lettuce wraps

Several people have requested this recipe, so I thought I'd just put it on the blog and then I can just send them a link instead of forgetting about getting the recipe to them for days....weeks....months.....

I am NOT a big fan of Chinese food, so I was a bit hesitant to try this when one of my co-workers, Kelly, brought this to a work luncheon last year.  I'm soooooooo glad I was adventurous, because this is one of my favorite meals now!  Please try this even if you don't like Chinese food, cause it really doesn't taste that much like it to me, and you would really be missing out.  Better yet, come visit us and I'll make it for you!

See, doesn't it even look pretty?  All green and fresh......much better than the cloudy, dreary, snowy weather we've had recently.  More SPRING-like.  I like it.

Lettuce Wraps

1-2 heads of Boston lettuce (you can also use iceberg, but I like how the Boston curls up - works better for me)

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

1-2 cups chicken broth

3 medium cloves garlic

2-3 tsp canola oil

1 cup chopped scallions (white part, green part or both)

1/8 tsp ground ginger (or 1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger)

3/4 cup Hoisin sauce (with the Asian foods at the grocery store)

4 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp Asian (dark) sesame oil

In a crock pot, add the chicken and 3 whole cloves of garlic (peeled).  Pour enough chicken broth over the chicken to pretty much cover it.  Cook on low for about 7 hours.

(If you have less time, you can also chop the chicken and cook it in hot oil and minced garlic - I just like to cook it in the crock pot because it's so so easy to shred and that's the way we like to eat it)

Pull the lettuce apart into pieces that look like little "boats" and store them until you're ready to serve the wraps.

After the chicken has cooked, shred it and put it to the side, keeping it warm.

In a large skillet, stir in the scallions, ginger, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil.  Add the shredded chicken and heat the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring until it bubbles and is heated through (2-3 minutes).  It will burn (we know this from experience), so stir it constantly and watch it carefully!

Place a bit of the filling in each lettuce "boat" and then wrap like a burrito and enjoy!

cheesy chicken-bacon-avocado quesadillas

These were on the menu tonight and the kids put them on their "all-the-time" list (minus the avocado).  I don't think they minded the taste of the avocado (they both like guacamole if I remember right), but the mushy texture is what made them get the forks out and start digging all the "green stuff" out.

You can find the recipe here at Kevin and Amanda.  I changed it just a bit cause we had cooked chicken I pulled out of the freezer and we only use turkey bacon so we cooked that in the microwave and had no bacon drippings (plus I don't think turkey bacon would make much "drippings").  I would imagine that the chicken would be even yummier cooked in the bacon drippings, though! 

Anyway, we will definitely make these again!

lost tooth

His first loose tooth.  His teacher pulled it right before he left school Thursday.  That's what he wanted - her to pull it.  She has quite the reputation for pulling teeth.  I guess you acquire that as a kindergarten teacher.  He was so excited!  He got to go to the nurse and get this cool treasure box to keep his tooth in until he got home.  Again, that's what he wanted.  The Tooth Fairy brought him $5, which he immediately put into his Disney money envelope.  The Tooth Fairy brings extra money for first teeth, you know.

i spy

a sign of spring in our front yard.

And I am so excited about it because

1) This is the first time I've had any luck with perennials sprouting up the second year
2) I'm so ready for a color besides gray and white, for warm weather, for new growth

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday, Ethan requested Green Eggs for breakfast with green milk (we're not ham-for-breakfast type of people at our house, so we also had bacon - not green). 

It was crazy "Who Hair" day at school, also in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday.  We almost had a meltdown this morning when we couldn't find this crazy white wig that Elliott had his heart set on wearing for the occasion.  Lucky for everyone, it was found deep down in the costume box.

And this guy pretty much has "who hair" every day.  Come to mention it, he usually wears "who socks" too.  Maybe he really is a "Who".   Hmmmmm....

found this week

1.  This room from Isabella & Max Rooms.  Stumbled upon it in a blog and the wheels are turning.  I've had a similar concept brewing for a few months now for the playroom, and I'm liking much of how this turned out.

2.  This post from I'm an Organizing Junkie resonated very deeply with me.  It's all about why she goes against the grain and chooses not to be busy all the time, including her feelings about it as well as others' perceptions of it.   



3.  This guy in his shorts and snowboots on one of our 60 degree days this week (the snowboots were necessary since all the snow had not melted yet, of course)

4.  New thoughts on being BOLD.  Andy Stanley's new series (well, I don't know how new it is, since I listen to the podcasts while I'm at the gym and this was the first week almost all year that I've been able to go to the gym) is about what church was intended to be, based on Acts.  Yesterday I listened to the 2nd session called Big Prayers (find it here under the Big Church series of messages).  Talked about praying boldly for things that we normally do not pray for......always good stuff in those podcasts.


5.  Yet more evidence that the God-inspired word in Proverbs that says to ".....guard your heart" is actually very good advice - go figure :)

6.  Pictures from Brian's cell phone......haven't heard about this picture with the gorilla so I'm wondering what that story is. 

And isn't he so sweet to send this to me when he took the boys sledding?

7.  A lot of peace lately from reading this book "I Quit!"  I'm on the very last chapter and think I will even re-read some of it.  I'm sure it's not for everyone, but it was definitely for me at just the right time.

8.  That I liked the first half of the Daniel study better than the second half.

9.  The desire to wear my skinny jeans with my flats.  I usually wear them with my boots and somehow feel more comfortable that way, but it was warmer this week and I decided on this.  It was fun being a little crazy like that.  Of course, there was still a long t-shirt and a cardigan to hide what needed to be - I'm not that crazy :)

10.  Excitement when one of the college-aged girls in our small group honestly looked shocked tonight after I said I would be 36 in March.  And then said I looked more like 26.  Thank you Paige - I love you girl!!


11.  This scene out my window this afternoon.  We have some really awesome neighbors, and this is very often what the weekends and summer evenings are like on our street.  The kids played outside all afternoon - it was close to 70 degrees today.

12.  Two gray hairs.  Enough said.

13.  Body Pump class at the gym.  It felt really good to work myself so hard.  I was so sore for days afterward - knew I would be since I used to do that class every week, but had forgotten just how sore.


14.  These camera strap covers from SheyB.  Mine is getting pretty worn now so I'm looking for a new one, but can't decide between the two of these......

Wild Thang!

or On the Double (Pink)

15.  That I really enjoyed impromptu chats I had with friends this week in the car rider line, volunteering at church, at the grocery store, in the cul-de-sac.  And that I was really craving some time with girlfriends, that I need to plan better for that.

grafitti artists

Finally we are thawing out.  I even actually saw grass today - and a lot of it!  It was so "warm" (in the 50s) that the boys went straight outside with no jackets to play with their friends as soon as they finished cleaning their rooms this morning.  They did still wear their snow boots since it was yuck mud and slush out. 

After I finished cleaning my part of the house I came down to the office and opened the blinds and I was both amused and amazed at the same time at what I saw:

The snow was so hard that they were able to write on it  with some sidewalk chalk that had been left out in the frozen tundra for the past 3 weeks.  I was actually quite impressed with all of their creativity.

It's difficult to see because the sun was creeping into the patio area, but it says "Sup yo!!", "Wat Zup", "Get Out" and "Luke Rocks".   I don't know who all was out there, but I'm pretty sure the boys that live at our house did the "Get out" and I'm thinking the rest came from their friends.....took me a few moments to read "Sup yo!!"

It made me happy to see this....