Tyler's Birthday

Today is my oldest grandson's birthday. He had a bowling birthday party on Friday and his dad, my son Randy, made his birthday cake.

Here is a video of when Tyler was born 8 years ago. He is now a very healthy boy, but he didn't start out that way. Please take the time to view this video that his mom put together about his life. You will need several tissues when you watch it. He is a living miracle.

Mom's Potato Salad

This is my mom's recipe as far as I can remember it. She passed away in 2002 and then my dad died 3 1/2 months later.

Boil 6-8 large potatoes and 6-8 eggs.

Peel eggs and potatoes. Cut them into small pieces. In a separate bowl, mix

1-2 c. Miracle Whip, 2 T. mustard, chopped pickles, chopped onions, 2 T. sugar and 2 T. pickle juice. Mix well and add seasoning salt, garlic salt, onion salt, celery salt, salt and pepper to taste. Stir dressing into potato and egg mixture, blending well.

Salsa Chicken and Rice

4 large half chicken breasts

16 ounces salsa

2 c. uncooked rice

2-3 c. grated cheese

Cook chicken and cube it. Cook rice. After chicken is cooked, mix with salsa and heat through. You can mix the cheese in with the chicken/salsa mixture and serve over rice (top picture), or mix the rice and cheese with the chicken/salsa mixture (bottom picture).

Chicken with Italian Dressing Marinade

This is the second marinade we used on Sunday.

1/3 c. olive oil

1/3 c. lemon juice

1 (.7 ounce) package Italian-style dressing mix

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

In a gallon ziplock bag, combine oil, lemon juice and Italian dressing mix. Shake until well blended. Add chicken and seal bag. Marinade for several hours and grill. This was also an excellent marinade.

Chicken with Teriyaki Marinade

This recipe is from Allrecipes.

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. orange juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 t. ground black pepper

In a gallon ziplock bag, stir together all ingredients. Cut up chicken and drop in bag. Seal bag and mix marinade with chicken pieces. Marinate for 4 hours and grill.

This was one of the marinades we tried for Sunday dinner. It was very good.

Candied Chex Mix

This is Beverly Campbell's recipe. She was my wonderful aid when I taught school. Thanks, Beverly.

1 c. margarine

1 1/2 c. karo

1 1/2 c. sugar

Bring to a boil and boil for 4 minutes. Pour over the following mixture:

1 box Rice Chex

1 box Wheat Chex

large flake coconut

pecan halves

slivered almonds

any other items you want in your mix

Use the LARGEST bowl or pan you have. Mix the cereal mixture well before stirring the boiled mixture into the cereal mixture. You can leave it a little sticky or place it in the oven on cookie sheets for 15-20 minutes. Use the lowest setting on your oven.

Crescent Layer Bars

This is another great recipe from Pillsbury. They tasted very good at our New Year's Eve party.

1 can crescent rolls

1 c. white chocolate chips

1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips

1 c. slivered almonds

1 c. nuts

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Heat oven to 375°. Grease bottom and sides of 13 x 9-inch pan. Unroll dough into 2 long rectangles. Place in pan; press over bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of pan to form crust, sealing seams together. Bake 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle chips and nuts evenly over crust. Pour condensed milk evenly over top. Return to oven and bake 20-25 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool 1 hour. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until chocolate is set. Cut into bars.