Menu Monday

I had a really, truly lovely Mother's Day weekend... full of treats big and small.  My People made sure I felt good and spoiled, and, most importantly, we got to leisurely enjoy each other and the beautiful weather. 

L is at the age where she has all the tools to clearly express her opinions the majority of the time, so I had the distinct pleasure of being the recipient of her "shopping endeavors."  E said he attempted to steer her in a more understated direction, but Bug wanted something a bit more flashy...

I could not love my hot pink, leopard print, bedazzled balloon more. 

Well, perhaps I could love it more if I were allowed to touch it.  But it is wondrous to admire from afar.

And now, for the food...

Spicy Turkey & Hatch Quiche

original recipe post

Busted out some of my Hatch Freezer Stash for this repertoire standard.  This time, I removed the stems and the majority of the seeds, but left on the blistered skins and food processed the chiles into a paste.  So good... is it August yet? 

Chicken & Asparagus in Garlic White Wine Sauce + 
Tri-Color Mini Potatoes in Whole Grain Mustard Sauce
chicken from Skinny Taste / potatoes from Ina Garten

My second time making this chicken... still delicious!  And yes, I'm still eschewing the 'shrooms.  BHB's tweets about these potatoes had me swooping up these tiny taters seconds after spotting them at the market....  Y'all know I can't pass up any recipe involving mustard. 

Chicken Enchilada Zucchini Boats
modified from Skinny Taste

I took the mega easy way out and cooked chicken tenders in my slowcooker with Fronter Red Enchilada Sauce... shredded that right up with the sauce, threw in some sliced shallots and about half of the zucchini "innards," restuffed those suckers and topped with cheese.  They tasted just as good with all that short-cutting as they usually do! 

Not pictured... I whipped up a little burrito bowl action with this Crockpot Shredded Beef and Mexican Quinoa.  The beef was fine... nothing amazing.  I much prefer Pioneer Woman's Spicy Beef.  We did really like the quinoa - a great alternative to Spanish rice. 

for the mamas

Last year on Mother's Day, L woke up at 5:00 a.m... screamed through church... and there was more of the same on the drive back from Waco...

... and it was a very, very happy day for me.

I mean, it required a mug of coffee big enough to kill a medium-sized donkey, but... Happy.

I honestly didn't think I could love this little bug any more.  Nor did I think I could further appreciate the depths of my own mama's love for me.

But time marches onward, and, by some magic slight of hand, our hearts just grow bigger and bigger.

This Mother's Day, my greatest wish is for L to know how incredibly rich she makes my everyday seconds and minutes and hours...

... and for my mama to know that... hmmmm... I get it.  Your love for me is thunderously overwhelming and humbling and straight-up fantastic.  I'm sure I'll comprehend that, fraction by tiny fraction, even more so as years pass by... 

... but, for today, I love you, too.  More and more.  

{Oh.}

{And let's be real.}

{I'd also like to sleep until 8, and maybe read my murder mystery in bed for another 30, and to eat my brunch - with accompanying head-sized mimosa - while the eggs are still warm.}

{Yep, yep, yep.  That'd be nice.}

Happy Mother's Day. 

to the mamas, and the mamas of mamas, and the mamas of mamas of mamas. 

Cotton Palace 2013 + Cameron Park Zoo

Two weekends ago, E attended a bar conference {of the legal - not booze - variety}, so L and I trucked it down to Waco to watch Cousin Margot take her bow as the Duchess of Austin in Waco's annual Cotton Palace Pageant. 

Cotton Palace is Waco's answer to Tyler's Rose Festival and San Antonio's Fiesta {do cities in other states do this or is this just an offshoot of Texas' Particular Brand of Crazy?}... basically a celebration of the city's history with a big dash of sparkly dresses thrown in for good measure.  

Cotton Palace 1986

Our family has been involved with Cotton Palace for nearly four decades... One of my earliest memories is posing with my grandfather for the photo above before he presided over the Court as King in 1986, and, growing up, I spent many an afternoon playing dress up in my aunts' hoop skirts from their Princess gowns {local girls are Princesses; out-of-towners are Duchesses}.  

Suffice to say, lots of family history there, so it was fun to see Margot up there killing her bow {even though the pageant itself requires a clandestine roadie}.  I only wish L were a couple years older... Is there any bigger thrill for a three year old than posing for a photo with your favorite babysitter in royally bedazzled garb?  Probably not. 

But!  The next morning's outing to the Cameron Park Zoo did provide some age appropriate excitement.  One might not expect Waco to have a relatively rockin' zoo... but one would be wrong.  I'll take Cameron Park over Dallas' sad excuse for a zoo any day of the week. 

As you can see,  no one ever wants to hold this child... especially not T-Pop.