A Little Bit Of This, A Little Bit Of That

"The sewing machine joins what the scissors have cut asunder, plus whatever else comes in its path"
                                                                            ~Mason Cooley

Did everyone have a wonderful weekend?  Once again mine went by in a blur but I can't figure out why.  We weren't that busy - I guess my brain is just in that Monday fog.  Saturday was errands and an ALS Support Group meeting.  Yesterday was wash and enjoying a meal with good friends.  Oh, we did sneak in a couple games of Wii bowling and golf.  I rocked at golf but pretty well ate dirt at bowling!  Just thought of another thing accomplished this weekend - I made another flower for my grandmother's flower garden quilt but you will have to wait until One Flower Wednesday for that.

Photo of the day:

Blooming Climbing Shell Vine

When you see how the fragrant flowers twist and turn on the vine, you'll know why it's also known as the Corkscrew vine.  The Climbing Shell Plant has beautifully colored flowers that come in an array of pinks, purples, whites, and yellows.  Blooms mid summer to fall.  This is the same vine grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello.

Friday I was able to complete the four square patches I need for my Chubby Star Quilt Along.  144 of them to be exact.  I hope to be able to start stitching together the actual blocks today after my cleaning lady leaves.  I am still one week behind (sigh!).

Since I seem to have had a fairly boring life this weekend, I will share a recipe I made on Saturday night.  I borrowed this recipe from my daughter's blog, Kitschy Suburbia (with her permission, of course).

Lemon-Tarragon Chicken Toss

Ingredients:

6 oz dried fettuccine or linguine
2 cups broccoli or cauliflower florets
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
12 oz skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
2 teaspoons olive or cooking oil
1 Tablespoon snipped fresh tarragon or 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon, crushed

Lemon-Tarragon Chicken Toss Ingredients

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions, add the broccoli or cauliflower for the last 4 minutes of cooking; drain well.  Return pasta mixture to pan; cover and keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine broth, lemon juice, honey, cornstarch, and white pepper; set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet stir-fry chicken in hot oil for 3-4 minutes or until no longer pink.  Stir cornstarch mixture; add to skillet.  Cook and stir until thickened and bubble.  Add tarragon; cook for 1 minute more.

To serve, spoon chicken mixture over pasta mixture.

Personal Notes:

1.  I used multi-grain pasta

2.  Next time I will start cooking the chicken while the pasta is cooking as it takes awhile for the sauce to thicken and the pasta and broccoli had cooled quite a bit

This is a very fresh tasting meal.  Plus, it's a rather healthy meal for you too.  Enjoy!


Quick reminder to enter my giveaway!  The winner will be announced one week from today!
Final Thoughts:
Monday always seems to be planning day for the week, especially when I'm in the shower.  This week I hope to accomplish: creating the squares for my Chubby Stars Quilt Along, finish stitching the SIL Christmas Stocking, get some crocheting in on the Project Linus afghan, and start quilting the brown and blue quilt.  Some good news for the week, I will get to spend 1/2 day with my daughter (the one who lives down south) on Thursday!  What are your plans for the week?  What did you do over the weekend?  Well, if I hope to get any of the above items done, I better sign off for now.  Have a super, marvelous Monday!!