Crispy Chicken Bundles

Okay so I helped serve a dinner last night to 88 homeschool Moms. WOW…
I should say that GOD served a dinner last night to 88 people, because there is ZERO way we did it without Him using our hands.

ZERO!

He sent amazing helpers, friends, etc that helped TONS!!! TONS!! I could go on and on in regards to that….seriously. I stand amazed at His Goodness!! Quite frankly I barely ate because when I tried it, it all tasted horrible so I was shocked to receive so many requests for the recipes.  I’m hopeful it was just that I’d spent so much time looking at the food that it just wasn’t appealing any more…let’s hope  But our guests were SO kind if that is the case, so I’m just going to be okay to remain in oblivion if not.
Our main course were these chicken bundles and we got LOTS of requests for the recipe. It’s been posted on my blog before and I found out people were being directed to my blog to find the recipe…ha ha!!  Always cracks me up to find out people read this little corner of mine in cyberland.  So I thought I’d post it here on the front page for ease of locating if you make it here.
Hope you enjoy it!!

(found the image at Culinary Adventures of a New Wife)

Chicken Bundle Recipe

4 chicken breasts cooked and cut up
(you can even used canned chicken or leftover turkey after T’giving, etc)
1 stk butter, melted
Seasoned stuffing or bread crumbs
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cans pillsbury crescent rolls
The rest you can totally play with:
Chopped celery * (maybe 1/4 cup)
Chopped onion * (maybe 1/2 cup)
Chopped water chestnuts * (I chop up a small can)
jar of Pimentos*
Salt and Pepper

Mix together chicken, cream cheese, celery, onions, w.chestnuts (good chance you’ll have to use your hands to get it mixed well) Separate crescent rolls and roll each one thin. Place a small amount of chicken mixture in center of each roll (maybe it’s about 1/4 cup). ”Bundle” the dough around the mixture. Just stretch each point of the crescent roll over the chicken and tuck it so that you end up with no holes. Dip each bundle into melted margarine and roll in the crumbs or stuffing. Bake at 350 til browned.

Bundles may be frozen separately, then placed in a freezer bag, taken out and baked as needed (no need to thaw)

As far as stuffing vs bread crumbs. If I use stuffing then I generally crush it up a bit so that it will coat the ‘bundle’ well. But you don’t have to do that. Just makes it ‘prettier’

…let me count the ways…

My kids…how I LOVE them! Sweet hubby and I got away for a few days, leaving the kids in very capable loving arms!! These are just some of the precious notes they hid all through our luggage. Unfold a shirt…there’s a note. Go to get your toothbrush…there’s a note….open the laptop…
You guessed it….NOTE! SO fun!!

and yes…my sweet son will probably look at this picture when I show him and crack up that he left an ‘m’ out of Mommy. He was rushing around doing this just before we left…I knew he was up to something just wasn’t sure what. Sneaky thing!!

A Father’s love

(I can more understand the love of my heavenly father because of the amazing love of my earthly father!)

So I keep seeing this video on Facebook with this father smoking his cigarette, cussing, and supposedly ‘disciplining’ his child in regard to a mean post she posted on her Facebook about her parents.  If you are my friend on Facebook and you posted the video…I’m not talking directly to you….I had quite a few friends post it.

One of my closest friends I did email about it because we can share that way.   I shared that I was SO thankful that man wasn’t my Daddy.  Because quite frankly that Daddy got his feelings hurt and got angry about it and seems to me treated the daughter with as much respect as he was shown by her in regards to the post…which as I see it is a symptom.  I’m going to go to bed tonight praying for that father and daughter.  That by him posting that video and it going viral that their relationship is not permanently damaged because of him humiliating her and not choosing a punishment that truly taught her something but instead he is sadly mistaken that humiliation and equal disrespect will make her a better person….Because that’s just it.  It might ‘teach her’ to not do that again (she can’t he shot up her laptop) but it didn’t teach her to be a better person.  As I see it God’s love was not reflected through him in that discipline.  He didn’t take an interest seems to me (and I do not pretend to know them so this is only going based on the video…which is obviously VERY limited knowledge and I totally admit that) in sitting down and talking to his daughter.  Expressing concern for her feelings and sharing why her language was entirely inappropriate.  In fact he fussed at her for her language while using the same language himself….hmmmm…and talked about the consequences to posting on the internet…while posting a video that has now gone totally viral…

I don’t want to pick it apart. Because most of all it made me thankful….SO SO THANKFUL!!

