Delightfully Living: Day 126 – Day 133

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365 photo project – the simple act of taking a picture every day for a year. The idea behind starting the project is for me to try to get myself to slow down and take a different look at the world. The series is called Delightfully Living. This is Day 126- 133.

What you will see: moments of time, food, details of the world around me and things that I enjoy.

Day 126: Blue Raspberry Frozen drinks with my hubby.

Day 127: Celebrating my husbands birthday with a cake and his favorite dinner, chicken parm.

Day 128: Tried out a new recipe for Chicken Francese with rice & green beans. It was so good I want to eat it every week!

Day 129: Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Bar filled with cookie spread. So good it’s DANGEROUS!

Day 130: I was having a pretty rough week. All I had the energy to do this day was go home, put on some pj’s and catch up on “Scandal”.

Day 131: Dinner with friends to celebrate Mr. Sweet’s birthday. Delicious food shared with great friends.

Day 132: Mother’s Day. I was so busy with my mother that this is the only picture I took all day.

Day 133: Trying out a new beer.

Chicken Francese

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Chicken Francese
adapted from Tyler Florence
4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts
All-purpose flour, for dredging
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Dried Parsley, Oregano and thyme (I only had dried on hand)
4 large eggs
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
1 cup chicken broth
1 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions
Pound the chicken breasts with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/4-inch thick. Place flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt, pepper, parsley, oregano and thyme (seasoned to your preferred taste); mix with a fork to distribute evenly. In a wide bowl, beat the eggs to make an egg wash. Heat the oil over medium-high flame in a large skillet.

Dip the chicken in the egg wash to coat completely, letting the excess drip off, dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour. When the oil is nice and hot, add the cutlets and fry for 2 minutes on each side until golden, turning once. Remove the chicken cutlets to a large platter. I usually place a paper towel on the platter to soak up the excess oil from the chicken.

Add the wine, broth, and lemon juice to a headed skillet. Simmer for 5 minutes to reduce the sauce slightly. Roll the butter in some flour and add it to the skillet – this will help to thicken the sauce. Stir to incorporate and dissolve the flour. Reduce the heat to medium-low and return the chicken to the pan. Simmer gently for 2 minutes to heat the chicken thoroughly.

I served my chicken with rice boiled in chicken stock (instead of water) and green beans! Enjoy!

America’s sweetheart loves a Bad Boy.

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In “What I did for Love” we follow a Hollywood love triangle which is taken straight from the tabloids. The story involves two TV actors, Georgie York and Bram Shepard who starred together for eight years in a wildly successful sitcom Skip and Scooter. Georgie is America’s sweetheart while Bram is the complete opposite who redefines Bad Boy.

Eight years later we find Bram with no career and Georgie coping with a very difficult and scandalized divorce. Bram follows Georgie to Vegas, they are drugged and find themselves together in bed with a wedding certificate. Not being able to face another scandal, Georgie convinces Bram to stay married for a year to help with both their reputations. Georgie aims to undo the damage the divorce has done to her heart and her public image, while Bram is wants a second chance at life and stardom.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips was going for the “hate-each-other-yet-made-for-each-other couple” but came up short. I felt more of the hate instead of the love. The plot moves in a predictable, yet slightly annoying trajectory. The conflict between the couple went on too long and was wrapped-up too quickly.  Misunderstandings fly, misunderstandings are cleared up and a happy ending ensues in just a couple of pages. The bickering in this novel was way over the top and by the end I was hoping that Georgie & Bram didn’t end up together. Unfortunately, they did.

Mexican comfort.

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My version of comfort food is anything Mexican.  Tacos, burritos, enchiladas, nachos, you name it.  Anything topped with salsa and avocado hits my sweet spot.  I generally end up reaching for some beans, spices and cheese when I want comfort.

Authentic Mexican food is a rich, enchanting mix of flavor, color and texture.  Garlic, onion, cilantro, oregano, cumin, and chili powder!  Oh My!

Here are a couple of recipes I have been dying to try!


Cheesy Double Bean Quesadillas with Homemade Avocado Ranch from How Sweet it Is


Chicken Chimichangas from Blog Chef


Cheesy Corn Cakes with Spicy Avocado Salsa from Simply Delicious


Chicken Enchilada Pizza from How Sweet it Is

Delightfully Living: Day 118 – Day 125

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365 photo project – the simple act of taking a picture every day for a year. The idea behind starting the project is for me to try to get myself to slow down and take a different look at the world. The series is called Delightfully Living. This is Day 118-125.

What you will see: moments of time, food, details of the world around me and things that I enjoy.

Day 118: Taking pictures of flowers while on our daily walk.

Day 119: Isn’t she just the cutest!

Day 120: Laying in the grass soaking up the sun.

Day 121: Kitty paws. Just cause!

Day 122: Sushi Buffet for my sisters birthday. We ate so much you had to roll us out of there.

Day 123: Baking my famous banana bread as requested by my cousin. His birthday was that Saturday and he wanted a pot luck. My contribution was two loaves of this banana bread.

Day 124: My husband found these already frozen pouches from our local liquor store. They are perfect for when you want a cool refreshing drink without having to bring out all of the tools to make it or go to the local bar!

Day 125: Tacos, margaritas and homemade guacamole! Yumm! On Cinco de Mayo Mr. Sweet & I had a impromptu taco party at our house with some friends.

“Eve” – First of a trilogy.

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In Iris Johansen’s 11th Eve Duncan novel, the first of a trilogy, “Eve” zeros in on the kidnapper and serial killer who she believes years earlier abducted and murdered her seven-year-old daughter, Bonnie. In this story, we get a glimpse into Eve’s background as a teenager, the conception of Bonnie and Bonnie’s kidnapping.

Did “Eve” motivate me to read the next two stories (“Quinn” & “Bonnie”)? No. I am beginning to question if I still care to find out the outcome. I was very excited to hear that Johansen was finally writing a resolution to Bonnie’s story, but I was disappointed. The story ends with a cliff-hanger, leaving the door open for the next novel, “Quinn”. I feel many of Johansen’s recent Eve Duncan books are repetitive and that she has been dragging the Bonnie story line on for far too long. This book gave the impression that all would be revealed and instead it gave almost no answers.

Please note: If you have not yet read the last novel about Eve, “Chasing the Night”, you will want to read it before this particular novel, since it incorporates the same characters, and while the novel stands independently, you will understand it much more with the background information from “Chasing the Night”. I did not know this going into “Eve”.