My Ginger Chicken Salad Recipe

I love to make gourmet salads. They are way better then restaurant salads and much better for you and your pocket book. This ginger chicken salad might just be our favorite. It is super easy!

1. Cut some thawed chicken breasts (usually three will feed all 4 of us, but Abigail doesn't eat chicken very well.).
2. Put them in a skillet and cook them with lots of ginger until they are done.

3. While they are cooking,wash your lettuce. I have used spring mixed greens lettuce, red leaf lettuce and romaine. All of them are great for this salad.

4. Slice 1 cucumber.

5. Cook one package (enough for 3 dinner salads) of Ramen Noodles. It doesn't matter what flavor, because you DON'T add the spice package. Those spices are terrible for you. Read the ingredients and you will understand. All you need is the cooked noodles!

After your noodles are cooked and your chicken is done, you are ready to make your salad. I am pretty funny when it comes to salad presentation. I get a kick out of making them taste and look good. Here is how I do it.

1. First, the lettuce.

2. Second, add the noodles on top of the lettuce.

3. Then, the cucumbers.

4. And finally, the chicken.

5. Last, but not least, it is time for the dressing. This one is SO GOOD!
 (Newman's Own - Low Fat Sesame Ginger)

What is really great about this salad is that you can prepare it ahead of time and place it in the fridge until you are ready to serve later that day. Just don't add the dressing yet. It is great with hot or cold chicken. I often will prepare this during the kiddos' nap and quiet time. This way, I can have all afternoon for a park day without having to worry about coming home and preparing dinner.

ENJOY!

One Thousand Gifts #431-445

What a week, what a month, what a year. My head is constantly spinning and most of the time I have no idea what way is up or what way is down.

a new baby
moving
a new house
Joshua starting Kindergarten
pulling Joshua out of Kindergarten
starting homeschool
and now... see our first year of homeschool near its end

But, this counting my graces, it keeps me in the now. I may not know what is up or what is down, but I do know what is infront of me. I can't scream loud enough how much this naming my gifts is changing me. Although, I have a hundred and one things I am doing and then a million that still need to be done, through this counting... my daily life is slowing down.

I don't know how it works, but I do know that IT DOES WORK! I seriously am the busiest I probably have ever been, yet my heart is calm. My eyes are open. My ears are listening.

For anything, for everything.

I praise God for Ann Voskamp, her wisdom is reaching so many. I don't know her, I have never met her... but she speaks to me daily. She is a sister to me, quietly reminding me to count, to never stop looking for HIM in all things.


431. BSF fellowship
432. My sweet friend, Melissa, who watched my kiddos for me so I could go to the fellowship. Thank you Melissa!
433. A friend whom I can trust.
434.Listening in as my sweet Abigail sings to Isaiah. Her own song, she makes it up as she sings and it reminds me of how pure she is.
435. Isaiah saying, "DaDa" and knowing exactly who DaDa is.
436. new (to us) furniture in our bedroom
437. moving our computer into the living room
438. a new week
439. awww, a new morning. His mercies they are new every morning.
440. beautiful weather ALL weekend long
441. seeing our first yr. of homeschooling coming to an end and seeing how beautifully God has brought us through this suprise journey.
442. beginning to finally organize my closet
443. time with Brent
444. time without Brent (reminds me of the gift I have in him)
445. flared up allergies... means time at home and resting (in our house, we call these PJ DAYS!)

One Thousand Gifts #408-430

408. my ginger chicken salad (oh, I am posting this one soon...YUMMY!)
409. hitting my goal weight! WHOOP! WHOOP!
410. making a volcano with the kids

this was soooo much fun!

411. a nap on Saturaday afternoon
412. a risen Savior
413. celebrating Resurrection Sunday with my family

The kids were being hilarious. They knew how much Mommy wanted pics and this is what I got, but 20 yrs from now, these will be what matters!!

414. having the Lord's supper with my husband and kids
415. a very noisy household - evidence of happy kiddos in our home
416. a reading tent - and the kids actually using it. WOW! This has made them read tons more!

417. meeting one of our neighbors that I hadn't gotten to yet and finding out she homeschooled and graduated all three of her kids. God is so good.
418. new books from the library
419. counting it all joy. James 1
420. getting to talk to other women of God about how this counting of my graces is changing me
421. watching my kids grow spiritually. What a gift to be apart of what God is doing in and through them.
422. coloring with Joshua at 6:30am - connecting with him in this way
423. Daddy reading the Word quietly to himself infront of all of us.
424. watching Joshua do "guy" work around the house with Brent and how he seemed to stand just a little bit taller while doing so.
425. new pink curtains for Abigail's room
426. a new shower head (oh, the simple pleasures in life!)
427. meeting up with some friends at church unexpectedly and having brunch with them afterwards
428. a long spiritual talk with my husband
429. new paints

430. rolled down windows

and some other pictures that this Mommy just has to add...

 Joshua is learning sentence structure and he loves to type on the iPad.

And yes, he did this sentence all by himself.

 My lil man and me this past weekend.

 Could this be any cuter?

 Love my Abigail!

Joshua and Isaiah playing together.



One Thousand Gifts

THE ULTIMATE GIFT

It is because HE IS RISEN, that I get to count.

