New Recipe

Okay, so I'll admit that I was a little skeptical about trying this recipe, mainly because it calls for the use of mayonnaise. But I tend to be quite adventurous with my food, and Hector (God love him) will eat pretty much anything I put in front of him, just as long as he doesn't have to be the one cooking it. So, in my desperate search for something new and different to serve my family for dinner, I tried this recipe. And you know what? It was really good! It was easy to make, and it was different, which was really nice since I tend to get into cooking ruts with our meals. The chicken comes out super moist and flavorful. So, I thought I'd pass along the recipe.

Mouth-Watering Italian Chicken

Mix together 1/2 cup real mayonnaise (I used Hellmann's Lite Mayo) with 1/4 Parmesan cheese. Take 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, washing them and trimming off all excess fat. Lay the chicken breasts in a baking dish, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Salt the chicken, then spoon the mayonnaise mixture over the top of each chicken breast. Then take 1 - 1 1/2 cups of Italian seasoned bread crumbs, and sprinkle some on the top of each chicken breast. Bake in a preheated oven (425 degrees) for 20 - 25 minutes.

I served this with some angel hair pasta, tossed lightly with olive oil and basil, and Verde Bread (which was a recipe I got from my friend, Robin). Oh, the best part about the Verde Bread is that my kids are totally unaware that they are eating spinach. It really is SO yummy!

Recipe Variations:
Omit the Italian seasoned bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, and instead use a blend of Mexican cheeses (Mont. Jack, Cheddar, Asiago, Asadero, etc.). Use plain bread crumbs, adding in 1/4 teaspoon of each of Cumin, Chili Powder and/or Garlic Powder to the bread crumbs.

OR...

Keep the Italian seasoned bread crumbs, but use Swiss cheese instead of Parmesan, and stuff each chicken breast with ham to make a quick Chicken Cordon Bleu.

3 Years

3 years ago today, I held my baby boy in my arms and I knew the answer to the question, "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

My precious Isaac... Sweet-natured, adorable, lovable, easy-going, comical, always smiling, always laughing, with your wild and crazy hair, and a spirit to match! You bring so much joy and laughter to my life.

"God has given me laughter." Genesis 21:6

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy!

Question

What do you do with your children's clothing they have outgrown when the clothing is stained or ripped? I have tons of clothes from Avery that are all stained and/or have rips in the knees, that no longer fit her. In the past, I've given away everything I couldn't pass along to a friend or family member to charity. But recently I rethought doing this, because I wondered if it was insulting to the charity and people who would be receiving them. For the past several months, when she has ripped or stained something beyond repair, I've honestly just been throwing it away. This is a big issue for me, because Avery is REALLY hard on her clothes. If I kept everything she ripped or stained as "play clothes" for her to wear at home, her closet and drawers would be stuffed beyond belief. So this morning, I pulled a pair of sweatpants out of the laundry and told myself that I could never let Avery wear those ragged things ever again because they are 2 inches too short for her in the length and have a huge hole in the knee. So I chunked them into the trash can in my laundry room along with 5 or 6 other articles of clothing. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks... It seems so wasteful to me to just throw it away. But is it insulting that I donate ripped or stained clothing to charity? Which is worse? I really would welcome your comments.

I'm so happy!

Earlier today, Avery had an Awards Ceremony at school. Each six weeks, the teachers give out awards to students for things like perfect attendance, most improved, reaching their accelerated reader goal, etc. So, as Avery's class filed into the cafeteria this morning for the ceremony, Isaac sat next to me with his juice box in one hand and his blankie in the other hand. All five classes came into the cafeteria, all of the students sat down on the floor, and Avery's teacher announced that the ceremony was about to begin. For the first award, she was going to be recognizing students who were the Super Citizens for the third six weeks of school. A Super Citizen Award goes to a student who exhibits compassion towards other students, someone who is always willing to help out, and someone who cares about other people. The teacher announced that Avery had won this award, and Avery got up and took her award from her teacher, then took her place on the stage. While everyone waited for the next teacher to announce which student would be receiving this same award in her class, the entire cafeteria full silent, at which point Isaac screamed at the top of his lungs, "Mama, Mama! Sissy got award! I'm so happy!" And then he proceeded to bear hug my leg. The room erupted in laughter, followed by various comments like, "That's so sweet." and "That's so precious."

Yes, it is sweet... Yes, it is precious... Yes, it is a tad embarrassing...

Once everyone in the room gained their composure, the Awards Ceremony went on without any further incidents. :-)

You know, my kids are pretty normal. They love each other one minute and want to pull out each other's hair the very next minute. They argue. They fight. But they love each other, and they are happy when they do well. I was so proud of my kids in that moment. Ah, yes... I have done at least one thing right as a parent. My kids are happy for each other when they do well! Yes!!! And that makes me SO happy!

It's Cookie Time!

Next to Christmas, I would have to say that Girl Scout Cookie time is the most wonderful time of the year! Avery is selling cookies again this year. She is not allowed to start selling cookies until this Friday. But I do want to make you all aware of 3 things:



1) You can leave me a comment on here about what you might want to order from Avery - and I promise not to read the comments until Friday. :-)
2) They are $3.50/box.
3) Here are the varieties of cookies for sale:

The new cookie this year is called Thank U Berry Munch, made with real cranberries. Yummy! And, if by chance your New Year's resolution was to not indulge in such sweet delicacies, you can still support Avery by donating boxes of cookies to a wonderful program called Project Troop to Troop. They still cost $3.50 per box. All you need to do is pick whichever flavor of cookie you would like to donate. And we take care of the rest...

A little more information on Project Troop to Troop: Girl Scout Cookies donated to Project Troop to Troop are transported to Fort Hood, the USO, the American Red Cross and ultimately service men and service women at home and abroad. Girl Scout Cookies also reach local Veterans Organizations and wounded soldiers. In 2009, Project Troop to Troop generated roughly 127,000 packages of Girl Scout Cookies!

Avery was able to donate 6 of those boxes last year, because of generous friends and family members who participated in this program!

I can already taste the Thin Mint melting in my mouth........