a perfect day

My Mother's Day was perfect. It's not often I can say I have a perfect day!

Ella gave me these beautiful flowers. She was so excited to surprise me. I love Gerbera daisies. She chose the bouquet because it had pink roses.

• Lynn and Ella took me to lunch at P.F. Changs on Saturday. So yummy!
• Lynn stayed home from his responsibilities at BYU and got Ella dressed and ready for church. It was great to be there together.
• Ella sang with the Primary for the first time! She's been waiting for that moment forever (I have too!). I was so disappointed when Lynn took her up and I thought he left her standing on the floor where I couldn't see her. Brinley Dayton picked her up and took her to the back row and held her the entire time. I had a perfect view. Love you, Brinley!
• Patrick came to church with us instead of going to the single's ward. I think it was really to see Ella sing. He so loves and adores her. (It's definitely a mutual thing.)
• I cleaned up on gifts: flowers from Ella, tickets to see Broadway's Lion King, this book I've been wanting and hinting about (I left a link on my desktop that said, "This is what I want for Mother's Day!"), a Target gift card and built-in shelving for my garage. (The shelving is a combination gift to Lynn and I from Patrick and covers multiple holidays. I'm super excited about it.) Funny thing, of all the hundreds of cards for Mother's Day, both Ella and Patrick bought me the exact same one! What are the chances?
• The best part: my family was all here and Sean called me from Montana.
• I didn't have to cook and dinner turned out fantastic!

Patrick grabbed the salt just as I went to take this photo so it would look like he was helping. :) He did actually help.

I really wanted glazed salmon sublime for dinner (a recipe I got from Steph and Dave Decker that is fabulous!), but Costco ran out of fresh salmon. How strange is that? So my second choice was Monterey Chicken, Butter-Pecan Sweet Potatoes and broccoli. (I'll share the recipes at the end of this post.)

Ella sitting on her usual "perch" helping mix ingredients. Notice my Family Favorites recipe book is open on the counter. My family even knows where to look for recipes now.

I have to admit it was a little difficult to just sit and watch (actually read my new book) while my family worked in the kitchen. I did give some general direction and know the sweet potato recipe was started twice. :)

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful mommas out there. I hope your day was perfect too.

***I forgot to take a photo and we gobbled up both dishes too fast! I'll take one next time we make them and add later.

MONTEREY CHICKEN

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. bar-b-que sauce ( I use Bull's Eye)
1/4 c. real bacon bits
1 c. colby and jack cheese, shredded
1 14 oz. can Rotel tomatoes, drained (canned with green chilies added)
sliced green onions
pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pound out chicken breasts to flatten. Season with pepper. Grill chicken until no long pink (we used our George Foreman grill) and place on baking sheet covered with foil. Top each chicken breast with one tablespoon bar-b-que sauce, 1/4 c. cheese, 1/4 c. tomatoes, green onions and one tablespoon of bacon bits. Place in oven and bake until cheese is melted (about 5 minutes).

***This is the first time we marinated the chicken breasts before cooking and they were great. You don't have to though. Marinade: 1/4 c. olive oil, 2 T. soy sauce, 2 tsp. McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning. (We only marinade about a half hour or the meat gets too salty for us.)

BUTTER-PECAN SWEET POTATOES

8 medium sweet potatoes (5 lbs.), or one per person
olive oil
course salt
2 T. butter, cut into small pieces
2 T. light brown sugar
1/3 c. pecan pieces
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel potatoes and halve lengthwise; slice crosswise 1/2 inch thick. On a baking sheet, toss potatoes with olive oil (we brush it on both sides); season with salt.

Transfer half the potatoes to a second baking sheet; cook both sheets until potatoes are tender, tossing occasionally, 25-30 minutes.

Sprinkle with butter, brown sugar, pecan pieces and cayenne pepper, dividing evenly. Bake until sugar is carmelized and hard, about 10 minutes. Toss gently; serve immediately. Serves 8.

***I got this recipe from the Martha Stewart website. I used to only make it for holidays, but we love it so much we make it more often. I double the topping ingredients when I make it.

Enjoy!