Thankful for Zucchini

Curried Chicken Salad with Yogurt Dressing

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
3 tablespoons sour cream
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 cups cooked chicken (1/2-inch pieces)
1/2 cup currants
2 medium carrots, grated
2 small zucchini, cut lengthwise into eighths, then sliced 1 inch think
2 Granny Smith apples, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Crisp greens for garnish
1/2 cup roasted cashews

1. In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sour cream, curry powder, thyme, coriander, cumin, celery seeds, salt and lemon juice. Add the chicken and toss well. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes.
2. Add the carrots, zucchini, apples, and currants to the chicken and toss well to combind. Mound salad on the crisp greens and top with some cashews.

Mommy-Me Time

The boys and I have been having a great time with mommy-me time. In the past, we have waited until Mike is home, but this week I got a baby-sitter for the other two kids . . . then we were off.

Anakin wanted to go to the park. So we took the scooter and walked down to the park. We ran and ran around. He loved having me at his beck and call. "Mommy, come this way, Mommy go that way! We pretended the wood chips were lava, and played and played. Then we walked home. My favorite part--leaving--

"Anakin, are you ready for mommy-me time?" I ask.

"Oh YEAH!", he replies.

Then the next day, same babysitter, but different child. Luke and I went to Target, where he got to pick out a new Lego set--we then put it together. Again, the excitement of actually spending time together---

"OH YEAH!"

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!

Yes, she is two--I can hardly believe it. We celebrated her birthday quietly. We got her presents, cupcakes, then we went to a lake that has a sandy beach. She'll start understanding the excitement of birthdays really soon, then we won't have the option of celebrating quietly!

Her latest: she can gallop! She still dances all day every day; she has amazing choreography. She is definitely the busiest of all my three children--Happy Birthday--and may we all outlive the terrible two's.

Spy School

We been having Spy School around here. We have cool spy moves, and secret missions. We use the walkie-talkies for our spy adventures. We've even taken pictures of our neighbors and their war preparations. It's been a lot of fun! The best spy is Luke--he is the teacher and continually gives us stars when we are doing well. I got two gold stars last night --wow -- I am a spy! Forget graduate school--because now I have spy school.

Thankful for Zucchini

I ate my first zucchini out of the garden, and I started to think of all the wonderful recipes I have for zucchini.

Cheesy Zucchini Lasagna

2 cups mozzarella cheese
2 cups zucchini cut up
1 cup low fat ricotta cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
3 cups spaghetti sauce
uncooked lasagna noodles

Heat oven to 350 reserve 1/2 cup mozzerella
mix remaining cheese & zuchini
Spread 3/4 cup sauce on bottom of 9 x 13 pan
put 3 noodles
spread 1/2 of mixture
top with 3/4 cup sauce
Repeat 3 more noodles & rest of cheese mixture
then 3/4 cup sauce & noodles again
Last 3/4 cup of sauce
Cover with foil, bake 1 hour until nooldes are soft, top with remaining mozzarella.

(Cool trick: spray the inside of the foil with cooking spray which helps the noodles ect not stick!)

Sacrament Meeting--this time

I thought I would share the latest Sacrament Meeting story. It's nothing like the one that Elder Oaks told in conference in 1997, but it's pleasant to me. Mike was asked to pass the sacrament. Our Ward is low in Young Men, and the older boys were on a High Adventure, so he dutifully passes the sacrament. Everything is going smoothly. Gypsy Girl is a joy to watch at the beginning of church. She gets out the songbook, sings right along, prays right along with everyone (even during the sacrament prayers). We were all doing fine until Daddy walks right in front of us--Gyspy Girl sees him, walks by Luke, and is in the aisle chasing down her dad! Luckily, I saw her escape. Luckily, I caught her! Luckily, I had some milk. She whimpered a bit, but enjoyed her milk during the rest of the sacrament.

Two Weeks

Sue asked me if I pampered myself during my two week hiatus of being a mom. I mostly studied. Getting six credits accomplished in two weeks leaves little time to do much else. I did eat out a lot, and watched this great movie while working on my final project! This was Cary Grant's last movie and it is wonderful. I keep thinking it would make a great re-make, but then again I'm not sure it would remain as "family-friendly" as the original movie. The couple doesn't even kiss until the final scenes--so I am sure Hollywood could change the dynamics of the film. But in a perfect world, I would love to see this remade with Harrison Ford in the Carey Grant role, Amy Adams as the lead female, and I really can't decide who should play the Olympian. Anyone have any suggestion? How can we pitch this idea to the right producer?