My Spin On Chicken Nachos

I've been trying to eat really healthy and think of new dishes for the family. Oprah had a "Celebrity Chef's" edition this week, and it was fun hearing some new tips and ideas. One thing they talked about was how using leftovers can save you a ton of money. I am pretty good about this. Usually I will stock up on a few roasted chicken's from Costco (only $4/chicken) and they can each make about 4 dinners/piece. I will spend an evening shredding the meat and freezing them into separate bags (which only takes about 15 minutes) but it really comes in handy when you want to throw a quick soup in the crock pot or make some chicken enchilada's. Tonight I decided to make a healthier version of chicken nachos. One of the chef's on Oprah showed a family an easy way to make healthier tortilla chips. You just buy whole wheat tortilla's and cut them into small triangles....throw them in the oven for 5 minutes (on 400 degree's) and you have some very low sodium/low calorie chips (no salt is needed either)!. So, I decided to use up a bag of frozen chicken meat and make a healthier version of chicken nachos.....here goes!

I think this whole dish probably cost about $5. It went great with my mango salsa (I will post that recipe one day too)....

Ingredients:

One bag of shredded chicken (about 1/4 of a roasted chicken)

Tortilla chips (Homemade)

4 small peppers (I used yellow, green, orange, and red)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (low fat)

Diced tomatoes

Garlic Powder

Olive Oil

Chopped Chives

1 can black beans....drained

1/2 cup shredded lettuce

Directions:

First, cut up about 5 whole wheat tortillas into quarter's (4 triangles each). Sprinkle with a bit of garlic powder and cook in oven at 400 degree's for 5 minutes.

In small saute pan, heat olive oil and cook the peppers for about 3-4 minutes

Put the tortilla chips in an oven-safe dish....and layer on top of chips (in an order similar to this): black beans, shredded lettuce, shredded chicken, diced tomatoes, sauteed peppers, shredded mozzarella cheese, and top with chopped chives. Put back in oven until cheese melts.

Enjoy!....perhaps with some mango salsa!

Global Food Crisis Day

https://www.compassion.com/contribution/giving/global-food-crisis.htm

One person in seven goes to bed hungry every day.

One-third of the world’s population is undernourished.

There are 25,000 starvation-related deaths each day.

Each night more than 300 million children go to bed hungry.

Every day, over 12,000 children (one every 7 seconds) die from hunger-related causes.

Approximately 146 million or 27 percent of children under age 5 in developing countries are underweight.

Nearly 17 percent of babies in developing countries are born with a low birth weight compared with only 7 percent of babies in industrialized countries.

More than 4.4 million children die from malnutrition each year.

Worldwide, 161 million preschool children suffer chronic malnutrition.

Tomorrow is Global Food Crisis Day. I am going to partake in the challenge and stick to eating only one cup of rice per day (which is equivalent to what many children and families around the world are only able to eat in a given day). I know that this challenge won't make a difference in the world, but I hope that it will raise awareness in myself.....make a difference in myself; my attitude. It absolutely breaks my heart to read the statistics up above. I could never imagine watching my child go hungry. When you are a mother, the desire to provide for your family is a constant aching in your heart....a constant battle. Thinking about families all over the world who have to watch their children go hungry is devastating. Here are a few more statistics.

• $13 helps a child for one month
• $39 helps three children for one month
• $78 helps six children for one month

If these statistics have weighed heavy on your heart, I would encourage you to donate. If you can't donate, I would encourage you to partake in the challenge. One cup of rice tomorrow. That's it. Let me know if you do this, I'd love to hear about it!




http://www.one.org/, http://www.bread.org/, http://www.unicef.org/, http://www.who.int/, http://www.unep.org/

Day 2 Since The Binkie Fairy Arrived...

I've had alot of people ask me how things have been around the Heston Household since the magical Binkie Fairy came on Friday night. Let's just say that we're all a little tired around here. Saturday morning was pretty difficult for me (I know, this all sounds really pathetic, you don't have to comment on that....). Josh, I mean, the Binkie Fairy, thought it would be a good idea around 4am on Saturday morning to just rip out the binkie from poor Ava's mouth and let her wake up around 8am without it. What Josh, I mean the Binkie Fairy, did not plan on was Ava waking up IMMEDIATELY in major melt-down mode trying to figure out why her binkie had been ripped from her mouth suddenly in the middle of her slumber. Both barbies were waiting for her on her pillow (like we had told her would happen)....but she was NOT having it at all. After throwing both barbies across the room, throwing a fit for about 2 hours sobbing and asking me "where is my binkie? Mama, please go get me another binkie!".....she finally calmed down and watched a movie with me (mind you, this was still at like 5:30am). I didn't think it would be so hard on me. Hearing your daughter sobbing unconditionally, and knowing that you could fix it (by caving and just going to the store for a new binkie), was really difficult for me. I think it is because I'm such a people pleaser. I can NEVER say no to anyone. Don't get me wrong, Ava does not get everything she wants, but there is nothing harder than seeing your child suffer. I know that this is all very silly, but I did get teary eyed and felt bad for her! She's had her 'plug' ever since she was one day old, and I can only imagine what children go through when their security items are taken away.

