Sunshine, glorious sunshine!

We have sunshine today! I am enjoying it because later today clouds are supposed to return and we’re to have rain and snow clear through Sunday.  And as you can tell by these photos almost all of our snow is gone other than a  few patches here and there. Unheard of for February!

There is a reason I’m posting photos of the house. Last weekend we had a horrible windstorm that only lasted about 30 minutes or so. Dennis slept through the whole thing, but I kept hearing this weird banging noise that sounded like it was coming from the roof over by the chimney. Yesterday as I backed out of the driveway I could see that it looked like shingles were loose. After talking to Dennis and calling a couple of roofing companies and never hearing back from them, he came home early from work and climbed up there onto that peak to nail down three shingles that were hanging off of the roof. Apparently when they put our gas fireplace in, they didn’t do a very good job of attaching the shingles. I don’t know if these photos actually show just how high this roof is. Neither of us like heights, but my wonderfully brave husband went up there anyway. He said 20 years ago it wouldn’t have bothered him a bit, but the older he gets the less he likes getting up that high. He also said that you do what you have to do and with more rain and snow coming it had to be done.

I was talking to the kids on the WhatsApp chat on my phone while he was on the roof and I was on the ground watching him. From around the world they were chiming in with their advice! Dennis kept saying I’m 64, not 84. I’m still capable of this! Well, maybe he is but my heart sure doesn’t like it! He was pretty pleased that he probably saved us a couple of hundred dollars by getting up there himself. We were all relieved when he was back firmly on the ground.

One year we had to have our roof shoveled because we had about 4 1/2 feet of snow up there. Everyone was afraid of roof cave-ins that year and we had to hire roofers to come out and shovel the roof. You couldn’t even see out of those front windows on the bottom because the snow was so deep.  We have a 6 foot privacy fence around the backyard and you could literally walk from one yard to the other, up and down the block.  You couldn’t even see the fences! Thank goodness that hasn’t been an issue this year. But look at how blue the sky is. I am certainly enjoying it today.

Three more hats were finished and will be delivered to the nursing home today. I sure have been enjoying this yarn. It’s the Hobby Lobby “I love this yarn” in worsted weight.

Another dish cloth was finished at church on Sunday.

Look how pretty my birthday flowers still are after two weeks! I’m still enjoying them and the balloons!

I told you I would give you the recipe for the slow cooker chicken and so here it is. I didn’t get a picture of it and actually it doesn’t look all that great, but oh my goodness it tastes wonderful.  It’s very simple and I just used dried herbs because I didn’t have fresh and it was great anyway. I also used chicken breasts that were boneless.

French Onion Slow Cooker Chicken 

Chicken

1/4 cup butter

8 cups halved and thinly sliced sweet onions (about 3 large onions)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/ 2 cup chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)

4 bone-in skin-on split chicken breast halves (about 3 lb)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons cold water

Additional chopped fresh thyme leaves or chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, if desired

Steps

• Spray inside of 4- to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 1/4 cup butter over medium-high heat. Add onions, 1 tablespoon thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper; cook 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions start to soften. 
• Reduce heat to medium; cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are starting to brown. Add chicken broth; heat to simmering. Remove from skillet to medium bowl. 
• Season chicken breasts with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; add chicken, skin-side down, to skillet. Cook over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Transfer to slow cooker; top chicken pieces with onion mixture. Cover and cook on Low heat setting 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until juice of chicken is clear when thickest parts are cut to bone (at least 165°F). 
• Remove chicken from slow cooker to serving platter; cover and keep warm. In small bowl, mix cornstarch and cold water with whisk; beat into onion mixture in slow cooker. Cover; cook on High heat setting 10 to 15 minutes or until bubbly and slightly thickened. Top chicken with sauce. You can garnish with additional thyme or parsley if you would like.

I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did. Next time I will give you the recipe for my chicken pot pie.  I thought I should probably  just do one at a time!  I hope you all have a wonderful afternoon.

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name; make known among His nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts.”  Psalms 105:1-2

Blessings,

Betsy