Almost September !!!

Happy Monday everyone! Well, we survived the first week of school...I hope we survive the 2nd Monday of the year just as well :) My son had a fantastic first week of school. Mom had a little harder time. I will say in defense of myself that I did not cry the first day until my son was safely in his classroom and we were all out of the school back in the comfort of our own vehicle. My husband had commented on how well I was doing as we walked out of the kindergarten hall and I just nodded. I only nodded because I knew that if I did speak at that very moment I was going to lose it. You see, I don't like anyone to see me cry. I am funny like that, it makes me very uncomfortable to allow myself to be that vulnerable in pubic. Not to mention that I am not a pretty crier. Once I put my seat belt on, I absolutely sobbed. Little girl sobbing. My husband's eyes got huge...he only thought he got out of this milestone safely! ha ha! I proceeded to cry off and on throughout the week.I am so grateful he was here to witness all of it. I am quite sure he would have rather been at the office! The one place that I have the hardest time controlling not crying is in church. The church that we attend has worship music that evokes emotions in me that until we attended there, I did not know were possible. The music truly brings tears to my eyes. Luckily for me, it is normally pretty dark in the sanctuary when worship begins. There are Sundays that the worship team and their beautiful voices stir up emotions that even sermons can not. It is amazing that music can reach your soul like that. It often reminds me how much I wish I could sing. I can assure you that if I did sing at the top of my lungs, it would cause others to weep and it would not be for good reasons. :) I can remember exactly when I realized I could not sing. My sophomore year in high school, a friend of mine was asked to sing at a school event. He asked me to join him...he thought I could sing, so did I. We chose to sing a Garth Brooks song and he played guitar. We even practiced. Let me make this clear...he could sing and really well. I am not sure why he thought I could...or why I thought I could. So the night of the school function, in front of a couple hundred people, we sang. And when we were done, I knew it was bad. I knew I was awful, and as much as I wanted to believe it wasn't as bad as I knew it was, my own family confirmed my worst fears. I saw my Mom and she said "Did you have fun?" and I said "I think so..." She replied with, "Good, I am so glad, the food was really good, you should have a bite to eat." You should notice that missing in that conversation was...You did great! You sounded beautiful! On cor, On cor! NO ONE SAID THAT. In fact, no one said much of anything. I think that was the kindest thing that they could do for me. I know if I had sounded half way decent, as much as they loved me, that they would have loved to tell me so. It was that bad! Seriously bad! I realized that night that even karaoke was out of my near future. So, I secretly envy those around me with a beautiful voice and I married someone who can actually sing. I just live vicariously through him. Oh the night my dreams of being a superstar on stage died...God had better plans for me! :) On to better things... I have a delicious recipe for you that we had last night. We ate at a really good restaurant last week and my husband ordered the potato chip chicken with an onion sauce. It was so good! I made up my own recipe for it yesterday and it was a hit. I hope you'll try it or any of the variations I listed. Hope you all have a good week! God Bless!


Potato Chip Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (preferably pounded thin)
3 cups Lays Potato chips, crushed finely (Half a large bag of chips or 2 lunch size bags)
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 cup low fat buttermilk or 2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup flour

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Pour the crushed chips in a pie dish or plate for dredging the chicken and add the onion powder and garlic salt and mix around with your fingers. Pour the buttermilk in a bag or bowl for dipping the chicken into and do the same with the flour. Dredge your chicken in the flour first, then the buttermilk or eggs and then in the chips. Push the chips on the chicken to help them to stick. Then lay them on a cookie sheet with a rack if you have one. If not that is OK, it just might not be as crisp on the bottom. Bake them for 35 minutes or until lightly brown and cooked through. Serve in a variety of ways, see below...

