recipe wednesday - butter chicken

butter chicken
serves: 4
ready in: 55 min
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ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup crushed buttery round cracker crumbs (or saltines, cheese its, wheat thins, bread crumbs, croutons, potato flakes -- i put them in a ziplock bag and pound with rolling pin)
your favorite seasonings (i'll discuss these further)
1/4 cup butter, cut into thin slices
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directions:
preheat over to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). place eggs and cracker crumbs in two separate shallow bowls (pie tins work great). Mix crack crumbs with desired seasonings. Dip chicken in eggs, then dredge in the crumb mixture to coat. arrange coated chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish (sprayed with pam), place thin slices of butter on top. bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink, and juice run clear.
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you can play with the seasonings greatly in this dish. maybe that is why i love it so much. it's versatile. i usually put in a packet of ranch dressing mix, or lemon pepper. although garlic, and oregano and parlsey are exellent. also adding parmesean cheese is delicious. i dont often add salt as the crackers usually add salt. have fun, and play around with it, you just might find a new family favorite.

meme monday - jodi needs

here is a quick meme for fun. google-ing "jodi needs" will give you the following (warning: some of these are pretty hillarious, and i didn't make any of these up):

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jodi needs a ticket to ride

jodi needs to excuse herself from the table and leave through the nearest exit

jodi needs deliverance from lust, unforgiveness and mental attacks and strongholds of the enemy, she promised she would go to church sunday

jodi needs someone experienced to work with her, she is slow to trust

jodi needs to do well because she would be the next to leave

jodi needs lessons from you on how to treat a woman and let her follow her own fate

jodi needs a hug

jodi needs to fight her own battles

jodi needs to toughen up

jodi needs to understand that it isn't "all or nothing"

jodi needs to know as soon as possible

jodi needs more pictures

jodi needs a smackdown

jodi needs information

jodi needs to talk to you

jodi needs some attention from "big brother"

jodi needs mental health care

jodi needs to stand up for herself

jodi needs prayers for understanding

jodi needs $10,000.00

jodi needs to join the step-by-step program of squirrel huggers anonymous

jodi needs more attention

jodi needs to get off her butt

jodi needs friends

jodi needs a better brain

jodi needs to look out

jodi needs the hassle

jodi needs to wield that whip more often

jodi needs your expertise

jodi needs to fuss with her headscarf at all times

jodi needs to stop being obsessed

jodi needs to know what you did

jodi needs new hair

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feel free to post some of your own, they can be quite humorous.

x-men and dinner parties

saturday night hubby and i watch x-men, and it was excellent, if any of you plan to see it in the theaters i have this one thing to say: do not leave the theater until after the END of the credits, trust me it's worth it. we went with a large group of people, and the other guy who actually went with my hubby to buy the tickets ended up going to the wrong theater (like, the guy ripped their tickets and everything, totally bizarre). but the movie was great.

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at church today the teacher mentioned women's rights, and the old man sitting next to me responds to the other man he was sitting next to, "*that* was a mistake."

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tonight we broke in our new table, and had my parents and grandma over for dinner. i made chinese lemon chicken, and it was received very well. i've never had people over for dinner, we never had a place in our apartment that would allow us to. this table has opened up a plethora of new options. it also gave me the chance to use some of my dishes that had never been used before: glasses and silverware. i should have taken a picture, it was a beautiful table.

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at almost exactly one hour my grandma left, heaven forbid she be away from her dog for anything longer. no matter, we ate ice cream and watched a show about lightning. it was delicious and fascinating.

conversations of a three year old

or should i say random hillarious outbursts?

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today i took off work to attend a temple sealing (best sealing i've ever attended, EVER, it was excellent). when i got back to my apartment it was only two o'clock. i am never home at two o'clock. i called up my best friend, who is a stay at home mom, because i figured we could play while the sun is still out (and we never get to do that).

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we went for ice cream ("I want CHOC-olate ice cream" she says with big giant doe eyes). there was chocolate ice cream everywhere, i got up for more napkins four times. the little 11 month old just thought that ice cream was the best thing ever, and the high chair could hardly contain her excitement.

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then, on to purchase a new bathing suit for the three year old at tar-ghey. she loved taking the bathing suits off the racks, and saying how pretty they were, and throwing them on the floor. "what do you think about this one mommy?" TOSS "i like this one, it is *pink*" TOSS "oooooo ruffles" TOSS it appears that three year olds have short attention spans, especially for bathing suits. the 11 month old just though that bathing suits were the best thing ever, and the seat on the shopping cart could hardly contain her excitement. while mom was busy trying to picked up the tossed bathing suits.

