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Roni

Food, Savory

Easy Lemon Pepper Chicken

The other night I came home to a cloud of smoke in the kitchen. The smoke alarm wasn’t going off, but something had clearly burned. I would have panicked, but I opened the door to find Andy standing next to the stove, spatula in hand, and a very sad look on his face. I couldn’t be mad at him, after all, there was a not quite charred plate of food waiting for me.

The real surprise was that the food was amazing. (Not burned at all, I think he just burned the seasoning in the pan.) It was probably one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time, and it wasn’t even difficult to make. Oh yeah, and it was Paleo all because Andy has used almond flour instead of regular flour. So good and honestly, I think I’m using almond flour to bread my chicken from now on. It turned out way better than when I use flour. Not sure why, but it stuck to the meat so much better.

Recommending this to everyone. It’s so good, so easy, and like I said, Paleo and Whole 30 approved.

7 Ingredient Lemon Pepper Chicken and Asparagus

Gather
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
1/4 cup of almond flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon Pepper Seasoning
2 lemons, sliced
1 cup of asparagus, cleaned

Cover chicken in plastic wrap, and using a mallet, pound the chicken to about 3/4 of an inch thick. Dredge chicken in almond flour and salt to coat.

In a medium heat skillet, add olive oil and saute for 5-7 minutes on each side, turning when golden brown. Dash with lemon pepper seasoning in pan. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add lemon slices to pan and then add asparagus. Make sure lemon slices are on the bottom of the pan so they caramelize. When asparagus is done and lemons are golden brown, add chicken back into pan and allow chicken to be coated in lemon sauce.

Plate with asparagus and lemons on top of chicken. Enjoy.

February 27, 2015 by Roni

Fitness

Time to Start Running

Turns out that when you get yourself into a loving relationship, you start to pack on the “comfort pounds.” That’s the weight that you get because you’re both content with everything and you don’t mind grabbing an extra slice of pizza or going out for an ice cream after dinner. It’s the scary weight because you never see it coming until it’s too late. And believe me, it’s too late.

I realized this when I tried to put on a pair of pants the other day. I almost cried (ok, I might have cried a little). They were so tight I couldn’t even put them on, and last summer, they were my go-to jeans. What happened in less than a year? Or if I’m really honest, what happened in the last three months?

While everyone else was getting healthy with their New Year’s Resolutions, I was hunkering down in the house, totally content on watching TV with Andy and forgetting that you can’t wear yoga pants to work if your pants don’t fit.

So last night I made a decision to get back to running. Yes, I was doing Crossfit for awhile, but let’s be honest, I could not bring myself to go by myself. I had not made a strong enough connection with the community to feel comfortable going alone. And since that meant I had to wait for Andy or one of my other friends to go to a class to me, I was skipping classes more than I was going.

I hear you all yelling at me, “Well, why don’t you go by yourself.” And I’ll tell you why. I have anxiety when it comes to group activties with people I don’t know. I know that’s hard to believe since I’m such a social butterfly, but I honestly have a hard time going into those situations alone. It’s probably why I prefer to go to a regular gym by myself, pop in headphones, and run. I just get scared.

And I know if I stuck it out, I would have eventually fit in, felt like part of the group, and finally get some personal training with the weights.

Anyway, enough complaining. I’m back to running. It’s the one thing I know I’m good at, will continue to do any season, and I don’t need a partner to get me to go.

February 24, 2015 by Roni

Uncategorized

Home Decorating | Rustic Country

I can’t take it much longer, our home is a plain Jane. I will admit, I am not much of a home decorator, but I can’t handle having white walls and barely any furniture in our rooms. Part of it is my fault. I had not taken the time to assess all the furniture we had before we moved into our new place in December. In typical me fashion, I decided it was best to throw out anything that seemed like it would clutter our new place.

Well, surprise, I think we need more furniture. And the one thing I really really want, is a hope chest. Mine is in Florida at my mom’s house. My grandfather had made it for me when I was a baby. And I always remember pulling it out from against the wall to look at the little piece of paper taped to the back of it from him. I think it was a letter. I can’t remember now what it said on it, but I remember it. And I remember using the hope chest to stuff all my toys in, to sit on it to ponder all the really difficult decisions of childhood, and to stuff blankets in it when I was a teenager.

It’s just now that I’m realizing how important it was as a structural piece of a room. So that’s my number one item to look for.

Number two is just to get our rooms to feel a bit more full and homey, and only then will I tackle the walls. But I do want to keep it all moderately themed together. And I have been in a rustic chic mood, where everything feels very New England, very Vermont, very home. (Sorry guys, I may live in New Hampshire, but the Vermont girl in me will live forever.) Add the plaid blankets, a few wooden knickknacks and forest-themed wall decor. Yup, that would do it.

So I figured, I’d share some of my recent finds with you all.

Wooden Swing

At our new place, we have a huge front yard with trees peppering the lawn all the way down to the road. Tree swing? Yes, please. It reminds me of the playground my grandparents had at the campground, though that one was metal. The playground itself was in the woods, and under these two huge trees that framed the play area.

Wood and Metal Rustic Table

Everyone needs deer antlers in their house on a wood and metal side table, right?

Wood and Wire Trunk

If I can’t have my hope chest right now, I’d at least want something functional that I can store some stuff in that can also double as a small table or a bench. I need furniture that is multi-functional.

Secretary’s Secret Wood Console

No really, that’s what it’s called. But I think it would be a great piece to put all the junk that sits on our tables. Just something to store and organize at the same time. That whole having-one-junk-drawer thing does not work well for me.

February 20, 2015 by Roni

Life In General

The Most Adorable Winter Proposal

It took me 28 years to see my first proposal, in person, live, and not replayed on Facebook via a video. And it was the most emotional minute and a half of my life.

I wasn’t even expecting to get emotional, but I knew it was coming. You’d think having a forewarning (and being a player in the big moment) would have prepped me for the moment. On Sunday, we were planning to go visit the Ice Castles in Lincoln, New Hampshire so our friend could propose among the rainbow of illuminated icicles. But surprise, New England’s icy cold temperatures and blistering winds stopped us from traveling at all. Seems we would have been blown off the road according to the weatherman.

And that’s how we found ourselves on some back roads, car loaded up with cameras (film and digital), and convincing our friend Samantha that yes, we wanted to go take pictures in the blistering cold. I’ll admit, it really was fun to look at all the barns and hidden homes on back roads. I might have even jumped in a snowbank at one point just to prove that we should all get out of the car at some point.

Then the moment happened when Neil asked if he could take a picture of Andy and I. And that was our cue. I snuck my phone in my jacket, grabbed my lumberjack of a boyfriend, and posed for a photo. And then we swapped, made Samantha get out of the car and take a picture with Neil.

That’s how I found myself, standing on a back road, my cellphone up, recording the moment, and Andy snapping photos like there was no tomorrow. My fingers were freezing, tears running down my face, and this warm ball of joy in my heart. I kid you not, it was the weirdest, happiest feeling to watch two people that love each other take that next step in their lives.

Congratulations guys! I’m so proud to have been able to able to experience your winter proposal and this moment with you both!

Get the mugs at My Country Story here. Photo by Perfect Perceptions.

February 17, 2015 by Roni

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