Curried Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs

Here is a ridiculously delicious way to bake boneless skinless chicken thighs.
Enjoy!




I start with 6 organic boneless skinless chicken thighs. I know…these are EXPENSIVE, but the benefits of eating organic meat are worth the cost. And I will be adding lower cost pantry staples to them, and pairing with some simple sides…
So it all evens out in the end, and you will end up with a meal that costs roughly $15 total to feed 4 people



I start out with 1/4 cup of melted organic butter.




Add 1/2 cup of raw honey, which will melt beautifully into the butter.





Next, add 1/4 cup of Dijon mustard, 2 teaspoons of curry powder, 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and a few pinches of sea salt.
I have added crushed garlic, and even onions to this sauce, and gotten some awesome results. You can play around with whatever flavors you enjoy.





Place your chicken thighs in a shallow baking dish, and pour the honey mustard mixture over them.






I like to toss the thighs around in the sauce a bit to make sure they are good and coated…





using my fork to poke holes and allow the sauce to seep into the meat.






Place in a 375 degree oven.





After about 15 minutes, I take them out and flip them.





Bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until done.





We LOVE this served over brown rice! Spoon a little (or a lot of) sauce over the top…




Tasty, tasty!

Curried Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs

6 organic boneless chicken thighs
1/4 cup melted organic butter
1/2 cup raw honey
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
a few pinches of salt

As my daughter would say…
Toodles, Poodles!

Jessie

Manic Monday?…Try MUNDANE

 

Posts are going to be few and far between for a bit.

I have decided to make the move to Wordpress…and it is a tad trickier than I expected. I plan to start fresh, with a totally new blog! I have a ton of new ideas, and I am EXCITED to share 

 

For now…

How about a little look into my Monday. This is some riveting stuff (I am being so sarcastic).

 

The kiddos bedding was in major need of washing. I am pretty sure the dust mites were building condominiums in the fiberfill of my babies’ quilts.

Yuck!

Unfortunately, our washer and dryer are way too small to wash either one of their comforters So…

After dropping Lil off at preschool, off to the laundromat I went. 

Now, I HATE going anywhere unfamiliar. I avoid it at all cost. There are only 2 gas stations that I go to. EVER. If I am out of gas on the wrong side of town (which NEVER happens), I go into freak out mode (yeah…I’m that disturbed). I have been avoiding this laundry task for a while, because the laundromat I have always used is now closed…eek!

Upon arriving, I am immediately transported back in time…

Which is odd, because I think this particular laundromat is less than ten years old. But, I think it is an unwritten rule that laundromats keep a retro feel.

 

 

 

I thought a little 60’s effect on the pics was appropriate.

 

 

 

 

Luckily I brought my own soap, because the first rule of the laundromat is…IT’S A HUGE RIPOFF!

 

 

 

 

A woman was washing her husband’s work shirts, which kind of played into the retro theme. They have a Pepsi logo on them, but I wasn’t  going to get all up in her business just so you could see this. Plus, I kind of looked a little crazy taking random pictures in the laundromat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While the pictures have a retro flair, the prices definitely knock you back to the present. That is $6.50 for one washer!!

 

 

 

 

Can you find me?

 

The amateur photog bit got old real fast (and I think I was a suspected health department spy)…

 

 

 

 

Luckily, Starbucks was only a few stores away. So I settled into a very uncomfortable plastic chair and got my read on. 

 

But, when a disheveled lady walks in and drops a bag of pukey smelling bedding on a table in front of you…

 

And you’ve spent $16.75 to wash and partially (there was NO WAY was sticking around) dry 2 blankets…

 

 

It’s time ta go…

 

Real fast…

 

And douse yourself in a bottle of Purell

 

I hope your Monday was WAY more AWESOME than mine!

 

 

Jessie

Random

 

Hi there. Long time no see. But…I am working on something BIG!

Until then…a little randomness.

 

 

Driving Gabe to school last week…

 

 

The moon was incredible! Although you can’t tell in these pictures. Me, and my less than awesome photog skills, could not capture how beautiful the morning actually was.

On a side note, the lack of snow is ridiculous this year! We NEVER have bare patches in early February…we are lucky to have them in April! It is making me crave the spring, and eager to plant our garden

 

 

 

 

You can kind of see how grand the moon actually was here (look between the stoplights).

 

 

Later that day…

 

 

 

Notice the spot I didn’t see on my camera lense? It was in the previous picture also…Whoops!

 

The waterfront in town…

 

 

Where I set up my makeshift office…Kindle Fire, MiFi, cell phone and Sirrius XM tuned to The Bridge (such a dork I am)…all I need I love to sit here, instead of driving all the way back home, while my daughter is in preschool. I can make my business calls, read and even blog. Plus…I get an AMAZING view (and time to myself)!

 

 

A little project I saw on Pinterest. Yes, I try many of the things I pin!

 

 

 

Clipboard schedules for the kiddos. I was considering doing a tutorial, but I kind of stunk at this.  My sweet husband had to help me…haha!

