BBQ Chicken Summer Salad

I made THE most delicious salad tonight for dinner...so light and refreshing. PERFECT for a hot day like we had today!

1 bag "Just Lettuce" (it's a Romaine and Iceberg blend) - chopped
1.5 cups monterey jack cheese
1 can whole kernel corn - drained
1 can black beans - drained and rinsed
2 tomatoes - diced
1 bunch green onions - chopped
1 pkg. chicken breasts
Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce
Ranch Dressing
Tortilla Chips
1 Lime - wedged

Grill the chicken breasts, chop into bite sized pieces and toss in BBQ Sauce. Set aside. In a large bowl, toss chopped lettuce, cheese, corn, black beans and green onions. Add just enough ranch dressing to coat salad lightly when tossed.

Plate the salad and then top with chicken, tomatoes and some crushed tortilla chips. Garnish plate with lime wedges. When eating, squirt juice from lime onto the salad.

YUMMY!

Spring Cleaning?

Not sure what my deal is lately, but I've got a bit of a spring cleaning bug...unfortunately, it's 90+ degrees out and I have nothing that even remotely resembles air conditioning!

That's ok though...spent last night sweating it out...got the kitchen scrubbed clean (except for the floors and cabinets which I'm doing today). All of this in preparation for when Adam get's his father's day gift...his new POWER PAINTER...then maybe (hopefully!!??!!) he can paint our kitchen cabinets! (And hopefully new floors are in our not so distant future too, but we'll see...)

Rearranging the living room tonight I think...should probably clean the carpets BUT it's so humid I'm afraid they'll never dry, so that will have to wait I think. I plan to get my clothesline hung tonight too...yay!

Other future cleaning and reorganization projects include:

Our room.
We painted our dresser awhile back and have done nothing else with the room since. I'm going to give it a good cleaning to once and for all get rid of all the shoes/clothes we don't wear and then, maybe rearrange in there too! I also have a headboard project to work on, and need to replace our curtains. It's going to be SO nice in there when everything is done! Can't wait to share!

The boys room.
No matter what type of toy and clothing organization I've tried, nothing stays clean. I think I've finally got an idea that will work...we shall see!

McKenzie's room. Wall to wall disaster. She needs furniture, badly, so I'll be scouring Craigslist and hopefully will have a few furniture makeover projects in the future!

Dining Room/Office
I need to figure out desk placement and table placement and make that room work as a multi-function space...I've got ideas...just need to put them into action! I also have a floor makeover idea, but I have to run that by the man first and get his thoughts! :)

I'll be posting pics as I change, rearrange and redecorate...stay tuned! :)

JENNAPALOOZA 2009

It's that time again...my annual BIRTHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA!!

If you're interested in stopping by, shoot me an email and I'll get you directions!

See you there!

Testing...1, 2, 3

Ooo...new post signature. Love it? Me three!

Something A Little Different

Here we go again...

If you know me, you know I've got my photography blog for my business, Jenn Photo & Design. I have very much enjoyed my blogging experience with my photos and will continue it for a long time to come.

That said, the artist in me is ever searching for new tasks to take on and new creative outlets, so I thought we'd try yet another blog...a blog where I can focus on our family and our home.

For those of you who DON'T know me, let me back up. I am Jenn...a mom of three boys (currently 9, 5 and 4). My boyfriend also has a five year old daughter and we have two small (ADORABLE) pups, so we keep ourselves busy with our clan! I work full time but am also in the process of starting in a photography and design business.

We're a "Motocross Family"...all three boys can ride. None are racing yet, but soon! The boyfriend races (and rocks!) and most of our weekends are spent at any one of many tracks around Wisconsin/Upper Michigan. It's a hectic lifestyle, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

My boys also play other sports...baseball, soccer, tee-ball, etc. So really...we aren't bored often! (Besides...if you're bored then you're boring...*wink*)

So what can you expect to find here?

Recipes--I LOVE to cook and am a huge fan of what I've dubbed "half homemade". Don't get me wrong. I quite enjoy making something fully from scratch, but I'm also realistic. Working full time plus everything else we take on doesn't afford me a lot of time for that. I can take a box cake-mix and make you a cake like you've never had before with just a few "tweaks"...so it's HALF homemade...dig it?

Decorating--I'm slowly, but surely, going to transform the home we bought into the house of my dreams...just in time to sell it in a few years and move to the country where we belong! LOL! But, so it goes...

Seriously though, I am in love with my own half cottage/half traditional style and can't wait to share ideas!

Photos...Sports...Family...Pets...etc! The plan is to create a catch-all for everything going on in our lives!

I'm truly looking forward to a fresh new blog and to both sharing and hearing ideas!

xoxo