I served our chicken with the onion sauce that is listed below but you could also serve it with the other variations listed:

*Use BBQ Lays instead of plain ones and serve with a little BBQ sauce on the side
*Lightly squeeze honey over the top of each cooked chicken breast...the salt and sweet combination is awesome!
*Serve with a honey mustard dressing or sauce


Green Onion sauce:

1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup low fat mayo
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
2 green onions chopped
2 1/2 TBSP Lipton Onion soup mix

Whisk the above together and chill for 30 minutes. To serve...and I know this seems odd, put the sauce on the plate first and smooth it out so that when the chicken is placed on top, it warms the sauce slightly. It is delicious!

School is Starting !!!

Hi there...well I guess I took a long, long vacation this summer from my little blog. Would have been nice if I had taken the time to tell you I wouldn't be back until August wouldn't it! I apologize, I try to have better manners than that. The summer has flown by. And with this heat, it can't go fast enough! My oldest is starting kindergarten next week. It breaks my heart. I really should be ready since we had him for an "extra" year because of pre kindergarten, but I am NOT ready. He is SOOOO ready. I would rather have it this way than reversed for sure. I hope the transition for Mommy gets easier with number 2 and 3 but I have a nagging feeling it won't. I truly enjoy my baby boy...he is so much fun and I just don't want to share him. We will meet his teacher this week and I am attempting to relish every hour with him until Monday, but the clock just ticks faster. He gets to pick his first day of school breakfast, lunch and dinner. We have been busy selecting different options, this type of foodie freedom has proven to be a BIG decision for my son. There is no telling what we will end up eating on Monday! Although I have neglected this blog now all summer, I have not neglected my kitchen and have some great recipes to share. Try them soon and pray for cooler weather!

Here are some favorites from this summer's kitchen...in no particular order: Cornbread salad...yes I did type Cornbread salad :) Balsamic Brown Rice, and my Cream Puff Pie

Balsamic Brown Rice

2 cups Brown Rice

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup chicken broth (I use low sodium)

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers, drained

4 green onions chopped

In a microwaveable safe bowl, mix everything but the onions and red peppers together. Microwave, covered on high for 8 minutes or until almost all of the liquid is absorbed. Let stand for 3 minutes and then fluff with a fork and add the onions and peppers and serve. FYI....if you choose to use white rice instead of brown, the vinegar will discolor your rice to a rosy color that isn't that pretty...:)

Cornbread Salad

1 Jiffy cornbread mix

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1/4 mayo, light is fine

4 green onions

1 cup tomatoes chopped fine

1/2 cup bacon bits (old school style works best...bust out those BAC O's)!
1/2 fresh shredded cheddar cheese....shredding this yourself really does make a big difference here

Pre heat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8x8 square dish. Mix your cornbread mix with the egg and milk and pour and spread into the dish. Bake for 12-17 minutes or until done. Let cool for 45 minutes and then crumble into a large bowl. Then add everything else except the mayo. Fluff the ingredients together with a fork. Then add the mayo. It should not be a wet salad, the mayo just serves to make it a little moist. Chill for one hour and serve. So Yummy, you won't believe it!

Cream Puff Pie

I adapted a recipe I saw for this to fit my tastes and the final product was a win. I hope you'll try it if you like cream puffs...tastes just like one but better!

Crust:

1 stick of butter

1 cup water

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup flour

4 eggs

In a saucepan, bring the butter, water and salt to a boil. Add the flour all at once and mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture begins to form a ball, usually takes about one minute. Then remove from the heat and let cool for five minutes. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and spread in a greased 11x14 dish. Just spread it on the bottom of the pan, just like you would brownies. Bake at 425 for 14-18 minutes or until puffed and golden. It will climb up the sides of the pan and puff. Don't worry about puffing too much as it will fall some as it cools. When done, completely cool the crust before adding the filling.

Filling ingredients

1 block low fat cream cheese, very soft

2 packages instant white chocolate pudding mix

1 package instant french vanilla pudding mix

3 cups of milk...I used skim

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 container of fat free cool whip

Mix the softened cream cheese slowly with the pudding mix and add the milk slowly. Whip on high speed for five minutes. Then add the vanilla and mix to combine. Spread into cooled crust and chill for one hour. Then spread the cool whip on top. This would also be good with a layer of fresh raspberries under the cool whip.