So I’m also going to bed in a minute THANKING GOD for my Daddy!!  Who I was not always nice to and who I didn’t always treat the way I should have…and I Never ever could tell him enough how much I love and appreciate him!!  Who taught me how to love and be loved!  Who taught be about respecting elders and being kind. Who taught me how to be strive to be Godly and God-fearing.  Who hugged me daily. Listened to me.  Disciplined me with explantations and in love and made it his goal the day he learned I existed to help me get to heaven.  I’m also thankful that my Daddy spent every day praying that I could find a wonderful Godly man to be the Daddy to my children.  One who would love fiercely and discipline with thought and with love and with intent…thinking forward to what every action he makes means and how it will help our children in the future to be the Godly people we pray for them to be!!

yes yes, I’m thankful.  BEYOND thankful!!

UPDATE:  the father mentioned above has his Facebook page still completely public turns out (ACK!) and I need to say that according to that, he did sit and talk to his daughter after he posted the video and it seems they had some good talks.   That is good.  Now they are dealing with the repercussions of his actions and I think he’s totally aware of that.  I just want to ensure to give accurate info as I know it.

After Twelve comes thirTEEN!

So hard for me to believe that my MaryKyle is TWELVE today!!  It’s tradition that her bedroom door be decorated so she could emerge this morning as a TWELVE year old!!  Mommy was having to do that late because MK had a tough time falling asleep last night.  First, last night she and a friend put on a delightful violin concert for us and we served desserts…which meant chocolate…which for MK means it’s tough to go to sleep (she’s not crazed just awake) , and then her brother had been telling her how much she’d LOVE her b’day present.  Which of course just tortured her.  So she was pretty pumped up and excited!!

(modeling her kindle coat and hat – over her PJ’s)

She did LOVE her Kindle!!  We had it preloaded with stuff like Austen, Dickens, and Shakespere.  Some of her favorites!!  She’s a total bookworm this daughter of ours just like her Aunts!  It’s a win win since Amazon has the classics free for Kindle!!!  Yay!!  She’s so pumped about having so many books at her fingertips.  I wasn’t so sure about Kindles and losing the beauty of a paper book and flipping pages.  But this child reads through books like I eat Junior Mints. We just can’t keep enough books in the house for her.

Next year at this time we’ll have a teenager, but that’s okay. As freaky as that sounds, I’m honored to be her mother and I am really enjoying watching her become a young lady.

True love….

photo by JenniferGMills photography  (what a perk having a close friend with such talents!)

When MK and JM were little we were always hearing comments in regards to their friendship like “enjoy it while it lasts before long they’ll be ready to kill each other, etc” But we’ve yet to see that happen.  These two love and appreciate each other.  They are close friends.  Yes they argue.  But not tons.  Even when they do, they maintain their friendship. In fact they get really sad when they are with friends who complain about their sibling/s. That doesn’t make sense to them and they talk about how much they are missing out on “if they only realized how great it is!”    Now Jeremiah has entered the picture…and our hearts melt even more.  They simply ADORE him.  Change diapers, pick him up when he’s sad, Love on him tons.  Today he had to get shots and they gave him tons of kisses as he and I left the house (Daddy was at home with the big kids so they could complete their schoolwork) and we were greeted as soon as the car was heard in the driveway brother and sister ready with kisses and love.   We pray for our kid’s relationship. Have from the time John Mark was born.  And we give God the praise and the glory for building such an amazing friendship among them.  We just could not be more thankful!!  It’s an absolute joy to watch them interact!