where he constantly is chewing on something. He really likes chewing on fabric of any kind and his (and my) fingers. He is funny to watch. He likes to blow spit bubbles and raspberries and it's pretty funny...messy but cute. I'm really looking forward to introducing him to his Oklahoma family and friends. Can't believe we're going in less than 2 weeks!

And one last thing...I won $80 in a poker game this past weekend! :) YAY! I'll be needing some spending money for our trip and that's a start. Can't wait to see you all.

I haven't forgotten about my blog...just been really busy lately. Maybe I can get some free time soon and I'll get back to blogging regularly...I hope. :)