Multiple Awards This Week....

Well, am I a slacker, or am I a slacker? I think it's been a good three weeks since I gave out any "I Helped Kristen Cook" awards. Bad Kristen! So, this week I am giving out three. And people....I am running slim on recipes. I'm scared! So, any of my new readers out there who would like to submit a recipe to be considered for the award, just click on the "Write to Me" link on my sidebar and submit a recipe, or you can post one in my comments....whatever is easiest for you. Also, even if you have won my award, don't make that keep you from submitting a recipe....I never said you couldn't win twice! ;-) So, without further ado, onto the awards!

My first award is going to a person whose blog I really enjoy. She submitted a recipe to me quite awhile ago and I tried it on my family a couple of weeks ago with great success. It's a yummy and simple, great summer recipe. This is the recipe she submitted to me (she even included a "kid friendly" version of the recipe):

Ranch Chicken Wraps with Dried Cranberries – by Janice Croze of www.5minutesformom.com

Okay with wraps the beauty is in the improvisation. Anything goes. This is one of my favorite versions. Add or substitute to your liking. I really love dried cranberries in it though – so do give them a shot if you haven’t had them before.

• Wraps – my favorite is spinach or sun dried tomato, but any kind you like will work well
• Greens of your choice - spinach, baby greens, or lettuce etc. Whatever you like – I use all different kinds of greens.
• Cooked Chicken sliced or cubed – I never have time to cook. So I buy the whole rotisserie cooked chickens in the deli. Perfect for us busy moms.
• Peppers – red, yellow or orange. (You could use green – but I prefer the sweet ones.)
• Cucumbers – sliced, diced or quartered
• Avocadoes – thinly sliced
• Sunflower seeds or nut mix of your choice
• Dried cranberries – you can buy them bulk or buy the name brand Craisins
• Grated Mozzarella Cheese
• Creamy Ranch Dressing – preferably low fat/light

Place a bed of lettuce on each wrap. Arrange chicken and then add veggies. Sprinkle with nuts, cranberries and cheese. Top with Dressing. Wrap and enjoy.

Quick Kid Meal
Wraps
Plain Cream Cheese
Avocado slices
Chicken (optional – I often just do avocado, which is my son’s favorite)
Spread cream cheese on wrap and place avocado slices and chicken in middle. Wrap and cut in three equal pieces for little hands.

The first award goes to....

Janice from...

5 Minutes For Mom!

Thanks, Janice, for the great recipe! I do plan on using it again!!

Now, onto award #2! This person submitted a recipe to me way back when the idea of this award was first born! I think she actually got the recipe idea from someone else and passed it on to me, but regardless, it was a fantastic recipe, wildly successful and oh, so tasty! I also have several other recipes of hers....she is a fantastic cook....believe me I know, I spent several summers at her house. Anyway, here is the recipe I tried: (copied and pasted directly from her comment when she submitted it):

"I tried a recipe that someone named Mary from a blog called "Mary on a Mission" posted on blog I read regularly. It's so good! Give it a try and let her know if you like it to:

"Bake chicken breasts in the oven on 350 for about 25 minutes. Then you put a little honey mustard dressing on them, top with sauteed mushrooms and onions and a little cheddar cheese. Put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds to melt the cheese after that. This is supposed to be like Alice Springs Chicken at Outback Steakhouse."

I baked my chicken for closer to an hour because the pieces were big ones, but it is sooooo good!"

Award #2 this week goes to:

Morning Glory from...

Seeds From My Garden.

Thanks, Morning Glory! It is definitely a recipe I plan to file in my "My whole family liked this meal" recipe box! ;-)

And now, for the 3rd and final award: This person didn't actually officially submit a recipe to me. But I am going to give her the award anyway because for the first 20 years of my life, she cooked for me every day, and throughout those years, I picked up "just a few" recipes from her that I use quite often on my family. Plus, she did give me life, so I think she deserves some kind of award. So, the final award this week goes to:

Grandma Dawn from...

Call Me Grandma Dawn.

Well, that concludes this weeks awards. Winners this week: I will send you the code to put the banner for the award on your blog, if you are interested. If you don't want to put it on your blog, no biggie...I'll just be a little hurt. ;-) (JUST KIDDING!)

And in some Feisty news today: Awhile back I posted my excitement about her apparent decision to decide to start sleeping through the night only to deflate my balloon of happiness of this a few nights later. Then not long after that, I posted about Feisty learning to go potty. She has about a dozen pairs of "uhwundare" (Feisty speak for underwear), which I affectionately refer to as "Tiny Bum Panties". She has successfully been going potty now for awhile and at our reunion, didn't have to wear diapers or training pants except when going to bed. Well, ever since the "terrible twos" commenced in full force since returning home, she seems to have switched gears. At the risk of destroying her sleeping progress, she now has decided to sleep peacefully through the night for the past week and a half, but for some odd reason has decided that she no longer has use for her uhwundare, or her training pants, and now wants to wear diapers and only occasionally tells Mommy when she has to go potty. Not knowing that she had decided this, I continued to put underwear on her, only to discover poop and pee on my floor on several occasions. She likes to inform me that she has done the deed after it has already been done. I guess sleeping through the night and going potty are just too much for her two year old self at this point. *sigh*. One step forward, two steps back...

Happy Friday all!