How did I get to be so old? Luck I guess. This Wednesday I will turn 75. Not sure I expected to make it to 75 but there you go, it’s happening. It seems that it was only yesterday that I turned 50 and my family threw a party for me. That was before grandchildren had come along. Now I have four of them ranging in ages from 23 to 6 months. Edie will turn four on Monday. She delights in knowing that we have birthdays so close together but not on the same day. I do have a great nephew who shares my birthday and a great niece who shares a birthday with my brother. Our family isn’t creative with birthdays at all.
Grand Update
My older grand daughter, Libby, is home from college (with her laundry) and after less than 48 hours I think she is bored. Hoping to start her first job of the summer before she goes to her second which will take her right up to when she has to leave to go back to college. No wonder time seems to go by so quickly. We haven’t even gone back up to Canada yet and I am already talking about return to college. Jack is finishing up his last couple of weeks at the New Hampshire Fire Academy & EMS He starts week 7 tomorrow. That time has flown by for him too. There is lots of reading and watching videos of training that keeps him busy even on the weekends. However, he is now a Nationally Registered EMT so that is one accomplishment taken care of. He has a fun sweat shirt from his time at Sewanee where he was on their volunteer fire department and he has me sewing his earned patches on it. Then coming up on Thursday we leave to go to North Carolina to see the little grand children. I’m looking forward to the road trip before we come home for Jack’s graduation and the departure for Canada for the summer. See what I mean about time going fast!!!
Walking This Week
Lots of walking this week once again. I did miss Wednesday and Thursday because of two prior shifts at the Thrift Shop and when I came out it was raining so we didn’t go. But the other days were wonderful with lots of running and swimming for the dogs and plenty of exercise for me. The poles really add something to the walk. One of the things about spring is that creatures start to come out for a visit. We came across this snake on the path. The dogs were very curious, the snake not happy at all, but the dogs didn’t bother it. Wyke barked at it, Percy just looked surprised. We also saw the fox kittens who have grown quite a lot and were quite curious about us. I just can’t get a good picture of them without getting closer and I don’t want to do that at all. Here’s the picture from a distance.
Cooking This Week
Sheet Pan Lemon Chicken by Half-Baked Harvest
I modified this significantly but the substance was mostly the same. I did not make the herbed olives nor did I make the Feta Sauce. You don’t need either of those items to make this just yummy chicken one pan meal. I had a very large leftover chicken breast that I cut into 9 smaller pieces. Didn’t use a whole pound of baby potatoes maybe 1/2 pound. Left out the chili flakes (too spicy). Used Penzey’s Granulated Air-Dried Shallots as I didn’t have any fresh shallots and I used dried oregano and smoked paprika. I put the potatoes in a glass oven dish, cut them in half and tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper. Then I put the chicken in a mixing bowl with the olive oil, balsamic, Dijon and the herbs, mixed them all up and added them to the potatoes. Put the whole thing in the oven at 350 and cooked for about 45 minutes to an hour. I am sure that the items I left out would have only enhanced the dish but the way I did it was so quick and easy for a night when I had a meeting.
Ingredients
1 pound baby potatoes halved
4 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and black pepper
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano
2 teaspoons smoked or regular paprika
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
chili flakes
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup mixed chopped fresh herbs: dill, basil, or thyme
2 tablespoons sliced pepperoncini
1 cup green olives, torn
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
FETA SAUCE
1 cup Tzatziki sauce
6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425° F.
- On a baking sheet, toss the potatoes with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper.
- In a bowl, toss together 2 tablespoons olive oil, the chicken, balsamic vinegar, Dijon, oregano, paprika, garlic, shallot, salt, pepper, and chili flakes.
- Nestle the chicken around the potatoes. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
- Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/3 cup olive oil, the lemon juice, herbs, pepperoncini, olives, and sesame seeds. Mix the Tzatziki and feta.
- Remove the chicken from the oven. Spoon over the herby olives. Serve with the Tzatziki feta sauce. Enjoy!
