Tuscan Chicken Recipe

This is my most requested dinner from family & friends. Something about it is so unique. The first time I made it, I was quite nervous. My husband isn't a fan of beans unless they're baked or in ham soup, and my son is the typical picky toddler. I made it under 45 minutes before I left for zumba one night, and had it warm for when they were ready to eat. I came back home that night to only half a thigh left for me, I had made 4 for us. My son & husband both had second helpings they love it that much! Hopefully you love it as much we do!

INGREDIENTS (serves 3-4, depending on how many thighs you make)

3-4 chicken thighs, skinned

1 TB olive oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper (or half large one), seeded and sliced thin (you want all veggies sliced same size roughly)

1 green bell pepper (or half large one), seeded and sliced thin

1 garlic clove, crushed&minched (or 1 heaping TB jarred minced garlic is just fine)

1/2 C chicken broth

1-3 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried parsley

1/2 can cannellini beans, drained (white kidney beans, if you make more than 4 thighs use whole can)

Adobo seasoning and pepper to season chicken

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over med-high. Season chicken with adobo (little goes a long way) and pepper and fry chicken until golden brown and done (if they're thicker thighs put a lid on the skillet to help them cook). Remove and keep warm. Add the onion and peppers to the pan and gently saute until softened, but not brown. Stir in the garlic.

2. Add the chicken broth, oregano, parsley. Taste, season with S&P if desired. Stir in the beans and Re-add the chicken, heat through. Serve & Enjoy.

Niece Sleep Over

One blessing about being home in MI again that I try to take full advantage of is being there for my niece and nephews. The Marine Corps has kept us 'sheltered' from their lives for a good 4 years. Our family has had over 11 boys born in the past 5 years as well, and with my niece being the oldest at 9 years, she can sometimes feel left to the sidelines. Now that I am home I really am trying to make sure I give her some one-on-one time at least every other month. Friday was Dr. Seuss' 108th birthday and her school had a fun olympics day event. The elementary gym was decorated in cute pom trees and bright colored banners. Each class was a team and wore a specific color. It was so cute watching them relay, jump thru hoops, and just have a crazy day. I wasn't expecting, however, for a teacher to grab me to participate-RING THE YAK (I failed, miserably), but I tried my best thru my embarassment =)



Since it was a half day, I took my niece home for a sleepover. I've forgotten what it's like to be that age, we did the ChaChaSlide, Cupid Shuffle, and Macarena at least 20 times~each. Hopefully next week the scale will reflect that, since my muscles are killing me! She picked out 4 colors of nail polish and I painted a design on her fingernails. I would have done her toes, but my son had a stomach ache and distracted me a little. While he was napping we went to the mall, tried on some sparkly clothes. And into Bath&Body Works, where we took the red ribbons and literally tried all the sprays. Since her mom isn't a fan of any body spray or perfume, I let her pick out their nice smelling hand sanitizer with a bedazzled carrier for her backpack. The night ended with lots of pizza, breadstix, cinnastix, and her choice of movies: Dolphin Tale & Mr. Popper's Penguins (so cute).

Black Bean Tacos

As I'm writing this the next day, I am very tempted to go heat one up to eat. I love when a recipe turns out better than I had planned. I know there are hundreds of bean tacos, this is just my spin on it!

INGREDIENTS:
~2 cans black beans, drained & rinsed
~1 can fire roasted salsa/tex mex style tomatoes, strained/seperated from juices
~2 TB olive oil
~1 TB minced garlic, or 2 cloves smashed&minced
~1/2 large red onion, diced
~1 green pepper, diced
~half of your choice red, yellow, orange pepper, diced
~2 tsp Adobe seasoning
~Your favorite shells & toppings!

DIRECTIONS:
In a skillet (prefereable with raised edges) over medium heat saute onions & peppers in olive oil for about 3-5 minutes, until they're tender (but not mushy). Add in black beans, and garlic. Let that mingle for another minute, but not too long or else the garlic may brown (which is a legal kitchen offense, bytheway). Turn heat to low, add the strained tomato mixture. Season with Adobe, and salt & pepper if you choose.

Assemble your tacos however you please. I put down the black bean mixture, cheese on top to get it all nice & melty, fresh chopped onions & lettuce, with some sour cream. YUM! If you wanted to make it a wee bit spicy add in a couple dashes of hot sauce or even chopped jalapenos to the black beans! I have to keep it kid friendly, so everyone is responsible for their own level of hotness on their own plate. Enjoy!

Do you (or a certain manly man of the house) absolutely HAVE to have meat on this? Grilled chicken would pair wonderful with this mixture.