Cat Skinner Club

Which Came First? – Part One

whatcamefirst

Darlings, because I’m a busy Mommy this week, I thought I’d amuse you by sharing some of our favourite Epicurious recipes. I hope you know Epicurious – it’s a fabulous online database of recipes, and the first of it’s kind that I ever used. Users review the recipes on the site (I always read the reviews before attempting a new recipe, because the information here is often indispensable) and I’ve found their ratings system to be quite accurate.

Today, I give you our favourite Chicken Recipes.

Perfect Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs
This is not a low-fat option because the skin is essential to the awesomeness of this very easy recipe for pan-roasted chicken thighs. I’m drooling as I type this. I followed one reader’s recommendation for this glaze, but served the glaze as a sauce so the crispy skin didn’t get rubbery:

Reserve 2 tbsp of the drippings in the skillet, add 1 tbsp of Sriracha, 2 tbsp of brown sugar, about 1 tbsp minced cilantro, and the juice to half a lime. Whisk and bring to a boil until the brown sugar has dissolved or until it thickens and becomes a nice glaze.

Chicken Pot Pie
This recipe is a true labor of love where EVERYTHING is made from scratch, including the stock. Consider spending a rainy weekend cooking this for the people you love. They will weep tears of gratitude because it’s the best chicken potpie I’ve ever tasted.

My Favorite Simple Roast Chicken
Looking for a foolproof recipe for a basic roast chicken? Look no further. I think even the most inexperienced chef could nail this one. If there are more than five people in your family, consider roasting two chickens at a time.

Quick Coq Au Vin
This is a wonderfully simplified version of a classic French country recipe. Plus, it pairs two things I absolutely love – coq and vin.

Chicken with Tarragon Caper Sauce
Here’s a go-to for a quick and easy weeknight meal. The sauce is also delicious on grilled chicken, if you’re ambitious enough to tackle the BBQ. I would halve the amount of shallots used, I find it a bit overpowering otherwise.

Chicken Thighs with Creole Mustard Orange Sauce
This recipe is so easy, and it’s delicious. I usually pair it with sweet potato and roasted kale chips, or another leafy dark green veggie. The kids love this one too.

From Daddy

Coriander Chicken Tostadas with Refried Beans and Grilled Fennel
This is so, so good, we were making it on a weekly basis for a while! Be warned that the whole coriander seeds can get quite smoky, so make sure your kitchen is well ventilated.

Mama S’ Specialty

Orange Braised Chicken Thighs with Green Olives
This was one of the first meals Mama S cooked for me, and the combo of orange and green olive is delicious! We need to make this one again very soon!

What are some of your favorite chicken recipes, from Epicurious or elsewhere? Share the love, and stay tuned next week for part two of ‘Which Came First?’ featuring my favorite egg recipes!

Scratch My Back

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The journey of this blog has taken up such a huge space in my heart and soul. Thank you to all of you who have done such a wonderful job of visiting this site regularly, I sincerely appreciate it.

I’m doing my very best to try and post every single day. It’s never very difficult to think of what to write, I feel like inspiration is all around me, but it is sometimes challenging to find the time to write with three active and amazing little people to shepherd. We all have things that we love to do that we’d like to make more time for, don’t we?

I love writing, and I love knowing that you’re reading.

I’m growing this writing practice bit-by-bit and day-by-day. I’m getting to know my readers, and I’m trying to define my voice and my space here on the Internet. There are a few things you can do to help this blog keep growing. Do you think you might lend a hand? It won’t take long, I promise, and it will be very easy…

Some simple steps you can take to help:

  1. Make sure you ‘like’ my Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pbmommy
  2. Follow me on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Playboy_Mommy
  3. Visit the blog every day. I post at 11am, even on the weekends. Read the most recent post, and then have a look at some of the older ones. There’s some really juicy stuff there.
  4. Follow me on Pinterest here: http://pinterest.com/playbmommy/
  5. Comment on the posts! Help me build a little community here and comment on the post itself, rather than on Facebook or Twitter. Those comments are nice too, but comments on the blog posts are best for the blog because it gets more people talking and I want to hear what you have to say!
  6. Share the blog with your network. Help me get new people interested in our community!
  7. Send me suggestions, or any questions you might have, about anything! I’m not just writing for myself anymore, and I want to create content that you find interesting and amusing.

Thank you in advance for your continued support. Without you, I’d have given up on writing long ago.