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mom: "11 m.o. you are *nutty*"

3 y.o: "so's your head"

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imporant side note: 3 year old is only allowed to watch television like once a week for limited hours (seriously, i'm not sure about the numbers here but her mom is kinda crazy about this)

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while driving home, out of complete and utter silence, she shouts "pbs kids", and then entertains herself with "cbs kids" "tbs kids" "dbs kids" etc. and finally "h-i-j-k-l-m-n-o-p kids" after the last one my friend and i just started cracking up. this only put fuel on her fire, and she continued. things died down and we continued talking while she was making up songs, and words, and giggling. after a while i notice that she is whispering something over and over, i stop talking and listen. "candy, candy, candy, candy, candy, candy, candy" whispered almost inaudibly.

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important side note: 3 year old is only allowed to eat candy like once a week for limited pieces (seriously, i'm not sure about the numbers here but her mom is kinda crazy about this)

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i'm thinking that the CHOColate ice cream had some effect to this erratical behavior, and boy was my friend acting nutty later ("so's her head") seriously, like the laughter that usually ensues around 1am started happening around 9:30. she blamed her allergy medicine, but the jury is still out on that one. her hubby jests that she escaped from the looney bin.

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one of the best days in a LONG time, topped off with baskin robbins ice cream. there is nothing better than a day that begins and ends with ice cream.

tip thursday - kitchen organization

hey people, well hubby and i finally (after almost three years of marriage) have bought a dining room table, and eight chairs to go with it. and there was much rejoicing. to commemorate this auspicious occasion we are going to have a dinner party for 7 people and 2 kids.

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hubby thinks i'm crazy. but this is a huge moment, we can now actually sit down at a table to eat in our apartment. before we always had to sit down on the couch, and that is always awkward. hopefully this will inspire me to cook more often, instead of the usual frozen pizza, hamburgers/hot dogs, or fast food.

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in order to try to be better about my kitchen eating area, i need help from my readers. give me organizations ideas. i have ALOT of dishes, and things, HELP ME!!!

recipe wednesday - chinese lemon chicken

i've decided that every wednesday i will post one of my favorite recipes. so here we go ...

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chinese lemon chicken.

serves: 4

ready in: 30 min

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ingredients:

4 chicken beast halves, cut into bite size pieces(or leave whole)

breading: (alternate baking instructions at the bottom of the post)

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 black pepper

(i also like to add lemon pepper)

1/8 cup water

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup cooking oil

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lemon sauce ingredients:

1 1/2 cup water

1/2 cup lemon juice

3 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar

3 tablespoon cornstarch

3 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoon chicken bouilon granules

1 teaspoon ginger (or more, if desired)

1 Tbsp parlsey flakes (a recent addition ... and yup, i LOVE it!)

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directions:

combine cornstarch, salt and pepper. blend in water and egg yolks. dip chicken pieces into cornstarch-egg mixture. fry chicken in oil for about 5 minutes until golden. pour sauce over chicken. (i personally can never get the mixture to stick, so i dip in the egg, and then coat with the cornstarch and seasonings, then fry).

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for the sauce: combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. cook over medium heat, stirring, about 5 minutes until sauce boils. pour over chicken, serve over or with white or fried rice.

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i also leave the chicken breasts as one, that way guests cannot fight over who got more chicken (as everyone gets one breast). to serve i like to put the rice on the plate, and cut the breast into strips on top, then cover with sauce. i like it all mixed up, and rice with every bite of chicken.

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ALTERNATE CHICKEN BAKING INSTRUCTIONS:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 eggs, beaten
1 sleeve of crushed buttery round cracker crumbs (i put them in a ziplock bag and pound with rolling pin)
2 tsp garlic powder ... or lemon pepper
1/4 cup butter, cut into thin slices
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directions:
preheat over to 350 degrees F. place eggs and cracker crumbs in two separate shallow bowls (pie tins work great). Mix crack crumbs with desired seasonings. Dip chicken in eggs, then dredge in the crumb mixture to coat ... repeat in egg mixture and crumb mixture if you want them even more coated ... which i always do! arrange coated chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish (foil lined and sprayed with pam -- makes clean up easier), place thin slices of butter on top. bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink, and juice run clear.

tales of antique-ing and weddings

on saturday i went antique-ing with some friends from church. i'm not much on an antique-er, but any reason to kick-it with my friend is a good reason. seriously, sometimes i feel like this little puppy dog following around after her, luckily she feels the same way. she later told me thats why she called me, she didnt want to go unless *i* was going. (thats always a nice feeling) plus, then i got to play with her kids, soooooooo cute.

