Salsa Chicken and Potato Pockets

We sometimes make foil packets for dinner. With these, we're able to make individual servings of complete meals. They're fairly quick and easy, and I have no idea why we don't fix them more. One of our favorites is a salsa chicken and potatoes packet, which we made for dinner tonight.

4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts

4 teaspoons taco seasoning mix

1/2 pound potatoes, thinly sliced (can peel or leave peels on)

1 cup shredded cheese

1/2 cup salsa (we used our homemade salsa here)

1/4 cup sour cream (optional)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle chicken with seasoning mix. Place 1/2 cup potatoes on center of each of 4 large sheets of heavy-duty foil; top with chicken, cheese and salsa. 

Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal each packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Place in 15x10x3/4-inch baking pan.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (170 degrees F). Cool 5 minutes. Cut slits in foil to release steam before opening. Top with sour cream and additional cheese.

Getting Ready for Christmas

Friday, November 26

Mara helped me get the tree up today, but we had some issues with the garland since Doxy tried to claim it as soon as it came out of the box.

Saturday, November 27

We finished decorating the tree tonight while watching Bedlam. Sadly, the Cowboys lost, but at least our tree looks good. It might be a little heavy with ornament on the bottom, though, since Mara insisted on putting up most of the ornaments and grouping them how she saw fit.

Sunday, November 28

John had to work today, so Diane and I took Lori, Mikey, Lani, Mara, and even Jack to see Tangled at the movie theater. It was a really cute movie, and Jack was enthralled with the huge screen. He made a little bit of noise blowing raspberries at one point, but then gave up and fell asleep. He was much less distracting than the girls who sat in the row behind us.

Jack's First Thanksgiving

We spend most of today at John's parents' house with family and friends. The kids had a lot of fun playing with their cousins, and Jack really enjoyed the food from his first Thanksgiving.

Mara wore a new outfit that her Aunt Diannie bought her (with her new pink boots).

Jack crashed while we were still eating dinner. Guess all of that turkey finally got to him.

The other three kids had a lot of fun playing with each other. They borrowed my camera and took several movies of themselves, which I still need to upload.

They even insisted on playing outside for a little bit even though it was pretty cold.

Of course Jack got some more pumpkin pie today.

When we left John's parents' house, we went to Rob & Mindy's for a couple of hours. Jack had fun playing with Dreamer and getting even more food.

The kids were upstairs playing Pretty, Pretty Princess. Ben had to come down to show us his winnings. He didn't want me to take his picture a couple of minutes later because he was missing an earring. :)

Uncle Rob really has the touch. He put Jack to sleep again tonight.

Enjoying the short week

Monday, November 22

Jack got a preview of Thanksgiving with a taste of pumpkin pie after dinner tonight. He really likes pumpkin and really enjoyed the pie.

Tuesday, November 23

Jack was being very cuddly today, and Mara was being a good big sister. She wanted me to take a picture of the two of them for today's picture.

Wednesday, November 24

Mara didn't have school today, so I took off work. However, her after-school care was having a Thanksgiving lunch, so we went up there to celebrate Thanksgiving with them. While we were eating, I decided to go get Jack so he could eat with us too. It was nice to be able to spend some time with Mara and her friends. Before we left, we took pictures of her with two of her teachers.

Jack's Baptism

Mara was baptized right before Christmas, and I kind of thought we would do the same with Jack. When I found out the children's choirs were performing one Sunday in December, I thought it would be perfect because people would be able to come and see Mara sing and Jack get baptized. However, the church said no because they didn't have time for a baptism that day with all of the events planned for advent. So, last  Tuesday, we decided to have Jack baptized today. 

Here's Jack with his wet hair right after we sat back down.

And shortly after, he fell asleep in Uncle Rob's arms.

We had a hard time waking him back up and Mara had to hurry up so she could sing at the next service, so we didn't get very good family pictures. (Jack couldn't keep his eyes open.)

I feel bad that not all of our families could be there, but I think we would be hard pressed to find a date that's good for everyone. For those who weren't able to attend the baptism (or if you just want to watch it again), here is a video of the big event. You can even see where Jack lays his head down and gives the pastor a hug when he was walking around.

Right before Jack's baptism, Mara performed "In the Morning" with all of the children's choirs. 

Here is a video of the choir's performance.

After the services, we went to Olive Garden to celebrate. Jack really enjoyed his lunch of lemon, soups, pasta, and chicken.