I am sorry to say that I forgot to take pictures of most of the food I ate while on vacation. I guess I was too busy taking 400 other pictures while at Disneyland that it didn't occur to me. It is quite unfortunate also because Disney actually does a great job with healthy food options! Thursday evening I had their Mediterranean picnic which included a marinated grilled veggie wrap with hummus, a couscous side dish, a raw zucchini and squash spaghettini with lemon infused olive oil, and a lemon layer cake. It was delicious. Friday at lunch we were at Ariel's Grotto for a princess lunch and the choices were excellent there too. They brought us out a three tiered tower of appetizers. There was jello, cheese, olives, peppers, a wonderful salad, and bread in the shape of a flower with three different things to dip it in. I chose a spinach ravioli in a mushroom broth for my entree. I usually don't love mushroom anything but the spinach ravioli sounded so good I went with it and I was not disappointed! I did however get a picture of the dessert plate they brought for us to share because my mother-in-law reminded me at that point to take a picture. So here you go.
Berries and a white chocolate sea shell, macaroon cookies, chocolate lava cake, chocolate chip bars, and some brownie bites. They were all wonderful. My sweet little baby decided she wanted to save some of those raspberries for her brother because he loves them so much. We got a box to go to take him the raspberries and little bit of leftover we had to the rest of the boys!
It was so much fun to get to watch Faith enjoy this experience. Expensive, but worth it! She was so delighted when each princess came to our table and talked to her and signed her autograph book.
I mean who doesn't want to put a smile like that on their little girls face!
On the plane last night Faith told her Nana, "I can see Disneyland from Willmar. It is in my memories!" I hope she will have memories forever of this vacation!
We did some super fun boy stuff also! Jedi Training Academy! Evan and his cousins got picked to be a part of the training and we were so excited! Surprisingly Faith wanted nothing to do with this. She usually likes to be a part of the show but she was a bit afraid this time.
Wouldn't you be if Darth Vader appeared from his ship rising up from the stage?
Not Evan! This is him fighting Darth Maul. I had my long lens on my camera so thankfully my sister-in-law Erin got better pictures of this for me but I don't have them on my computer. This was such an unforgettable moment! Evan is usually not brave enough to do this kind of thing. He barely wanted to participate in the scavenger hunt we had for them the night we told them where we were going because he doesn't like the unexpected. He has a fear of not knowing what is ahead. I was so proud of him for doing this because I know he would have been disappointed in himself later if he hadn't!
We got Mickey all to ourselves after we had visited his house! Nice surprise!
Being at Disney is magical enough but being that at Christmas time was incredible! EVERYTHING is decorated for Christmas! The castle looked so incredible all lit up at night. It has to be one of my favorite things. I am sure we will remember this trip for a lifetime. Thank you Nana and Papa for the opportunity to do this for our kids and for being there with your grandkids making these memories!
Now onto dinner! I really have barely any food in the house on purpose since we were gone for a week so this was a night I had to improvise. We also are on Disney sugar detox and tying to eat strict for a few days so we can enjoy a little indulgence on Christmas.
I gathered up a few ingredients to cook my chicken in......
Garlic
Lime Juice
Cilantro
Some chopped onion (use red if you have it.)
Secret ingredient -- Southwest Chipotle Mrs. Dash! The chili powder, and minced garlic were for the side dish. I was too lazy to peel more fresh garlic tonight I guess.
I put the chicken in a pan with some olive oil and poured the lime juice and garlic I had mixed together over it. Then I topped it with the Southwest Chipotle Mrs. Dash, some chopped onion, and the cilantro. I cooked them on each side for a couple minutes then put it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes.
When it was done I took them out and topped them with a couple slices of reduced fat pepper jack and put it back in the oven to melt for about 5 minutes. The kids got reduced fat cheddar cheese.
On the side we had some black beans and peppers with more chopped onion. I simple heated these up in a little olive oil and added the minced garlic and chili powder. I also added the juice of one more lime. I cooked them for about 10 mintues then turned the heat off and just kept them warm on the burner. I didn't want mushy beans.
After tasting the beans I decide they needed a little bit of cumin as well.
When the chicken came out I topped it with the little bit of cilantro I had left and we had the beans and some fruit. Pretty delicious for not really having much food in the house. Aren't we always looking for something different to do with chicken anyway??? I will do this one again for sure.
Chipotle Cheesy Chicken Recipe:
1 lime, juiced
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 -1/2 cup chopped onion, preferably red
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon Southwest Chipotle Mrs. Dash
olive oil
reduced fat Pepper Jack cheese (2-3 slices per chicken breast)
Mix lime juice and garlic together. Place chicken breasts in a pan with a 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Top chicken with lime and garlic, chopped onion, and cilantro. Cook on each side for about 3 minutes and then place in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and place cheese slices on chicken. Heat in the oven for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve immediatley.
Recipe for Black Beans with Peppers and Onions:
1 lime, juiced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
half of green pepper sliced
half of yellow or red pepper sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. minced garlic (or use 1 garlic clove)
1 tsp. cumin
olive oil
Place all ingredients in a pan and heat until warm or approximately 10 minutes. Keep warm until ready to serve.
I must now go work on that grocery list! Have I said how much I despise grocery shopping before?? It wastes my life away! I have to work again in the morning and then tackle that dreaded job before school is out tomorrow. The only thing making that better right now is this is sitting on my counter.......
I know I had sworn off sugar for the next few days but I didn't know this was arriving today! We look forward to this ALL YEAR LONG! It is a cheese danish, gooey, bread, cream filled, kind of heaven and is made by our friend and worship pastor David Lanning every year. We are fortunate enough to be on the list of receivers. It is so AMAZING! The whole staff begins to wonder when it is coming as soon as the calendar turns to December. We might follow David Lanning for the rest of his life wherever he goes because we love this so much. Now don't you think after that wonderful compliment written right here for all the world to see that I deserve a second one of these so I don't have to share with Miles????
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