what's for dinner tonight {healthy chicken fingers}.

so you know when you were little there was one food that you ordered everywhere? fancy restaurants, casual places; didn't matter... you always got the same thing. for my little sis it was either grilled cheese sandwiches or buffalo wings. she would even try to order these at nice places where it seemed a bit out of place. it was her thing. her signature order. me? i was a chicken tender girl. to the core. upon graduation from high school in an attempt to not gain the freshman fifteen i cut chicken fingers, french fries and pretty much every other fried food from my diet for as long as i could.

now, i try to find healthy ways to still have my chicken fingers. i've tried baked versions that were okay... but i found a recipe that i modified and tried tonight and allllll the chicken fingers are cooked in only 2 T. of olive oil and they were super yum. juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. here's the recipe:

crunchy chicken fingers

* 1 pkg of chicken tenderloins (about 6-7 strips)
* 1/2 c. instant mashed potato flakes
* 1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs (if you've never cooked with panko, get into it! they're japanese breadcrumbs that are super light and make everything really crispy... delish!)
* 1/4 t. salt
* 1/4 t. pepper
* 1/4 t. garlic powder
* 1 egg, 1 egg white, beaten
* 2 T. olive oil

- combine potato flakes, bread crumbs and seasonings in a shallow baking dish
- in another dish, lightly beat egg and egg white
- dip each chicken tenderloin in egg and then coat with the dry mixture; set aside on a plate and allow to sit before cooking
- in a skillet over medium-medium/high heat, use 1 T. of olive oil to cook the first few chicken fingers. cook 4-5 min on each side, or until golden brown. use additional 1 T. of olive oil to cook remaining chicken. you may want to use more oil if you want to go for the "deep fried" taste/look... but i wanted to try to stick to the healthier side, so i stuck to just the 2 T. and it was still very tasty.

we served this with a salad made of greens, sliced strawberries, sunflower seeds and light balsamic vinegarette along with a side of wild rice. i also whipped up some made-from-scratch honey mustard sauce for dipping by combining some yellow mustard, some light mayo and some honey and whisking until smooth. taste to adjust amounts... but very yummy and the perfect dipping sauce for the chicken!

easy.
delicious.
healthy.
{perfect} meal.

my pumpkin.

i haven't written an update on bella in a while...or ever...so i thought i would do that today as i find myself packing away more and more clothes that are now too small. watching her--amazed--everyday as she does something different, or discovers new things. and preparing for her to turn *four* months in just a few days.

{sad face}

she has given me a sweet gift lately... snuggle times at 4:30 in the morning (and no, i don't say that sarcastically). normally i would DESPISE getting up that early... for obvious reasons... but as i have started a new nanny job, her nap schedule has been shifting and she is going to bed earlier at night, which makes her wake up earlier to eat than normal. but there are many precious things about this time in our day. it is quiet and dark and everyone else is sound asleep. i love just listening to the sound of her breathing as she eats and watching her drift off, back to sleep. when she is finished eating, i put her on my chest and just snuggle with her for a while before putting her back in her crib. pre-cious.


i miss the days when she used to fall asleep on my chest multiple times a day. now she's busy looking around more, and wanting to observe everything. i don't rock her to sleep at naptime or bedtime because i want her to learn how to put herself to sleep, which has worked out quite nicely. but still, i miss those times with her. and now, she's giving them to me... even if it's at such an ungodly hour and i'm still half asleep. thanks, bel.


she is growing and changing so much these days. when we drive in the car she talks and talks and talks. she's started this shrieking thing that she does when she just wants to be heard, or is really happy. super. cute. she's obsessed with the tv, and even though we constantly try to hide it from her she will contort her body in whatever way she can to find it. ridiculous.

she LOVES to read so nick&i try to read to her everyday and every night before she goes to bed. her bedtime books are "goodnight moon" and "goodnight, maine". love it. she grabs things now, like rattles, toys and stuffed animals and has a "lovie" (a pink stuffed elephant with a silk blanket attached) that her nonni and papa gave her that goes everywhere with us. she has rolled over a handful of times on her own for a while now, from belly to back, but has yet to master the back-belly roll. although the past few days she has been trying incessantly until she bursts into tears and we come to her rescue. she has been loving friday night lights here in the state of texas. daddy coaches high school football and she has gone to every game so far. it's cooler here at night and she loves getting to hang out and watch all the action. she is SO good and content at the games... nick likes to think she's going to be like the coach's daughter on "remember the titans". maybe, i tell him. just maybe.

and she loves... *loves* her daddy. when he comes home from work, her chubby lil face lights right up with the hugest smile. it's the cutest thing i've ever seen. and kind of makes me fall in love with him all over again.

she also has made some new friends that she is OBSESSED with. i babysit two girls, Olivia (9) and Vivian (7) and they sit in the back of our car talking to bella, playing with her constantly. bella stares at them, smiles and sometimes tries to talk back. she loves them... and the never-ending attention they give her! i also babysit a baby boy, Luke, on thursdays who is the same age as bella and they love to check each other out.

uh-oh.

daddy is already nervous about boyfriends. i try to tell him this is at least sixteen years down the road. still. she is going to be a lil heartbreaker, we are convinced. but of course we are... she's our pumpkin and we think she's pretty darn c-u-t-e.

l-o-v-e.

l-o-v-e, by nat king cole, was the processional song that was played at nick&i's wedding as we were pronounced husband and wife.

love.

according to nat, l is for the way you look at me. o is for the only one i see. v is very very extraordinary. e is even more than anyone that you adore can love is all that i can give to you. love is more than just a game for two. two in love can make it. take my heart and please don't break it. love was made for me and you.

