What's for dinner?

The other night at soccer practice another mom and I were talking about cooking dinner for our families. I shared with her my thoughts on cooking (a philosophy I learned from a great friend and cook in Chicago) 'I like to cook, just don't make me do it every night - it takes the fun out of it'.

But dang it - my family feels the need to eat dinner every night.

Part of the problem we decided is coming up with what to make - I am hoping this get's easier as my kids learn to appreciate more foods (I appreciate their velveeta shells, can't they pretend to appreciate my lemon asparagus without plugging their noses and making gagging sounds?)

Well, last night I found a new family favorite. So here it is - and it is SO GOOD!

Oh - if you don't have white wine - apple juice works great too, I even used a juice box - that's how we roll around here.

Ingredients

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 6 slices Swiss cheese
• 6 slices ham
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Pound chicken breasts if they are too thick. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces.
2. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine and bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
3. Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. Serve warm.

Yay for Yars

Today Lars went in to talk to Trey's class about his job. They are doing a social studies unit about communities. Parents were asked to come in and talk about how their jobs help the community. I guess Trey was beaming with pride as he introduced his dad. He said:

"This is my dad. His name is Yars and he is a Yawyer."

Oh, how I love this kid and his speech impediment. Recently he told me he wished that our alphabet was the same as the Spanish alphabet because their L's say ya.

In case you are wondering how "Yars the Yawyer" did with explaining to the class the importance of Judges and particularly the Judges on the State Supreme Court.... well, as Lars said, when you follow the lady who trains seeing eye dogs - there's really no competing with that.

Toby is 5

Toby is five years old. We celebrated at school and then at home with some close family friends. He was so happy all day and so grateful for all of those who celebrated with him! We love our Toby!