Currently | What’s Going On & a Chicken Piccata Recipe

Happy Friday, lovely! This week seems to have dragged on because every day felt like Friday, except it wasn’t Friday until today. My house has been a mess this past week because we’re in the middle of converting three rooms into something new. Our old office/playroom will now be strictly a playroom. Our old guest room will now be baby boy’s nursery. And Charlotte’s nursery is going to turn into a big girl room. We got rid of a lot furniture, and now the clutter that used to live in that furniture needs to go bye-bye. I have so much organizing to do, it’s making me crazy. Of course this would be the week that Charlotte decided to drop her nap, so I’ve had to readjust my sails yet again. Not to mention that she woke up from her nap after her last day of school yesterday with a fever and a hacking cough. So it’s off to the doctor we go this morning! We’re definitely starting off summer with a bang!

Here are some highlights from the week:

ONE. 

Last weekend we headed to Tomball, and I’m in love with this store front. Tomball is a quaint little antique shopping town, and The Turquoise Door is the cutest boutique. I ended up getting Charlotte’s teachers their end of year gifts from here.

While in Tomball, we made our rounds through the antique stores, and we ended up finding Charlotte’s chest of drawers (you might have seen a glimpse of it on Snapchat). We’re redoing it with chalk paint, and I think it’s going to be fantastic! I can’t wait to show you the room once we get it together. Her bed just came in, so now I’m ready to get the room finished. I just need to find a mattress, a bedding set, and some decorations!

TWO.

This week was M’s birthday, and we celebrated with our favorite Mexican food. If you’re in the Houston area and have never been to El Tiempo, you’re missing out. The beef filet fajitas are melt-in-your mouth good. Thanks for all of the birthday wishes for him! He’s had a great week. Now we just need to clean up our eating a little bit. Which brings me to…

THREE.

Last week, I saw a picture of yummy chicken piccata on Natasha’s Instagram. She used Noshtastic’s recipe, and I made my version of it. I didn’t do the healthy route this time, but I’m certain it’ll be just as good when I make it the Paleo way next time, because I will be cleaning up my eating ASAP. Here’s the recipe.

EASY CHICKEN PICATTA

INGREDIENTS

• 4 Chicken Breasts – skinless, boneless
• 4 – 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 tbsp cornstarch  (for Paleo version, use arrowroot)
• ½ cup organic chicken stock
• ⅓ cup lemon juice
• ¼ cup capers (rinsed & drained)
• ¼ cup parsley, finely chopped for garnish
• lemons, thinly sliced for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut the chicken breasts in half long ways (not in half, you’re trying to make them thin pieces of meat), and toss them into cornstarch (or arrowroot), coating both sides. Season the cornstarch with salt and pepper.
2. Add about 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a non-stick skillet and heat over medium high heat.
3. Shake the excess cornstarch or arrowroot off the chicken, then add three pieces at a time to the skillet and cook for about 3- 4 minutes on each side until light golden brown.
4. Remove the chicken and set aside. Repeat with remaining chicken, adding more oil if needed. 
5. Once all chicken is done and removed from skillet, add the chicken stock, lemon juice and capers to the pan. Add the chicken back in and cook for an additional five minutes until the chicken is cooked completely. 
6. Garnish with parsley and lemon slices. Serve with angel hair pasta or spaghetti squash if making this meal a Paleo one. 

FOUR.

Charlotte finished her last day of Mother’s Day Out yesterday, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with how this year turned out for her. She started out very shy, but she really blossomed throughout the year. She became so enamored with her teachers and her school, and I am so thankful to have found a place that feels like a second home for her. We’ll both miss it during the summer, but I’ll be soaking up all the one-on-one time we can get before baby brother comes in September. I’ll also be reinforcing some preschool lessons over the summer so that we can still have “school,” and I hope to do more crafts with her as well.

FIVE.

Since yesterday was Charlotte’s last day of MDO, I enjoyed my last few hours of alone time at one of my favorite local lunch spots. They have the funkiest decor, but this quote caught my eye, and I knew I had to share it with you.

“As you grow up, you will have your heart broken more than once, and it’s harder every time. You’ll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You’ll fight with your best friend. You’ll cry because time is passing too fast, and you’ll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures. Laugh too much and love like you’ve never been hurt. Because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you’ll never get back.”

And that is exactly how I feel about life. Love God and love life. Amen.

And now…

Drumroll please!

CONGRATULATIONS to Laura Friedberg/@lauralou852! You’re our $75 PinkBlush winner! Contact me at sevengracesblog@gmail.com to claim your prize. You all made this contest so fun! Hopefully I can bring you more giveaways periodically. Congrats, Laura!

$75 PinkBlush Giveaway

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Don’t forget to link-up or check out the A Little Bird Told Me Link Party if you haven’t already. I featured 7 summer recipes, and I can’t wait to see what you all bring to the table this week. Also be sure to follow along on Facebook for fun videos, inspirational and funny tidbits, and the best news stories of the summer.

I hope you all have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend! God bless you and yours!

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