Cheddar Chicken

I made this recipe(found in Real Simple magazine) recently, and it was an instant hit! We eat a lot of chicken around here, so finding a new and super easy way to fix it is wonderful.

Cheddar Chicken

16 buttery crackers (i used ritz), crushed (about 3/4 cup)
6 oz sharp cheddar, grated
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
salt and pepper
4 -6oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

(they had it paired with wild rice pilaf and steamed green beans)

Heat oven to 350. In a bowl, combine the crackers, cheese, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
Dip the chicken in the butter, then in the cracker mixture, pressing gently to help it adhere, and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.
Sprinkle any remaining cracker mixture on the chicken and drizzle with any remaining butter. Bake until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, 25-30 minutes. Serve with the pilaf and green beans, if using.

See? That was so easy, and so yummy!

Easter pics...a little late!

I meant to get these pictures on here last week, but well, it just didn't happen.

I love how Chuck's expression changes in the first two pictures!!

KB decided to start the hunt early, as we were trying to hide the eggs!

Look at those little arms!! So cute!

The best $10 I ever spent!!

Chloe and I were walking around Walmart today while we were getting the oil changed. ( i still hate walmart, but convenience overcame that today!) I let Chloe walk up and down the toy isles and look at everything she wanted to. We were on the Barbie isle for quite a while, but she had so much fun. It was fun to watch her, and it was one of those 'feel like a kid again' moments. We checked out all the baby dolls, and pushed all their buttons. I learned a few things too. There are babies that poop, pee, cry real tears, crawl, breathe, just cry, say mama, wiggle, suck on a pacifier, laugh, and then there are those that just sit there. I told Chloe about baby alive, that poops and pees, and her face was priceless. She just looked at me and said, "Really?" I tried to explain it, and told her that it wasn't real poop and pee, and that seemed to help. It was the best time I've had in walmart in...well, ever. But the real fun was when we found this giant magnifying glass. We got it down and were playing with it. It was hilarious! I mean pee in your pants funny!! (not really, but you get what i'm saying!!) I snapped a picture and sent it to Keith, and here it is. I've taken a couple more at home, but this is the best. Just ignore the glare on her face.

Conversations with Chloe

Happy Monday everyone! I thought I would start the week off right by sharing some recent conversations with Chloe. Enjoy!!


Here are some random sayings from Chloe...

"let's see how far this baby will go."

"i have snot on my arm."

"mommy doesn't share food."

"we need a looking better car."

"i should be in a circus."

"you know what my favorite letters are? a b c r s p"

"mommy, you can't just sit there and text all day."

"i can't believe i have a mole! that's my first mole!"

"just like you had babies, dogs have babies."

"you know, the other day i saw a plug (cord) right here (on the back of the chair in the living room), and it bothered me real bad."

"does Craig rhyme with egg?"
me- yes
"then i'm going to call him egg. no, uncle egg."

"i need to change pants. these pants are not likin' me right now!"

me- Chloe, is that snot making you tired?
"no, but i'm tired of the snot."

Things heard from the bathroom...

"buckle up buttercup!" followed by, "mommy, pretend you didn't hear that."

"mommy, my bottom just said thank you and hello!"

"oh, that's too much toilet paper."


These need a little more explanation.

Chloe tells me on an almost daily basis that she wishes she was my mom. Sometimes I've just told her no about something, but sometimes it's out of the blue. The other day she said, "I'll be a better mommy than you." She also mentioned once while we were hiking, that if she was the mom, she would let the boys do what they wanted. I think it boils down to wanting to have more control. :)

Almost every time Chloe needs to wash her hands, she asks to use hand cleaner. I keep telling her it's not for at home where we have soap. She replied, " then why do we have it?"

We were in the car one day, and I was trying to convince Chloe that my kisses are magic because I'm a mommy. I told her that they have power. She said, "The only things that have power are things that you plug in. I can't believe that I'm a kid, and you're a grownup, and I had to tell you that. You should have known."
(since then, i've convinced her that they are magic! i kissed a booboo that stopped hurting!)

Hope everyone has a great week!!

Friday Favorites

Hmmm...it's Friday, so I guess I should come up with a favorite something or other. Let me think...it's not mornings, that's for sure.
Brady's having a few friends over for his birthday sleepover, (we had to reschedule from last week because of an early baseball game on Sat, that ended up getting canceled). I can't honestly say that sleepovers are my favorite, but I'm still glad that he gets to have friends over.
I'm really struggling with this today. Honestly, anytime you ask me my favorite anything, I'm not going to have an easy time. It's hard for me to come up with stuff, and pick just one thing. So, now I'm wondering why I even started this!!
Ok, enough rambling!
I think I'm going to have to go with....Spring! (in the fall, i'll say fall. you'll just have to accept that!)
I love watching things bloom, seeing the leaves come back on our trees, and the pollen that covers everything! Oh wait, maybe not the last one, but I still love spring. I've always loved winter, but the older I get, and the older my kids get, I realize how nice it is to be about to get outside and soak up the sunshine. Maybe it's because I have two boys, or maybe it's all kids, but winter can be very long sometimes! They really NEED to get outside and burn some energy. :) Every time the seasons change(not just spring), it reminds me that I'm not in control, and how thankful I am about that!!
I'm lovin' the sunshine today! I hope everyone has a beautiful weekend!! Enjoy Spring!

It's baseball time!

Last night was Brady's first baseball game of the season. He has some really good coaches this year, and he's learning a lot from them. They're competitive, but they have fun too. And get this, they actually coach them! Brady has had some so-so coaches before, and it made for a long season. I don't care how many games they win, as long as they have fun and hopefully come out of it knowing more than they did when the season began.
He played first most of the game, and he did really well. He's played that position for a couple years, so he's pretty comfortable with it. Then, in the last inning, the coach sent him to the mound. I heard him say it to Brady, and I looked at him. He looked over at us, and gave us this excited 'I can't believe I'm about to pitch' look. It was so cute! I wish I had a picture of it. He's had the chance to practice pitching, but he's never actually pitched to anyone. He has only ever thrown to one of the coaches. The coach later said he wasn't going to stick him in that early in the season, but we were up 11-0, so he just did it. I love that Brady just went out there and did it. Of course he was nervous, but he tried. (He must get that from his dad, because it's certainly not from me!!) He did a great job too! He struck out a few players, and a couple of them hit it. It was fun to watch, but it made me even more nervous than I normally am! Keith couldn't even sit still!
Keith said when Brady came off the mound, he let out a big breath, like he had been holding it the whole time! If he never pitches again, I think he's always going to remember getting the chance. But something tells me that this wasn't his last time!


I'm pretty sure Brady went to bed smiling still!

Easter

Here are a couple of pics from yesterday. The bottom one is before church, and the other is after. We went to my aunt and uncle's house for our annual get together/egg hunt. It's one of our favorite get-togethers all year! We had a wonderful time as usual! We always enjoy getting to see everyone. The weather was beautiful, which makes it so much nicer for the kids(and the adults). As the kids get older, it gets harder to have them trapped inside because of bad weather. You never really know what kind of weather we'll have in the spring.
I hope everyone else had a Happy Easter as well!