Cyber What? It’s Mellow Monday Here

For the life of me, I don’t understand Black Fridays or Cyber Mondays or any of the other stressful shopping extravaganzas we seem drawn to. I guess, for me growing up it was never about a big screen TV or getting all my gifts at a discount with a push of a button.

Christmas is about giving, but not the commercial aspects of giving. It’s about giving of yourself and expressing your love. For a while, I’ll be honest, there was a time when Christmas was a little nuts. That was in the prior life, when money seemed to grow on trees. Having known a simple Christmas as a child, I was glad in a way when the insanity stopped. We spent a fortune on lavish gifts. And guess what? Not once did we find lasting joy wrapped up with a bow under the Christmas Tree. I look at people I know today who are comfortable in their lives, with more expendable income than they realize, and I see what their holidays are all about. My heart breaks in a way, because the pleasures of Christmas spent on material things fades quickly.

We are comfortable in our lives. Not well off, but we manage. The gifts we give today might not be the big buck items, but one thing I can tell you is that it all comes from the heart. And that’s what truly matters. This year Hubby bought me bookshelves for Christmas. And I’ll buy him a new suit. The real gift of Christmas will be time together lighting the Advent Candles each Sunday, and attending Midnight Mass. Those are the joys that will carry us throughout the year.

Still, if you are one of those shop till you drop kind of people, that’s okay too. Just remember to keep up your shopping strength with a delicious slow-cooked chicken sandwich. While the flavors all simmer in the crock pot, there’ll be ample time to shop on line.

Barbecue Shredded Chicken Sandwiches
2 boneless Chicken Breasts
1 (12 oz) bottle favorite Barbecue Sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
6 Steak Rolls
6 tablespoons Mayonnaise

Place chicken breasts in the bowl of a slow cooker. In a 4-cup glass measuring cup, mix barbecue sauce, Worcestershire Sauce and brown sugar. Pour over chicken. Coat well.

Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours. Using the two-fork method like claws, shred the chicken, mixing into the barbecue sauce as the meat falls apart. Keep warm.

Split steak rolls. Brush the inside of each roll with about a tablespoon of mayonnaise. Warm a flat pan or griddle. Lightly toast rolls, mayonnaise side down.

Pile on the shredded chicken, serve and enjoy.

Air Fryer Tater Tots
Tater Tots, about 60
Cooking Spray
Salt to taste

Set Air-Fryer at 350 degrees for 14 minutes. Let basket heat in the fryer for 4 minutes; pause.

Spread tater tots out in the basket. Spray with cooking spray, lightly salt. Return basket to fryer, let cook for 6 minutes. Pause, remove basket, shake tots. Return to fryer for remaining 4 minutes.

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Blessed are You on the throne of Your Kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever