Who Needs Applebee's?

First of all let me just say that I LOOOVE Applebee's!! It's a place that I know I can order anything off the menu and know it will be good. Usually, I order the same thing I always order when I go to a restaurant. I know what I like and that's what I want. I am not as brave as Jordan. One of my favorite things at Applebee's is their Oriental Chicken Rollup. MMMMMmmmm. I came across a recipe for the Oriental Chicken Salad and decided to give it a try. I put mine in a tortilla to make a rollup of it. It was to die for. Seriously, I do not need Applebee's anymore to get my fix of Oriental Chicken Rollups. Here's the recipe.



Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad/Rollups

4 breaded chicken breast fillets (I used Tyson)
1 romaine heart
1 1/2 c. coleslaw mix (or finely shredded cabbage)
1/3 c. toasted almond slivers or slices (blanched almonds)
1/2 c. chow mein noodles

Dressing:
1/3 c. vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. horseradish
1/2 c. canola oil

Cook chicken fillets as directed.

To make dressing, combine everything but the oil in a blender of food processor and process until liquified.

Continue to blend and slowly drizzle in the oil until blended.

Make coleslaw with the cabbage and the dressing first and top it with the lettuce, almonds and noodles. Then cut up the chicken and add to salads.

I just used flour tortillas to make the rollups because it was a last minute idea. They were great though. Enjoy!!

Carsonisms

Three years old is such a funny age. Carson is always saying funny things. Here are a few of his latest Carsonisms.

This is a conversation we had Saturday morning.
Carson: "Mommy is it morning time?"
Mommy: "Yes."
Carson (looking out the window): "Yes it is. The sun is up and can melt the ice."

Another similar conversation the Saturday before last.
Carson at 5:00 a.m.: "Mommy, is it morning time? I want to watch cartoons?"
Mommy: "No. The sun's not up. You have to wait until morning."
Carson went back to sleep.
Carson at 7:00 a.m.: "Mommy, is it morning time now? Can I watch cartoons? The sun IS up!"

Church on Sunday.
An announcement being read: "We'd like to thank all of those who went this weekend to help clean up in Louisiana."
Carson: "Mommy, Nana went to LouisNANA."
(That's where her husband lives. She wasn't helping out or anything this past weekend.)

In the car.
Daddy: "Carson, what is your full name?"
Carson: "Carson Taggart Gold."
Daddy: "Good job!"
Carson: "Taggart like RRRROOOOAAAARRRR!"
(I am thinking he thinks his middle name is Tiger.)

Killer Ribs

Last weekend I picked up some ribs on sale at Sam's. BBQ was sounding good! I didn't know how I wanted to cook them though. In the past we've put the ribs in the crockpot with some BBQ sauce and they've been good. This time I wanted to try something different. I became adventurous and found a recipe online and decided to jump in and try it. It was awesome! The only thing I would change is that I would put them in the crockpot because they cook longer and are falling off the bone more so. I will definitely be using this recipe again!! It would even be good on chicken! Try it out!

Killer Ribs

Ingredients

* 3 lbs pork back ribs
* 1 (8 ounce) jar honey
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
* 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
* 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
* 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
* 1 medium onion, grated or finely chopped
* 12 ounces barbecue sauce
* 1/4 cup white sugar

Directions

Place all ingredients together in large roasting pan (i use bottom of turkey roaster). Cut ribs apart for easier serving. Mix together making sure to coat all ribs with this semi-dry paste. Spread ribs out evenly on bottom of pan. Cover lightly with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 1 hour, turning or stirring occasionally. You can use broiler for these ribs, just watch more closely, and adjust cooking time.

Of course after I made these, I received my Every Day with Rachael Ray and it had tons of BBQ recipes in it. This one is really good though!

Say a Little Prayer for You...

We are totally into our little nighttime routine at home. It is so nice. We stop everything at about 7:30 and Carson gets a bath. Next comes pajamas and a book. This is followed by family prayer. Usually Carson wants to pray. His prayers consist of quickly saying "Dear Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ Amen." I try to interrupt him and help add things in. Usually this works. Tonight it did not. He told me he wanted no help and could do it himself. This was his prayer: "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for letting us go to work. Bless us to have fun. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen." He is so big! It is so funny to hear him ask to have fun. I love this age! Afterward, Carson gave us kisses and hugs and tucked himself into bed. He is growing up way too fast! Good thing baby Callie will be here soon! I love the independence, but I hate him not needing me as much.

Gas Hysteria

Thursday night I actually stayed up long enough to watch the 10:00 news. Normally I am in bed by 9:15 because I cannot function on a few hours of sleep like Jordan can. Anyway, the news said it would be best to fill up tonight because of possible gas increases or shortages. I told Jordan that we better fill up. I drive a total of 40 miles round trip to work and back daily. I was already running low on gas and thought why not fill up now and not have to stop on my way to work. So Jordan said he'd go fill up both cars. He went to fill up the first car with no wait. As he was finishing up and leaving, he saw a lot of people pulling in. When he switched cars and went back to fill up, he had to wait. We laughed about it the next morning because we figured it was all people watching the news. Hooray for media created gas hysteria. I called Mom early on Friday and told her about what we had heard on the news (knowing she was an early bedgoer as well and probably had not seen it). I told her that I didn't know if it really was going to be a problem or if it was just media being media. When I came home Friday I didn't really notice any gas stations. It was when I went to pick up Carson from daycare that I noticed the craziness. Cars were out in intersections waiting for gas. I have never seen so many people. Mom called and said she saw people waiting for gas at Wal-Mart all the way back at the lawn and garden section (the gas is all the way across the parking lot at our Wal-Mart and this means there were 15-20 cars in line). I couldn't believe how crazy it got. I got up Saturday for my yard saling adventure and noticed that many gas stations were out of gas. CRAZINESS!!! We didn't have a lot of price gouging like Tallahassee and other places (Tallahassee saw gas at $5.49 whereas we paid $3.79). It really made me think about my food storage and where we are at in that aspect. We've been doing well adding things monthly. I kind of saw a glimpse of what it might be like if there is a food storage. Scary!

The Biggest Roller Coaster

I love my job! The first four weeks of school have been great for the most part. The more and more I teach, the more I realize that my job is the biggest roller coaster I have ever been on. Some days I come home feeling defeated because it has been in a rough day. Other days I come home on a high because I had an awesome day and I know my kids did too. Thankfully there are more of the second kind of days than the first. I am grateful to have one of my best friends up at Waller teaching with me. Without her, I know I could not make it. Who else could I run to and tell of my horrible or wonderful day and know that she too is going through the same thing. The hardest thing about this job is trying to balance life. As I look around my living room right now with the kid asleep and Jordan at Stake Conference I think of all that I should be doing and getting done, yet here I am blogging. It's hard to find enough time for everything: family, keeping up the house, church, downtime, grading, planning. I am still working on it. I have found a great routine for making sure I do take some time for me. Saturday mornings I've started going to yard sales. The few dollars I spend on stuff I probably don't need helps to keep me sane. Is it retail therapy? No. I've been there. It is about getting out and doing something for me. It's hard to find the time, but Saturday mornings work out the best because Jordan and Carson like to watch cartoons in the mornings together. I know I haven't blogged in FOREVER, but I was just thinking about how great life seems to be going right now and thought I'd take a second to update. Are things perfect? Never. However, we are finding our balance in everything and are content.