skillet chicken souvlaki

Skillet Chicken Souvlaki

The quick-cooking chicken and simple homemade yogurt sauce make this a perfect dish for a busy weeknight. Serve with a simple side salad.

Yield: 4 servings

Total: 20 Minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

3 boneless chicken breast halves, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 medium sliced onion

1 thinly sliced green bell pepper

2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 cup grated English cucumber

6 oz 2% Greek-style yogurt

4 oz reduced-fat sour cream

1 tsp dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 (6-inch) soft pitas

2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced

Preparation

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Add chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until done. Remove from pan.

2. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan. Add onion and bell pepper; sauté 5-10 minutes until tender.

Add garlic, oregano, and cook cooked chicken. Sauté 30 seconds.

3. For sauce combine cucumber, yogurt, sour cream, parsley, lemon, and salt.  

Serve chicken mixture with yogurt sauce, warmed pita, and tomato slices.

adapted from: Cooking Light August 2009

five kinds of friends

My June 2013 issue of Real Simple has an article called 

"Five Friends Everyone Should Have"

I am already picturing where each of my friends fit into this list . . .

the comic relief
{laughing helps you get through so very many challenges}

the challenger
{the ability to be brutally honest}

the loyalist
{she hangs in there even when you are not at your best}

the life coach
{recharges your emotional battery and reinvigorates you}

the risk taker
{an adventurous one who nudges you out of our status qou}

Now I am also wondering which kind of friend am I?

pool ducks

Every spring before we open our pool a pair of ducks visit each evening and each morning. Recently the female duck stopped coming so we assume she is nesting somewhere and the male duck comes alone.



Then one day he brought a friend.



Then the next day he brought two friends.



So . . . dad is swimming and having fun
while mom is busy hatching those ducklings.



same story year after year . . . 

low-calorie ranch dressing

Finding a low-calorie dressing that tastes good was a challenge until . . . 

My cousin told me about Bolthouse Farms Yogurt Ranch Dressing

{google image}

45 calories a serving (2 Tbls) and delicious

You can find it in a cooler in the produce section

Our Wegman's doesn't carry it but I found it at Publix and Walmart

I am pretty fussy about ranch dressing and only buy Hidden Valley

This is just as good - Thanks Cathy!

James McCartney

We are headed to a concert to hear our friend
Katie Preston and James McCartney.

How fun will that be?!

{google image}

The son of Sir Paul McCartney, James McCartney, a singer-songwriter in his own right, makes 

Rochester a stop on his 47 date U.S. tour, playing at the Lovin’ Cup Bistro & Brews

{google image}

Katie Preston opens the show at 8pm, followed by James McCartney!

From Yelp.com
Katie Preston Opens the Show @ 8PM!

Katie Preston used to entertain audiences with the beloved and now defunct group "Paul's Grandfather", aptly named after the character who played Paul McCartney's grandfather in the movie "A Hard Day's Night". Now embarking on other various musical endeavors, Katie will be playing solo this night to open for James McCartney. Or, one might even say, "Paul's Grandfather" will open for Paul's son ;)

"Preston will sooth and unsettle the senses -- miraculously all at once! Through her music, Preston channels the late Harry Nillson, Nina Simone and some other dead guy whom of which she's not really sure what he has to do with her music. Preston's music "builds a wonderful dark atmosphere devoid of hope but full of vigor nonetheless. It's a brilliant bit of songwriting with many layers, steeped in intelligence and a deep melodicism that's inescapable." (Wildy's World)


A song Katie wrote for her mother {our friend Debbie}:

Borning Cry

Amanda, Benjamin, Blaine and Seth
{God was there to hear your borning cry}
A song for you on Mother's Day . . . 



I Was There To Hear Your Borning Cry

"I was there to hear your borning cry,
I'll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized,
to see your life unfold.

I was there when you were but a child,
with a faith to suit you well;
In a blaze of light you wandered off
to find where demons dwell.

When you heard the wonder of the Word
I was there to cheer you on;
You were raised to praise the living Lord,
to whom you now belong.

If you find someone to share your time
and you join your hearts as one,
I'll be there to make your verses rhyme
from dusk 'till rising sun.

In the middle ages of your life,
not too old, no longer young,
I'll be there to guide you through the night,
complete what I've begun.

When the evening gently closes in,
and you shut your weary eyes,
I'll be there as I have always been
with just one more surprise.

I was there to hear your borning cry,
I'll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized,
to see your life unfold.

florida friends

As we return to Brockport we leave behind fun new friends 

{also returning to their "northern homes"}

We look forward to more adventures with them next winter

sunflower

My neighbors have the cutest garden ornament

I think the back is a cake server in a short tube

An easy project for my crafty friends

Off to Goodwill to look for dishes . . .

car wash

Here in Florida when it begins to rain . . . 

we can see cars backing out of carports

up and down the street for a 

"Florida Car-wash"

an interesting phenomena