Chicken Florentine

I will be honest here and tell you that this is the first recipe that I have posted that I haven't made myself! BUT! My guy has made it FOR me, so I have eaten it, and it is really wonderful. He got it from his other girlfriend - Giada De Laurentiis - and it is delicious!

• 4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All purpose flour, for dredging
• 6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 Tablespoons shallots, sliced
• 1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 1/2 Cups dry white wine
• 1 Cup whipping cream
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen cut-leaf spinach, thawed and drained

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour to coat lightly. Shake off any excess flour. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy, large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate and tent with aluminum foil to keep it warm.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and saute until the shallots are translucent, stirring to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet, about 1 minute. Add the wine. Increase the heat to medium-high and boil until the liquid is reduced by half, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Stir in the parsley. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and any accumulated juices to the sauce, and turn the chicen to coat in the sauce.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in another large skillet over medium heat. Add the spinach and saute until heated through. Season the spinach, to taste, with salt and pepper. Arrange the spinach over a platter. Place the chicken on top of the spinach. Pour the sauce over and serve.

Sprouts!!!

I have sprouts in my garden already! I am so excited!

Friday I noticed radish and lettuce sprouts, already...I just can't believe how fast they came up! And now today, I see arugula, more lettuce, more radish, plus snow peas, squash and cukes!

Woo Hoo!

Have I mentioned how much I love to grow food?

Butternut Squash Soup

• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 Cup chopped onion
• 2 Cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 3/4 Cup thinly cut carrots
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  
• 4 Cups butternut squash, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1Tbsp minced jalapeno
• 31/2 Cups chicken broth
• 1/2 Cup half and half

In a large pot, over medium heat, add canola oil, onions and garlic. Saute until softened and just starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add carrots, cumin, salt and pepper and cook another 3 minutes. Add the squash, stock and jalapeno, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat if necessary, and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes, or until squash is softened.
If you are lucky enough to have an immersion blender...blend in pan until smooth and creamy. If however, you are like me, you will need to scoop it into a blender (or food processor) and puree it.
Return to the pot and add half and half, stirring to blend well.

If you are really creative you can serve this in hollowed-out squash shells!
Also, a little dollop of sour cream on top, before serving, is divine!

The Gardens are In!

Well it's about time!

Friday I spent the entire day planting flowers! I was so excited to get out and dig in the dirt! We have a huge window box, and a built-in planter by our front entry, so I did those first. I did Alyssum, snapdragons, impatients, and those viney things in those...vinca? Then I moved into the front gardens and planted a ton of stuff...lavender, creeping phlox, Mexican heather, columbine, clematis, ... I don't even remember the names of everything! lol! I rearranged some limestone rocks to use for stepping stones, too...it looks great.

Saturday I tackled the huge area around these 2 tall pines up by our road. I did some hostas up there, some creeping nancy, white impatients, and creeping phlox.

Yesterday, I got to do my veggies and herbs! Yeah! So this is what I did in my veggie garden (which will never, ever be big enough for everything I really want...): summer squash, zucchini squash, pickling cucumbers, big boy tomatoes, early girl tomatoes, roma tomatoes, lemon boy tomatoes, snow peas, all-colors of bell peppers, white radishes, hybrid rose radishes, sparkler radishes, mesclun, arugula, endive, beets, red onions, white onions, green onions....I think that's everything! Oh, and I planted yellow french marigolds around the whole thing to keep the bugs at bay!

Out front in my herb garden, I planted green globe basil, purple basil, cilantro, parsley, and rosemary!

Woo Hoo! I can't wait!