Ruby's Baptism

So sweet little Ruby got baptized last weekend. We had some friends over after the service for brunch and I made this, this and this. All were delicious and could be made the night before and then just popped in the oven the morning of. This made for a stress-free morning. (: We also had cinnamon rolls, melon and coffee. It was a special day for us because not only was it the first day of Spring but it was also the 20 year anniversary of my mom's death. 20 years. That just seems like such a long time. We wanted to celebrate her life and talk to William about her. It is hard to explain death to a 2 year old. We just told him that his grandma Jean lives with God in heaven and that he'll get to meet her someday when all of our family is together in heaven. We wanted to create a sort of memorial day for her so we took out pictures and planned activities that reminded me of her. My mom was an English teacher and loved to read. I have many fond memories of her reading to my sister and I. She wrote me a letter when she knew she was dying and in it she told me to spend special cuddle-time reading to my children. This is something I try to do with them every night. As kids we would often go to the bookstore and pick out new books to read so we decided to take William to get a new book about Spring. My mom also loved to garden so we went and bought some plants and Will helped me plant them. While we were putting dirt in the pot Brad said "Will do you remember why we are planting these?" and he sweetly answered "For Jean in heaven!". It was a sweet day and I am excited to start this new tradition for the first day of Spring.

Almond Crusted Chicken

This is a simple twist on regular old oven-roasted chicken. It tastes great and is high in protein. It is also super quick to whip together on a busy night. Serve with oven-roasted red potatoes and steamed green beans.

Almond Crusted Chicken

Ingredients:

1 cup unblanched almonds
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
2 large eggs whites
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 ounces each)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Finely chop the almonds in a mini-chopper or food processor. Transfer the nuts to a shallow dish and stir in the paprika. Lightly whisk the egg whites in another shallow dish. Pat the chicken dry and season both sides with salt and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg. Press both sides of the chicken into the nuts to coat. Place on a baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to set the crust.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-low heat and add the oil and the butter. Place the chicken smooth-side down in the pan and then raise the heat to medium-high. Place the baking sheet in the oven on the rack to get warm. Cook chicken turning once, until the nuts set and turn golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to the prepared baking sheet and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the sides of the chicken registers 160 degrees F, about 20-25 minutes.

*For extra tender chicken and a faster cooking time you could pound the chicken flat to 1/4 inch thickness