tasty thursday

Whole Foods Chicken Salad

• Dressing
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 5 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 
  
• Salad
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted
• 2 cups red seedless grapes, halved
• 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• romaine lettuce (or any type of lettuce you like) 

In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, poppy seeds, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to dress the salad. This can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the chicken breasts in one layer in a baking dish with 1/2 cup water. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes until completely cooked through. Remove cooked chicken breasts from pan, cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, then cover and refrigerate.

When the chicken is cold, dice into bite-size chunks and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in pecans, grapes, celery and dressing.

Enjoy! 

Thanks for walking with us,

 JL

It's a Girl!

It's a ..... GIRL! 

We are over the moon to announce that our little family will be gaining a BABY GIRL on September 2, 2014!  Her name will be Madeline Grace Peters and she will go by Madeline (pronounced, Ma-duh-lynn).  Her entire name is a family name and we are so in love with her already! 

History of her name: 

Madeline (Jackie-Lane's maternal grandmother's sister, or Great Aunt, who was named Joy Madeline Lane)

Grace (John's younger sister's middle name, Caroline Grace Peters)

Peters (carrying on the legacy of her daddy's strong heritage as a Peters)

We had our detailed anatomy exam yesterday at 19w1d (which is the "gender reveal" appointment).  Rather than finding out on the spot, we had our doctor seal the surprise in an envelope which I delivered to a friend soon after the appointment. 

19w1d

19w1d - how sweet is that little profile?

4D picture - 19w1d

Our friend that I delivered the envelope to baked us a beautiful "gender reveal" cake which held the secret inside in the color of PINK or BLUE icing.  It was so hard waiting for John to get home from work yesterday - the minutes have never gone by slower!  Once he got home and changed, we cut the cake to reveal PINK icing and M&M's that spilled out of it.  It was the most adorable cake and fun way to find out our news!   

We had reservations at a nice restaurant in which we left to go celebrate over a fun dinner soon after! We both couldn't be more happy to welcome sweet baby Madeline in just a few shorts months; it'll be here before we know it.  

Thank you for praying for our little girl; she is already weighing in at a solid 11 oz :) 

Thanks for walking with us,

Jackie-Lane, John and Madeline

bumpdate

Just a few bumpdates for you!

15w6d

18 weeks

18w5d

G-r-o-w-i-n-g by the day over here at 19 weeks tomorrow!  Can't believe that we are HALF WAY DONE next week! It blows my mind.  I am one of those crazy people who has absolutely loved being pregnant.  Above are a few bumpdate photos to update you on baby Peters making his or her appearance these days! 

Speaking of.....TWO DAYS UNTIL WE FIND OUT THE GENDER of our little bean!  TWO.MORE.DAYS! I can't wait.  Wednesday morning we have our detailed anatomy exam at 19w1d.  Boy or girl? Last chance to cast our vote!  What do we think? Really, neither way.  I guess we both have "boy" tucked way back in the back of our minds just because that is a majority of people's guesses.  But really - we aren't convinced either way (either way, we just want a healthy baby - boy or girl!) We are thrilled 150% either way.  Stay tuned for an announcement later this week!

This is the first week I have felt our little baby and it truly is the most amazing thing I've ever felt.  The little flutters really do take my breath away every time knowing that the Lord is knitting our baby together in my womb every second of every day.  Perfect in His image.  What a gift!  John and I pray everyday that He will continue to grow our baby healthy and that we will remember that this is HIS child, all the days of our lives.  That we may train up our child in the way he should go; to Love the Lord our God with all of his/her mind, heart, soul, strength.  

Cravings? Yes. McDonalds cheeseburger and fries (I have to battle this one on a daily basis).  Pickles of course.  Pound Cake (so yes, I made a chocolate chip pound cake yesterday - such a good mom already.  I mean....baby called for it and i jumped on it!) :) The list goes on......

Stay tuned for a GENDER ANNOUNCEMENT (and NAME!) later this week! 

Thanks for walking with us,

JL

Tasty Thursday

Chicken Piccata 

Sauce
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces, divided
2 Tbsp finely chopped yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1⁄3 cup Pinot Grigio (I used Cavit)
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt
pepper
1/4 cup capers, rinsed

Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (or use cutlets)
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup flour
Salt and pepper
olive oil

8 oz angel hair pasta, cooked and drained

Chicken
1. Cut the chicken breast halves horizontally, butterflying them open. 

2. Pound chicken pieces with a meat hammer to 1/4-inch thickness.

3. Mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan. Dredge chicken cutlets in the flour mixture, until well coated.

4. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add chicken and brown well on each side, about 3 minutes per side. 

5. Remove the chicken from the pan and reserve to a plate. Cover with aluminum foil and keep warm in the oven while you prepare the sauce.

Sauce
1. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds.  Add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the liquid is reduced to about 2 tablespoons, about 5 minutes. 

2. Reduce the heat to its very lowest setting. Slowly whisk in butter, one piece at a time, letting the first addition melt before adding more butter. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in capers. 

To serve: Place cooked pasta on plate or pasta bowl.  Top with chicken and spoon sauce over chicken and pasta.

Enjoy! 

Thanks for walking with us,

JL