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after antique-ing then on to the wedding, the ceremony was nice, if only the sun would have gone down, or hid behind the clouds or SOMETHING. no, instead, it chose to sit there directly behind the gazebo and blaze into the eyes of the on-lookers. i tried to use my hubby as a human shield to advert my eyes from the burning, unfortunately, he was not aware of this and continued to move his head CONSTANTLY, so i in turn had to move my head constantly.

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then on to the waiting. apparently there was a room all set with chairs for the guests to sit at, la la la, but they wouldnt let us sit down for like 30 minutes. instead they crammmed us into what seemed like a closet to wait for the chairs. we didnt dare to go back outside as the sun was still guarding the door. then one of the waiters pushed me! what the heck, im sorry that i didnt get out of his way fast enough, but in a closet with 100 other people its hard to move at any speed.

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then they let us sit down, and there was much rejoicing. plus there was chocolate on the table, which we proceeded to consume, and then throw the balled-up wrappers at each other, or in each other's glasses, and there was much rejoicing.

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the bride and groom graced us with their presence. they danced, there was bubbles, and a little girl who wanted to dance in the bubbles. unfortunately her gandmother wouldnt let her dance in the bubbles, but she was content to dance by the table and watch the bubbles. when i turned to her and said "hi, princess" she just turned and looked at me and nodded.

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then more waiting, unfortunatly we decided to sit at the corner table. apparently if you sit here you are doomed to watch every other table go to the buffet before you. the MC tried to even things out by playing a "show me" game. show me gum, show me pictures of your grandkids, show me ... forever and ever. our table had none of those things. when there were only 2 tables left he stands up, "show me ... a picture of you with the bride and groom" WTH, why would we have a picture of that? honestly, especially when there were only two tables left. i mean, who would have a picture with the bride and groom, the best friend, the mom, a sibling, but us over in the corner? no. i was determined to eat, though. so i thought about it for about two seconds and leaned over and pulled and pen from my purse, and drew stick figures on my hand with arrows that said "bride" "groom" "me" and ran up there as fast as my pretty little legs would take me. i was first, and an older lady was behind me. she had taken out her digital camera and took a picture and was gonna show it to the MC. still, i was up there first. she accused me of *cheating* while the MC announced that he liked "originality" and that our table could eat next.

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needless to say, for the rest of the evening guests continued to ask to see the picture, and there was much rejoicing.

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after eating excellent food (except for the chicken, but the fish and beef made up for it) the music started, and we danced the night away. along side all of the drunk people who really enjoyed the bar. although looking back on the evening i bet there were people there who thought that i was drunk, alas, no, i was not. i just like to have fun.

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and there was much rejoicing.

nobody puts jodi in a corner

fortune cookie says: "others appreciate your good sense of humor. 07 15 26 39 41, 14"

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so my questions is: do you? do you really?

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well today is thusday, and we all know what that means: hula. my day to practice being one of my favorite cartoon character, lilo. yes, she was a disaster at hula as well (although, her excuse was stitch. i have no excuse, except horrible coordination).

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moving on with the topic at hand, while driving home from work yesterday i had an epiphane about my character.

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what does snorkelling, claustrophobia and road rage all have in common?

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well, me, of course! why else would i be writing about that?

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while weezer was crooning softly in my ear i was driving south on haven avenue. it is a fairly large street with three lanes. well, there were three cars (one in each lane) and they were all traveling at the exact same speed. now, it's not like they were driving slow or anything, but because i didn't have the *option* of passing them it was frustrating me. and it occured to me, i do not like the feeling of being "trapped." i like to keep my options open, if i wanted to drive faster, i would like the *option* of passing those cars.

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i believe this stems from my claustrophobia. okay, maybe i'm not claustrophobic, but i don't know how else to explain it. for example, on my honeymoon my hubby wanted to go snorkelling. i refused. i've tried snorkelling before and it scares me to death that you are out so far away from the shore and surrounded by water. *if* i needed to get back to the dry ground and away from the watery predators i wouldn't be able to do it quickly. i feel trapped.

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when my hubby squeezes me tightly and doesn't let go, i feel trapped. it's bizarre. i know.

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any one have any suggestions to get over this?

how much are you worth?

i love how i keep posting even though no one is reading what i write. oh well, it keeps me entertained.

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yesterday was a good day at work. no i know that you are asking yourself: "what constitutes a *good* day at work?" and my answer to your questions would be: "a day where my boss wants to give me more money!!!"

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yes you read that right, my boss has decided that i am worth exactly one more dollar than i was worth last week. what could be better than that? (well only he deciding that i never have to show up ever again, and still receive monthly payments, that would be nice too!)

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despite all of the whine-ing that i do about my job i do like it. answering phones is monotonous, typing up drafts of documents inspid. filing paperwork is dull. but, i love the people that i work with. my boss is excellent (on most days, BOCTAOE) and the girls that work for the company that shares office space with my company are top-shelf.

