Herby Saucy Chicken with Shallot Sauteed Green Beans

It has admittedly been a while since I cooked dinner.  Ever since my son was born (3.5 years ago!), my husband has taken over most of the cooking responsibilities.  He's grown to really enjoy it; it's his way of relaxing when he is at home and not travelling for work.  He has recently started a new job where he doesn't have to travel nearly as much (woohoo!).  So, I figured I better start getting back into cooking since I can't very well be a stay at home mom who can't even pull her weight in the kitchen!!

I concocted this little number and it was extremely well received by my hubs so it'll probably be added to our weeknight rotation.  The chicken and sauce are cooked in the same pan so there isn't a huge mess to be made there.  The green beans can be fresh or frozen.  For a short cut, I used Trader Joe's frozen green beans and they are one of my favorite go-to veggies to have on hand when you don't have something fresh.  And they can be doctored up in so many ways.  

First, the green beans.  

Shallot Sauteed Green Beans (serves 4)

What You'll Need:

3 cups frozen green beans*

1 large shallot, sliced thinly

2 cloves of garlic, diced finely

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup chicken stock (approximate - add more if needed)

salt and pepper to taste

What You Do:

Heat olive oil in the pan and sautee shallots until tender (about 4-5 minutes).  Add in garlic and sautee that for about a minute.  Remove from the pan.  Add green beans into the same pan and add chicken stock.  Once the chicken stock is absorbed and the green beans are tender, you can add back in the shallots and garlic and add the butter.  Season generously with salt and pepper.  

*If you use fresh green beans, you will probably want to boil them and then blanch them in ice cold water first so that the cooking process starts and then they will stay green.  It adds a couple of steps but isn't difficult to do.  

Here are the green beans in process.  See last pic for the final look with the shallots and garlic mixed in.  They are so yummy!

Now it is time for the chicken!

Herby Saucy Chicken (serves 4)

What You'll Need
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup half and half (or use heavy cream if you really want to go for it!)
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
1 cup and 3 tablespoons of chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 -2 tablespoons olive oil (or other preferred oil to cook chicken)
salt and pepper to taste

What You'll Do
Dry the chicken thighs off with a paper towel and then season liberally with salt and pepper.  On a plate, mix together the fresh herbs (saving back 1 tablespoon of the parsley) and the onion powder and poultry seasoning.  Mix the ingredients together on a plate and then coat each chicken breast evenly on both sides with the herbs and spices mixture.

Heat the oil in a large skillet.  Once hot, add the chicken breasts and cook through, approximately 4-5 minutes per side.  Don't move them around a lot when they are in there so they get a nice brown, crispy sear on the outside.  Once they are cooked through, remove them from the pan and set aside under tented foil.  If you tent the foil instead of covering the chicken completely, it will keep the chicken crispy and also help keep it warm.

Deglaze the pan with 1 cup of chicken stock.  Once all of the yummy bits are picked up, add in the half and half and fresh parsley.  In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and remaining three tablespoons of chicken stock.  Pour that into the sauce mixture and stir together to thicken the sauce.  After about a minute, add back in the cooked chicken and let the sauce coat the chicken.  Serve a chicken thigh generously covered in sauce over rice, mashed potatoes, or polenta.  Serve with a side of shallot sauteed green beans.

Enjoy!  xo





#adornedaboderecipes #traderjoes #traderjoesgreenbeans #sauteedgreenbeans #cookingwithshallots #pansearedchicken #creamysauce #freshherbs #chickenandherbs #chickenandsauce #chickenrecipe #onedishrecipe #chickenandherbs #weeknightinspiration #quickandeasydinner

New Living Room Rug

Our new living room rug has arrived and I love, love, love it!  It has completely transformed the room in a number of ways. 

First, here is the room with the old rug so you can get an idea of what an improvement the new rug gave the space.

BEFORE:

The old rug worked well in our old house but when we got the new couch and chairs when we moved to NC, the old rug just didn't work.  

Enter the new rug.  Details on where I purchased can be found here.  

AFTER:

The first noticeable difference is obviously the color and style of the new rug versus the old one.  It is much more traditional and I love the more muted color palette that works much better with our current furniture.  

Secondly, and you can't get this from the picture but although this rug isn't as thick as the old rug, it is SO much softer under foot.  It feel so good to walk on it.  

Lastly, this rug is bigger than the other rug (9x12 versus the old 8x10) and it makes the room feel so much bigger because I was able to push the furniture out some and it still sat on the rug.  

All in all, I'd say the new purchase was a major improvement to the space! 

The couch and chairs were custom upholstery from The Warehouse 1924 and the side tables were custom lacquered from Finds Raleigh.  The ottoman is custom upholstered Ballard Designs in dodi beige. 

#traditionalmodernmix #rugsusa #livingroom #livingroomrug #moderntraditional #blueandgraylivingroom #homedecor #cameronjonesinteriors #findsraleigh #thewarehouse1924

Snoooooooow Day

Raleigh had a fairly decent snow this week - about five or so inches.  And, of course with snow means no school.  And no gym open. And no children's activities open.  My husband has been in Boston so I've been flying solo with the kids this week. 

My husband travels for work all week every week so being home with the kids on my own is no biggie but we are extremely active most of the time.  Usually the only time we are at home is in the early afternoon at what used to be nap time.  Now only one kid naps and I make the other one have quiet time so I can have a few minutes to myself.  But the snow has had us entirely housebound.  And I am proud to say that not only did we survive, I think we had a pretty good time! 

