The weekend review.

What a great weekend! Friday evening we arrived late in the Poconos, but not too late to enjoy some wine and pizza with my parents. Although overcast, it was still warm enough on Saturday to grab our clubs and hit the golf course. Please be advised that I in no way, shape or form, consider myself to be a golfer. I gave it a valiant effort, however, and the combination of being with my family outdoors and a few beers here and there made for quite the enjoyable day. Afterwards we stopped by the market to pick up some more wine and some special ingredients for our meal-to-be. We headed on down to the lake just in time for the sprinkles to start dropping from the sky so on home we headed. Card games were in order in which I must mention that my mom and I threw down against our opponents (dad and hubs). Let it be said that the score was very lopsided, in our favor of course :) Hubby and I decided to save our recipe for Sunday and mmm, am I glad we did! The Poconos can be great when it's hot and sunny or crisp and chilly, for outdoor activities, but when it's dark and down pouring there's not much to do. Occasionally, on rare days, I welcome the rain. To wake up, all wrapped up in blankets, after sleeping in late on a Sunday morning... does it get any better? Once everyone was awake, hubs and I whipped up our thank you meal.  Between our warm and delicious food and the Lifetime movies, it was a seriously snuggly Sunday. Our meal turned out so well that I'm already trying to figure out what to cook next. I highly recommend this cookbook for anyone who's not already a pro in the kitchen. It's simple and straight forward, which is just about all I can muster these days. So, to highlight the delectable meal we partook in consuming, let me share:

Chicken with Pesto-Mushroom Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts

Salt and pepper

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

10 oz. white mushrooms, sliced thin

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 low sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup basil pesto

2 tsp. lemon juice

1. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until golden brown, about 3 min. per side. Transfer to plate and tent with foil.
2. Add remaining oil to skillet and cook mushrooms until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 sec. Add cream, broth and chicken to skillet, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. 
3. Transfer chicken to serving platter and tent with foil. Return to skillet to high heat and simmer until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in pesto and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken. 

The recipe suggested we serve rice and a green salad so we did just that. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures because (of course) I left my camera at home, but trust me, just typing this has my taste buds craving more. In fact, I think I might need to pick out another recipe tonight and make a quick stop at the store! 

Image found here.