Family Alive

First, I’ll share a funny quote from something I read daily, Blogging Baby. It’s a parenting site that highlights news and blogs from all over the internet. This one was just too applicable not to share, as it describes Analise perfectly right now (the mooch, not the double-dipper, at least not yet!).

I know we’ve all been there. You feed your kids a nice, healthy breakfast and they eat it all. Then you pack some snacks and head off to park to play. Things are going nicely until your child hears the tell-tale rustling of a Zip-Loc bag being opened. Why is it that no matter what kind of snacks you’ve packed, your child will always try to seek out something better? No, not better. Different.

You could have a sack full of chocolate cupcakes in your hand, and your child will run off to bother the person holding the Cheerios. With that look on their faces. That look that says, “Please! Give me a Cheerio! My parents don’t feed me!”
Bunny, my preschooler went through this phase, and Wallie, my toddler, is just hitting it now. I know it’s normal, and I laugh as I dole out our snacks to other kids (with parent permission first, of course), but still… It’s embarrassing!

Equally embarrassing is what Bunny now does whenever she encounters a bowl or hummus, salsa, or dip. She double-dips. Cringe. I’ve tried to explain to her that that’s not polite. No one wants to eat saliva-laden foods, right? She doesn’t get it. The chip, pita, or celery stick is just the vehicle to get the dip, dip and more dip into her mouth. You’ve been forewarned: the hummus at our house is tainted, and you might not want to let Wallie see you eating that.

Honestly, this perfectly describes Analise. At church in her classroom, she is ALWAYS trying to eat the other kids’ food. And thankfully, she’s at the age, where the other kids are still pretty nice about it, even giving her things. But every now and then, she’ll snag a cracker or goldfish that someone was planning to eat and it causes quite a ruckus. I wonder how long this phase will last??

Honey Mustard Skillet Chicken
I adapted this recipe from one I found on AllRecipes.com, and it was a huge hit with Brian tonight. I rarely do chicken in a skillet, but this was so juicy, and the sauce had a nice zip to it. I’ve also never cooked with white wine, and I was leery as to whether I’d like the flavor, but I never would have guessed it was in there, had I not known. It was excellent, and I’ll be using white wine to cook more often:)

• 1/2 c. honey mustard sauce (either from mixing 3 T of Dijon mustard and 2 T of honey or I used the prepared style dipping sauce)
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 c. white wine
• 4 slices of swiss cheese

Mix honey mustard and herbs together. Heat oil and garlic in pan just until hot and garlic is golden, add chicken breasts. Spoon half of honey mustard mixture over chicken, turn and cover the other side of the chicken with the rest of the mixture. Pour 1/4 c. of white wine around chicken. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 7 minutes. Turn chicken over to brown the other side. Pour another 1/4 c of white wine around chicken, and simmer another 10 minutes. Add remaining wine to skillet, cover and reduce heat to lowest setting for another 5 minutes. Turn off heat, top chicken with swiss cheese, cover to let cheese melt. Enjoy!