This is 14-1/2. I love that her half birthday come This is 14-1/2. I love that her half birthday comes as we wrap up family summer birthdays so she is included too. 🥰 She loves lululemon, fountain Coke, and long hugs. She is a fiercely loyal friend, is the best debater I know, and sleeps later than I ever did when I was a teenager. 😂 She is quiet and loud all at once and is forever the biggest cheerleader her brother and I could ever have. My rainbow baby is growing up before my eyes and I love it and hate it all at once. Love you to the moon and back kiddo. 💛
“Everything good, everything magical happens bet “Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August." Jenny Han
The disco ball was hung there temporarily for a ho The disco ball was hung there temporarily for a hot minute but when it starts showing off at sunset, how could I move it anywhere else? ✨
Did the lyrics to “Sitting on the Dock of the Ba Did the lyrics to “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” just run through your head or are you young? 😂 I despise Parkway traffic in the summer but love that our kids get to have a Jersey shore summer just like we did when we were their age. 💛
Any time my kids ask to have dinner with me, I con Any time my kids ask to have dinner with me, I consider it a win… dinner date with my oldest at Cava to close out the weekend, perfection. 🥰
The five grandkids recreated one of the candy boar The five grandkids recreated one of the candy boards from @ainttooproudtomeg’s cheese board deck. They may have eaten about half as much as they arranged, but that’s the point, right? 😍
We hope today made you as happy as this little chi We hope today made you as happy as this little chippy who hit paydirt with a $100,000 grand candy bar he found. 😍 (he actually had found himself TWO candy bars from we don’t know where, but we squired one away bc that felt like a sugar coma waiting to happen 😂)
If burrata is the question, the answer should be a If burrata is the question, the answer should be a loud and emphatic YES. Unless you’re lactose intolerant or somethin’.
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Press
  • Writing
  • Contact

Sweetnicks

Food and Life

Airborne Children and Engagement Chicken

April 7, 2010 · Narrative

airborne

When we moved back to this house last summer, I opted not to bring our swingset with us.  Nick had really outgrown it, and Madeline wasn’t ready for it yet.  Oh yeah, and I had it cemented into the ground at the old house, so it really wasn’t going anywhere.  I could have gotten a new swingset for this house, but then I had a brainstorm.  A trampoline!  I have always wanted one.  We had a teeny one that the kids used all the time, but if I got a bigger one, we could ALL use it.  Gotta love having kids … a great way to secretly relive our own childhood!

Secret Confab

So I told Nick my idea, to see if he’d go for it.  If he really had his heart set on a swingset, I was fine with that.  Luckily for me, he was completely on board.  I kept my eye on sales and last November, Wal-Mart had a steal on the giant ones with the safety net enclosure.  Like for a third of the normal cost.  Can I tell you how much those boxes weigh?  OMG.  Like, seriously, a ton.  Got two guys to load it into my SUV, and I don’t think the first guy would have signed on to help had he seen what I was buying.  It barely fit in my truck.

Airborne

Pure Joy

My favorite picture? The one below. I love how high Nick got, and her expression – look at that wide-open mouth!

Whoa Indeed

Nick was so excited that I bought it, but it sat in our garage until the warm weather broke.  Last weekend, we put it up and it has been diligently used ever since then.  By all of us.  I think everyone needs a trampoline in their backyard.  Our backyard is tiny, but I deemed it the kids’ space.  The front yard is mine.  This trampoline seriously takes up half the yard, but it is so.very.worth.it.  The giggles.  The laughter.  The pure unadulterated fun.  The pictures say it all.

Engagement Chicken


Now for the Engagement Chicken. It feels like this recipe has been around forever. And that’s about how long it took me to make it for the first time last month. I first heard about it from Glamour magazine, when they first printed it in 2004. Apparently girls were making it for their boyfriends, and their guys were proposing to them after eating it. Hence the name Engagement Chicken. Cute, no? I made it for the kids’ dinner on a night when I was going out. As I left with my friend, each of us stealing a bite before heading out the door, she looked at me and said, “And we’re leaving why?” It’s crazy for something so simple to be so downright yummy, but it is. Just be careful who you make it for.

Project 365
Photo #74, April 7, 2010

Beach Feet


Nothing signals warm weather like beach feet!

Engagement Chicken
Recipe courtesy of Glamour magazine, 2004

1 whole chicken (approx. 3 lb.)
2 medium lemons
Fresh lemon juice (1/2 cup)
Kosher or sea salt
Ground black pepper

Place rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Wash chicken inside and out with cold water, remove the giblets, then let the chicken drain, cavity down, in a colander until it reaches room temp (about 15 minutes). Pat dry with paper towels. Pour lemon juice all over the chicken (inside and outside). Season with salt and pepper. Prick the whole lemons three times with a fork and place deep inside the cavity. Place the bird breast-side down on a rack in a roasting pan, lower heat to 350 degrees and bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and turn it breast-side up; return it to oven for 35 minutes more. Test for doneness—a meat thermometer inserted in the thigh should read 180 degrees, or juices should run clear when chicken is pricked with a fork. Continue baking if necessary. Let chicken cool for a few minutes before carving. Serve with juices.

