Take that Cheesecake Factory...

Today has been a great day! As much as I love to travel, it's been so nice to have this weekend at home. Michael and the boys went out on the kayak and fished, we all went to the pool, we were able to get some things done around the house, I dropped to four feedings with Collier (love this stage)...it was a great day! Tonight I made a copycat recipe of my favorite meal from The Cheesecake Factory--Chicken Madeira. I've never ordered anything else there because I love it so much! I am on Weight Watchers right now (love that program by the way), so I researched the nutritional info on that dish before I went the last time--let's just say it was horrifying! I found this copycat recipe of it online and just tweaked a few things--it was so delicious and only 5 points!!! I thought maybe some of you might like that meal as much as I do (on the menu it says it's their most popular chicken dish), so I'm sharing the recipe below. Now if I can just find a healthy version of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough cheesecake...

Chicken Madeira
(this recipe made way too much sauce, so next time I'll either add more chicken or make less sauce)
* 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
* 4 boneless skinless chicken breast
* 8 asparagus spear
* 4 slices part skim mozzarella cheese
* 2 cups fresh mushroom, sliced (I used baby bella)
* 3 cups madeira wine (I tried 3 grocery stores and finally got this at a liquor store)
* 2 cups beef stock
* 1 tablespoon light butter
* 1/4 cup cornstarch (optional)
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1.Heat 1 Tsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2.Cover each chicken breast with plastic wrap and using a mallet flatten to about 1/4 inch thick.
3.Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4.Saute chicken for 4 to 6 minutes or until the chicken has browned just a bit.
5.Remove from pan and keep warm.
6.Do not clean pan.
7.Add the sliced mushrooms and saute for about two minutes.
9.Add the Madeira wine, beef stock, butter and pepper.
10.Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until sauce has thickened.
11.The sauce will be done when it has thickened and turned a dark brown in color.
12.(optional-Make a paste from cornstarch and some of the sauce. Stir into sauce until thickened.).
13.As the sauce is simmering, bring a medium saucepan filled halfway with water to a boil.
14.Add a little salt.
15.Toss the asparagus into the water and boil for 3 to 5 minutes.
16.Drop the asparagus in a bowl of ice water to halt the cooking.
17. Set the oven to broil.
18. Prepare the dish by arranging the cooked chicken fillets on a baking pan.
19.Cross two asparagus spears over each fillet, then cover each with a slice of mozzarella cheese.
20.Broil the fillets for 3 to 4 minutes.
21.To serve, arrange two chicken breast on each plate, then spoon 5 tablespoons of Madeira sauce over the chicken on each plate.

A Week in Destin!

We've had a crazy past few weeks on the run, but they've been lots of fun! We spent a week in Destin with my parents and grandmother which was such a treat!

Fun at the Zoo!

I had been putting off taking all 3 kiddos to the zoo, but we finally went the other day and had a blast! We met some friends there and the kids had a great time!

Abby, Jacob, Griffin, and Anderson

Anderson loves shoes...everyone's shoes. Right now he's really attached to his rain boots, and he's insisted on wearing them everywhere we go--even the zoo!

5 Months!

I can't even believe we've had our baby girl for 5 months! Time flies when you're having fun...and we are!