Lemon-Lime Basil Chicken

This recipe is so simple and full of flavor.

 

I made it up on Sunday when I had some chicken breasts that needed to be cooked, lemons/limes that had to be used and fresh basil from a new plant that I had just purchased.

I often "make up" meals and find the creativity of doing so to be one of the joys of cooking!

 

I served the chicken with stuffing (homemade) and sautéed maple, peppered carrots.

 

 

 

Lemon-Lime Basil Chicken

 

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 large lemons

2 limes if they are large or 3 smaller ones

4 to 6 garlic cloves

A handful of fresh basil

salt and pepper

olive oil

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 pan with a bit of cooking spray. (I use canola oil spray)

Wash lemons and limes and slice into rounds.

Lay the rounds across the bottom of the pan, alternating as you go. (slice of lemon, slice of lime, etc.)

Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breasts.

Lay the chicken breasts on top of the lemon and lime slices.

Peel the garlic, crush a bit with the flat blade of a knife and toss in with the chicken.

Wash basil leaves, pat dry and place in the pan with the chicken.

Drizzle all with a good amount of olive oil. (use good quality olive oil!)

Place pan in the oven and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, depending on the size/thickness of the chicken breasts.

About half way through the cooking time, open oven, pull out pan and baste the chicken with the juices in the pan.

The chicken will be golden in color and the juices will run clear when done.

This chicken dish is full of summer flavor and is so easy to prepare!

Enjoy!

 



A Super Moon to See

I was on the computer yesterday evening when I suddenly remembered about the Super Moon. I grabbed my old camera and headed outside. Sure enough, the moon was just starting to rise above the mountain range directly in front of our house. I was using my old Kodak camera, as my little point and shoot will not capture moon shots at all. My older Kodak (I've had it since 2004) is on its last legs. I was surprised at how well it did last night when I took these shots. Moon shots are hard to capture. I don't have a tripod, so I have to try and control the camera shake to avoid getting blurry photos. These shots are SOC (straight out of the camera shots). It really wasn't that dark yet when I took these shots, but using the flash darkened the background and seemed to make the moon pop! These shots were all taken within a few seconds of each other. Last nights moon was a big, bright, pretty sight to see! 

Did you see the Super Moon? 

Jumbo Muffins

Last weekend I made jumbo blueberry muffins. 

I followed a basic recipe that I found on a new baking blog, sally's baking addiction.

The original recipe was for jumbo raspberry chocolate chip muffins.

I only had blueberries and thought I had chocolate chips, but ended up being out of those.

I just added more blueberries and some pecans to sub in for the chocolate chips.

These muffins were so good!

Two people could easily share a muffin over coffee or for breakfast. 

Sally's Baking Addiction is a great baking blog.

Check it out!

If you make the muffins, I hope you enjoy them!

We did! 

A Lot of Bull

These big fellas are currently patrolling our valley looking for their...

"cow" girls!

 

The middle of the roads seems to be their favorite place to hang out!

I rolled down the window the other day and snapped a few shots.

 

 

The bull in the lead decided he was going to head straight for me.

I rolled the window up and moved on down the road.

Didn't really feel like having a giant bull trying to get in my car!

After I drove on down the road, the song Rawhide popped into my head.

It remained stuck in my head for the rest of the day!

 

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

 

Keep movin', movin', movin',
Though they're disapprovin',
Keep them doggies movin' Rawhide!
Don't try to understand 'em,
Just rope and throw and grab 'em,
Soon we'll be living high and wide.
Boy my heart's calculatin'
My true love will be waitin', be waiting at the end of my ride.

 

Move 'em on, head 'em up,
Head 'em up, move 'em out,
Move 'em on, head 'em out Rawhide!
Set 'em out, ride 'em in
Ride 'em in, let 'em out,
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in Rawhide.

 

And now you too can have "Rawhide" bouncing around in your head all day!

*Grin*

Happy Trails!

 

 

 

 

 



Messy Business

Things have been a bit busy around here lately!

Last Sunday a dry thunder and lightening storm moved through our valley.

One lightening strike started a fire in the valley.

On Monday when I headed to work, it looked as if the fire was out.

A few crews were working hot spots and that was it.

The winds kicked up mid day on Monday and the fire reared its ugly head again!

The fire crew had left, so there was a bit of a delay on the response to the second fire.

I got a call at work informing me that I should head home early as they were likely to close our road.

So I did.

I followed our neighbor back to our valley.

As we left town, we could see the thick smoke from the fire.

We had to travel through some dense smoke and flames as we headed into the valley, but we made it before they closed the road.

About the time I got home, the winds really picked up and began to blow something awful! 

The winds created a terrible dust storm in town and there was a tragic pile-up on the interstate! 

My son called to let me know that something bad had happened on I-80!