"Easter"

Many people ask me about why we don't celebrate the holidays the way most people do (dressing up on Halloween, Santa Claus, Easter Bunnies and eggs, etc.) In fact, just yesterday I had yet another conversation as to why we do or don't do the things we do. Some people are curious and some, well, to be honest, are actually offended. I want to say first in this post that I am not offended by the way you do or don't celebrate holidays in your home. You answer for your family, not me. I do encourage you (especially believers!) to do your research. The origins of our holidays and the traditions behind them are easily found.

Just this morning, I came across an excellent post written with facts about where and how Easter originated. Let me first tell you, if you don't already know where Easter came from, this will probably be disturbing. But, it is truth (again, you can easily find these same truths out for yourself).  I truly believe that if you are a believer it is your duty to do your research on all holidays and know why you do or don't do the different celebrations. After you've done the research, let the Holy Spirit guide you in what and how you are to celebrate our Savior's birth and resurrection.

But, please, whatever you chose is right for your family... Live it out. Don't defend your choice or your belief with harshness and anger. If people are curious and ask, you can explain why you have chosen something in love and with grace. If for any reason, you find yourself defending your choices and beliefs in anger, you might want to rethink what you have chosen. If there is anger behind it, it probably is because you aren't entirely comfortable with it. Again, we as believers in Christ, have the Holy Spirit with us at all times. He wants to tell you and lead you in every aspect of your walks, including holidays.

Here is the blog I read this morning on Easter.
http://www.unplugyourfamily.blogspot.com/2012/04/pagan-easter.html#comment-form


And as far as Halloween, she also wrote one on Halloween.
http://www.unplugyourfamily.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Truth%20about%20Halloween

I love her blog.
She makes me feel "normal"!!!

One Thousand Gifts #385 - 407

Greater is He who is in me, then He who is in the world.

Amen.

This truth is speaking loud and clear today. I wake up at 1am to a husband snoring. Oh, man, was he snoring. So, after telling (or maybe hitting) him three different times to stop, I decided to sleep on the couch. Not so much fun, but better sleep then what I would have gotten next to the hubster last night. I wake up this morning with a migrane and could not move my head, not even just a little bit. But, eventually after hearing my sweet husband try and console our 6M old son who was wanting to eat, I somehow managed to get out of bed to go and get him and thus our morning started. I bascially drank two big cups of coffee in less then 5 minutes and thought to myself the entire time, "There is no way I am getting my 3 kids and me ready and going to BSF this morning. Nope, I am not going to do it." And as soon I said that, I remembered (and I am sure the Holy Spirit had a little to do with that) what our lesson was going to be on today.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE (Ephesians 6)

And I am sick of the enemy winning in my life. Because greater is He who is in me, then He who is in the world. I started praying. I knew I needed to go. I didn't want to, but I needed to. And I am so glad I did. Our discussion group was great, as always and although I didn't get to hear the lecture (oh, there was this certain little 6M old boy who needed to eat again), I did have two friends say some very sweet encouraging words to me today. They had no clue about my morning or what their words meant, but God did.

Then on the way home, my sweet boy (this would be the 5 1/2 yr old) says to me while we are driving home all the things he learned in his class today. The first thing he says, "Mom, I learned that God is always with me, that He never leaves." Then he goes on and tells me all about Paul speaking to the church of Ephesus and how God saved Paul and his friends. Abigail then says, "You too? That is what I learned too!"

I serve a God, Who is bigger then a not so good night's sleep, bigger then migranes, bigger then not taking showers (yeah, I didn't get one this morning), bigger then my emotions. I serve a God, Who works in all circumstances for His good and for His glory. No way, did I think I would get to my dare of writing my gifts down today, but I thought what better way then to show that the One I serve is bigger then the enemy by writing down my gifts. God is always working in me, He never stops. Wherever I am, there is my God right beside me. As my wise 5 1/2 yr old boy said, "He is always with me, He never leaves me."

and my counting, this gift of naming my graces continues...

385. Daddy and all three kids in our bed together.
386. getting the kids pictures taken together. Oh, and they are SO DARN CUTE!
387. Isaiah falling asleep on his belly. (This is after the dr told us we needed to get him off of his back because he has a flat spot)

I could just eat him up!!

388. watching Joshua read to his Daddy

389. Abigail starting to sound out 3 letter words

390. Joshua interlocking his fingers in mine.

391. Brent taking a day off of work just because I needed him home.

392. going to the zoo with Daddy and no wind - this in Oklahoma is a gift!

393. Abigail getting all the kid Bibles and reading on the fireplace

394. anticipation of MiMi coming

395. winning a new book from a blog I follow called To Show Them Jesus . Check her blog out when you get a chance. You will be blessed.
396. new mercies every morning
397. edible cheeks
398. clenced jaws from pure excitement (Abigail does this when she is super happy.)
399. the way of Joshua and Abigail, their relationship with one another is such a gift.
400. a playdate for Abigail
401, the jumparoo
402. Isaiah's talking - boy, does this lil man know how to communicate
403.waking up to MiMi being here
404. new scooters from MiMi

405. encouraging words from friends
406. an oatmeal face

407. a fied trip to the Sam Noble Museum with our co-op group.