Chicken and Black Bean Burritos-and I didn't ruin them!

EVERYBODY! Finally, I'm sharing a recipe I didn't botch. Really, all it requires is knowing how to stir ingredients in the skillet, but I can still be proud of myself, right? I think you'll like these. They're semi-healthy and easy/fast to prepare.

By the way, I added onions (Mexi-style food hasto contain onions!) and sprinkled cheese on top of the finished product.

Here goes:

Chicken and Black Bean Burritos

from Quick & Healthy Volume II, a cookbook by Brenda J. Ponichtera

A quick meal that the whole family will enjoy. Kidney or pinto beans can be substituted for the black beans. Leftover filling is also good served on cold lettuce (oooh, I'm gonna try that--kinda like P.F. Chang's lettuce wraps!).

1/2 lb. boneless, skinless ch icken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained & rinsed

1 can (8 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained

1/2 cup salsa, thick & chunky

1 green bell pepper, diced

6 flour tortillas (7 1/2 " dm)

light sour cream (optional)

salsa, thick & chunky (optional)

Brown chicken in a skillet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Add all but the tortillas and continue to cook until the chicken is done. Heat tortillas in a covered microwave-safe container in the microwave for 1 minute rotating 1/4 turn halfway through cooking.

To serve, spoon 3/4 cup of chicken mixture onto a tortilla. Fold ends in and roll up burrito style. Serve as is or with salsa & light sour cream. Yield: 6 servings.

**HAPPY FEASTING!**

And in his absence I missed him

I could brag for several paragraphs at how wonderful Shawn is, but, I'll spare ya! When he works late hours, I REALLY miss him, so I do things to avert my energy from, well, whining.

Below are some of the cards I've stayed up late making. It helps to picture to whom I might send the card. Makes me grin. I like that there's a little part of myself entwined in these cards. And have I mentioned I love glitter?!!

I'm awestruck at how people differently express their creativity. Currently I'm astounded by writers-how do they do it? Where do their stories originate? From where/whom do they maintain their steadfastness? What is it like when they pen the very last word of a novel?

Their black words on white pages are a gift to us all.

Here N There In My MicroWorld--with guest appearance by Random Captions

from a prior post

orange was fitting

go above the call of duty

anchor yourself to reason

how dare you burst my bubble

i teetered on the edge then spun around

it sort of splashed out from nowhere

owl be seeing you in my forevers

i know more than you think

your ears will sag one day

click clack

a blackbird came and pinched off her nose

Let me know if you ever want to hear the story of how this glass was broken...

unsure of place in peking order

ah, the surface space of a refrigerator

~

It's the little things...

Wilder edited this post. He's most helpful on the computer and with paperwork.

Some little things that have made me happy:

~going on a date with Shawn-PANERA! and they actually had chocolate chipper cookies on hand!

~talking my mother's in law ear off for an hour at least

~talking my sister's in law ear off--it was a running trend this weekend

~giving my cousin a bamboo trashcan at her shower (hey, it was on her registry!)

~reading some of my book--The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (anyone read this?)

~going on a walk with all 3 of my boys

~getting some lotion and perfume at Victoria's Secret

~wearing cute black boots

~chatting with Dee, who happens to live in GERMANY! I want to go to there!

~putting Wilder in irresistible red overalls

And now for some pics of my baby...cuz we all need a little sweetness to cure any bad cases of "the Mondays"!

cherish

Favorite Corner

There's a certain time of day when sunshine blankets our living room just right--Shawn was lucky to catch it on film (although I can't figure out how to load the pics larger):

proof that Wild Man is getting cool with being on his tummy. btw, i trim his nails every other day and he still manages to scratch himself.

his hand--curious, learning, tiny.

~

Happy Birthday, Barbie!

my 1st Barbie-Peaches and Cream

Barbie turns 50 this year and she's never looked better. Ok, I think she has looked better. I prefer the older versions of Barbie--from the 50s and 60s. Now she looks so beautiful and unattainably perfect that it make us girls who eat feel, well, large.