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPRINT

Posted In: Narrative · Tagged: Engagement Chicken, Glamour magazine

Comments

  1. Joanne says

    April 8, 2010 at 6:11 am

    I am so going to have to remember this recipe! Just in case I end up in a prolonged relationship and want to expedite the engagement process.

    Love the trampoline! We had a swing set when I was little but a trampoline would have been awesome. Heck, I want one right now. It would make medical school infinitely better.

    Reply
  2. chris says

    April 8, 2010 at 8:08 am

    ok for the kids the trampoline is GREAT. i think at our age…. :) we should not be on it. on one of my trips to Jersey i happened to go on one and the kids were saying higher and higher and uncle chris went high. came down on my butt perfectly bounced back up in the air (remember i was really bouncing high) and then came back down somehow on my neck and lower back. luckily someone had an extra strength muscle relaxer, hit the hot tub with a glass of wine shortly after and was in pain for 4 days afterwards. needless to say NO MORE trampoline for me. i’m glad the kids are enjoying it.

    Reply
  3. Ramona says

    April 8, 2010 at 8:56 am

    What fun, we didn’t have a trampoline growing up.

    The chicken sounds like something to cook for hubby. It will remind him how much he loves me.

    Reply
  4. Patsy says

    April 8, 2010 at 10:48 am

    I LOVE the beach feet! Can’t wait to head to the shore this summer… my favorite part of living in NJ!

    Never would have thought that Glamour would be a recipe source, but with that kind of review I’m going to put that one in my pile of recipes to try! Yum!

    Reply
  5. Adam says

    May 11, 2020 at 5:39 am

    Looks like kiddos enjoyed the trampoline jumping.

    Reply
  6. Noah says

    June 14, 2020 at 7:08 am

    Cate, thank you a lot for sharing your life event. I believe, you never forget such wonderful memories. Surely kids love the trampolining and chicken!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Storytelling…
Through photos.
Words. And recipes.

Archives

Categories

Instagram

This is 14-1/2. I love that her half birthday come This is 14-1/2. I love that her half birthday comes as we wrap up family summer birthdays so she is included too. 🥰 She loves lululemon, fountain Coke, and long hugs. She is a fiercely loyal friend, is the best debater I know, and sleeps later than I ever did when I was a teenager. 😂 She is quiet and loud all at once and is forever the biggest cheerleader her brother and I could ever have. My rainbow baby is growing up before my eyes and I love it and hate it all at once. Love you to the moon and back kiddo. 💛
“Everything good, everything magical happens bet “Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August." Jenny Han
The disco ball was hung there temporarily for a ho The disco ball was hung there temporarily for a hot minute but when it starts showing off at sunset, how could I move it anywhere else? ✨
Did the lyrics to “Sitting on the Dock of the Ba Did the lyrics to “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” just run through your head or are you young? 😂 I despise Parkway traffic in the summer but love that our kids get to have a Jersey shore summer just like we did when we were their age. 💛

Pinterest

This is 14-1/2. I love that her half birthday come This is 14-1/2. I love that her half birthday comes as we wrap up family summer birthdays so she is included too. 🥰 She loves lululemon, fountain Coke, and long hugs. She is a fiercely loyal friend, is the best debater I know, and sleeps later than I ever did when I was a teenager. 😂 She is quiet and loud all at once and is forever the biggest cheerleader her brother and I could ever have. My rainbow baby is growing up before my eyes and I love it and hate it all at once. Love you to the moon and back kiddo. 💛
“Everything good, everything magical happens bet “Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August." Jenny Han
The disco ball was hung there temporarily for a ho The disco ball was hung there temporarily for a hot minute but when it starts showing off at sunset, how could I move it anywhere else? ✨
Did the lyrics to “Sitting on the Dock of the Ba Did the lyrics to “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” just run through your head or are you young? 😂 I despise Parkway traffic in the summer but love that our kids get to have a Jersey shore summer just like we did when we were their age. 💛
Any time my kids ask to have dinner with me, I con Any time my kids ask to have dinner with me, I consider it a win… dinner date with my oldest at Cava to close out the weekend, perfection. 🥰
The five grandkids recreated one of the candy boar The five grandkids recreated one of the candy boards from @ainttooproudtomeg’s cheese board deck. They may have eaten about half as much as they arranged, but that’s the point, right? 😍
We hope today made you as happy as this little chi We hope today made you as happy as this little chippy who hit paydirt with a $100,000 grand candy bar he found. 😍 (he actually had found himself TWO candy bars from we don’t know where, but we squired one away bc that felt like a sugar coma waiting to happen 😂)
If burrata is the question, the answer should be a If burrata is the question, the answer should be a loud and emphatic YES. Unless you’re lactose intolerant or somethin’.

Copyright © 2022 Sweetnicks · Theme by Vicki Harrison Design