Garden Update

My garden is growing!

oh the lovely shades of green

 the tomato plant is climbing

 peas, cucumbers and beans are getting taller as well

 spinach

 swiss chard

 the crazy strawberry plants

 lettuce

 basil

 cucumbers on the left and beans on the right

 carrots

 potatoes (who knew they grew their own trees?!)

 According to my Garden Planner I may be able to harvest some spinach and lettuce next weekend.  We'll see!

Dinner tonight had nothing to do with my garden but it sure was delish.  It tasted much better than the picture below turned out.

Panko Chicken Cones

Panko Chicken Cones (serves 4-6)

(adapted from the Crunchy Chicken Cones recipe from the May/June 2011 Weight Watchers Magazine)

Ingredients:

1/2 c. liquid egg substitute (i.e. egg beaters)

1 c. Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

1 lb chicken tenders or chicken breast

1/4c. mayonnaise

1 T. fresh lime juice (about 1/2 a lime)

2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

1 c. iceberg lettuce, shredded

6 6-inch tortillas

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray or use your Professional Baking Mat.

2,  Pour egg substitute into a shallow dish.  Pour panko onto a flat plate.  Dip chicken tenders, one at a time, into the egg substitute, then into panko, pressing to adhere.  Place chicken on baking sheet.  Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 25 minutes.  Cut them into 2 inch pieces.

3.  Meanwhile, make the sauce.  Mix mayonnaise, cilantro and lime juice in a small bowl. 

4.  Place 3-4 chicken tender pieces in each of the tortillas.  Top evenly with the iceberg lettuce.  Spoon 1 T. sauce onto each tortilla. 

5.  Fold the bottom portion of the tortilla over the filling and then roll the sides over into a cone shape.  Or fold the yummy mess up however you want!

silver bells and cockle shells

Eight days after planting seeds (and the tomato and strawberry plants) my garden is growing. I think it's the cutest little thing. All of my vine plants are sprouting up: Tomato, Peas, Cucumbers and Beans

lettuce my aggressive strawberries (anyone know? Can I trim them back?) onions

spinach

swiss chard

carrots

(it's hard to see the green sprouts but trust me, they're there)

I'm going to dream about a fresh salad tonight!

Tonight, however, brings us another slight chance of severe weather. Since Matt is out of town Mr. Buddy set up my nasty-weather garden-shelter for me. (Everyone needs a Mr. Buddy for a neighbor!) my budding fresh salad is snug as a bug

The weather radio already went off with a Tornado Watch for the overnight. Unfortunately it went off within ear shot of Lauren who for the first time freaked out. She heard it mention thunder, lightening and hail. (oh the hail!) She sobbed that the thunder scares her, the lightening hurts her eyes and, amidst gasping sobs, that Tera told her hail can make a huge hole in her head. Tera and I will have a chat the next time I see her. =)

I assured Lauren that my job was to keep her safe and no matter what I would.

I love these intense storms (including the weather radio for warning and the basement for shelter) and if we ever move back to the Pacific NW I will miss them.

Moving on: I talked to Matt today and he is doing much better. He was able to give his presentation as scheduled and was actually going out to eat some dinner. I told him to order whatever he ordered VERY WELL DONE. I should probably insist that he only eat my cooking. We rarely eat out at restaurants but when we do he often (well twice now) catches some kind of bug.

One last thing: Tyler says the absolute coolest things. He's very literal and analytical. After watching a mattress commercial on TV he said, "Mama, have you ever seen a mattress that growed?"

"No son, I haven't"

"Well it was on TV and they said it was 16 years old."

(Since we have Tivo/DVR and normally fast-forward through all the commercials, he thinks it's a special treat to watch them and he listens intently.)