Thursday, December 27, 2012

Greek style Roasted Lemon Chicken Soup with Rice


We are loving Colorado. It is gorgeous, so much so that driving home from Whole foods today I am still snapping photos of the Mountains at red lights. It really takes my breath away.

We have a backyard here with a grill, a far cry from the high-rise city-esque condo we were used too. Needless to say hubby has been grilling almost every single meal. Even in SNOW!

But the weather is really lovely, there may be snow on the ground but that sun is so hot you are almost tempted to put the air on. Crazy I know.

I received my first magazine to our new house today, one of my favorites..Martha Stewart LIVING.
She had this AMAZING looking soup recipe that called for roasting a whole chicken while cracking breast bones and laying them out just so, and it seemed extremely complicated.

I used the recipe as a guide to create one of the best soups I've ever eaten, accompanying probably the best pork chop I've ever had. GRILLED of course!

----side note---
I am really trying to stick to locally produced non-gmo groceries. You can read about GMO's HERE

You need:

1 package of chicken breast tenderloins ( it's what I had on hand, feel free to use any cut of chicken you like the best)
1 cup diced carrots
2 large celery stalks
1 full carton chicken broth and 2 additional cups
1 cup water
2 Lemons(meyer pref.)
2 Bay Leaves
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 large yellow onion cut into big chunks
salt and pepper to taste
2 egg yolks

With a 375 degree oven. Slice your lemons into quarters, skin side down on a cookie sheet. Roast for 15 minutes or until skins are charred and fruit looks puffed and juicy.

While your lemons are roasting( and might I add making your kitchen smell AMAZING) Add your chicken, broth, carrots, celery, peppercorns, bay leaves and water in a heavy bottom pot on medium low heat and bring to a boil.

Your chicken will produce little white floating pieces of rendered fat, just skim the top as you go along. 
When your lemons are done, squeeze the quarters of 1 lemon into your broth and throw in the rinds as well.

Simmer and cover for 45-60 minutes depending on how soft you like your veggies.

Strain your broth to remove peppercorns, bay leaves and most of the onion and the lemon rinds. Shred the chicken or slice into bite size pieces. By this time your chicken will practically fall apart on its own. Add your chicken back into your broth and let simmer on the lowest setting while you cook your rice.


1 cup long grain rice should be cooked with 1.5 cups of water on low heat for 18 minutes.
Once the rice is finished, take your egg yolks and the juice of the other lemon quarters and whisk into the broth. Turn the heat up slightly just to cook the yolks a bit. Continue to whisk while the soup gets to serving temperature.

Add in rice before serving. Sprinkle a touch of parsley on top and Enjoy :)


Tuesday, December 25, 2012

ThredUp.com- A Review

Let me start off by saying that I had intended to review this service when I first sent out my toddlers  clothes. I was so excited at the idea and really thought what a wonderful way to have someone else's munchkin get good use out of her things...I even took this picture of the bag filled to max capacity in preparation to write a POSITIVE review.


I was really excited...

Sorry to say that I am no longer excited, I am hysterical. I almost threw up when I received there email reviewing my merchandise..It seems as though they put the very basic, lower end goods up for sale on the site, paid me minimally-($12). And said that all the other goods were not fit to sell and that not only would they be keeping my stuff, but they aren't compensating me for it. I even offered to pay for the shipping so that my items could be returned to me at no additional fee to them. They still declined and vaguely said it would be "recycled".

They are very clear to send them top brands and items with tags...to steal?

DO SEND US
  • Clothing in new to like-new condition
    items should be in pristine condition. Learn more about our high Quality Standards here.
  • Clothing that's freshly laundered
    clothing should look and smell clean. Please wash and fully dry all clothing before placing it in the bag. Clothing that is still moist does not travel well in a sealed plastic bag
  • Top brands
    such as Oiliy, Mini Boden, Tea Collection, Hanna Andersson, Guess, Ralph Lauren, Janie & Jack, Hanna Banana, Baby Lulu and Baby Nay
    NWT (new with tags) items
    we pay more for items that are so new that they still include price tags - however, we do not guarantee we accept all NWT tag items, as they must still meet our standards and be free of imperfections

Check these pictures out, these are items I sent, that they deemed, unfit to sell. $80 Geox boots and $60 Geox sneakers, Merrell sneakers that were worn ONCE.. Jackets and Dresses...





This outfit was also sent- These are organic thread pants from a vegan store in Williamsburg, Bklyn.

Needless to say, I have been in tears since I they told me what they were going to "compensate" me for.

Accepted ItemsSizePrice / Payout
Baby Gap Shrug 12-18 Mo
12 mo$ 9.99 / $ 3.00
Baby Gap Rash Guard 12-18 Mo
12 mo$ 5.99 / $ 1.20
Baby Gap Long-sleeve Shirt 18-24 Mo
18 mo$ 5.99 / $ 1.20
OshKosh B'gosh Short-sleeve Shir...
12 mo$ 3.99 / $ 0.80
Baby Gap Tank Top/sleeveless Top...
12 mo$ 3.99 / $ 0.80
Little Bitty Dress 18 Mo
18 mo$ 3.99 / $ 0.80
Carter's Tank Top/sleeveless Top...
18 mo$ 2.99 / $ 0.60
Baby Gap Hat 12-18 Mo
12 mo$ 5.49 / $ 1.10
Baby Gap Sandals 7
7$ 7.49 / $ 2.25

Converse Sneakers 5
5$ 4.99 / $ 1.00

The site is a huge scam.. if you google reviews...everyone has the same complaint. expensive things with tags, not paid out.

In hindsight I should have went into the FAQ section of the site and read every single line. But I moved across the country with 2 babies, I read all the rules and all the guidelines. Nowhere on those areas of the site is their "sorry we keep your stuff and don't pay you" policy listed..

here is a link to more reviewers, they also have 30 complaints filed against them with BBB.com I will be number 31, unless another mommy beats me to it.

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/ThredUP

I don't care about the money specifically but any and every mommy out there knows that for some odd reason, your babies clothes are special to you, so when you feel that they were stolen from you, They could have instead been sitting in that bin in your basement for blissful memories.