Anyways, all of that aside, today has been a much better day. None of us have really slept all that much this weekend (of course, I'm getting over being really sick and having Ava wake up every couple of hours screaming for her binkie haven't helped much) but we're getting through it. Thank you for all of your funny emails and comments. Parenting is such a wonderful journey and it's comforting knowing that we're all in this together!

Dear Ava...

Dear Ava,

I am writing you this letter on the night of March 6th, 2009. I suspect that this is going to be a most terrifying and difficult night for you (your dad and I too). You see, tonight, the Binkie Fairy is coming to take away your most prized possession. I'm still trying to figure out why this fairy did not grace us with her presence back when you were only 1 year old. I think it would have made things a whole lot easier on all of us. On the contrary, she has waited until you are almost 3 years old to come and rip you from the security item that you have (most definitely) HAD to keep intact every night of your life (at least up until this point). A few weeks ago I thought it would be a good idea to remove the binkie from your mouth while you were sleeping and get rid of it once and for all. I figured it was time to let it go, and thought you would wake up in the morning forgetting about your beloved binkie. However, I woke up at 1am to the most bone shattering scream I have ever heard. You don't even WANT to know the thoughts that had run through my mind (as to why you were shrilling at the top of your lungs like that). I bolted to your room, only to find you sobbing and trying to mutter the words "Binkie! Where is my binkie?" through the most pathetic tears I have ever seen. It was then that your dad and I decided we would have to be a bit more creative in our endeavor....

A few weeks went by since that night, and your dad and I put the whole idea of "getting rid of the binkie" on the back burner. That is, until we were having dinner with our good friend Tonya (a dental hygienist) who told us that you would probably develop buck teeth from using your binkie this long (okay, she didn't say it like that....but your father did not have to hear another word about it and decided that it would be terminated immediately). After consulting with some friends, we decided to tell you the following story (so that you would understand why you will be waking up tomorrow with no binkie in your mouth) *sigh*. Twenty years down the road when you are talking to your therapist and trying to decipher at what point things turned south in your life, you can show him/her this letter to answer this exact question.

So, here is the story (as you know it) as to what is magically going to happen tonight.....

A beautiful fairy (who we've shown you pictures of in your coloring books)...named the "Binkie Fairy" is going to fly to our house tonight around 1am. She will somehow enter our house (Note to self, do not arm the alarm system), walk up the stairs (sprinkling her magic fairy dust as she goes), tip-toe into your room (and, yes, we will actually be sprinkling some leftover Halloween glitter onto the stairs for special effects) and find your bedroom. She will then sneak into your room, remove your binkie from your mouth, and leave you 2 barbies on your pillow while you sleep. (It was supposed to be only one barbie, but then you couldn't make up your mind as to what barbie you wanted more...so the gracious binkie fairy has opted to spoil you during this horrific time and just give you both the Ariel Mermaid Barbie AND the Ballerina Barbie). When you wake up, you will see your new barbies in your bed, find her fairy dust leading out to the front door, and be SO happy that she has brought you presents in exchange for your binkies!

For some reason, I don't think that this will be your initial reaction....but this is the way it is all supposed to go down, God willing.

Ever since we told you about this magical fairy that is coming, you have been asking millions and millions of questions about it. Here are a few of my favorites....

"Mama, is the binkie fairy taking my binkie so that all the little babies in the world can have them?"

"Will my barbies have their own binkies, mama?" (Um, that would be NO)....

"Mama, will I still have a binkie in my backpack at church?"

"I'm a big girl now, is that why I can't have my binkie anymore?" (No, it's because I don't want you to have buck teeth).

"Mama, where do binkies come from" (Although, I'd rather answer this question than "where do babies come from?")....