(The little girl with the silly expression HAS to be in EVERY picture she sees me take!)

 

 

 

I still have to put the kid’s names on the bottom, and embellish the clips a bit…I was thinking something nautical, like rope, for Gabe’s…and some girly ribbon for Lily’s.

 

And…

 

 

Because the girly sneaked in a pic, I need to sneak my sweet boy in. I find it funny that all of the pictures I get of Gabe, he’s eating…haha! I guess it is because he HATES having his picture taken (like mommy), but he LOVES to eat! So…I take that as my opportunity!

 

 

We took a little trip to Traverse City on Saturday…

 

 

 

 

Where I got some new running shoes! So excited to break these babies in this week! Rumor has it that I may be training for my first 5k…

 

We took a little drive out the Leelanau Peninsula…

 

 

 

 

Gorgeous Lake Michigan…

 

 

 

 

Even in the winter!

 

 

 

I could sit there all day I think these pics were in Glen Arbor…I can’t remember.

 

 

And, finally…

 

 

 

My new wedding ring! I lost my entire wedding set last month while running with my dog He picked up a fish head from the sidewalk and was chewing on it (at the time I didn’t realize it was a bloddy, slimy fish head), so I stuck my hand in his mouth…GROSS! I did a little girl scream, dance, act like I was being mugged sort of thing, and flung the nasty head out into the street. Little did I know that my ring went with it I still get weepy thinking about it…

Moving on…

It is not as grand as my wedding set, but we are saving to build a house…and I would MUCh rather have a new house than a flashy ring!

 

Well, that’s all I have for now. Pretty boring, eh? Haha!

 

 

Jessie

Vegan Split Pea Soup

I have a sick little girl in my house today, and she requested her favorite soup for supper. Which is excellent, because this soup is highly nutritious and loaded with all sorts of veggies. It’s simple, clean ingredients are nourishing… and cheap!


Here’s what you’ll need…




The first step is to chop your onion(s). I used one and a half organic yellow onions, which gave me about 1 cup chopped.





We like to compost our veggie scraps (along with egg shells and coffee grounds…anything organic). I keep a big bowl under the sink and my husband takes it out to the compost pile in the evenings. It is a great way to eliminate waste, reduce your garbage bill, and is excellent fertilizer for our garden.





Heat about a tablespoon of organic canola oil (you can use olive oil, safflower, or whatever you have on hand) in a large stock pot (mine is 8 quarts) over medium to medium-low heat. Add your onions and a few bay leaves.





Sauté for about 5 minutes, or until onions are tender.

While the onions are cooking, peel  3 or 4 cloves of garlic.  If you have a garlic press, like I do, you can use that, otherwise you will need to mince the peeled garlic.





I like to pile the cooked onions on one side of the pot and crush my garlic on top, so it doesn’t touch the bottom of the pan. Garlic browns and turns bitter VERY quickly.






Now, make sure you have a cup of water available.

Once all of  the garlic is added to the pan, and your water is ready, stir the onion, bay leaf, garlic mixture together for about 30 seconds, until you are able to smell the garlic.






Add the water immediately.





You can now measure out the rest of the water will need, and add that. I added an additional 7 cups of water.

Add 3 cups of dried split peas. I use organic peas from from the bulk section of out natural foods market. They are much fresher, and tend to taste way better than the bagged variety from the supermarket shelf. I have also noticed that the fresher, bulk beans take longer to cook, so you may need to adjust your cooking time accordingly.





Next add your herbs and seasonings. I use 2-3 teaspoon  of sea salt, 1 teaspoon  of freshly ground pepper and a teaspoon of dried thyme. (I also add dried basil, but wait until I add my carrots and onions to add it, as basil loses its flavor if it is cooked too long).






Bring to a boil.





Turn the heat down to low, cover and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours.







This is what my soup looked like after 2 hours.







You can see that the peas are starting to fall apart and get soft.







Chop 3-4 carrots and 2-3 stalks of celery (I used organic celery hearts, which are smaller, so I used 3 of them)






Add them to your pot of soup.





Now, add 2 teaspoons of dried basil. You may taste your soup to see if it needs anything, salt or perhaps more pepper.






Continue to simmer for another hour, or until vegetables are tender and the soup has reached a desirable consistency. I cook mine with the lid on for the first half hour, then take the lid off and increase the heat slightly to thicken the soup. Remember to keep stirring every once and a while so the soup does not stick to the bottom of the pot.







Allow to cool for a bit before serving,






Now you have a simple, delicious, economical and very hearty soup! Serve with a slice of freshly baked, clean whole wheat bread and whipped organic butter. Is your mouth watering yet?



Vegan Split Pea Soup
1 Tbsp organic canola oil
1-2 organic yellow onions (1 cup chopped)
2-3 bay leaves
3-4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
7-8 cups water
2-3 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
3 cups organic dried split peas
3 carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped (leaves included to add flavor)
2 tsp dried basil

Enjoy!


Jessie