NOTHING
I would love to say that today I did this, and this, and that, oh and this too, but I didn't. We have been waking up extraordinarily late the past few weeks. For those of you who live in East Tennessee you will understand when I say the weather has been gloomy lately. It even snowed last week (after a week straight of raining). The rainy weather with the dark clouds lingering all day and the colder temperatures just make it harder to wake up in the morning. Even Bailey has been sleeping in. And I'm sure it doesn't help that for some reason I can't seem to switch my brain off until early morning.
I've always been a bit of a night owl so it isn't strange for me to stay up working in the kitchen until 1:00 am or doing laundry after midnight, but since the new year started I've been up much later. Monday night I barely slept at all! I just had things running through my mind all night and finally at around 8:00 am I just passed out in the recliner.
Today was supposed to be a lazy day anyway. We were supposed to have some oatmeal, play with blocks, dance around the bedroom, ride in the toy car up and down the hallway, and maybe cuddle in the living room and watch some My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
Apparently when I went to bed last night I left my cell phone in the recliner in the living room. Since I woke up late I didn't know that our veterinarian had called early in the morning to say we could come pick up our oldest cat, Rhada. That meant I had to drop Bailey off at my Nana's house, go pick up the cat, take the cat home, go pick up Bailey, and then come home and make lunch. All before nap time.
So, no lazy day for us. And since the day had already been so stressful for me (Rhada is pretty sick and I had to learn how to feed her with a syringe and give her 5 different medicines) I just crashed on the couch when I got Bailey to sleep. I slept through her whole nap, and by the time we woke up it was time to make dinner.
So tonight, since I can't say I actually did anything during nap time, I want to share with you my favorite baked chicken recipe. This is a really simple recipe that leaves you free to work on the rest of the meal while the meat is in the oven. I like to serve it with mashed potatoes and green beans or steamed broccoli. Aaron insists on having macaroni and cheese with almost everything so I make him macaroni too.
Baked Chicken and Gravy
4 chicken breasts
1/2 tsp ground celery seed
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
spray oil
2 tsp corn starch
1/2 cup water
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl mix together celery seed, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and paprika. Spray an 8x8 baking dish with oil. Place the chicken in the baking dish. Sprinkle the seasoning mix over the top. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer the chicken to a serving plate to rest. Pour any juice from the baking dish into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer on medium-high. In a small bowl stir together the corn starch and water. Pour into the simmering chicken drippings and stir. Continue stirring until the gravy reaches the desired thickness. You can add a bit more cornstarch/water mixed together if necessary. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
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