The accident closed the interstate for over 24 hours! 

We live in the high desert and we get a lot of dust storms...nasty ones at times!

The people driving on the interstate had no clue what they were driving into and all hell broke loose!

It was all very sad and tragic!

The A/C unit went out at work on Tuesday.

The office got very hot and muggy! 

We spent Wednesday waiting for repair guys that never showed up!

Again, the office was hot and muggy!

No fun! 

Because I worked last weekend, (dog show and snake event), I had to take Thursday and Friday off this week. Nice to have a few days off.

I've ended up with a cold! 

No fun! 

I had some cherries left from my Bountiful Baskets order, so I decided to pit them and make a pie on Thursday.

Pitting cherries by hand is messy business!

It looked like some sort of sacrifice took place on my kitchen island!

The cherries sure looked pretty when I was done though.

They looked and tasted even better in the pie!

They were juicy!

That pie ring the pie is sitting on, used to belong to my Nana!

I was lucky enough to get it many years ago and have used it many, many times throughout the years.

Nana was an amazing pie maker! 

 Friday was spent helping my daughter clean the grooming shop.

Her boss is on vacation this week and the shop has been closed.

It took four of us over two hours to clean!

Dog hair is amazing stuff...it manages to get everywhere and in everything!

Today is volunteer day for Bountiful Baskets.

Because the pick-up location is at my office building, I have to be present.

It's always fun to volunteer and help ready the baskets.

Unloading the truck is messy, heavy work, but fun too.

I need to go grocery shopping this morning!

Boo, not my favorite thing to do!

Meals are planned for the next seven days, so that helps.

At some point, I hope to sit and enjoy a beer over the weekend!

Sometimes a gals just gotta do that and relax!

  If there was a beach nearby...

I'd have my toes in the water,

Ass in the sand,

And a beer in my hand! 

(Yes, I said ass! Don't mean to offend anyone, but sometimes a gals just gotta say it or write for that matter.)

Bottoms up and enjoy the weekend!

Going with the Dogs

I guess "going with the dogs" is better than "going to the dogs."

Last week I embarked on a trip with my daughter, another young lady and my daughters' boss.

We headed to a semi-professional dog show and agility events.

 

I drive a Ford Expedition and it was packed to the hilt!

There were four of us, three dogs, our bags and various amounts of dog show paraphernalia!

There was literally no room left in my car for even one more item!

 

We hit the road on Thursday evening and drove three hours to Carson City.

We arrived at our destination and checked into our room.

I booked a room at Motel 6 because they are pet friendly and hey, they also leave the light on.

Well our room was a mini room!

I'm not kidding, you could barely move in there!

The motel had done an upgrade/remodel and the rooms were nice, but very, very small.

 

See....small!

Shelby and Cypress the Aussies made themselves right at home!

 

We had to set up a blow-up bed in the closet area for the young lady in our group.

It was a tight squeeze!

We had to climb over the bed to squeeze into the tiny microscopic bathroom!

But hey, we had a mini fridge, microwave and a nice flat screen T.V., which came in handy!

 

Mini bathroom!

Cute, but cramped!

The dogs had us awake at 4 a.m. on Friday morning!

Way too early, but when a dogs gotta go, a dogs gotta go!

So we were up early and headed to find breakfast and the park where the events were being held by 7 a.m.

Once at the park it was time to warm up for the agility events.

Megs and Cypress working the jumps.

Cypress is young and jumps at 20 inches!

Up and over!

And then again and again...

This agility event was a first for Cypress and Megan.

Cypress left the arena on both of her runs. She still has lots of training ahead of her.

But the experience was good for both Cypress and Megan

.

This is Millie.

She is 6 months old.

She has competed in several Aussie puppy classes recently and done very well.

She was up on the grooming table waiting for her turn and watching all of the other puppies around her.



Cypress was watching me as I snapped photos.

I think she thought I had food!



Megan and Millie in the ring for the 4 to 6 month puppy confirmation class.

Millie won the class on Friday evening! Woot!

Millie's brother Dante came to the show on Saturday and he won the class on Saturday.

Siblings winning out over other siblings is okay in the puppy world. It means there are good lines when siblings compete against each other and trade off wins.



Megan and Cypress in the show ring.

Cypress has been competing for over a year now, but this was Megan's first semi-pro show.

She is a good handler!

She and Cypress work very well together!

 

Lined up with the other dogs.

 

The ring can get very intense!

(and hot! Did I mention HOT!)

 

Despite the glare on my camera, I really like this shot.

It shows the focus that it takes to keep the dog stacked and paying attention!

 

Around the ring they go!

They "gate" very well together.

Gating is when the dog and handler work at the same pace/speed.



 

This is the other young lady that was with us.