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moral of the story: yesterday was a good day at work, it's nice to know that my hard work is appreciated.

coddledness

saturday night all of the young married couples in our ward got together for a night of food and games. i was alone (hubby was at a bachelor party that started 11:30 am and went until about 3:00 am the next day). i don't mind being alone at a party as long as i know the other people at the party. on the other hand, going to a bridal shower and not knowing anybody is super scary. well, i made hummos, and it was excellent if i do say so myself, and all of my friends inhaled it, so i think that they thought that it was excellent as well.

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well after all of the food was devoured (which is one of the main reasons that we like to get together in the first place) we moved on to the games portion of the evening. this part is always interesting, because we can never decide what to play. well after much debating the game "battle of the sexes" was chosen as the game that would entertain us for the remainder of the night.

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in a game that is designed to make the sexes battle and see which knows the other sex better. all of the questions about men are about sports and tools, while the questions about women are about cooking and soap operas. according to the people who designed this game that is all that matters, questions like, "which boring boxer guy knocked out the other boring boxer guy?" or "how long does it take to coddle an egg?" and the answers to those questions are "mr. boxsalot" and "what the heck is a coddled egg?"

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although i must confess that i knew answers quite often because of my insatiable appetite for television shows (most importantly, "Gilmore Girls" - for example in the episode "Emily in Wonderland" Emily asked Luke about how he coddled his eggs). seriously if you ever need to know what is happening currently on most shows on primetime television i can usually give an educated response.

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but i digress, why do the makers of this game assume that boys are only concerned with sports and tools, and assume that girls are only concerned with cooking and soap operas? why are only the boys supposed to know what is the drink of choice for Mr. 007 James Bond? (dirty martini, shaken not stirred), and why are only girls supposed to be able to name the characters on "Friends" (Ross, Chandler, Joey, Rachel, Monica, Phoebe). why can't both sexes enjoy such wonderful entertainment? i guess the moral of the story is that i watch too many movies and too much television.

lilo-itis?

recently my church started offering hula lessons, which sounds fabulous for any girl who has always wanted to look like a graceful hula dancer. when my friend told me that thursday was hula day in the centennial ward i too began to daydream of becoming a wonderful hula dancer.
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those dreams were quickly dashed to pieces after about 2 seconds of the lesson. um, apparantly, i have absolutely *no* coordination. i know what you are thinking, "well, it can't be that bad." "o-ho, yes it can." evidently the top half of my body refuses to talk to the bottom half of my body (which i believe stems from some long rivalry, or something). needless to say that when my legs are doing what they are supposed to be doing, my arms are busy making something up, and vice versa. i believe the technical term for this shall from henceforth be known as "lilo-itis."
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still, you are thinking, "well, it can't be that bad." let me reiterate, there is a part in the dance where your left arm goes staight up, and your right arm moves from the left to the right in a sweeping motion, while you bottom half is doing it's hula thing (you know swaying the hips, blah blah blah). everytime that part of the dance was *supposed* to be happening, my right arm would sweep and my left arm would arch and point to my head. i haven't decided yet if its because of my dreams of being a dancer (aka ballerina - they point to their heads, right?) or from too many youth dances (you know what i'm talking about, "it's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A!!!") either way, my left arm refuses to point to the sky and prefers to point to my head.
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given all of the facts, i *should* abstain from any further hula lessons. but, alas, i'm not one to listen to reason. next thursday i'm determined to NOT point to my head. i have this distinct feeling that the bottom and top halves of my body have not made friends yet, and it will be a while before i can get them back together again.
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my mommy always tried to teach me, "practice makes perfect," although in this case i'm pretty sure, "practice will continue to make everyone in the class chuckle."

bloggerholic

I’ve recently become a "bloggerholic". Thank you Ms. Urban Calligraphy for starting this addiction. I never knew what I was missing out on. I have multiple blogs that I know check daily -- its a sickness. I come home and tell my hubby all about it (yesterday we had a long conversation about german cannibals). Which now has lead me on to create my own blog.

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I don’t know why I feel compelled to start a blog, (a) I’m not really that great of a writer - which you will all come to know (b) nothing ever happens in my life that I can write about - which you will all come to know, and (c) I’m not very funny - which you will all come to know. But as I read all of the other blogs that I am now fascinated with, I think to myself "I want one of those." The idea of writing random things, and other people following your madness, and commenting on it just intrigues me. Just opening up my life to a public forum is so enticing.

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I hope to try to keep some of you entertained, but if not . . you could always read someone else’s blog (and if you don’t currently read any blogs I can recommend some). Maybe tomorrow I’ll tell you something that might actually beworthwhile.