a new tasty recipe

I made this salad today, for the teachers' luncheon tomorrow at Shelby's school. I had a taste, and even before adding the chicken, it is really good. So different. Fitting in with my new love of mexican-ish cuisine.

BBQ Chicken Chop Salad

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup BBQ sauce

Marinate chicken in sauce and then bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Chop pieces and refrigerate.

½ head iceberg lettuce, chopped
½ head romaine lettuce, chopped
3-4 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 jicama, peeled and diced (I omitted this)
½ cup cilantro, chopped
1 (15 oz. can) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen sweet corn, thawed
½ lb. Monterey Jack cheese, grated

Combine chicken with salad ingredients in a large bowl. Serve with Ranch dressing, additional BBQ sauce and crispy corn tortilla chips.

Recipe from my FAVORITES cookbook, sent to me by my super generous friend Martha! Pin It

action

These are probably some of my best, yet very unplanned, actions shots in a long while! And although the little story doesn't directly correspond w/ the photos, it reminded me of them. Love this girl. For credits, and to read the journaling better, go here.

I read a good book this past week: The Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner. It was a collection of short stories, a style I do not ever remember reading yet I totally enjoyed it. Very quick reads. Too quick in most cases, the writing was so good, I was sad when each one ended. I saw a good review for Certain Girls, went to the library to find the book that precedes it, it was not available, so I read this one in the meantime. Picked up Good in Bed today, however, my copy of Plum Lucky came in as well so that one will be read first. Love Stephanie Plum. I was on a waiting list for a few months, I think I started out as 221 and got it today. I rarely splurge and buy hardbacks for myself b/c I never read the same book twice. For being a not so patient person in most other aspects of life, somehow the library system works for me. I also have yet to subscribe to Real Simple magazine, although I love it, b/c it is a pricier subscription. Instead, that is my treat when I take my kids to play at the library...I sit and read that. Simple pleasures.

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what's for dinner?

Tonight, steak on the grill with some sauteed mushrooms. I have tried many different things on my 'shrooms and seem to gravitate back to a mix of olive oil, butter, garlic and simple button mushrooms. My mom adds worchestire, those are good too.

Last night, I made the Asian Style Pork Chops by RR...that recipe is listed on the right. Still yummy and a great change of pace for standard fare. Last night, I used regular BBQ sauce b/c I did not have any Hoisin sauce and it was Yum-O to quote the master.

Suddenly, I am craving mexican food. I have made a few things, and have a few recipes cut out (or printed out) to try. Here is one by Paula Deen. All that soup makes me a little wary but I am going to try it...and then invite someone over to share b/c Dave and I would barely make a dent in that. I also saw an epidose where her son Jamie (cute!) made stuffed strawberries. I cannot find that online now so I may have to improvise but it is basically a strawberry stuffed with cream cheese (think cheesecake!) filling. They looked so easy and delicious. I may try that for Mother's Day. Pin It

little dreamer

I have mentioned this before but I do love Little Dreamer, digital scrapping website. I love the style of everything and they are just beyond generous. This week they are giving tons away as they celebrate their Birthday. You can see this layout, with more details here. Most of this page was from a download on the Shutterfly blog but by a Little Dreamer designer and site owner.

And you also know I am avid blog reader. I read one and then follow their links and it just goes on and on! A few weeks ago, I found Goody Goody and this gal is a crafter extraordinaire. Check her out. I am also thrilled to add that I won that cute little necklace shown on her blog :) Happy happy. I plan to buy some of that craft wire and try a few of those initials, I love them. I sewed 5 badges onto Olivia's Brownie sash, that iron on business just does not hold long term. I was proud to have effectively busted out the sewing machine and might have gotten re-inspired in that arena. Nothing has changed though, I only know how to sew straight lines.

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scrapping a page

digitally! Definitely a different, and funky look for me but I like it!! The pics I love are the ones that tend to motivate me to go back to creating. And I am so much better, and more inclined, to tell the everyday stories than special events's ones. If you want details on what products I used, click here.
Olivia returned to horseback riding today, after a 4 week hiatus following TWO spills. She did not just fall off either, both times she was thrown. She was back on Ruby the pony, but with wavering confidence. We will try it for another month and then maybe move on if she remains so iffy. Plus, just like everything else in the world right now, the price just went up and it is not a cheap hobby to start :)

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Weeknight Fajitas

I made this recipe tonight...actually, I assembled it all yesterday and let it marinate about 4 hours in Good Seasons Italian dressing but when I realized we would not eat it until tonight's dinner, I dumped off the dressing and placed everything into a ziploc to keep in the fridge. I gotta say, this turned out perfectly. Very subtle but delicious tasting. You can find the recipe here. This is one I will make again. I served it with some Mexican rice, the kind from the freezer section that you microwave. Not my favorite flavor of all time, but it worked. And I find those bags of rice (and the veggies too!) really cook to the desired doneness that way. Amazing to me. Pin It

song leader

I think this is the most thrilling thing to have happened to my girl so far...being chosen to sing in church! It has been a happy week for her, knowing she was about to do this. So fun. Makes me proud too. On a little sidenote, today she filled out a list of questions b/c next week she is "Student of the Week" and one was: what is your favorite thing about school? Her answers:
Mass
Gym Class
Recess
I love that!! A well rounded response, I think.
And...I have read endlessly about turning off your flash at school functions like this b/c otherwise, you are lighting up the heads just in front of you and nothing else. I finally did that and it worked! Granted, these are not perfection but it was far less distracting not to be flashing and, I still got a nice bright exposure, a little grainy but it worked. Making myself proud for applying the load of photography stuff I read!

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How about some cool shopping links?

I have not purchased anything....yet...but here are some of my recent cool finds on etsy:
cool silver jewelry I got something like this, elsewhere but I do not want share that source until after I have given one as a gift :) I will take a pic though-soon.
very unique prints, cool sayings
more prints
artwork here too.

Some of these I found via other blogs, and some I have found by spending quality search time over at etsy. Good stuff there, for sure. Pin It

I'm back

I am very unsure of why I took a blog break but the bottom line is this...I miss posting. I like to share and over the past month, I have at least one dozen times thought: ooh, I need to post this on my blog. A few phone calls and emails asking me where I have gone helped nudge me back in this direction, and further bury any reservations I have about sharing freely online (you know, pics of my kids and enough personal stuff to make a grandma nervous, type of thing). Perhaps b/c I am such an avid blog reader, I feel comfortable here... so I am back. The final push was this capture of my beautiful girl just being her silly self in the 70 degree temps we (finally!) enjoyed over the past few days.
While I was away, to occupy myself, I spent some quality research time over at etsy. Stand by for more specific posts. People are so clever and creative!! I have a big wish list now.

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