Crock Pot Italian Chicken

Good Tuesday morning!

First things first... I'm going to give you the recipe for Crock Pot Italian Chicken so you can all rush out and get the ingredients and have it for supper tonight!

Crock Pot Italian Chicken

4 boneless chicken breast halves
1 envelope Italian dressing mix
1/2 cup broth
Cook on low for three hours.

8 oz. cream cheese
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
4 oz. mushrooms
Mix and pour over chicken.

Cook one more hour on low.

Serve with rice (you can actually put the chicken and "gravy" over a bed of rice), salad and crunchy Italian bread. It got 5 stars on the Faulkner Family Rating System (5 being the best you can have)!

Remember, this is a copied recipe, so you'll know it will be good. I got it out of a magazine (I don't even remember which one).

Weekend Wrap-Up

I just wanted you to know that after the Declaration was passed around, the weekend went very well... even though our college football team lost. (I only have so much control. Maybe I should have sent them a copy of the Declaration?!?) The guys had a great time, and Josh got to check off one more SEC stadium on his list.

Some of my favorite moments had to be Saturday night going out to eat with Ms. Dawn and Savanna. Roxie and Savanna dressed up in true 12 year-old "funky" fashion (glitterized and accessorized to the "nth" degree) and we just had a very relaxed "non-hamburgery" type meal in a very nice restaurant. (I had somehow become the recipient of a gift certificate to Cheesecake Factory, and Dawn and I shared it making our meal cost LESS than a more "hamburgery" type establishment. (Nothing wrong with hamburgers... they are a staple in our diet.) If you haven't tried them yet, I highly recommend the fried macaroni and cheese balls. I think they're in the appetizer section of the 100 page menu. I sampled them off of Dawn and Savanna's plates. Very good.

My next favorite thing had to be the photo shoot with Austin, my nephew, Brad, and their girlfriends at the Botanical Gardens. We had the best time, and I got some beautiful fall shots. The boys were so much more willing to pose with the chicks there, so from now on... you guessed it... chicks will be coming to photo shoots.

Just a real quick story about the Botanical Garden photo shoot. The Botanical Gardens is my most favorite place on earth. (I also love Aldridge Gardens.) I just think the gardens are peaceful and beautiful, and I can actually feel myself becoming more calm when I am there. I've taken the kids for pictures once or twice a year since they were very small, and I am thrilled that I still get to make those trips as they get older.

I used to call the maitre d' at the fancy French restaurant inside the Botanical Gardens the end of October every year and ask him if the leaves were changing. He would immediately try to refer me to a "plant person" somewhere else in the gardens, but I would stop him. "No, no, no! You are the person I have to talk to. Please walk across the restaurant to the last window and look out and see if the tree in the corner is totally yellow yet." Heavy sigh from the heavily accented maitre d'.

"The tree has yellow in some places, but not everywhere."

"Okay. Well, I'll just call you again next week," I would cheerfully respond. And then I would hang up quickly before he could tell me not to call back.

The next week, I would make the same call, and now instead of trying to transfer my call, he would walk to the window and say something like, "It is almost ready, but not quite."

"Are there any yellow leaves under the tree that have already fallen?" I was really pushing my luck now.

"Just a few. I would wait one more week." He was really getting into it now.

The day before we planned on coming... perfect fall weather - CHECK; coordinating fall clothes - CHECK; ten rolls of film - CHECK; extra batteries for the camera - CHECK. One more call to my friend. "Hey, remember me? How's the tree looking?"

"I was just checking the tree. It is perfect." I had turned this guy into a Tree Nut, too. I declared him my new "best friend."

As the years passed, I still called him until the restaurant changed, and he was no longer there. Now I have to rely on gut instinct, because the "new guy" isn't a Tree Nut like my French friend and me. I miss him. I think, in a weird sort of way, he understood me. So few people do!

Anyway, after our boyfriend/girlfriend photo shoot, we all went to Starbucks for frappuccinos (I remember when it used to be McDonald's for a Happy Meal), and then headed back to the house to get to church on time. It wasn't over two hours together, but it was certainly enjoyable.

We caught up with Amazing Race and Survivor and headed to bed. So most, if not all, of the weekend turned out amazingly well.

Enjoy your easy meal tonight. And tune in tomorrow for a really, really fun teenage (boy or girl) Seasonal Tradition.

By the way, after taking 38 photographs of Copper in a row, I have a pretty good one. It will be next week's Showcase Pic in the right hand corner. Don't miss it because I doubt if I'll be working that hard to get Copper's photo again! (He is a pretty little beagle though, isn't he?)

Don't forget to VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!

Have a great day and I'll talk to you tomorrow!