Special Features - Spring 2022

Gingered-Orange Chicken ~ Becki Marshall

“The Splurge of Spring”

Ingredients:

• 6-8 small boneless chicken breasts (pound with a kitchen mallet for even thickness)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1tsp. ground ginger
• 1 ½ cups orange marmalade
• 2/3 cup fresh orange juice
• 8 oz. dried apricots
• ¼ cup brown sugar

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F
• Place Chicken breasts in a shallow roasting pan
• Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and ginger
• Spread the marmalade evenly over the chicken
• Pour the orange juice around the chicken in the pan
• Bake 20 minutes
• Remove pan from oven  and scatter dried apricots around the chicken
• Top the chicken with the brown sugar
• Return to oven, baste frequently, bake 10-15 minutes until golden and shiny on the tops of the chicken

To serve:

Place the chicken on a warmed platter, spoon apricots and some of the pan juices over the chicken. Reserve the remaining pan juices for serving.

Side Suggestions: Egg noodles and fresh, young asparagus spears

A SPRING CRAFT FOR KIDS & GROWNUPS ~ Allison Frassoni

Egg Carton Seed Starters & Soda Bottle Terrariums

What better way to head into Spring than growing new life at home? This is a fun and environmentally friendly craft that is sure to be a hit with kids. Toddlers to teens will enjoy learning about how plants grow from seeds. A great way to begin seedlings is by using a biodegradable product like an egg carton (no Styrofoam please!). Next take an empty 2-liter soda bottle and turn it into a self-watering plant terrarium that will help keep your seedling moist if you forget to water it for a day or two. Follow the pictures and instructions below and have fun watching new life grow from seed, to seedling – to flower.

Materials Needed:

• 1 cardboard egg carton
• 1 pack of seeds (any seeds will grow, but if you are growing larger plants or vegetables they will need to be transplanted once they get too big. Some recommendations: herbs, succulents, violets or a friendship plant (see another lesson in this one?!).
• 1 clear plastic soda bottle
• Soil and small pebbles
• A fiber wick: thick string will work just fine—it is used to send water up to the plant.  The most important thing is that the wick is fibrous or porous and will hold water.
• Scissors (with adult supervision for the little ones).

Instructions:

1. Fill each section of a cardboard egg carton with soil and plant 1 to 3 seeds into each section. Read the label on the  seed packet first as some seeds may only require one seed per section, and other seed instructions may require two or three seeds in a section.
2. Water
3. Allow a few days for seeds to sprout and keep moist.
4. Once seedlings are growing you can cut the sections of the egg carton with soil/seedling inside. Tip: you can do this in the beginning and plant each plant individually—this is less messy.
5. Cut clear soda bottle at approximately the top third of the bottle and flip it upside down inside itself (as seen in the above picture).
6. Put your wick or fibrous string  through it so that it reaches the bottom of the bottle.
7. Add small pebbles into top portion and cover pebbles with soil
8. Fill with water in the bottom section
9. Insert your seedling -- still in the single section of egg carton -- into the soil and cover it with a bit more soil.
10. Water lightly again on the top of terrarium and enjoy watching new life grow this Spring.

Download Puzzle PDF