Nonetheless, I had a good go with Barbie as a youngster. It's no secret that the Dunning Girls (my sisters and I), dubbed the Dunning Dolls, had a close relationship with Barbie. We "played barbies" for hours on end. We built them apartments out of blocks, sewed wedding dresses from panty hose, fried their hair with the curling iron, wasted gallons of water filling their swimming pool, made the one Ken doll be everybody's boyfriend (he was probably exhausted from listening to all the drama!)...we even got to play with my mom's Barbies. One had part of her nose nibbled off by a mouse...the other, a toe or two with the same fate. But they smelled so good and musty and looked so different from our 90's dolls.

I'm pretty sure I played with Barbies until I was at least twelve, maybe older than that. My excuse is not that I was some dorky quiet kid uninvolved in extracurricular activities, but that I had a sister five years younger and it was my duty, in fact my very calling, to entertain her. So we played Barbies.

I got my first Barbie at age 5. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was Christmas. I think I wore some kind of sweats ensemble. My hair existed in it's own untamable way--so huge it had a separate pillow at night. A separate placemat at the dinner table. The word "poodle" comes to mind (I often wonder what my momma was thinking when she had me get those perms?). And when I unwrapped my Peaches and Cream Barbie in her peach, flowy ballgown, peach high heels, with satiny hair and purple eyeshadow, all my 5-year old worries ebbed for a moment. And through welled eyes I hugged that doll like I'd never hugged a toy--ever in my life.

Happy Birthday, Barbie!

You can read Barbie's blog here. Why are you surprised that the one girl who has everything also has a blog?

Ken, the stud

And the winner is...

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Paula Yaussi at the Broken Y Ranch!!! Congratulations, Paula. :-) Please send me (mindyharris25@yahoo.com) your address and I'll mail you your gifts!

This was so much fun! You came up with some really cute, sweet 6-word love stories! Let's do this again sometime! Thank you for participating...

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A bloggy giveaway, because you're a sweetheart!

I'm so glad you could join in on my very first bloggy giveaway! Not everyone gets a kick out of Valentine's Day, but I do. I've been blessed to share many Valentine's holidays with Shawn--someday I'll have to tell you our love story!

Anyway, I ran across an article in Ladies Home Journal (yeah that seems dorky but it was a freebie with Parents...) that discusses the new book, Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak. To quote: "The online magazine Smith issued a challenge several years ago: Write your love story in six words. The results, ranging from funny to poignant to downright heartrending, complete the Six-Word book. Here are some examples:

"Magnetic attraction fused two polar opposites."

"Much married, fourth time is charmed."

"Hog the covers, I don't mind."

Not always perfect. But so worthwhile."

"May/December...the best of seasons."

"He's dumb but lifts heavy stuff."

"Crappy navigation got us honeymooners LOST."

"We've loved for all the ways..."

The last two quotes are mine! Now comes the giveaway stuff. Rules are simple. Post your love story in the comments section, using only six words, and be entered in a drawing for the following:

A pretty pink wall hanger for your scarf...

Or maybe your keys (if you're like me and lose them all.the.time.)

and, a cute birdie journal to scribe all the ways you love your man

here's the inner cover: ready for your initials!

Ready? Set? Can't wait to see what you come up with! Winner will be randomly drawn Monday, February 16, 2009, at 6pm. Happy Valentine's Day!

A glimpse into our week...

"Reading" Martha Stewart Living

Squeaky clean after a bath--he's outgrowing his little infant tub *tears*

we both look like we're ready to zonk out here! must've been one of our downtown days

I plopped him in his toybasket...hey, you gotta get creative!

What, Mom? Mind your own business! I'm busy here...

...ok, I'll cave and smile for ya!

wasn't too fond of his first nibbles of squash earlier in the week--
he's eating it like a little piggie now!

highlights:
~going downtown to see KHF and SHS friends, dine, and shop! (I split it up between 2 days)
~going to Wild's first Valentine's party; he brought white-chocolate drenched Cheerio clusters to share with his friends, and made Daddy a Valentine!