Home again

A week ago Friday, as the nurse practitioner wrote me my third prescription for an antibiotic to kill the strep I’ve had since Memorial Day, she asked, “do you have a lot of stress in your life?”

“I have two small children,” I answered in the affirmative.

“Get some rest,” she advised.

Perfect timing, as we were headed home to my parents. We spent last week surrounded by my family in Ohio – my parents and my two sisters and their husbands and kids. Jeremy drove us out, flew back to Chicago for work, and rejoined us Friday.

It was a week of summer vacation, through and through. Bikes and chalk littered the driveway. Sandals of various sizes and colors were piled by the garage door. Nana was generous in doling out the Popsicles, and there was always a friend to play with.

We came back Saturday night, and our condo seemed foreign to me. We had some work done to the walls and things were out of place.

I spent much of Sunday pulling our place and things back together. By Sunday night, Jeremy and I had the condo back in shape and I declared it fajita night. I used a tequila lime marinade for the chicken, inspired by my friends who had served us something similar a few days beforehand.

Tequila lime chicken
From Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family
1/2 cup gold tequila
1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (5 to 6 limes)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (2 oranges)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon minced fresh jalapeno pepper (1 pepper seeded) (I omitted this!)
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (3 cloves)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 whole (6 split) boneless chicken breasts, skin on

Combine the tequila, lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, jalapeno pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken breasts. Refrigerate overnight.

Heat a grill with coals and brush the rack with oil to prevent the chicken from sticking. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade, sprinkle well with salt and pepper, and grill them skin-side down for about 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove from the grill to a plate. Cover tightly and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.