The Home Cook: New Recipe

I just made this last night, it was really quick to prepare and very tasty. Even Isaac, who has been pretty picky lately ate two pieces. we gave it a Yum Factor of 8/10.

Mint Roasted Chicken Tikka Serves 4

450g boneless chicken breasts, cut in half

Marinade

1 tsp Garam Masala

1 Tbs chopped fresh green chilli

1 Tbs freshly ground black pepper

4 Tbs finely chopped fresh mint leaves

1 cup thick yogurt

2 Tbs lemon juice

1-1/2 Tbs ginger and garlic puree

1 Tbs salt

1 Tbs oil

1. Combine yogurt, mint, lemon juice, oil, garam masala, ginger and garlic in a small bowl. Place chicken cubes in a resealable plastic bag and add yogurt/mint mixture to coat chicken. Marinate in the fridge for 4 hours.

2. Heat oven to 450 C. Place marinated chicken on a shallow baking tray and roast for 20 minutes, turning halfway through. Alternatively, broil or grill the chicken for 10-12 minutes, turning once, until cooked through.

The Christmas Pinata

The past couple of Christmas seasons we have started to tradition of smashing a pinata with cousins. Isaac quite likes this tradition and loves helping me pick out the pinata up for smashing every year. The first year we had a pinata he picked out a Nemo pinata. When we took it to Nana's to smash with his cousins, he completely lost it when everyone was going to town on Nemo with a broomstick. He was just two after all... In following years he has really gotten into the spirit of pinata smashing and really gets a kick out of beating the stuffing out of our yearly pinata.

This year when we were talking about what pinata we should get, Isaac asked if we could find a Christmas pinata. I said we probably could and he started listing off the possibilities: a Santa pinata, a Christmas tree pinata, a Snowflake pinata, a Baby Jesus pinata, a star pinata.....wait a minute, A Baby Jesus Pinata? While trying to restrain myself from hysterical laughter I tried to explain to Isaac why a Baby Jesus Pinata was probably not a good idea. There's just something about purposely smashing a baby Jesus that seems...wrong. At least he realizes that Christmas is also about something else then presents and Santa!

Handmade Christmas Part 1

After making many homemade gifts the last couple of years and never recording what I've made, I swore that this year I would at least take pictures of everything I made for Christmas. Well I forgot to photograph some things (ie a majority) but I did remember to take pictures of a couple of things. So bear with me while I show off some of this year's creations:

These fleece blankets were made for my two nephews.

There is more, but it will have to come later, I've got a hungry baby on my hands!