Bruschetta Chicken Bake

Ok I am going to fess up right now... this recipe is from the back of the Stove Top box.  But - it is yummy and easy and fast and we all love it in my family!  I also like to make this recipe when I make meals for people - i.e. after they have a baby, or get home from the hospital or whatever.  Enjoy!

Bruschetta Chicken Bake


1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg. Stove Top stuffing (Chicken)
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lb. chicken breassts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)... I actually use 2 cups :)

1. Heat oven to 400. STir tomatoes, stuffing, water, and garlic until stuffing is moistened
2. Place chicken in 9x13 baking dish; sprinkle with basil. Top iwth cheese and stuffing mixture.
3. Bake 30 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

Enjoy!

Mayhem & Madness

Some of you who've been following my blog for awhile may remember the post that I wrote after I attended my very first consignment sale.  If you haven't read it, check it out before you keep reading!

Awhile back I wrote about the Okinawa Kids Clothing Swap that I have started volunteering at.  Recently, one of the two organizers stepped down to prepare for her upcoming PCS (move) and I stepped into the co-organizer role. This is a volunteer position, but I just love the concept of a kids clothing swap so much that I wanted to help out.  Kids' clothing is just SO CUTE and they wear it for such a short amount of time that most of it is in very good condition.  It just makes sense to me to reuse and recycle the clothing and save people TONS of money in the process!

So I became one of the co-organizers.  There are actually three of us now, and we work together quite well.  Our first swap under the "new leadership" was this past weekend at it was a huge success!  We almost doubled our participation from previous swaps, thanks to the one and only English-speaking radio station on island, which was kind enough to let me do an interview with them (which they replayed over...and over...and over...) and promote our event.  We had 86 people register, 75 people show up to participate, checked in over 2,100 pieces of acceptable clothing, and nearly 1,600 pieces of clothing were taken to a new home :)  Since we (and our volunteers) check each piece of clothing for rips, stains, missing buttons, etc., in a time span of only 2 1/2 hours... well, you can imagine it was sheer madness a little hectic.

It was sort of insanity, actually.

Our room definitely was NOT designed to hold 75 people plus their kids (many in strollers) and, in some case, their spouses, plus all the tables and tables of clothing.  It wasn't quite as bad as the mad-house that was the consignment sale in Virginia, but I can see how it is sort of going in that direction.

And I must say, I am kind of looking forward to it ;)

The Egg Zoo

So I have apparently become accustomed to the strange combination of things that Okinawa pairs together.... Wine & Tea, for example.... because I didn't even bat an eye when we went to what I now call the "Egg Zoo" last weekend.  It is sort of commonplace for there to be animals around the food here, I guess.  The farmer's market I used to frequent had lots of stray cats roaming through the market and a caged monkey-looking thing.  But this place is definitely over the top!

I had tried to find this place once when I first got to the island but got lost.  This time we drove straight to it. Hmm. :)  Anyway, it is sort of off the beaten path but it is a really nice facility!  It is basically a really, REALLY yummy bakery, a mini zoo, and an fresh egg production plant all rolled into one. Odd, but it works. 

So we started out by checking out all the animals, and Wyatt had a lot of fun running around checking out the llamas, parrots, pigs, rabbits, iguanas, the list goes on and on.  They even had monkeys.  One monkey thought Wyatt was going to feed him, and when he realized that wasn't going to happen he started shaking the door of the cage which was slamming back and forth pretty good. It was locked, but it was pretty funny - this monkey was MAD!  Wyatt's face was priceless!

After that, we hit up the bakery. It was really, really hard to decide what to get - everything looked so good!  The cream puffs were AMAZING!  We also bought three different types of pudding/custard type things, a small chocolate cake, and a boatload of eggs.  I have never seen so many eggs in my life!  I really like this place because the bakery products were as close to French/American as I have been able to find here.  Most of the Japanese bakeries and desserts are a lot more dense than in America, so everything ends up tasting like cardboard to me because it seems really dry.  But this place... YUM!  We'll definitely be back!

Happy Birthday, Marines!

 

Another Marine Corps Ball has come and gone!  Every year I look forward to the ball - this year especially so, as Tommy had just gotten back from being gone for a month and I was looking forward to a night out with my hubby sans the kiddos!  We had a great time.  Last year was such a blur - we were so new to the island that I barely remember anything, plus I was 6 months pregnant with Olivia, so while I had fun...well, it just wasn't the same :)

With friends Allison & Yvonne

This year was crazy trying to get ready.  It is really hard trying to get ready for a formal event while putting kids down for naps, pre-making their dinner, feeding bottles, and getting them bathed and everything ready for the babysitter.  All without trying to get spit-upped (yes that is a word!) or crayoned on!

Most of the "spouse's coffee" ladies...Sarah, Allison, Yvonne & Rachael - minus Heather, who was home with her new baby Elijah!

Somehow we managed, though, and we had a really fun night.  I am fortunate to have a great group of spouses from our unit and we always have fun when we get together!  We made a night of it and enjoyed the dancing, the drinking, and lots of good memories.  It is such a wonderful tradition and way to honor Marines past and present. Happy 235th Birthday, Marines!