Chicken Goodness... {And a secret}

In my quest to cook from scratch, I have been trying to find a chicken nugget/strips recipe the whole family loves. 

In my MANY attempts I would hear things like 

"They are good mom, but I like Chick-Fil-A better"

or

"Yummy, but McDonalds are better"  {GASP!!!}

I NEVER want to hear that one again!  

So I have been working hard to create the perfect picky-eater-proof chicken strips.

I'm calling it "You-will-never-eat-McDonald's-chicken-again-so-better-learn-to-like-my-chicken"

Kidding

 (sort of)

We call it:  Ranch Chicken Strips

Dredge chicken in ranch dressing (seems to be the secret for this family)

Dip in Drake's fry mix (I really pat the mix on to create a good coating)

Fry in oil

Salt

That's it!

Note:  I find for best results I use a big enough skillet to cook all I am planning to make.  Seems that when I make multiple batches, the oil gets icky and the strips aren't as tasty.

Secret:  They are even better (in my opinion) when you hide a couple in the fridge and eat them cold when no one else is looking and the rest of the family thinks they are gone.  (hee hee)  

Hugs and Happy Cooking From Scratch!

Winter Blues...

Vitamin D a WONDERFUL winter-blues buster!

Think about it.

Mid-winter.  Unless you have spent a whole MONTH on a beach recently, you are probably lacking this amazing vitamin.

I notice A HUGE difference, ESPECIALLY in my overall mood, when I stop taking it.  (Like when we run out)

Vitamin D aids:

Mood elevation
Boost Immunity
Helps prevent lots of diseases
and lots, lots more

The best articles I have found are Dr. Mercola's, very informative and gives dosage recommendations.

Hugs and happy-beating-winter-blahs!

Christmas Card Tries

At certain points throughout the year we try to capture a good family picture to use for our Christmas cards. This year we just didn't seem to pull it together and Christmas came and went without a card.  Next year we will try harder.

  Our attempts are quite funny now that I look back, and I want these for our blog book :)

Love.  My.  Family.

What makes a meal?

This is a picture of one of my most favorite meals/snacks.

One I eat ALL THE TIME.

I could eat this for breakfast (like I did today), lunch, dinner or a snack  (Although I for lunch or dinner I would add more avocado and more cheese to make it more filling.)

Walnuts (or cashews), avocado, pear slices (or whatever fruit) and some Parmesan cheese (imported from Italy because we are Parmesan cheese snobs), 4 of my favorite foods

It doesn't look much like a traditional meal, but coupled with a nice glass of iced tea (or hot) this is a tasty treat for my taste buds.  

Filling (lots of wonderfully satiating natural fats), full of flavor,  healthy (CRAZY good vitamins) and no simple, refined carbs (which make me VERY moody - insert blood sugar swings)

Its fun to pair together different foods, thinking outside the meal-box.

Hugs :)

Igloo