Updates and Mango Chicken

First, some updates: tomatoes have failed the Julia test. This one was hard, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't see it coming.

On the bright side, we also ventured out to a restaurant with Julia for the first time! She did very well, only getting feisty near the end. She loved looking around and watching the other people and children, and then even the waitress commented on what a great job she did! We were proud muffin parents.

The restaurant was particularly challenging for me though. Julia was offered a kids menu, but, well, if you're reading this then you know the answer to that. I had a hard time with the adults menu. Everything looked delicious, and I'm pretty sure that the whole car ride there I had the same look on my face most dogs get when they hear the can opener. And then it struck me - there I was, surrounded by amazing food and unable to eat any of it. It was a sad realization. I'd been looking forward to the restaurant all day, but I just hadn't thought it through and matched my expectations with reality. And then I got annoyed at myself for being sad about food. There are bigger problems in life. Like Julia not napping anymore - what the hell?

In the end, I ordered a piece of plain salmon, plain mixed greens, and a baked potato. The salmon was excellent and perfectly cooked, but also small, and I was still hungry after cleaning my plate. I was disappointed. John's dinner looked incredible, and I'm pretty sure he felt guilty enjoying it as much as he did while I salted and peppered my salad greens next to him. But I hope he didn't; I wanted him to enjoy our family outing.

The big news is that next week, John's got another business trip. But it's different this time because Julia and I are coming along! I'm equal parts terrified and excited. We're going to Arizona, also known as our happy place. So it's Julia's first restaurant trip, followed by her first airplane ride. Please keep your fingers crossed for us and our little feister at 30,000 feet. I'm trying to stay optimistic.

So anyway, the moral of the story here is to eat more mango. Mango fixes everything, and dried mango slices travel well for the mango lover on the go. I even figured out a way to include it in dinnertime. And so, let there be mango chicken! 

This was awesome. And insanely easy. We'll be keeping this one on high rotation. Serve with rice and a veg for a complete meal.

Recipe: Mango Chicken

2+ lbs chicken (I used tenders)
2 mangos, cubed
honey
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 dashes nutmeg
salt and pepper
fresh chives, chopped

Oven to 375.

Lightly mist an oven-safe pan with olive oil. Spread chicken out in a single layer. Drizzle with honey.

Mix spices together and sprinkle over chicken (you don't have to use it all, but it's delicious if you do). Toss mango on top and then add the chives. Bake until cooked through, about 35 mins.