Friday, August 21, 2009

Hooked on: Playing in the Kitchen

PLaying in Kitchen

I know what you are probably thinking....

The title is Playing in the Kitchen, so surely she meant "cooking" in the kitchen.

And I do...I love to cook in my kitchen. I consider my cooking a sort or play time for me, too. But that's not what this post is about.

I literally love to PLAY in my kitchen with my little girl.

It's the strangest thing, but for some reason we have fallen into a routine of just popping a squat down in our kitchen floor and playing, reading books, cuddling, and singing songs. It's the place where Emma and I do some of our real bonding.

Real quick, for all you type A's reading, the floor is clean and everything is babyproofed.

I guess it's because there isn't any distraction here. I mean, besides the new Fridge Phonics toy, there isn't a TV, or masses of stuffed animals and such. It's just us and our imaginations.

I'll have to say, I have come to cherish this time, too. The older my girl gets, the more I fall in love with her and to be apart of her growing and developing into a beautiful girl...it's the most amazing blessing I could ever ask to be witness to. So now that she's at that fun age where she "plays back" with me, our kitchen floor time is oh so special to me. All the more so because I know one day we'll be past this stage and on to another. Nothing lasts forever. But for now, it's the highlight of my days.

Like today, just to give you an example...first we did our ABC's with the fridge magnets (while she's in my lap, which I love) and then we played "Mommy's Gonna Get You" where I creep up to her and then tickle the snot out of her and then she bunched up her lovie and we just rested cuddled up together leaning against the cabinets.

Again, this is a weird place for sure to just play, but it works for us. Some people do family rooms, some do dens and lucky kids even have playrooms, but we like our kitchen.

It makes me think back to when my Nannie was living (before Alzheimer's took her mind) and Momma and her would sit in the kitchen and talk for hours. As a kid it irked me to no end because I wasn't allowed in there and watching the news with Papa was soooooo boring. Same with any family gathering...all the adults always end up in the kitchen yakking away. Me and Momma do it now, too. And just recently my best friend visited and where did we stay the whole time she was here?

In my kitchen.

A muti-use facility that includes not only incredible culinary creations, but is also a place of refuge, solace and FUN!

It's my thing...a family thing too, I guess. And I love that I'm getting to share it with Emma now. One day we won't be playing Fridge Phonics, but she'll be helping me cook and eventually shooing her own children out so we can have our heart to hearts.

Focusing on these memories in the making makes me feel lucky and even proud. Looking ahead, it simply makes me happy.

To see what other bloggers are hooked on, visit Julia at Hooked on Fridays and tell 'em Kelli sent ya!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Tasty Tuesday: Chicken Salad- PW Style!

PW Chicken Salad

Ladies and gentlemen, for this week's Tasty Tuesday, I introduce you to what is quite possibly the most delicious chicken salad you will ever taste.

Trust me on this one...I just might have quite possibly already eaten this whole bowl before finishing this post. So I know.

No kidding.

I'm pretty particular when it comes to my chicken salad and in fact, until I found this recipe, I only ate one kind. It came from a little place called Midtown Market in Danville, VA. It is that good, but this stuff right here gives it a run for it's money.

It also comes from one of the most brilliant blogging minds out there. Ree Drummond- AKA The Pioneer Woman.

My hero.

I love her.

I sent her an apron. I hope she liked it.

I also own boots like hers.

I read her daily, if not multiple times a day. I read her posts to my daughter (well, not "Black Heels...."- that's her tell all love story) as if she were Jane Austen. Wait, Emma's only one, so as if PW were say....Dr. Seuss. But you get the point.

This women has her poop together let me tell you. She does it all...from cookbooks, to homeschooling. And blogging about ranch life to taking amazing pictures. See why I want to be her? Anyway, while you're checking out this recipe, please peruse around her site a bit and tell her Kelli sent you!

Having memorized this recipe and fixed it now several times, I thought it was high time I share it with you all! However, unlike with most of my Nannie's recipes where I list the ingredients and instructions, I'm not going to do that here. It's not mine, so I'm just going to send you to the place where you can get the goods instead! Hey, I'm just here to tell you how delish it is and to tell you to fix it as soon as is humanly possible.

Click here: PW's Chicken Salad

When you're done there, please check out Jen over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, too for more foodies blogging about what sets their palate afire!