Happy Monday! What a glorious Easter weekend we had! I had a bridal shower to go to on Saturday ~~~ which is my busy day running my house. So I decided to take off Friday morning and go to the grocery stores before I went to Good Friday service~~ my first time to attend in more than 25 years. Mother and I went to a service one year that went on for 2 hours……….. this one lasted 40 minutes and was powerful. I love my church now! Friday night I cooked all for my chicken salad and did laundry…things I would normally do on Saturday. I wanted to be calm and enjoy the party on Saturday! I had a wonderful lady who we called Ruthie ( mother’s name was Ruth so we called her Ruthie) who raised me since I was 2 months old. She was a fabulous cook and made chicken salad for me as an adult to have for lunch. She helped raise Riley and Harrison as well….how lucky was I !!!!!!!!! When Ruthie had to stop working….her little legs would just not go anymore…..I started buying ready made chicken salad. First I bought from Central Market then Chicken Salad Chic. In January I happened to read the calorie content and sodium of the yummy Chicken Salad Chic and was astounded! Oh my goodness…no wonder it tasted so fine! I decided to start making Ruthie’s chicken salad again. It took me about 3 weeks to get it right….and you MUST use Durkee Famous Sauce with the mayonnaise. I could not find it in the store so I tried substituting…..no no. I ordered it on Amazon and was in business! Now I will tell you…. Not only am I saving $50 a week from what I used to spend at Chicken Salad Chic….but I lost 3 more pounds when I switched. A win win all around!!!!!! I buy the frozen chicken tenders from Costco that last me for three weeks~~ and cost $18.00. Whoop whoop!!! More money for shoes!!!!!
The shower was so much fun and I was calm and relaxed. I had a great time and was not worried about time. I was already dressed for church at 5:00 so I truly had a calm day. Church was beautiful! I went early since it was the Easter service….and we had so many people that we had to move into the main church!!!! When my church split and this congregation moved into my building…it was very small . I am thrilled to witness the congregation growing so much!!! It truly warms my heart. As I have said before I have not been this happy at church since the 1980s.
Easter Sunday I took Tutu on her walk and got ready for my sweet family coming to the house before we went to Rivercrest at 1:00~~ all calm and relaxed. We had a fabulous lunch full of laughter. I had a little melt down while I was having my quiet time in the morning realizing that I am all that I have left of my family…….mother, daddy, and my brother Cove were all in the program at church. It is funny how things like that will hit you up side the head when you don’t expect it. I had my tears and then moved on! I have two wonderful children and Cove had two beautiful girls who are now married that I adore. This is my sweet family now. We have to go with the flow and accept what life gives us!
I hope all of my readers had a wonderful Easter weekend! Thank you from the top and bottom of my heart for all of the “Thank You” emails for writing my blog again. I cannot express how much that warmed my heart! Have a super week!!!!!
To start the whole Ruthie chicken salad boil the chicken tenders in a large pot with a whole onion cut up and 2 stalks of celery cut in pieces. I bring to a boil….then cover on simmer for 20 minutes…then take off the heat for about 15 minutes still covered.
The seasoning I add to the water. This is very important!!! Sorry I don’t measure……I just do a good helping of all but not too much salt. If you want to measure do about a tablespoon of all except the salt.I only grind about 3 times with the sea salt.
I take the chicken out and let it cool. I use 12 chicken tenders and boil 7 eggs. Ruthie taught me how she boiled eggs…. put the eggs in cold water…bring to a boil…and let sit for about 15 minutes. I put the eggs in a bowl and put in the fridge before I make the salad.
I save all of the broth~~~ either to drink , make a soup, or steam vegetables in it.
I don’t measure when I cook…I throw in and taste. This is what the amount of mayonnaise and Durkee looks like. You want it to be creamy. I cut up the hard boiled eggs pretty small and use kitchen sissors to cut up the chicken. Be sure to let the chicken cool….I usually put in the frridge for a little bit after it cools down.
Voila!!!! Ruthie chicken salad! This bowl was Ruthie’s favorite to use to make the salad. It belonged to my great-grandmother! Tradition….I am ALL about it!!!!!
A party pic from the shower. The bride and her mother are on the left…Riley is at the end. This is another “victory “ dress that did not fit me for years!!!! Mother had the necklace I am wearing made in Sata Fe~~ made of coral amd pearls. I love it!!!!!!
Riley and Maggie. They are best friends and Riley is in the wedding in Colorado this June. Tutu is going on another trip with me~~ this time to the Ritz in Beaver Creek. She has already planned her scarves!!!
I was so happy that whoever did the program knew my maiden name was Anderson.
Church was SO beautiful and happy!!!!
Another dress that did not fit before!!! This was my Easter Sunday dress. It is by Jonathan Simkhai~~ the same designer as my sassy dress that I wore my last night in Paris in January 2023. My shoes are Emilio Pucci.
Lunch at Rivercrest was fabulous as usual!!!!!!! This is my first course.
Instead of eating my weight in shrimp and smoked salmon like I usually do….I decided to just get some shrimp and get the lamb. I still gained water weight from the salmon and shrimp even though I ate less. So next time…. watch out!!! I might eat the whole tray on the buffet!!!!
Rivercrest has a new pastry chef. OH MY GOODNESS~~~~ outstanding!!!!!!!
My sweet family!
Mother’s roses starting to bloom. I am proud of them!!!!!
Some of my herend and my flowers on my breakfast table. This makes me happy every day!
Today is the first day of April. Rabbit Rabbit!!!!!!!!