BETTER THAN A SANDY P.B. & J!

It has been sooo hot here lately, and I demanded that we have a little picnic at the beach last night. My daughter Courtney is one for always finding great recipes, so I took her suggestion and made these delicious chicken salad sandwiches on ciabatta bread, with a side of Maui onion chips and watermelon slices, and a beautiful sunset....life is good!

ROSEMARY CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICHES

3 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 3/4 lb)

1/3 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup chopped or slivered almonds

1/4 cup plain fat free yogurt

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/8 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

Combine ingredients, stirring well. Spread chicken mixture over 5 bread slices(if using whole grain sliced bread).

FAMILY...GOTTA LOVE EM!

Do you know what happens when you get 14 Italian family members together in one room - it gets really loud really quick! Why? Because Italians tend to talk loud and argue, and use their hands and then things start getting knocked over...Do you know how many glasses of wine I have spilled in my life???



My poor husband was a little intimidated by all the commotion.....4 generations of Lo Cicero's(that's my mother's maiden name) eating Mexican food, drinking wine and margaritas!. When there was a lull, I got the crazy idea to put on the old family videos...that was quite the spectacle...watching my 9 year old self do the charlston in a dress I made out of a blue pillow case and glued on red fringe-all of the haircuts my father attempted on his three daughters with super short bangs...the matching outfits we were forced to wear during the holidays back in the 60s, and of course, the many birthday parties held in our finished basement where we played musical chairs and pin the tail on the donkey.....Yes, life was so much simpler then. I usually watch those old home movies about once a year and get a could cry out of it.

Of course, there was another celebration of sorts this past weekend....the 40th anniversary of Woodstock...I could have actually gone - being 16 at the time with my 18 year old boyfriend, but that old fashioned Italian dad of mine said NO WAY.....come to think of it, I wouldn't let my 16 year old daughter go either...

Enjoy your families!