Italian Chicken Pouches

Good Tuesday morning!

Rain, rain, go away! That has become our chant the last few days here in Alabama. It's time for some sunshine!

MISCELLANEOUS - Jennifer, I left you a note in the comment section from yesterday.

FYI - As of 10:22 Monday night, we don't know if Roxie made the first cut in volleyball. They said they would post it before 7:00 a.m. I can't stay up much longer. I heard of one mother staying up until 2:00 a.m. one time to find out if her daughter had been cut. That's a good mother. I'll be looking at 11:00 p.m. and then at 6:00 a.m. I'm a semi-good mother!

FYI 2 - As of 6:00 a.m. this morning, Roxie made the cut for the volleyball team. However, there are still two cuts to go. There will be another one tonight. We are "thrilled," but even more nervous, I think. (I didn't look at the list until a few minutes ago... 6:00 a.m. I definitely fall under the category of semi-good mother.)

Monthly Anniversary

When Mikie and I first married, I wanted to do something special every single month. In my mind, it would be fun, romantic and something we could talk about for years and years and years. (I was right about the "talking about it for years and years and years" part. Most of the time we just shake our heads and sigh.)

I've picked the top three in the "Disaster Department" to share with you this week.

I was working at a law firm when Mikie and I married. We used court reporters to take depositions, and the reporters we used would give us points every time we scheduled work for them. You could turn in the points at any given time for special gifts. One of the gifts was two hours in a limo. When I finally got enough points for the limo, I made arrangements for it to show up at our modest apartment about 30 minutes after Mike was due home from work. I made reservations at a very nice restaurant (again, using the coupon system). I dressed up in my nicest dress, heels and accessories, and when Mike walked in the door tired, hungry and little grumpy after an hour and a half commute, he was a little wary of my "get-up."

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I have a little surprise for you," I said. I then went to the bedroom to get my purse. Unfortunately, it was at this time the limo driver arrived and knocked on the door. Before I could run to the door, Mike had already opened it and the limo driver told him he was ready at our disposal. Mike closed the door slowly, shook his head and walked to the window. There was a beautiful black stretch limo in front of our little apartment complex.

"What have you done?" he asked slowly.

Now, you need to know, like most newlyweds, we weren't rolling in the dough. At first, I had thought I would tell him I had gotten a real deal on the limo, and it was only going to cost us $100 an hour instead of the usual $250. But watching the color slowly drain from his face, I knew I had to come clean... and quickly.

It took a little while before the news actually hit home, but once it did (and he started breathing again), we finished getting ready and went downstairs. Our limo driver was a delight. He had a lot of personality, and when he found out it was our first ever limo ride, he made a quick call to his office and lengthened our two-hour drive to a four-hour drive. (This made me especially happy, since once we did arrive at the restaurant, we didn't have to "wolf" down our fancy dinner to be able to ride home in the limo. (It would have been humiliating to have to call someone to pick us up and carry us home because our two hours ran out!)

So after a LEISURELY dinner, we crawled back into our stretch (which had been stocked with RCs and Moon Pies... Mikie's favorite), and Joe, our driver, took us on a beautiful ride to places we could look down on Birmingham all lit up.

I guess this doesn't really fall under "Disaster Department" because it ended so well. It was just the beginning where I thought Mike was going to have a real heart attack that things seemed a little "sticky."

Not all of our monthly anniversaries were as special as a limo drive and a romantic dinner, of course, but I was in "Newlywed Mode" big time, and the wheels in my brain were turning CONSTANTLY.

Tomorrow, I'll tell you a little more about the story of the Sunset Picnic that I mentioned in the date section last week. That was monthly anniversary number four. After that one, I almost gave up... but being terribly stubborn (and not wanting to stop anything at number four), I forged ahead. Much to Mikie's horror.

Italian Chicken Pouches

You will need the following:

2 large squares of aluminum foil per person
Chicken breast tenderloins (3 to 4 per person)
Red potatoes
Carrots
Italian dressing
Parmesan cheese
Non-stick cooking spray

1. On one piece of foil, lightly spray the cooking spray.

2. In the middle of the foil, place 3 to 4 pieces of chicken.

3. Thinly slice the potatoes and put them in a circle around the chicken.

4. Put the baby carrots in a circle around the potatoes.

5. Salt and pepper lightly.

6. Pour Italian dressing over all ingredients.

7. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over all ingredients.

8. Using the second piece of foil, place over the food and fold corners making small, tight squares. (If the kids are helping prepare supper, make sure to have a Sharpie available for them to write their names on THEIR pouch. Very important!)

9. Put the pouches on a large cookie sheet and place in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

10. Remove one pouch and test the chicken before serving all of the pouches.

11. Have a small bowl of Italian dressing at each place setting for additional dipping.

You can serve this with egg noodles, green salad and French bread. It is tasty, easy and fun to make. (It is also great to make ahead of time.)

Tomorrow's Seasonal Tradition is a spring day trip. (And I'm going to throw in a Mother's Day Gift idea I saw recently. My kids are too big to do this for Grandmother and Grandma, but if you have little ones, it might be something you could think about for next year... or an upcoming birthday.)

Have a great Tuesday. If you think about it, say a little prayer for Roxie at volleyball tryouts today. It's not the most important thing in the world, but we all know it's the little things that mean the most... especially to high-strung 12 year-olds!

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.