Chicken Broccoli Braid

We had this last week. Not the best. It was very edible and could possibly be good, but I didn't like it enough to waste my time on it again. Of course I didn't use refrigerated rolls, I used my own crescent dough. While my dough is better than what you can buy, it cooks up differently so maybe it was not the best dough for this (but maybe it was; I don't know). According to other reviewers comments I cooked the broccoli a little before. That was a good idea, but I didn't cook it quite enough so it was still crunchy. I also wouldn't waste my nuts in it. I did shape it like a wreath so I didn't have any doughy centers. That was very good idea. We all thought it looked fantastic---until we ate it! Caleb even said, 'Mom, are you going to take a picture of this for your blog?' No, because that requires extra effort and delays the time when the young ones will quiet down from finally getting something to eat! So you will just have to use your imagination!

Grilled Chicken and Mango Salsa

Last night for dinner we had grilled chicken, mango salsa, broccoli, rice and watermelon. The only recipe I haven't posted from last night is the mango salsa. Keep reading!

One note on the chicken, since the salsa is so flavorful, I only slightly seasoned the chicken with the rub on one side. I didn't want it to be bland, but I didn't want anything to over power the yummy salsa.

Mango Salsa

2 mangoes, diced small

2 peaches, diced small

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 red onion, chopped

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 Serrano chili peppers, diced (I've also used 1 jalapeno for this)

1 red pepper, chopped

2 fresh limes

Chop all ingredients except the lime. Stir together. Squeeze lime overall. Salt for taste if desired (I add maybe 1/4 tsp.) Allow to chill for a couple of hours for flavors to blend.

Notes on salsa: Measurements are not exact--change up as desired. This is a combination of a couple of recipes and we've found we like this combination, but you can add and take away to your liking.

We all love this blend of exciting flavors!

Lettuce Wraps

I had an abundance of lettuce so I put lettuce wraps on the menu. I decided to try a new recipe (my other one was quite time intensive and I didn't want that for a Sunday). This is the one I tried. I made a lot of changes and they were quite yummy. I don't really love hamburger so I used sausage instead. I added about a cup of rice to stretch it. I also added peanuts. I did put the chili paste in (I think about a tsp). I didn't use the pickled ginger--I just used fresh--about 3 tsps. It was very yummy. So yummy we ran out. But that was okay because the boys could also fill up on rolls and these yummy nachos for dessert. I didn't even have cool whip and everyone yummed it up. Happy kids left the dinner table today! Makes me smile.