(got that song stuck in your head now?? i do.)

ok, so weird transition to trashy reality tv. but somehow i hope this will make sense. i've been helplessly addicted to "the bachelor" and "the bachelorette" for a while now... and this summer got hooked on the "bachelor pad". yes, it's true. it's like passing a bad car accident; somehow you are intrigued and you can't look away. and i have found that i am not the only one to indulge in this guilty pleasure of mine. so, i ask myself, what is the draw?

having been in school studying counseling and psychology for nearly eight years... and working for the past four as a counselor, one conclusion i can draw: we are all looking to love and to be loved. it begins at a young age. for girls, anyway. just take a look at the disney stories and movies we grew up loving. sleeping beauty. snow white. cinderella. beauty and the beast. that's what we loved when we were five. now that we're... well... almost thirty (in my case anyway)... we convert to... well... reality television. as shallow and as perverted as the shows may be, we are suckers for thinking "awww... how sweet" as a couple shares a kiss (before one of them is making out with someone different the next second, or course).

whaaat???

are we this desperate in our society to find love? i can't help but think this as i watch the people on these shows bounce from one person to another, turn on/off feelings like i turn on/off the faucet and throw themselves shamelessly at one another in a desperate attempt to be accepted. what is it about our culture these days that says that falling in love, finding "the one", getting married is the end goal; the ultimate happiness? so much to the point that we will often sacrifice ourselves to get it?

i remember falling prey to some of these thoughts and fears when i was in college... i attended a christian school whose famous phrase was "ring by spring".

geeeeez. what a goal. thanks, people.

i began to feel "less than" if i didn't get married straight out of college like almost everybody else. i remember at one point (in my height of immaturity and loneliness) telling god that i would rather marry the wrong person than to spend my life alone. seriously??! yiiiikes. just admitting that to the blog-world makes me feel a little crazy. thankfully, by god's grace, he woke me up to my own fear and insecurity and taught me how to love myself... all the while slamming every single door of possible relationships for about eight years of my life; praise. god.

so i began to learn how to love myself. how to "date" myself and get to know what i liked, who i was and what made me tick. i didn't want any guy defining that for me. and i certainly didn't want any relationship or man defining my happiness. and i am still on this journey now as a wife and a mom... i love my husband and my baby girl more than anything on this earth, and am continually reminding myself that they don't define me, nor do i define them.

i couldn't thank god MORE for the work he did on my heart... the hedge of protection he built around me until he brought my husband into my life... how he taught me to value and respect and truly LOVE myself.

one of my favorite sayings is: god can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. oh. so. true.

i tell nick allllll the time that it is a good thing that he met me at twenty five instead of twenty two... that would've been a complete disaster. god needed to work on me and bring me to a place where i was capable of loving and being loved in a healthy way.

*healthy*. did you hear that word, people of the "bachelor pad"??

so...just a lil psychology gleaned from reality television. so there really are some benefits to watching it (or so i say to defend myself to my husband's megan-why-are-you-watching-this look). and i won't even charge you a penny.

what's for dinner tonight {buffalo chicken pizza}.

so my husband l-o-v-e-s buffalo wings. like, loves them. me? not. so. much. but when after a busy week for him of coaching football=two-a-days in triple digit temps, i wanted to make something for dinner that he would really like. my sis shared this recipe with me and it was an instant hit in our home. i even liked it. and did i mentioned i'm not a huge fan of buffalo wings? here you go.

buffalo chicken pizza

* 3/4 lb chicken cutlets (i used 4 chicken boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins)
* extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
* 2 t. grill seasoning (i didn't have this... just seasoned with good ole salt&pepper)
* pizza dough (i use a box of jiffy pizza crust mix; it's about 40 cents... and it's good. yes, please)
* 2 T. butter
* 1 T. worcestershire sauce
* 2-3 T. hot sauce (according to your heat tolerance... i used 1 T. because i'm a wimp... and nick put the rest on his own slices because he's not)
* 1/2 c. tomato sauce
* 1 c. shredded monterey jack cheese
* 1/2 c. blue cheese crumbles (we reduced this a bit; the blue cheese can be pretty pungent)
* 3 scallions, thinly sliced

- preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- drizzle chicken with olive oil, season with grill seasoning (or salt&pepper). cook on grill pan (or in our case we used the trusty george foreman) for 3 minutes on each side until done. set off to the side.
- prepare pizza dough according to package instructions, set pizza pan to the side.
- in a skillet over medium heat, melt butter and stir in worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and tomato sauces.
- slice chicken into thin strips. add to pan with sauces and coat.
- cover pizza dough with buffalo chicken&sauce, top with cheese and scallions.
- bake 18 minutes, or until crisp and cheese is melted.

so... not our healthiest of recipes, but hey; everyone needs a treat once and a while, right? just serve with a side salad like we do and you'll feel much better. or maybe carrot and celery sticks for the whole buffalo-wings-experience. and even better: once you buy all the ingredients, you have enough for a second pizza (just double up on the boxes of jiffy pizza crust mix. okay, so it may cost you 80 cents; i think you can walk on the wild side, right?)

perfect for a friday night meal with the kiddos, or a rainy-day-middle-of-the-week supper like we did last night. enjoy.