This was her first show ever! She is one of my 4-H youth and is involved with the 4-H dog program.

She used Shelby in the Junior Handler class.

Shelby is eight and has been a show dog for a number of years, but recently has retired a bit.

This was her first stint back in the ring after a two year break.

Here they are looping the ring for the judge.

They worked very well together and placed second in their class! 

 

Meg and Millie in the afternoon puppy class.

Showing Millie's pearly whites to the judge.

This is the examination portion of the class.



 

More time on the grooming table for Cypress.

Meg is currently in training for dog grooming.

Her boss has been a groomer for 40 plus years!

There is so much involved with show grooming!

I kept getting confused, but Meg seemed to know what she was doing!



 

Waiting to for the next class and to enter the ring!

Again, lots of intense focus!

 

Cypress knew that Megan had "bait" on her and wanted a piece of it.

Bait is the term that is used for the treats that you take into the ring to give the dogs during various poses. Megan was using cheese and that is one of Cypresses favorite treats!

 

The last show of the day.



 

All in all over the course of two days the girls competed in six agility events and six conformation classes. There were several first and second place, pretty ribbons for each of them.

The days started early and ended late!

The temperatures were over 100 degrees both days of the shows!

The park was lovely and the shade was so nice, but if you moved out of the shade, you melted on the spot! The entire process was intense, but a lot of fun.

There will be more dog shows in the future, I just hope it won't be 100 degrees when they take place! 

Snakes Alive

Yesterday, my work program hosted a Rattlesnake Avoidance Training for dogs in our local area!

I spent the afternoon and early evening watching numerous dogs participate in the training.

The entire process from start to finish usually took less than fifteen minutes.

This is going to be a very, very bad year for rattlesnakes in the western states!

We have already seen several out on the farm!

 

Get Rattled out of Reno, Nevada held the training in the arena at my work.

They have been offering this training for eleven years around Nevada, but this was the first training to be offered in our town/area.

Several of the dogs that came to the event yesterday were there for a refresher course.

In talking with the owners of those dogs, the previous training they had received had saved their lives several times!

We lost a dog to a rattlesnake bite and it is a terrible thing to witness and experience!

 These are Great Basin Rattlesnakes and they are found throughout Nevada.

These two snakes were actually found together when they were rescued and the handler has kept them together ever since.

 This is a bullsnake or gopher snake and they are harmless.

They are beneficial snakes and keep the rodent population down in and around buildings and structures.

Mr. Bullsnake was "in blue," which means he is getting ready to shed his skin.

He was a bit cranky.

A bullsnake will mimic a rattlesnake when they feel threatened.

They will coil, hiss and shake their tail.

 This snake was a female and she was pretty thirsty.

After she took a long drink, she gave us a nice big yawn!

They still have their fangs, which are impressive, but their venom ducts have been removed.

 Look at the pattern above and then look at Mr. Bullsnake below.

You can see the difference between the two.

The black in the bullsnake blends throughout the pattern, but the black in the rattlesnake is only contained in the pattern itself.

Head shapes are different too.

A rattle snake has a triangle shaped head due to the venom ducts/pouches.

Bullsnakes will tend to be shiny, while rattlesnakes will be dull in color.

 This is the bait snake that was used for the training.

He is also a Great Basin Rattlesnake.

He was very large and had a nice set of buttons on him!

I'm not a fan of snakes, but this event was fascinating, educational and very needed for our area!

I didn't even get the hibbie-gibbies while taking photos and I was darn close to the snakes too!



Stunt Bike Jumpers

Memorial Day weekend brought beautiful weather to our area.

Our little town hosts an event called Run-A-Mucca each year over the holiday weekend.

Run-A-Mucca is a "biker" event.

Lots of bikers from all over the western states descend on our little town for three days of events.

In the twelve years we have lived here, I have never been to this event.

We are usually doing something else that weekend.

This year, I went with my daughter.

We walked through the vendors, people watched and stopped to watch the stunt bike jumpers!

Oh and I bought shoes!

Great shoes!

Italian shoes!

You wouldn't think you would find great, Italian made shoes at an event like this, but I did!

Love'em too! 

Back to the stunt bikers...

They were AMAZING!

I'm pretty sure I was holding my breath most of the time while watching them.

The clouds and blue sky provided the perfect backdrop for their tricks and stunts!

They started out with basic jumps and turns.

Then they advanced to "let goes" and and "twists."

Then came "extensions."

And finally the "flips."

YES...this guy did a complete flip...

He did the rotation, caught the bike and landed safe and sound!

They loved waving to the kids and crowd while doing a few funny tricks.

Upside down and landed right side up!

Impressive!

 Watching these guys fly through the air for forty-five minutes was breathtaking!

They enjoy what they do and they do it well!

"Flying through the air with the greatest of ease."