Hershey Fun

We are fresh off of our annual Hershey trip.  It's nice to have a place to go that is just far enough away from home to make it feel like a vacation.

As always, we stayed at The Suites at Hershey. It's just a stone's throw away from Hershey Park.  The rooms are big, the pools are fun, and we always have a blast.  

This time, my family tried out the grill in the gazebo.  My mother brought homemade cheeseburgers,and my dad grilled them up.  I have to say, dinner that night was divine.  Sitting around the table, laughing with my husband, parents, sister, and kids, I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else in the world.

Crunchy Chicken Wrap

I started my Weight Watchers journey this past January, and I've been doing quite well (down 32 lbs!).  One of the things that I've learned over the past few months is that I really can eat anything in moderation.  Still, it's sometimes a pain to budget my points so that I can enjoy a restaurant meal, only to come away feeling like it was a waste of points.  

One of the meals that I really enjoyed, pre-WW was Friendly's Crispy Chicken Wrap.  It's a yummy wrap made with breaded chicken tenders, salad-type fixins and a not-so-healthy-helping of honey mustard dressing.  I loved the way the flavors melded together.  Upon starting WW, however, I discovered that this wrap calculates out to a whopping 30 points plus!  Now, I'll tell you the truth; I never eat an entire restaurant meal in one sitting.  I always save half for the next day.  Still, 15 points for half of a wrap is a lot, especially when that number doesn't even include a side dish!

So I have to tell you how excited I was to have created a meal that tastes just like my favorite Friendly's meal, but at a bargain number of points!  You can eat the entire wrap, if you'd like, and it will only cost you 14 points plus!  Me?  I told you that I never can eat that much in one sitting, so I enjoyed half of the wrap for just 7 points!  That left me more than enough points for a helping of my favorite crunchy snack (Popchips) and coconut cupcake that my hubby had made, following this recipe on Skinnytaste.com.

So without further adieu..on to the recipe!

• 1 ¼ lb Chicken Breast Tenderloins
• 2 egg whites
• 4 Wegmans Whole Wheat Multigrain tortillas (10 inches)
• ½ c Wegmans Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
• 3/4 cup Kellogg's Corn Flake Crumbs
• 4 T Ken's Lite Honey Mustard
• 1 c boston lettuce
• 1 c fresh tomatoes 

Preheat oven to 425 . Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray. Whisk egg whites in a bowl. Dip tenders, one piece at a time, into egg whites and then into the crumbs.  Press the crumbs onto the tenders to make the crumbs stick. Place chicken in a single layer on baking sheet and spray with nonstick spray. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Let them cool for 3-5 minutes.  Chop up the tenders, and divide them equally among the warmed tortillas. Top each with lettuce, tomato, 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese, and a tablespoon of lite honey mustard. Roll up the tortilla and serve.  Enjoy!

My wrap and my daughter's wrap (sans honey mustard) displayed for your enjoyment.

Scars

I fell a lot as a little kid.  My mom says that she cried the first time my little knees kissed the sidewalk.  My knees bear the battle scars of jumping rope, climbing trees, and playing endless games with my little sister.  I remember being embarrassed about my knees, as a teen.  I didn't want anyone to see.  I thought they were ugly.

I'm older now, and I have more scars.  There's the one on my foot that I got while on an eighth grade field trip.  I have one on my right hand from the day I was baking Christmas cookies with my mom, and my hand touched the rack.

I no longer see my scars as something to hide.  My scars tell a story.  They remind me of good times and not so good times.  I don't think I would trade them for anything.

At the Beach

Sometimes I am overwhelmed with how blessed I am. I know that there are many on this earth who don't get to experience 1/10th of the things that I do.  The things that I take for granted are their idea of luxuries.  I don't know why I was created to live this life, but I recognize these blessings as a gift.

I'm on vacation with my family right now in Myrtle Beach.  Vacations like this are full of frivolities.  We go out to eat for nearly every meal.  We've already spent hours lounging in the various pools at the resort.  We drove way out of the way to indulge in overpriced ice cream.  We've blown hard earned money on must-have trinkets at the local boutiques.  Tomorrow we will allow the sun to kiss our shoulders as we dip our toes in the ocean and find shells in the sand.

These are the days that take my breath away.

Oh Look: It's 2011!

As Cathy would say, "Ack!"  This blog has gotten so dusty that I'd almost forgotten the URL!

I want to promise to be a better blogger.  Perhaps putting the shortcut back on my bookmark bar might help?