BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad
You guys.
It’s the the third week of school and the dreaded letter has already come home. The letter that instantly sends parents into a panic. The letter that makes you start itching all over and contemplating whether homeschooling might be a better idea than ever having this damn letter ever come home again. You contemplate whether a pixie cut might look good….on all of you.
I go straight up 72 hour psych hold over the thought of bugs in my hair or the girls hair. After their nightly shower, I’m a head lamp wearing, comb wielding, anti-lice spray lunatic as I scour their heads inch by inch.
Thank goodness we are all clear. Each day the girls hair is coated in anti-lice spray (which is a delicious Rosemary smell so it just makes them smell even more yummy) and pulled back into some headache inducing hairstyle that hopefully deters any jumping bugs from making contact with my kiddos.
Such a perfect food blog subject, right? Like, you are totes excited to talk food now, aren’t you? I promise my recipes are always bug free so give this salad a shot. It’s beyond delicious and is another easy weeknight meal. For the kiddos, just keep the jalapeño on the side.
- 2 cups diced chicken, cooked (feel free to cheat with Trader Joe's Just Chicken or any stores rotisserie chicken)
- 6 cups mixed greens (I love baby kale, arugula and the spicy spinach blend from Trader Joe's)
- 1/2 cup pearl or grape tomatoes, cut in half
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 3/4 cup canned corn, drained
- 3/4 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3/4 cup jack and cheddar cheese blend OR 1/2 cup Crumbled Gorgonzola
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 cup ranch dressing (in a pinch, I like the Homestyle Ranch or Jalapeño Ranch by Litehouse)
- 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
- 1/2 cup tortilla strips
- 1 jalapeno, diced (optional)
- This is going to be really complicated... you ready?
- Add salad to four bowls.
- Top with tomato, corn, beans, cheese, cilantro, onions, chicken and jalapeño.
- Drizzle with Ranch dressing and BBQ sauce. Top with tortilla strips and serve!
Mommy Bistro: Chef, Mom and Lice Hunter
Cajun Beer Battered Avocado Tacos with Corn and Red Pepper Salsa
We are back from our Disney cruise to Vancouver. I swear it took me three days to get rid of my sea legs. We had a great time exploring San Francisco and catching up with old friends, a cold and rainy day in Victoria where we spent time with some peacocks, baby pigs and goats and explored the city and we ended the cruise in Vancouver where we explored Granville Island, toured the city and ate some ridiculously great food and drank some amazing craft beers.
Highlights:
1. Each city we visited boasted that their Chinatown was the largest Chinatown in North America.
2. Buggies and Pixie drank out of a toilet/drinking fountain at the Observatory in San Francisco.
3. Pixie sang “California Here I Come” while standing on the Golden Gate Bridge.
4. The International waters off of California are neither warm nor calm during the month of May.
5. No one puked.
Kitchen Sink Salad
My last five posts have all been salads. I’m feeling proud of that and ashamed of that at the same time. On my Mommy Bistro Facebook page I asked what you wanted to see and the answer still, is… salads! I had three ears of corn that I had to use up so I kinda threw a ton of stuff at some arugula and it turned out pretty darned good. The hubby thinks it should be called fiesta salad but I thought this could be the yang to my Kitchen Sink Soup.
Chicken Chutney Tacos
I’m living with a terrorist.
She’s about 3 feet tall, has blonde pigtails and responds to the A.K.A. of “Buggies.”
Toddlers are like little terrorists or drug addicts. Happy one second, hysterical and jones-ing for “insert-anything-from-Goldfish-to-favorite-blankies-here” the next; ready to blow the roof off my house if I don’t allow her to have a “nack” an hour before dinner.
Kitchen Sink Crock-pot Soup
WARNING: The above picture was taken on the hubby’s iPhone. My camera was indisposed taking pictures of the newest little angel, Sweet Baby Jane, which let’s be honest – is MUCH more important than taking pictures of my soup. Proceed….
Last year we got home from a trip to warm and sunny Cabo San Lucas, only to be welcomed by pouring rain, cold wind and an even colder house. We landed at LAX and the girls and I were still wearing our swimsuits and shorts when Mother Nature turned reality back on with a giant slap to our goose-bumped keesters. We were cold and grumpy and ticked off that we weren’t on the beach anymore. Of course, after being gone for a week, our fridge consisted of a jar of pickles, some sticks of butter and coffee creamer. Unless you’re pregnant – that ain’t dinner. So, I rummaged through our pantry for a bit….
Lovely Lady Cilantro Corn
I’m guessing I have your attention. In 2005, I was going in for my 6th round of Iodine Radiation treatment. I swear this story is good. Not depressing. But I will tell you this. I had 100% Follicular Thyroid Cancer at the age of 4. I spent 2 years in the hospital and I was diagnosed cancer free just before my 6th birthday. (Yay!) I went on to regular schooling, made friends, graduated high school, graduated UCLA, met my husband and then….In 2003, a week before my wedding I got THE news…the cancer was back. I went through a round of Iodine treatment in March of 2004 and then again in December of 2005. I’ll have you know that I have now been cancer free for the 2nd time for 5 years (holllllla!!!!!!)