Garlic and Onion Biscuit Ring

So yesterday Travis and I had a lazy day, but I still had to cook. So I made sloppy joes, potatoes from a bag, and a Garlic and Onion Biscuit Ring, one of our Sweet as Pie Cooking Club pics for the month. I was so lazy I didn't even take pictures. I did get to use my bunt pan for the first time ever. I have had it for years (thanks to someone selling a second home) and it has just sat in the cupboard, so I was kind of excited to use it. This was a very simple recipe. Really just melting butter and dipping the canned biscuits. I used powdered onion instead of chopped because Travis claims he doesn't like onions. I also used powdered garlic since it was just easier, and no poppy seeds because I am not a fan. This baked beautifully and I am eating it the next day. Which is a surprise because I am not usually a fan of these biscuits. Defiantly added to our list of recipes. Makes it look like I spent lots of time creating something when in fact I took five minutes.

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Lemon-Garlic Green Beans

A new year, and a new set of recipes. This year our cooking club is branching out from the Pioneer Woman and opened the choices up to any recipe. So the first recipe that I have had time to cook is Pan-Roasted Chicken with Lemon-Garlic Green Beans from Real Simple. New red potatoes are included too! It's been a busy two weeks at work getting everything ready for tax season as well as reporting on the fiscal cliff deal, so I was glad to have a simple to put together recipe. Plus a new camera (Christmas present) to take all sorts of pictures with.

I like recipes with only a few ingredients.

Preheat oven to 450. Now I am supposed to line the bottom of the pan with lemon slices, but as you can see I don't have lemons. Which is just as well because I am not the biggest fan of lemons. So I skipped the first part and went straight to coating the green beans and potatoes in olive oil (5 tablespoons), lemon juice (2 tablespoons), garlic (1/2 teaspoon), salt (1 teaspoon), and pepper (1/2 teaspoon).

After coating the green beans (I used 1lb because that was the bag size), I decided that there wasn't enough coating to do the potatoes, so I made more coating. Somewhere in the middle of coating potatoes (10 because I love new red potatoes) and coating chicken my shelf of cookbooks fell over. The royal mess on my floor (and broken glass) meant that Snickers got to go in the garage for once. She loves the garage and whines if we don't let her out.

I put the pan in the oven and proceeded to clean the kitchen. Probably needs it anyway.

I didn't need the extra 10 mins of potato cooking so after 50 min I piled it onto my plate.

I thought it was delicious and Travis had some the next day and liked it as well. Though next time no green beans, neither of us are really big fans of them.

New Year

Well we ended a very busy year. December just flew by and now I am cleaning up the house after hosting one of our Christmas'. As I attempt to stay motivated, I thought about what I wanted out of 2013.

1. Pass the CPA
2. Eat out less
3. Cook more meals
4. Stay on top of chores
5. Work out more
6. Take a vacation (not involving any family)

One a more minor note I would like to also:

1. Add more flower beds
2. Add a vegetable garden
3. Paint two more rooms (at least)
4. Take lots of pictures (I did after all get a new camera for Christmas)

One last note. Travis is once again doing Polar Plunge to support the Special Olympics. Last year he raised $460. This year his goal is $500. All donations are tax deductible. Just click the picture to donate!
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Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year!