So, there you have it. We have decided to tell you that your first question is true. The Binkie Fairy is coming because all of the new little babies in the world need to have your binkies. Now, after I'm done with this letter, your father and I have to tear apart the house and make sure we are not missing any old binkies that might have fallen in between couch cushions, or under the bed. Please, dear child, do not make these next few nights difficult for yourself. I know it is going to be a very traumatic experience to go through, but we know you can do it. I apologize we didn't summon the Binkie Fairy to come to our house a year or two ago. And now it seems as though your binkie is just an extension of your face. Although I'm excited to see you play with your new barbies, I'm saddened that this night will signify a turning point in your life. You are almost 3, which means you will be entering into pre-school soon, and are not my infant baby anymore. Your father and I love you more than you will ever know. Please remember that as you will probably be hating us very much this next week.

Love, Mommy

A Few Thoughts From Last Night...

I'm not going to sit here and complain about the season finale of the Bachelor last night. It is what it is. As much as I don't believe that Jason should have gone about everything the way he did, he is a real person and a sinner just like the rest of us. He's made some horrible choices, and that is his problem. He did exactly what he told everyone he didn't want to do from the beginning, but whatever. There was no need to break up with Melissa on National TV. If Jason and Melissa really had broken up beforehand (like he claimed to have done on the Jimmy Kimmel show last night) then why did he have to do it again on National TV? Her reaction to everything proved that she didn't know the extent of everything (even though he claimed that she did). Anyways, we can't change what he did, but I do want to point out a few things that I found really odd (in respect to ABC and the way they handled everything)....

#1. When they show Jason proposing to someone in the beginning of the Bachelor (on the beginning highlights for the seasons show when we first started watching in January), they show him proposing to a gal wearing a light blue dress. However, neither Mel or Molly were wearing a light blue dress at the finale. Isn't that odd? Seriously, play back the previews from the first Bachelor preview and watch him down on one knee....it was totally fabricated. Or, check out the blogs that show him proposing to someone in the previews. It's not the same person. They do, however, go as far to show him proposing to a girl wearing a gold pinky ring (which was obviously Melissa). This shows you how badly they wanted everyone to think it was Melissa who won. AND, if Jason really broke up with Melissa at the ATRF (After the Rose finale) that was filmed in January....they wouldn't have needed to make it seem like he was indeed proposing to her in NZ (since they knew the outcome before it aired). It seems like this whole heart-break dump was planned from the beginning (no matter how much Jason and ABC try to deny it)...

#2. The WHOLE reason they taped the 'finale after the rose' without audience members, is because Molly and Jason were ACTING the whole time. There is no other reason that they would not have taped it in front of audience members. Since it was all an act, they knew that they would need to stop-plays, re-do scenes, and cut out alot of the retakes that they had to do. You could TOTALLY tell after they had seen eachother for the 'first time' that they had seen eachother since the send-off in NZ. You could tell when they greeted eachother and said "Oh my gosh, it's been awhile!" that they were totally faking it. They had to of seen eachother since New Zealand and they were trying to make it seem like they hadn't.

#3. Any normal girl in the real world would not have accepted a proposal to get back together with someone that quickly after they had split up (on national television) after a 2 month romance with another girl. Molly said herself how angry she was when he broke up with her, and any normal girl would not be making out and holding hands with a guy who had been engaged 'up until that point' and had JUST dumped his fiance on national television. Come on. Who would do that? This also goes to show you just how much of a prick Jason is. You don't break up with a fiance and then make out with the runner up on National TV 5 minutes later. Where is your sensitivity chip?

#4. All of the contestants who sign up on the bachelor/bachelorette are signed to a 5 million contract. This means, if they spill the beans about the show, they can be sued for 5 million dollars. This is exactly why none of the girls who were involved in this show can really talk about what happened (behind the cameras). It sucks that it has to be this way. It is horrible that good girls like Melissa have to deal with all of this crap. In the end, it's always the good girls that suffer.

I don't know why I care this much. I will sit here and talk about the fact that I will never watch this horrible show ever again, but I know I will. It's horrible that ABC can get all of us this hooked and make it ruin our week since we feel bad for Melissa. I guess the only happiness I have is that Jason will have to deal with his choices/consequences and we all know that this stupid relationship with Molly will have a shorter shelf life than the yogurt in my fridge. And if I'm wrong, I will make it up to all of you.

End of The Rainbow

Just when you think Google outdid everyone by finding the "Lost City of Atlantis" (did you see that?) some guy in California found the end of the rainbow. Kinda fitting that I found this photo today on the same day that the Bachelor is coming to an end. 5 hours and counting...