Easy Chicken Skillet Recipe with Onions

I got this recipe from the All New Diabetic Cooking Cookbook from the one dish wonders sections. This is a great cook book if you’re cooking for someone who is diabetic or want to cook healthier and avoid calories from sugar. Every recipe has a count of calories and nutrients per servings. I tried this recipe one night because I was looking for an easy to fix meal, but I didn’t have all the ingredients so the recipe became chicken skillet with onions instead of chicken skillet with pearl onions. I’ll include the ingredients they recommended and the ingredients I substituted. I thought my improvised version turned out well. I hope you enjoy!

Makes four servings

Ingredients:

2 cups of water

1 pound small new potatoes (or 1 pound small potatoes*)

8 ounces fresh pearl onions, blanched and peeled, or frozen pearl onions thawed (or 1 small regular onion sliced*)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon chili powder (or 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper powder*)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1/2 teaspoon basil*)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Put water, potatoes and onion(s) and water into a large nonstick skillet and bring to a boil. The burner should be on medium to high heat. Once it comes to a boil cover and boil for about 12 minutes. You may need to reduce the heat a bit to make sure it doesn’t boil over. After 12 minutes stick one of the largest potatoes with a fork. If the potatoes is soft and easily pierced then it’s ready. Drain the potatoes and onion(s) and set to the side.

2. Mix salt, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper or chili powder, and basil or oregano together. Sprinkle the mixture over both sides of the chicken.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet you just used for the potatoes and onions over medium-high heat. Once the olive oil is heated, add the chicken. Cook the chicken for 5 minutes then turn. Add the potatoes and onions back into the skillet with the chicken and drizzle the rest of the olive oil over the mixture. At this point I added a bit of extra water to make sure the chicken would stay moist. Cover the skillet and cook for five minutes or until you are satisfied that the chicken is not pink in the middle anymore. Let everything stand for 3 minutes and then serve

Book Review - Swiss Watching: Inside Europe's Landlocked Island

I found a new book to review from Netgalley that I thought all of you might be interested in.

Swiss Watching: Inside Europe's Landlocked Island by Diccon Bewes offers a look into Switzerland that goes past the clichéd ideas that we have of the country.  Bewes looks at things like the history of Switzerland and how it has played a part in the way that the country is today.  The British writer has lived in Switzerland for several years so his perspective of that of a person who is familiar with the country and the people, yet can recognize the things that those outside the country would find remarkable.  

One of my favorite parts of the book was the inclusion of cultural points and customs after each chapter.  I didn’t know too much about Switzerland before I read this, but now I know more beyond the mountains, cheese, and cuckoo clocks.  There are still many things about the country that weren’t covered in this book, I’m sure, but it gave me enough to enjoy the book without being overwhelmed.  I was interested in reading this book because I am fascinated by Switzerland as I think lots of other people are.  If you are one of those people and you haven’t read too many other books about the country, I would recommend this book to you.

Now, I want to start planning my next trip to Switzerland!  

Hair Inspired by Rihanna

During the hot summer months, especially in Mississippi, it’s nice to have your hair off your neck and out of the way. (Plus updos do a great job of highlighting your pretty face.) Rihanna’s cute updo inspired us to try the updo with the scarf look.

Photo from becomegorgeous.com

We found that this style is ideal if you have longer wavy hair with layers around the face. Here are our steps for the look:

1. Make a side part.

2. Section off shorter layers around the face. If you’re like Elizabeth and do not have shorter layers then leave out some hair like in the above picture.

3. Pull the rest of the hair into a high ponytail and secure with an elastic. You want to make sure the hair under the ponytail is tight and there is little slack.

Tip: At first we had trouble deciding how high to make the pony. We figured out that if you place the pony where it creates a line from the ear to the chin it seems to sculpt the chin and accent the face. We tried to show the yellow line the picture above.

4. If you had to create faux bangs, now is the time to pin them and incorporate them into the bun you’re about to make. Loosely twirl hair around the ponytail base to create a bun. Secure the hair with bobby pins or u-shaped pins. The bun should be slightly messy.

5. Now come the fun part! After you’ve made your bun you get to add the cute head scarf or head band.




Here is our finished look!

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Book Review

This summer at my freshman orientation I got the assignment to read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks . I thought who is this Henrietta Lacks and why is she so special that we have to read a book about her. It turns out that Henrietta Lacks is a HUGE deal. I would conservatively say that she has affected everyone living in America and the possibly the world. How is it then that no one knows her story?

Rebecca Skloot, the author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks wondered the same thing around the same time in her life that I and my fellow college freshman are at now. Her curiousity led her to research the life of Mrs. Lacks and her family. This book not only tells their story but brings to light questions about ethics in the medical research field that few people are aware of but should as everyone who goes to the doctor could potentially become the next Henrietta Lacks.

Skloot does a wonderful job of presenting the information without throwing blame, thus lending credibility to her writing. She allows the readers to develop their own opinion on the topics she presents. Skloot also masterfully wrote the true story in a way that reads like a fiction book instead of a bland biography-style. I could not put this book down and was stunned by what I found out. I definately was impressed and would recommend this book to everyone.

Favorite Blue Things

Happy Fourth of July!  Or if you aren't in the US, then happy Monday to you!  Today, we're finishing up our Red, White, and Blue series.  It's the last one, and we're sharing some of our favorite blue things with you.

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We love blueberries in the summer.  Since we have blueberry bushes in our backyard, we have fresh ones all summer long.

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Blue jeans. 

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One of most women's favorite shades of blue.  Almost everyone gets excited for a Tiffany's box.

pinterest

I think these sparkly blue Toms are so cute.  They're from the wedding collection so you could wear them as your something blue.  I just want them to wear every day though.

Enjoy the celebrations and have a lovely day!



Favorite White Things

Continuing our Fourth of July celebration on Life of Lovely, today we're doing our favorite white things.

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We love all ice cream, but my favorite is still vanilla.

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Dandelions.  Make a wish!

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Just like in The Sound of Music - girls in white dresses are one of our favorite things, too.

pinterest via Megan Lange

If I had a loft like this, I think I would never leave it.

Thanks for joining us today!  We hope that you are having a lovely Sunday!

Favorite Red Things

With the Fourth of July being on Monday, we've decided to celebrate here by featuring some of our favorite things that are Red, White, and Blue. 

We're going to start today with RED!



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Sometimes, a cold coke is the only thing that you want on a hot summer evening. 

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No one really needs these glasses.  After all, a plain pair of sunglasses works just as well, but red heart-shaped sunglasses are just so much more fun. 

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On dreary, rainy days red umbrellas stand out in the crowd of black umbrellas.

pinterest via scunning1

Instead of black or white, why not try a red lace dress?  This is the one that I want.  I would wear a red slip under it, of course.

That's all for red.  I hope that you're having a wonderful Saturday!