Making Time for Yourself

Making Time for Yourself

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Tradewinds. All opinions, as always, are 100% my own.

Life is crazy busy for all of us. I know that I am busier than ever and I have fewer children at home than I have had in 35 years! As I look around our home and see the rooms that no longer house two or three siblings, it makes me a little sad. Empty nest syndrome? We are not completely off the hook without children since we still have two in college but they are both chomping at the bit to be one their own.

I have always taught my children that you need to take care of yourself in order to be able to care for others. I believe this is so important. I have a cross stitched hanger that reads, “If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody is happy.” Not sure I agree with that (well not all the time), but I do believe that Momma sets the tone in the home.

That’s why it is important to remember that making time for yourself is worth the effort and challenge. And I know it is a challenge, especially for those with lots of little ones. It’s a challenge for me and mine are all at least driving and can fend for themselves for a few days.

Making time for yourself is something that I have to consciously schedule. Whether is a time to get my hair colored or my nails done, both of which just make me feel better; to scheduling those quarterly medical appointments that I have to keep up with in order to stay on top of my health issues.

 

So here I sit…making time for myself. I am scheduled to attend a conference next weekend but was invited down to spend a few days chilling out and enjoying the weather in the sunshine state. I have four days of……who knows what we will do to decide what we will do! Nothing maybe..and that’s okay. Both my friend and I need some down time. She is a single mom of a college student and as we have traveled this week together, we have gotten to know each other so much better.

Because we are both bloggers and foodies, we decided to prepare a meal for ourselves and we each prepared our favorite, well one of our favorite comfort recipes. I mean you can’t just have one comfort recipe – can you?

I wanted to share my Iced Tea Chicken which is not something that you can find near where she and I live in the Midwest.

Iced Tea Chicken is so easy to make but I only think about it when I am in the South. Strange how being back where you grew up brings up memories of things you had not thought about in years.

The hardest part in making this dish is allowing the chicken to marinade. I know..Hey I did say it was easy to make.

Ready?

 

Ingredients:

1 chicken – whole or cut up
2-3 cups Tradewinds Unsweet with a Hint of Peach Iced Tea
1 large zip close plastic bag

Directions:

Wash chicken well (inside and out, pulling off any remaining pin feathers)
Place chicken in a large (2 gallon) zip close baggie
Pour tea over chicken
Close bag, pressing out as much air as possible
Place in bowl or baking dish in refrigerator for at least 12 hours
When ready to cook, remove from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before removing childen from the bag to cook. (Toss the bag and liquids)

Ways to prepare:

The easiest way is to place the chicken breast side up (if whole) in a baking dish and bake in the oven or on the grill at 350 for about 30-40 minutes or until the juices run clear.

Another way to prepare is to cut up the chicken and place of a baking sheet to cook at 350 for about 20-30 minutes or until juices run clear.

If fried chicken is calling your name, when you remove the chicken after marinading, pat it dry and roll in flour or corn meal before frying.

Didn’t I say it was super simple? Oh, and if you are a BBQ fan, you have to try our Iced Tea Barbecue Sauce for dipping or dumping all over your chicken.

And what did my friend make? Well she loves those little mini dogs so we let them soak up my iced tea barbecue sauce while warming in the slow cooker. Talk about comfort food!

 

Making time for yourself could be as simple as sharing the love of cooking or spending time getting to know each other better. Building a couple of close friendships is important and the time spent will pay off many times over as you are building memories and moments to savor.

Both of these recipes are so simple to make and can be enjoyed all year. All of the ingredients are readily available. You can find Tradewinds Unsweet Iced Tea varieties at a store near you HERE or online at Amazon.

How are you making time for yourself and creating moments to savor?

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