I tried a recipe for French Onion Chicken. It was from Cooking Light magazine, but I did tweak it a bit. First, you cooked a lot of onions. I used a little bit of butter, a small amount of beef broth, and about 4 huge onions and used a non-stick pan. I used even less butter than the magazine called for and no cooking wine. They got nice and cooked in about 15 minutes. I put 1/2 of them on a baking tray, and the other 1/2 I used to make some French Onion Soup. I used chicken thighs I got on 30% off instead of the whole chickens that were called for. I put down a layer of cooked onions and some carrot sticks (my addition) and laid the thighs on top and sprinkled them with fresh thyme. I did not make herb butter and put under the skin, although I’m sure it would be delicious. We don’t need those extra calories around here right now. I decided to set my oven at 425 degrees. That was hot enough for me, even though the recipe called for 450. Then I baked them until they were done, about 40 minutes. (They were not super cold as I had returned from the store and made them a little while after that without putting them in the fridge for hours as would normally happen.). They were really, really good.
I made French Onion Soup with the other 1/2 of the onions. It was good with little pieces of bread (some regular and some gf) with cheese slices melted on top.
I made another batch of zucchini muffins, with a cinnamon-sugar topping. Everyone liked those!
We have had lots of vegetables–tons of salads, canned green beans, carrots, cherry tomatoes, etc. My aunt gave us some low-calorie salad dressing that Rob has been loving.
I used some of the last zucchini I will be getting. There is a tiny bit left, but the bushes look like they are dead or dying, and the fall rains have finally started, so they won’t get better:). I’m trying to use up the garden odds and ends while I still have them. There are still cherry tomatoes and a couple of cucumbers out there, at least there were a couple of days ago. I’ll bet they are cracked after all this rain we’ve had yesterday and today. Their days are numbered, too:)
I made baked pear slices with cinnamon sugar and raisins. They were great!
I went out to breakfast with a couple of friends, and had an omelet. It was good. I ate half for breakfast, and the other half several hours later for a late lunch.
We ate many other things, of course, but those were the most exciting ones!
Everything you make always look and sound so good.
You mentioned before that Rob was trying to lose weight. Just wondering on how he is doing?
Thank you.
Rob update: As of a week and 1/2 ago, he had lost a total of 45 pounds since last May, with most of the loss since August. He is in physical therapy. He has had several tests, including a sleep study to make sure he will be safe once he gets his surgery. He’s got a ways to go, but meets with our new primary care doctor once a month and she is overseeing the weight loss, and his total journey towards the hip surgery. (He has several other doctors/clinics he goes to, but she is supposedly overseeing the big picture) The latest good/bad news is that the therapist wants him to start using a cane. He feels resistant, to say the least, but says he’s going to get one because it really helped him when she made him try one out at therapy. He’s doing water therapy, but I guess they discuss ways for him to get around on land, as well:). They will evaluate him next Friday and see if he needs more therapy or not. The truth is, they cannot help the hip joint. They are trying to build up the muscles around it and his core to help him “work around” the issue. He takes our niece to the YMCA pool every Tuesday and Thursday morning and she swims and he does the exercises he can in the short pool off his therapy list in addition to the actual therapy appointment. (At our Y, he could not get out of the deeper pool as they only have a ladder but the short pool has big steps they put in for him)
Most days he is in good spirits, but sometimes get frustrated with the small amount of physical things he can do. They told him to do a little, rest, do a little, rest….repeat. Pretty hard for one of his personality to do, but he’s finding if he pushes things too hard, he really pays all night long with extra pain. We are getting used to this new normal, and the best part about it is that he’s around so much. I love that, I’m just sorry it’s for this reason.
Thanks for the update. Sounds frustrating for him not being able to be as active as he used to be. But on the bright side, he has lost 45 pounds which is a lot of weight. Between him doing his physical therapy and you by his side cheering him on, I know he will get the weight off.
Yes! It’s something to be proud of, for sure, he’s working so hard at it!
Thank you for the update. I understand about Rob not wanting to use the cane. I was the same way about riding on the carts at Wal-mart. It was as if when I finally broke down and rode one, I had accepted the fact that I was really handicapped. There was no pretending I was healthy anymore. It was hard to sit down and do it. I almost started crying but after that thing took off, it was FUN! I was flying around the store having a blast, throwing things in the basket that I had never seen before. I spent a fortune but had a blast.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
My goodness! I’ll bet it was fun:). Hope everyone else dodged!
Everything looks so good. I have done similar with apples, I will have to try it with pears. I love chicken thighs. They are so much cheaper then breasts and they stay so moist. Enjoy the rest of your garden produce. All I have left outside are some peppers. I brought my herbs inside and picked everything else. My shelves are full and so are my freezers. It will have to be good enough for this year because my garden is done. I just have to finish cleaning it up. Have a great week.
I just finished up the green tomato Salsa Verde this morning. Whew. I love to can, but I am ready for a break from it for a while. Other projects are calling my name! My house could really, really use cleaning. I have done a little here and there, but I’m talking cupboards, closets, junk piles….the more I clean, the more I see!
That chicken sounds delicious. Can you grow anything in your greenhouse this time of year? I know nothing about greenhouses but I sure would like to have one eventually. It would be great just to be able to grow lettuces I think.
We were talking about putting a couple of geraniums in there to see if they would overwinter. I have not tried in the fall before. I have successfully grown basil in little pots in the spring before. Lettuce tends to get almost too hot and bolts quickly–I need more practice to make that one work. I have the most success with starting seedlings to transplant into the garden. I’ve finally got that one down after many years of practice!
I overwinter about 25 pots of geraniums in our garage every winter. They do very well. Come spring I cut them back and fertilize them and they are off and growing very quick. The only time I have lost any is when hubby got overzealous with watering them. They really don’t suffer at all if they are pretty dry all winter but too much water will kill them everytime.
That’s great to hear! I often forget to water things in the green house if there isn’t much in there!
That’s a lot of weight Rob has lost! I hope he will accept using the cane as it can only help him. I know my mother was very resistant to using first a cane and then, a walker, but, eventually, she had to use them because she was falling all the time. 🙁
Your French onion chicken, the sauteed zucchini, and the baked pears, all look good! (I tried not to look at the zucchini muffins, as they are a favorite of mine!)
Rob is to the point that he ordered the cane from Amazon, because he doesn’t like the idea, but really needs to use one–the physical therapists are asking him every time if he got one yet, and they let him try one out and it really helped, so…..
Yes, he’s lost a lot. I can’t wait until the next appointments where he gets weighed again. I’m sure a few more pounds are gone again.
The food was good. That’s the trouble around here sometimes. We, and all our relatives, are very good cooks……and we eat it all!!! To be serious, everyone is really supporting Rob is this journey–they are making low-calorie salads, etc. for Sunday dinners, lots of veggies….etc. It helps.