Spring Salads and the Joys of Being Newly 3

Okay, so let me say this parenting gig is NOT for the faint of heart. At times, it downright sucks. This post was originally only going to be about this lovely, yummy salad, and then the afternoon went to Hell in a hand basket. I am spent, people. All I could think of as I got the two younger ones to bed at 5:30 - yes, 5:30 was "I cannot, I cannot, I cannot." You see, we have several versions of "The Little Engine That Could." In one of them the little engine asks an old, rusty engine for help, and his response is "I cannot, I cannot, I cannot." Tonight, I am the rusty, old engine.

I vividly remember the switch flipping on Jake when he turned three. It was like day and night Suddenly, he was awful. Well, the switch has flipped on Connor. All day long - whining. Whining because his toy got taken, whining because he wanted to swing on the big boy swings after I had told him I wasn't going to push him (because I have a baby who no longer wants to be held to watch), whining because he didn't want dinner (before he'd even tried it), and so on, and on, and on, and on...

If experience holds true, we have months of this ahead. God help us. I cannot, I cannot, I cannot. I informed him tonight that if he didn't eat dinner, he had to go to bed when Tucker did. He sat and gave me the stink eye and ate about 2 bites of food, so he and the baby got a bath together, and 6 o'clock was bedtime. Actually, it was a little before 6, but who is counting? He is playing in his room right now, but at least there is no whining...

Now, back to this salad. I could eat this whole plate of salad. This recipe comes from one of our MOPS mentor moms, Amanda. It is the perfect combo of ingredients.

Baja Chicken and Rice Salad

2 lbs chicken tenderloin strips (I used 1.25 tonight because it was only us eating)
Washed spinach leaves
2 can black beans
onion, chopped
garlic, chopped
2 c. Wild Rice Blend (Lundberg's is awesome)
Baja Citrus Marinade, McCormick's

Toppings:
Tomato
Avocado
Sunflower Seeds
Almonds
Etc.

Prepare marinade according to package and allow chicken to set in marinade. I mixed this in a gallon ziplock bag and let it stay in fridge for several hours. Cook rice according to directions. I totally used my rice cooker because I cannot cook rice to save my life. Chop onion and saute onions and a little garlic then add black beans to skillet. I punked out tonight on this step, too. I used onion flakes and garlic powder. Sue me. Once the liquid is cooked out of the black beans, they are done. While black beans are cooking, cook the chicken in a skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Layer spinach on a platter, top with warm rice and black beans. The spinach will wilt a little from the heat of those ingredients. Top with chicken. Add to that pile of yumminess any toppings like grape tomatoes, avocado, etc. Tonight, we had tomato and avocado along with some dried red peppers. Do the boys eat it?

Jake loved it, and I think you can see the answer on Tucker's face. Don't even ask about Connor. And speaking of Connor, I now hear whining from his room. I cannot, I cannot, I cannot...