Kisses on your nose,

Playboy Mommy


Mommy’s To-Do List – Week of July 22nd

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Weekend Highlights

After surviving a night of crazy thunderstorms and tornado warnings, we piled the children into the van and made the trek to Barrie for a reunion hosted by Mama S’ clan in honour of my sister-in-love’s upcoming 30th birthday. The weather was spectacular – sunny, but so much cooler than it has been, which was perfect for the kids to play outside. It was so nice seeing all of the cousins together. It made me wistful for my own cousins, who I grew up so close to. Watching the little band of monkeys romp around was easily my weekend highlight. They were all so sweet and careful with the babies. I als had a beautiful moment of quiet with Noah asleep on my hip in his sling while we lounged by the pond and the waterfall that Poppa and Nana so painstakingly built. We slept in luxury in their motor home that sleeps eight! Now I have a family RV trip fantasy that I am determined to fulfill before October.

VIP Tasks This Week

Idle Little Devils

I’m away every morning from nine until three at a course. I need to leave Hannah and Ayla with some activities so they don’t get bored, because when kids get bored it’s scary. When really smart kids get bored it’s really scary!

Create a Menu

I’m hosting some friends for an early August barbeque and camp out to celebrate my birthday, which is on Wednesday. This week I’ll work with Daddy on creating the low-carb, gluten-free menu. The party is called ‘Pitch A Tent, It’s My Birthday’. Tee Hee.

G1

I need to hit the Ministry of Transportation office and write my exam so I can get my G1 learner’s permit. Can you believe I’m almost thirty-something years old and I don’t have a driver’s license yet? Moving to the middle of nowhere has been incredible incentive.

Pedicure

This has never been a VIP task in my life, but I’m making it one now. I’ve always envied those women who can justify taking the time and money to indulge in regular pedicures, and so now I will just be one. My course is across from the big shopping mall in town, so there is bound to be somewhere I can pop into after class one day.

What I didn’t get to last week:

 

Personal Goals

I really want to be bright and alert each day in class so I can make the most of my time there. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been in a classroom and I feel a little nervous!

I also want to reserve some energy to spend with the girls and Noah each day after class. I know they’ll feel me being out of the house, and I think I’m really going to miss them too.

 

Things to Look Forward To

Learning to Drive!

True we’ll probably only cover the basic rules and such in class, but I’m one step closer to getting the driver’s license I’ve been promising myself for ages. I’m so glad that I’m not learning to drive in the big city.

Exploring the Mall!

I’m going to request a later pick up on one of the days I’m at Driver’s Ed. I’d like to have a look around the big local mall. Even though I hate the mall, it’s nice to know what’s available should I ever require some very extensive retail therapy. Also, everyone loves air conditioning, right?

Taking a Break!

I love my kids, and I love my partners, but I’m REALLY looking forward to getting out of the house for a whole week, even if that means I’ll be in a semi-boring classroom setting. I think it will be a nice way to shift focus so I can miss everyone a little. That absence cliché is a good one.

Happy Birthday!

It’s my birthday on Wednesday, and I want to spend the whole day spoiling myself and feeling oh-so-grateful for all of the blessings in my life. I wonder if St. Catharine’s has a kick ass Mexican place for dinner that night? Ahem.

 

 

A Day of Rest

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Happy Sunday! Was it a fun weekend?

Why not take a page from Ayla and spend the day in your pjs writing in your journal or working on your scrapbook? Or just curl up with a good book and a cold drink!

Whatever you do, remember to take some quiet time to be grateful for the simple, wonderful blessings in your life.

Failing Forward

Mimi

Darlings, I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!

On Thursday while I was hiding away having a work day I discovered something exciting. My friend and a hugely inspirational woman in my life, Rebecca Northan has a Ted Talk! Rebecca is an immensely talented artist – her specialty is improvisational theatre. I had the pleasure of meeting her in 2007 when Les Coquettes were invited to be part of the magic of The Spiegel Show. Rebecca created a turn for that show called ‘Blind Date’ and that turn grew into her sensational theatrical production.

The premise of ‘Blind Date’ is that Rebecca’s character, Mimi (an adorable French Clown) has been stood up on a blind date. In order to save her evening from total ruin, she selects a completely unsuspecting gentleman from the audience to be her date. The entire performance is improvised, and if you ever have the chance to see this show, I highly recommend it. Something really magical and truly hilarious happens every single time. You can imagine how the story twists and turns depending on the guy she chooses. She’s an absolute master of improv, and a sensational performer.

Rebecca’s Ted Talk is all about how the skills she’s mastered as an improvisational performer are the natural characteristics can be applied to real life, and she has a really moving epiphany that she shares. I watched the talk first delighted by her slightly nervous banter, and impressed by the amazing outfit she put together, and then she blew my mind with her total openness and vulnerability.

SHE IS JUST LIKE ME WHEN SHE IS SCARED!  This amazed me, and so when she admitted each of her self-protective maneuvers I was riveted, and when she arrived at her epiphany, I was deeply touched, particularly about what she says about sharing with your partner.

Oh Rebecca, I hope you know how amazing and wonderful you are! And dear readers, I truly hope you enjoy this beautiful Ted Talk!