Quick Meal

I meant to have a picture to share but we had company for dinner and when it was over there was none left to take a yummy picture.  Here is the recipe for a quick and easy meal.

Skillet Ziti with Chicken and Broccoli

1lb              Boneless skinless chicken breast sliced into 1 inch pieces
3 tbsp          Butter
1                Onion, minced
1/4 tsp        Red pepper flakes (optional, can be spicy for little ones)
1/4 tsp        Dried oregano
3                Garlic cloves, minced
8oz             Ziti (2 1/2 cups)
2 1/2 cups  Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1/2 cup       Heavy Whipping Cream
1 package   Broccoli
1 cup          Roasted Red Peppers (jarred, rinsed, cut 1/4 in slices)
1ounce        Parmesan Cheese
2 tbsp         Lemon Juice

Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a large skillet.  Add chicken and cook until lightly browned but not fully cooked. (4min) Transfer Chicken to a bowl.  Add 1 tbsp butter, onion, red pepper flakes, oregano, and 1/2 tsp of salt to skillet.  Cook until onion is soft. (5 min)  Stir in Garlic and cook until fragrant. (15 seconds)  Sprinkle ziti evenly into skillet.  Pour broth and cream over ziti.  Cover and bring to a boil. (approx 5 min)  Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in broccoli and roasted red peppers.  Cover and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally until pasta begins to soften, about 8 minutes.  Stir in the chicken and accumulated juice.  Cover and continue to simmer until the chicken is cooked through. (3 minutes)  Stir in remaining 1 tbsp butter, parmesan cheese and lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

A Starting Point

Happy New Year! 2012 marks the beginning of big changes.  Where does one begin when you want to transform ALL in 1 Year!  With a LIST!  A list of all the projects you want to complete...All the goals you want to accomplish...All the things that must get done!  

So Yesterday I sat quietly in my favorite chair, while the rest of  my family watched a movie and wrote  my list. I listed some things in detail and some thing in general.  I probably missed a few things and I wrote somethings that are not realistic.  

First, I wrote a list of each room in the house then, room by room I listed each thing that I wanted to do in that room.  Some rooms had a few project while others were major over hauls.  This is my project list and I placed it under "Project List" in my home management binder. (more on that in a future post)

Second, I wrote out my meal plan for the week.  (more on that in a future post) This week we are having:

Monday: Porcupine Meatballs (family request before we start back to school) (recipe will soon me added, here)
Tuesday: Chicken Ziti (recipe will soon me added, here)
Wednesday: Tacos!
Thursday: Post roast in the crock pot
Friday: Italian Sausages with peppers and onions
Saturday: Turkey Meatballs
Sunday: Grilled Chicken

Third, I created a chart to see how often I complete my daily goals throughout the month.  This list includes my daily cleaning list, workout goals, and project goals.  Each day I will put a check mark next to the completed item.  At the end of the month and can set a new goal for the new month.  One of the items on the list NO SODA!  There are 31 days in January so I set the goal of NO SODA for 15 days.  Day one is over and I did not have soda so I put a check mark on my chart! YAY! One down, 14 more to go!   I walked on the tread mill too, so another check mark went on the chart for exercise! 

So now I have organized my week, with meals, cleaning schedule, exercise schedule, and a chart to help motivate and keep me on track!  My fun project this week is to take more picture so I can post picture on the blog...always fun to see pictures!