Easy weeknight meal: skinny Greek yogurt chicken & kale chips

I jumped on board with two trendy foods of 2012 last week -- Greek yogurt & kale -- for a really easy weeknight meal.

Skinny Greek Yogurt Chicken

I'd pinned this a while ago and finally made it last Thursday.  Really yummy!

Side note: Hydrangea was $14 at Costco!

4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 cup plain greek yogurt (I used Oikos)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese - grated
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

As I was combining the ingredients I realized it looked like a lot of sauce for 2 breasts -- the original pin of mine said this was for one breast so I doubled it.  Oops!  Half way through cooking I searched again and realized the mistake and took some of the sauce out.  It still tasted delicious, but resulted in a less beautiful looking dish.

Correct directions from Life of Meg:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2) Combine Greek yogurt, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, seasoned salt, and pepper in a bowl.
3) Line baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
4) Coat each chicken breast in Greek yogurt mixture and place on foiled baking sheet.
5) Bake for 45 minutes.

Kale Chips
My friend Carson inspired me to make some easy kale chips and I am now addicted!

1 lb. kale (which only cost a little over $1)
Olive Oil (I actually just used Pan Olive Oil)
Seasoning of your choice

Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray to prevent sticking.  Tear the kale off the stem.  Don't make the pieces too small because they do shrink a lot.  Spray with Olive Oil cooking spray and season.  I used garlic salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and they had a nice kick.  Josh didn't seem that impressed - his reaction was something like, "Tastes like seasoned leaves!"

Olivia was a fan.

XO,

Whit

Living room = ladies lounge

A few years ago Rachel and I started calling her formal living room the "ladies lounge" and I'm adopting that name for my transforming room too.  Calling it that does help explain to inquiring men why there is not a TV in the room!

My sisal rug arrived a few weeks ago and I really love how it helps warm up and lighten the room.

I changed the fringe on my panels to a flat green ribbon and think it helped the curtains look a bit more like they were planned to be in this room.

Someone thinks this makeover was all for her and we keep finding her in the ladies lounge.  Great spot for her to watch all the activity on St. Mary's St or take an afternoon nap!

Next project in the room are getting the pillows made.  I have all the fabric, just need to find trim and have them made.  I'm also going to work on a new piece of art in April.

XO,

Whit

Weekend party recap

We celebrated two of my very best friends this past weekend.  Get ready for photo overload!

First up - Rachel's baby shower!  Can't wait to meet baby Matthews and find out if it is a boy or a girl (my money is on boy!).

Edible Art did a great job copying the Noah's arc theme from the invitation on the cake & cookies.

Carolina Country Club in Raleigh

Favors - animal cookies & silver baby cup w/ Reece's Pieces

We had people write messages in the ZooBorns book -- advice to the Baby about Rachel or to Rachel with advice about being a mom.  We tried to keep it fun and relevant to the animal picture on the page, which got interesting.

Marlowe is next after Rachel!

All the girls

and the ladies!

Then we headed to Charlotte to celebrate Grayson and Matt at their engagement party!  Looking forward to these two tying the knot at the farm in July.  You'll notice I wore the same J. Crew shift dress, just changed the accessories up. 

The happy couple with Grayson's parents

All the ladies

Then Sunday morning a group of us hosted a kitchen shower for Grayson at my parents' house.  Big THANK YOU to my mom for all her hard work to make this such a lovely brunch!  She pulled the rest of us together.

The bride-to-be with her new niece!

Hostess with the mostest = BC

Grayson with the hostesses

w/ her sweet Mama

So pretty and bridal with her ribbon bouquet!

So thankful for God blessing me with these strong friendships!  Rachel & Grayson - so looking forward to celebrating the next chapter in each of your lives.

XO,

Whit

Spring Entertaining

My kitchen island is ready for Easter.  Vase is Juliska from La; eggs are alabaster from Williams-Sonoma; bunny was from Fearrington Village shop.

We had a joint birthday dinner for Jean & her sister Dorothy's birthdays last weekend.  I decided to keep it easy and used pink paper plates on gold chargers.  Still festive and colorful!  

As you can see, we don't have any dining room chairs, so I collected 8 chairs from all over the house.  I actually kind of liked the eclectic feel.

Tulips by kitchen window and calla lilies in living room.  Both pairs of containers are from Homegoods.

(5 seconds after this picture was taken I dropped and shattered the top of the cake plate.  I may have shed a few tears...I had just driven all over Raleigh to purchase a new one not 15 minutes before I clumsily dropped it. Oh well!)

The birthday ladies!

Then Friday we celebrated Jason's birthday at the Ottos' house.

The Otto brothers' ladies

The birthday boy & Marie

XO,
Whit