This is what's for dinner (June 3)

Roasted Lemon Pepper Chicken

Ingredients:

one whole chicken (3-5lbs)
one lemon (halved)
half of a head of garlic
lemon pepper seasoning (a couple of tbsps)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup of butter (melted)
half an onion (cut into pieces)
sprigs of fresh herbs (i used 4 sprigs rosemary, 15 sprigs of thyme and four basil leaves)
a few tbsps of evoo (olive oil)

Preheat oven to 400. Remove giblets and rinse the inside of the cavity. Place breast side up in roasting pan or on baking sheet. Inside the cavity, stuff with the lemon halves, onion, 2 sprigs of rosemary and the rest of the other herbs, and half garlic head. It is okay if they are sticking out of the cavity a little. Loosen the skin from the top of the chicken breast (careful not break it) and stuff remaining two sprigs of rosemary under the skin. Mix the melted butter and lemon pepper seasoning together. Then, rub the whole chicken with it or use a brush and brush it on. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. You can use whatever herbs you like. These are just my favorite. Cook until internal temp is 165 or for about an hour to an hour and a half.

If you like garlic, cut a few garlic heads in half and drizzle with evoo. Set them on the roasting pan with the chicken. They will roast and you can use the roasted garlic as a spread for your dinner bread.

The juices from this make wonderful tasting gravy. Just melt a couple of tbsp. of butter and add a couple of tbsp of flour. Let it sit for a minute or two. Then, whisk in the juices from the chicken and about a cup or so of chicken broth until thick.

Enjoy!

Summertime

Ahhh...it has been a while. Well, so far, this summer has been busy and wonderful!! We just spent a week in Greenville, SC at my parents house. Chris came for 4 of the days so we could have the boy's birthday party. Bryce turned three and Kael had his first birthday. I can't beleive it! Their party was amazing! It was just our family, my parents, and my sister's family. It was perfect!

From my parents, we drove to Isle of Palms to spend a week at the beach with our friends, Barry and Mendi. Mendi's wonderful family invited us to stay with them for the week. It was so fun! Bryce is still talking about his Mimi and Bekosh. I love that he knows they are an important part of our family. I am so glad that we got that time with them. I miss them so much it is ridiculous!

This weekend we are going to a friend's wedding in Asheville. It will be nice to see old friends. I am driving to Johnson City on Sunday to go to my old church and see some friends while Chris stays at his grandma's to work. I am VERY excited about seeing my friends!!

Then, I have two more trips planned for the summer. In June, I am going back to JC to spend a week with my friend, Faith and to see some other friends. It is going to be a fun week! In July, Chris and I (and da boys) are taking our first family vacation to Colorado. WOOHOO!! We are going to see our friends, Barry and Mendi. We can't wait!! We are excited about seeing them and have some fun things planned!!

Bryce starts preschool in August. He is going on Tues. and Thurs. from nine to one. He is very excited! He talks about school all the time! Kael still isn't walking. However, he is cruising everywhere and is very close to standing on his own. We go back to the doctor next week to get his weight checked. He dropped from 75% to 25% at his 9 month check up and from 25% to 13% at his one year check up. So, we take him next Thursday to see if anything has changed and then we go from there. I am praying that it is nothing. Chris is busy working. He has one more month of his long hour rotation and then he will be a second year resident. WOOHOO!!!


Well, that is all for now. I just thought I would give an update on what has been going on and our plans for the summer!

Favorite Five Friday (Vol. 2)

Ok...so I am one day late : )!
1) I got to see some of my really close friends, Anne and Jason. It was great! I miss them so much.

2) I got a lot of one on one time with Kael this week since Bryce was gone. I realize even more how important it is for me to make sure I get one on one time with him. It is so hard to do with Bryce running around, but I am going to make sure it happens!

3) I finished recovering my chairs in the dining room. The fabric is beautiful and it is laminated for easy cleaning. Love it!!

4) Bryce spent this whole week with my sister. He had a blast! I was really worried that he wouldn't want to come back home. I met them to pick him up and he jumped out of their car and threw his arms around my neck. He was so happy to see me and it really made my heart feel good : ).

5) Bryce, my dad, and Chris raced little kid riding toys down the deck ramp at the farm. It was hilarious especially seeing my dad and Chris sitting on those little toys!