Day one: a civilized breakfast followed by Gray's usual routine of dismantling all of the spices in my pantry on the racks she can reach.  Yesterday was so funny because after the fifth time or so that she did it, I heard Forrest say, "Gray, clean this mess up.  You are driving me crazy!"  Hmmm, I wonder where he got that from...

My friend Reeves gave the kids the Snowman movie for Christmas and they loved it.  I could hardly believe they both sat still to watch it!!

We did lots of arts and crafts.  Stringing fruit loops onto pipe cleaners was a big hit with Forrest (baby Gray ate all hers after dumping them all over the floor).

We even managed to start a little Valentine's project.

By late afternoon we were getting hard up for activities (clearly):

So, we spent an extra long time in the bath to kill some time that evening...

And then on day two, the snow stopped dumping down and we got to head outside!  Both of my kids have seen snow but I think this is the first time they were old enough to really "get it".   Like everything else in this world, most of the snow ended up in baby Gray's mouth.

And just to keep things real, there was an epic meltdown by baby Gray when she was forced to quit eating said snow and come inside.

The snow tired everybody out and we all took a little nap that afternoon.  Even this guy!

Thankfully after a little nap, she was back to her old self again.

And they could go back to destroying my house again...

My snow days sure have changed over the years.  My friends know that I used to wish harder than anyone for a snow day.  And then after kids, snow was a whole different ball game.  Snow days no longer mean binge watching tv and day drinking by a fire.  It now means entertaining cooped up kiddos and everyone going stir crazy while you try to hold on to a shred of your sanity.  It means hearing people scream mommy every 25 seconds for no reason.   And lots of whining and crying.  But there was also a ton of giggling, dancing, jumping and wiggling happening over here. And I wouldn't change any of it for the world.  I know years from now when my kids are grown up, I will yearn for the time I got to spend with them.  So, despite this crazy, cooped up, exhausting time, I am focused on loving every minute of it. 

Black in the Bath

This Oklahoma home was featured recently in Domino.  It caught my attention immediately because the article was about how the home blended old and new - something anyone who knows me knows I'm passionate about.  Yes, it was beautifully done and well styled but the thing that stuck out to me the most was the bathroom.  It's ALL BLACK tile.  And I cannot get over how contemporary it looked even with such traditional and classic tile.

via Domino

For a long time now, I've dreamed of painting a room black but hadn't thought about all black tile in a bathroom.  Sure, you see lots of black and white mixed but think about it: it won't show dirt like lighter tile and grout!  And so sleek looking.  Here are  a few other {mostly} black tile bathrooms that I rounded up.  Definitely filing this idea away for when I get to redo a bathroom...

 via Abigail Ahern

via Apartment Therapy 

via Apartment Therapy 

 via DigsDigs

 via feedly

via ideas for bathroom 

via Kohler

Do any of you have all black tile in your bathroom?  Would love to know if it is as easy to maintain as I am imagining it is!  

#blackbathrooms #blacktile  #blackbathroomtile

A Little Etsy Pillow Round Up

My husband told me the other day that I have a problem with pillows.  And (I don't say this often), he's right.  I just think that pillows can inexpensively, yet dramatically, change a space.  I'm in the market for new ones for my living room to keep it from feeling too matchy-matchy and traditional.  I have to wait for my husband to finish processing our new rug before I pull the trigger on another purchase.  :)  In the meantime, I've rounded up a few pillows I'm loving lately from Etsy.  In no particular order, here are a few of my picks:

Pink and pom poms.  Perfect for a little girl's space, a feminine living room or a calming bedroom.  I can't help it, I still love a pom pom.  

here

If pillows are a problem, then animal print is my downfall.  I cannot.get.enough.  But I loved this spin on the antelope pillow - denim!  

here

I'm back in the South now.  Seersucker and a monogram!  But seriously, this would be super fun to spruce up a room for the warmer months.

here

These bunnies are so great.  Modern and traditional together.  And they don't feel kidsy at all.  If pink isn't your thing, I also saw orange and navy ones.  Adore these.

here

Is there such thing as modern country?  If so, this pillow is it.  I'm into larger scale, modern buffalo checks these days.

here

This pillow would be a great one to pair with some other colorful ones to pare down the mix.  And at the $14 price point, it is definitely a winner!

here

Vintage kilim.  Beautiful, old, colorful and has such a unique story to tell.  I love the shape of this one too!

here

#pillowshopping #etsypillows #custompillows #designerpillows #etsyfinds

Living Room Mood Board

Still thinking a lot about wallpaper...love this large scale Palmetto print from Serena and Lily so I played around with a little living room mood board today.  Happy Friday!  xo



#cameronjonesinteriors #moodboard #moderntraditionalmix #serenaandlilypalmetto #serenaandlilywallpaper #olioboard #leopardpillows #traditionallivingroom

Hamilton Bowes Simplistic Hardware

I am loving the simplicity of these Hamilton Bowes drawer and cabinet pulls and knobs.  They would be beautiful in a kitchen or bath redesign.  Definitely keeping these in mind for the future!

They'd be so elegant on white cabinets but can you imagine how they would pop on a slate gray or black or navy?!