Randomness: A "use-what-you-have" Recipe for Shredded Chicken Chili Wraps

Maybe you think I'm just writing about being a tutor, or about being a mom, but since this is my blog I actually get to write about whatever I feel like.  Here you'll find a simple recipe I threw together last night that turned out to taste pretty good.  It's random, but I'll see if I can somehow connect it to something "Tutor Mommy" related.

It was 4:30 pm on Monday.  We'd just gotten back from our second 8+ hour road trip to North Dakota in a two-week time span.  I'd taken Maisy in for her 6-month check-up in the morning, we'd gone to Baby Storytime at the library, and I'd used up Maisy's one good nap blogging.

Some basic unpacking.

Feed baby, play with baby, soothe baby, update baby book...

No grocery shopping.  The day had slipped away from me.  The least I could do was figure out some sort of supper.

Here's the "Tutor Mommy" connection:  A think-aloud.  I use think-alouds (see Strategy Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities or anything from the University of Kansas Learning Strategies Curriculum to see where I got the technique from) when I'm teaching a tutoring client a new strategy.  It's just what it sounds like:  A think-aloud models my thought process as I go through the steps of a strategy I'm trying to teach.  In this case, I'll think aloud how I decided what to make for supper.

Hmmm... fridge is basically empty.  Should have gone grocery shopping.  No eggs, so there goes that simple idea.  Just had goulash yesterday and leftovers for today's lunch, so I guess I'll scrap anything with ground beef and pasta.  What's left?  Deer sausage and pancakes?  Oh yeah, no eggs.  That leaves chicken.


[I go get four frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts from the deep freeze.]

Chicken, chicken, chicken.  Guess I'll just cook it and see what comes to me.  


[I spray a frying pan and put the chicken on with a little pepper.]


Mmmmm... homemade macaroni and cheese...  No, just had pasta, plus it takes too long.  


What's in the cupboard?  Diced tomatoes for chili?  Kidney beans?  I could make chicken chili!  Too hot for chicken chili.  There are a few wraps left in the fridge.  I could just mix the cans in with the cooked chicken and toss it in a wrap - perfect!  Easy, sounds pretty good, we even have a little shredded cheese to toss on top.  


Chicken's cooked through.  Tired of chopped up chicken.  Can I shred it?


[I shred.  Pour in the tomatoes.  Drain and add the kidney beans.  Mix together, turn the frying pan on low and cover.]

Okay, what else can we have?  


[Check the freezer for frozen veggies.]


Corn.  I always like corn with chili or taco-type meals.  Corn it is.


[I toss the corn in my favorite Pampered Chef microwave container and cook it.]


What should I call it?  Shredded Chicken Chili Wraps - that even sounds like something I could find in a cookbook.  Perfect!


So there it was.  Rick came home.  We tossed the shredded chicken chili mixture into the wraps and topped it with corn and shredded Colby Jack.  Delicious!  And super easy.  You should try it:

Shredded Chicken Chili Wraps

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked (fry it, grill it, bake it, I doubt it matters)

1 can chili-seasoned diced tomatoes (or any diced tomatoes with chili powder, I doubt it matters)

1 can red kidney beans, drained

1 package corn, cooked and drained

Shredded cheese, however much you want or have (I used Colby Jack, but I doubt it matters)

6 large tortillas

Directions:

Use two forks to shred the cooked chicken breast.  Return to frying pan.  Add tomatoes and drained beans.  Simmer on low for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Scoop shredded chicken chili mixture into a tortilla.  Top with corn.  Top with cheese.  

That's all there is to it - enjoy!

Great 8: Ways people tell me my baby is chubby

8.  "She's just a healthy breastfed baby." (My pediatrician's way of reassuring me)

7.  "You know it'll melt right off after she starts crawling and walking." 

6.  "Awwww... you don't feed her!" 

5.  "I wish my baby had cheeks like that!"

4.  "Look at those muscles!" (Popular with little kids)

3.   "She's healthy, isn't she?!" (The p.c. way to say it) 

2.  "What a chunk of love!"

And number 1, courtesy of a little boy at my church:

1.  "She's so cute!  Her hands and feet look like a professional wrestler!"

Stay-at-Home Mommy Guilt

I hear that it's not uncommon for moms to feel guilty now and then. I don't claim to be riddled with guilt. Other than occasionally startling awake at 2 am and mistaking my husband's shoulder for my baby's head and panicking that Maisy is lost in our bed (though she has never slept in bed with us), I sleep very well at night. I never had an inkling of postpartum depression. In fact, I consider myself to be a happy person. Yet still, there's the mommy guilt.

I feel guilty that I spent $6.48 on a clearance baby dress today when I know the budget's tight so that I can be at home with Maisy.

I feel guilty for buying baby food in convenient plastic containers when certainly I'm capable of making my own!

I feel guilty that my bathroom is not sparkling clean at all times.

I feel guilty for not vacuuming daily to prevent the dog hair that inevitably is found clinging to my baby's drool-covered chin when we're at the grocery store.

I feel guilty when I take a little time out of my day to read while Maisy plays happily on the floor nearby. Why am I not cleaning the bathroom or vacuuming??? I blame my dog for the little black hairs that cling to socks and drooly fists, but isn't it my fault too for not being a better housekeeper?

I feel guilty that my daughter just woke up from her nap and she's now hanging out in my lap while I peck one-handed at the keyboard instead of playing pat-a-cake. Never mind, she just drifted off again, much too sleepy for pat-a-cake. Guilt-be-gone.

I feel guilty that I just finished my Master's degree and yet I only tutor four times a week, which barely covers the monthly student loan payments.

I know I'm blessed to stay at home with my little girl when many women balance full-time jobs and kids and have sparklier bathrooms too. For that, I feel guilty. Guilty, guilty, guilty.

Surely I'm not the only stay-at-home mom who feels this way. Yet I know I'd torture myself with guilt just as much if I worked outside the home. So why do I let myself do it? How do I stop?

Trust me, these are rhetorical questions. I have no answers. I think I just keep on doing what I want to do while I'm able to do it, which is stay at home with my baby girl, tutor a few students who need the help, and feel good that at least I tend to be pretty caught up on the laundry.

For the record, I know there are plenty of things I do right as Maisy's full-time mommy aside from keeping up with the laundry.  We read.  (Our favorite book right now is "Baby Loves Peekaboo.")  We sing.  ("Hokey Pokey" is the best song EVER according to Maisy.)  We play.  (Little blocks with bells inside of them are awesome, and Maisy is turning out to be quite the prodigy on her Baby Einstein piano.)  We smile at each other all day long, and we talk A LOT.  Maisy's "ba's" and "ga's" and "ma's" have been temporarily outshone by her new favorite sound, "AAAUULLLGGHHHAAAUUUGH!"  And I love it.  I love her.  Guilt or no guilt, I'm convinced there's no better job than being Maisy's mommy.