quite possibly the yummiest thing i've ever made with leftover grilled chicken

Personally, I love leftovers. Most of the time, there is just a serving or so of the previous night's dinner. Sometimes I make something like enchiladas or lasagna and that will be lunch for a couple of days. But most of the time I have to try to come up with a new way to serve the leftovers because, unfortunately, no one else in the house shares my enthusiasm for them. Taco meat becomes taco salad, a tray of veggies becomes stir-fry, and so on. We grilled chicken the other night and I made too much, as usual. Instead of just slicing it for salad or quesadillas like I sometimes do, I thought I'd try a pasta salad.

Here's what I had to work with**:

2 grilled chicken breasts

1/2 box penne pasta

fresh roma tomatoes from my neighbor's garden (Thanks Wini!)

a tub of pesto

lemon

Here's what I did:

Cooked the pasta, saved about 1/4 cup of the pasta water and then drained it.

Sliced the chicken breasts.

Seeded and diced the tomatoes.

Combined the reserved pasta water with 1/2 cup of pesto. Then added the zest of the lemon, the juice from 1/2 the lemon, about a tablespoon of olive oil, and a little salt and pepper.

Tossed the pasta with the pesto mixture and then folded in the chicken and tomatoes.

YUM! It was great for dinner that night. Even better for lunch the next day. And still even better for lunch today! Normally, I would be annoyed that no one else even wanted to try it, but in this case I'm glad...more for me!

**Know what else would have been good? If I had added some roasted red peppers. Or maybe some mozzarella cheese. Or take out the chicken and add tuna instead.

the post that starts with my heart melting and ends with me unplugging the tv

Jackson and I were walking through the library yesterday, looking at books when he turned to me and said, "Mom, would you like a snuggle?" I smiled and said, "That would be nice! You mean when we get home, just me and you?" And he said, "Yeah! Well, you can hold your other children too. And the telephone. Or even read a book."

I thought about that for a minute and asked, "Jack, do you mean a Snuggie? The blanket with the arm holes?"

He laughed and replied, "Yeah! They are so cool! You can even operate a remote control AND it's good for cold-weather camp-outs!"

Sigh.

all by herself

It's getting harder and harder to pretend she's still a baby...This morning, she refused all help getting dressed, including putting on her own Pull-Up. (We are easing into the potty training thing while we have company, but are kicking it up a notch next week. That should make for some fantastic blog material! Stay tuned!) Anyway, this is Ainsley after she got her own cup of water...

And a view from behind...

diva

I woke up at 4:00 am to the sound of Ainsley crying. I walked into her room and she was lying on her back, an actual tear falling down her sweet cheek.

Me: What's the matter, sweetie?

Ainsley: Blanket!

I look in her crib and notice that her blanket is right next to her. It looks like it just slipped off to the side because it's not bunched up or in a ball at her feet or anything.

Me: (confused) You want your blanket?

Ainsley: Yeah...

So I pull her blanket up over her and she snuggles in and is back asleep before I even leave the room.

Wonder how that little maneuver will work for me the next time I sit down to watch TV and realize I've left my water in the kitchen...

lunch at our house - a one act play

Me: What does everyone want for lunch?

Ainsley: Mac cheese!

Me: Okay...anyone else want mac and cheese?

Ryan: I'll eat some.

Emily: Me too.

Me: Jackson? Do you want mac and cheese?

Jackson: Ugh. Is it leftover?

Me: No, I'm making it fresh right now.

Jackson: Okay...I'll have some.

Ryan: I'm really hungry, so I think I'm going to make a turkey sandwich too.

Emily: I'm really hungry too...can I have a yogurt?

Me: Sure.

Ryan starts making his sandwich and Emily gets her yogurt.

Ainsley: I yogurt!

Jackson: Is my mac and cheese ready yet?

Me: Almost!

Ryan finishes his sandwich as I make a salad with leftover grilled chicken and honey mustard dressing.

Ryan: Mmm...that salad looks really good. Can I have that too?

Me: Well, there isn't anymore grilled chicken, but you can have this one.

Ryan: Are you sure?

Ainsley: I salad!

Me: Yeah...I'll just make a taco salad.

Emily: Ooohh...taco salad! Can I have one of those?

Me: Sure.

So I give Ryan the grilled chicken salad, steal a piece of the chicken to make a smaller version for Ainsley, warm up the leftover taco meat and put most of it on Emily's salad and save a bit for mine. And now the mac & cheese is ready.

Jackson: Can I have a taco too?

Me: Sure.

Ainsley: I taco!

I look at Ainsley's half eaten yogurt, half eaten salad and half eaten bowl of mac & cheese.

Me: Sorry Ainsley, no taco.

I use the rest of the taco meat for Jack's taco and then remember we have some leftover shredded chicken so I can still have my taco salad. I make my salad and sit down with the kids and take a bite.

Jackson: Can I have some apple juice?

Ainsley: I appa booce!

Me: Sure.

I get the juices and sit back down.

Jackson: Cheers everybody!

So we all do cheers and finish eating.

The end. Until dinner.

my one celebrity sighting

Yes, I realize there is a glare, but we were both in cars! I would definitely never make it as a member of the paparazzi with shots like this...but still, if you look closely, you can totally make out the prominent chin of Quentin Tarantino! (Driving a black Cadillac, in case you were wondering...)

funny the things you miss

Last night's taco dinner looked something like this:

Ground turkey taco meat

Spicy shredded chicken

Grilled peppers and onions

Black beans

Mexican rice

Lettuce

Cheese

Jalapenos

Sour cream

Taco sauce

Salsa

Flour taco buns (or tortillas for all the new readers)

Multigrain taco buns

Doug said, "Wow! You really missed cooking, didn't you?"

But I certainly didn't miss cleaning the kitchen...