simple made special

a side project

wouldn't this be a sweet valentine adorned with a little glitter and a doily? I don't wax poetic about my sweetheart as much as I should, but this whipping up this little image made me so sentimental. 

How do I love thee...

you make the BEST toast

you have perfect color vision (scientifically proven)

you have a good eye when thrifting and help me know when to stop

you are so present

you help me see things for what they are and can be

you ask if I remembered my pill when I get goofy

you say I give the best haircuts

you give the best haircuts (by the way I need to make an appointment)

Cheap Eats, VOL 1 :: Arroz con Pollo

This is not relief society chicken and rice (not that that would be bad!) But this is good. Real good, and if you have a decently stocked pantry, good and cheap. Also a plus...easy. Gives the husband a little taste of meat. I hate chicken, especially dark meat, but I ate my fill of this tasty meal.

Oh, and don't do what I did, which was panic that the rice needed waaay more water. It didn't need it. It was still good, the rice was just prettier and fluffier before I added the water.

Arroz con Pollo

Serve 4 to 6. 

To keep the dish from becoming greasy, it is important to remove excess fat from the chicken thighs and trim the skin. To use long-grain rice instead of medium-grain, increase the water to 3/4 cup in step 2.

INGREDIENTS

6	medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)
	Table salt
1/2	teaspoon dried oregano
1	tablespoon distilled white vinegar plus 2 additional teaspoons
	Ground black pepper
8	bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), trimmed of excess skin and fat
2	tablespoons olive oil
1	medium onion , chopped fine (about 1 cup)
1	small green bell pepper , stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine (about 3/4 cup)
1/4	teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1/4	cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
	1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 3/4	cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4	cup water
3	cups medium-grain rice (see note above)
1/2	cup green olives (manzanilla), pitted and halved
1	tablespoon capers
1/2	cup jarred pimentos , cut into 1/4 by 2-inch strips
	Lemon wedges , for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Place garlic and 1 teaspoon salt in large bowl; using rubber spatula, mix to make smooth paste. Add oregano, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper to garlic-salt mixture; stir to combine. Place chicken in bowl with marinade. Coat chicken pieces evenly with marinade; set aside for 15 minutes.

2. 2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, green pepper, and pepper flakes; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, 4 to 8 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons cilantro; stir to combine. Push vegetables to sides of pot and increase heat to medium-high. Add chicken to clearing in center of pot, skin side down, in even layer. Cook, without moving chicken, until outer layer of meat becomes opaque, 2 to 4 minutes. (If chicken begins to brown, reduce heat to medium.) Using tongs, flip chicken and cook on second side until opaque, 2 to 4 minutes more. Add tomato sauce, broth, and water; stir to combine. Bring to simmer; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes.

3. 3. Add rice, olives, capers, and 3/4 teaspoon salt; stir well. Bring to simmer, cover, and place pot in oven. After 10 minutes, remove pot from oven and stir chicken and rice once from bottom up. Return pot to oven. After another 10 minutes, stir once more, adding 1/4 cup water if rice appears dry and bottom of pot is beginning to burn. Cover and return pot to oven; cook until rice has absorbed all liquid and is tender but still holds its shape and temperature of chicken registers 175 degrees on instant-read thermometer, about 10 minutes longer.

4. 4. Using tongs, remove chicken from pot; replace lid and set pot aside. Remove and discard chicken skin; using 2 spoons, pull meat off bones into large chunks. Using fingers, remove remaining fat or dark veins from chicken pieces. Place chicken in large bowl and toss with remaining tablespoon olive oil, remaining 2 teaspoons vinegar, remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro, and pimentos; season with salt and pepper to taste. Place chicken on top of rice, cover, and let stand until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Serve, passing lemon wedges separately.

5.   
6.  

another thing off my list

We are sending out our first self promo piece! I am pretty excited and hope I get some response from it.

It's a 5 x 7 postcard. I'm sending 60. I came up with the mailing list going through blogs to find local businesses that seemed interesting. Cross your fingers.

fantastic plastic

Are you so with me when I say 'saving is the new shopping'? If so here's a great way to memorialize the good old days of swiping until you dropped. Instructions here.

this is all I can show you

It's all a big secret for another month, but this is one of the images from our latest shoot. We had really sweet models who worked very hard for us and did a great job. I can't wait to show you more, I love these photos! 

KITCHEN UPDATE: 

 

Range and exhaust hood installed! oh my! It's going to take me a little while to get used to the fire. It's kind of scary. Ut looks so pretty.

Countertop down to 2 choices (this is a huge step forward, trust me.)

Faucet is being shopped for.

your reward

 

for reading the last few posts without pictures. We're playing with props and killin' time from a mystery location.

I love this butterfly scarf and might have to keep it for myself. All from Target, where else?

road trip

me favorite new place to snoop. and no wonder! she's a former creative for anthro

thisisloveforever.com

I am also so excited that Nie is coming back! I have fallen in love with her this winter and I couldn't be more excited.

husband and I head out for a three day adventure in the early hours. it's top secret, but I might send a few juicy details your way. stay tuned... 

KITCHEN UPDATE:

paint is done (minus a few little touch ups I need to do). I discovered Frog Tape for masking the trim. This stuff is amazing! So worth $10. Saved me hours of time and lots of swears. We landed on a color called 'cool gray' by ralph lauren for home depot. pretty classy, huh? BTW, it was decent paint, but not nearly as good as Sherwin Williams.

cabinet frames are built, just need to be leveled and hung.

range is connected to gas. needs to be wired, and we're ready to cook on fire.

sink will fit in cabinet without modification!

exhaust hood is hung (though it may be too high...)

so close and still so far away. what I'd give to just do a load of dishes...sigh.

is it just me?

sometimes the internet has so much wonderful eye candy, and fills me with so much inspiration.

And then there are times when it makes me feel so unproductive, boring and bored. I love seeing what everyone is working on and creating...but sometimes it just makes me feel frustrated. I dunno, maybe the holiday was sorta off for me because our house is a disaster and it just seems like it was over so quickly and now it's like, really, I have to go back to work?

It is snowing buckets here. It is beautiful and hides a myriad of evils (junk cars, foot tall weeds, piles of junk). Yep the neighborhood really looks great all covered in white fluff. 

hoping for a nicer, less grumpy post soon.