Let Us See......

So I decided that I wasn't gonna cook Corned Beef and Cabbage last night like so many people did.  Instead I went in search of a traditional Irish meal.  Looking through the list I found a recipe that just jumped out at me.  The name Bangers and Mash.  I didn't care how complex this recipe was I was gonna make it.  I opened it up and saw how easy it was.  All I did was quartered 8 medium potatoes covered them with water, put them on the stove to boil, added salt and let them get tender.  While those were cooking I took beef sausage and heated it in a skillet, removed that from the pan added a tbsp of butter, diced a medium onion, fried that up, and then made a brown gravy (dry mix from package).  Put half in a baking dish then put the sausage in the pan.  I then mashed the potatoes to the consistancy I liked.  Put them on top of everything, then put the rest of the gravy on top of that.  Put all that in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes and dinner was done.  It was so yummy.  The kids asked if I can make it again.  WOO HOO 2 days in a row made something that they asked me to make again.

Dinner tonight... I am going to make Shrimp Jambalaya minus the meet so just shrimp.  Never made it so we will see how this will turn out lol.  A lot of my cooking with seafood is relatively new.  I have made some things like fish sticks or premade fish fillets.  This is a good adventure.

St. Paddy's Day.......

Well I made this dish last night called Chicken Divan and Mint-Cilantro Rice.  It was AWESOME!!!!  I took some chicken legs and lined them in a 9x13 baking dish.  Made this sauce with cream of broccoli soup, mayo, curry, pepper, lemon juice.  Poured it over the chicken and then put mozzerella cheese on it then put bread crumbs mixed with butter over that.  Put it in a 350 degree oven for an hour (when the chicken reached a temp of 180).  For the rice I took 2 tbsps olive oil and sauteed the rice til golden brown and then added some green onions and then added lite coconut milk and chicken broth (keeping the 2 cups liquid per 1 cup rice ratio).  Brought that up to a boil reduced heat and simmered for 15 minutes.  Removed from the heat added some cilantro and mint (fresh and chopped).  Let stand for about 10 minutes.  It was so good.  The kids told me that I had to make it again.  I know I did real good when the kids tell me to make something more then once.

For dinner tonight I decided not to make corned beef and cabbage.  Instead I am making Bangers and Mash.  I was thinking that this year I was gonna make something strong to my roots lol.  I picked traditional Bangers and Mash just because of the name.  We will see how this all turns out.

Last Nights Dinner and What Is For Tonight.......

Ok I am on my computer today.

Dinner last night came out kinda ok.  For dinner I made BBQ Chicken Kabobs with Bomb Bakers.   Not something that I would cook again like that.  Wed. I did all the prep for this dinner.  I cut up the chicken, onions, yellow squash, zucchini, mushrooms, yellow green red and orange peppers.  I put the chicken in a bowl with some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce.  In a separate bowl I lined with a paper towel and put all the veggies in it and put a paper towel on top and put the lid on top of that.  I then took about 8 potatoes and put them in a pan with water just covering all potatoes and put about a cup of salt in it and let them soak over night.  With all the running around that I had to do I lost track of time and had to just combine the chicken and veggies in a baking dish and put it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes.  I also cooked the potatoes at that temp on the rack in the oven.  I took the potatoes out the water and set them right on the oven racks.  After all was cooked I just made the potatoes like any other baked potato.  It wasn't as dry as they normally are.  It didn't have much flavor and what it did have it was over powered by the squash and the zucchini.

That brings us what is for dinner tonight.  I am making Baked Talapia with a Tomatoes and Avocado sauce with Carrots on the side.  Again another seafood dish that I will not eat so this may prove somewhat interesting.

How was last night and whats for tonight

i didn't taste the food last night.  i don't like any type of seafood.  the kids sure enjoyed it.  i took and boiled spaghetti noodles and rinsed them tossed them with about a tsp of olive oil to prevent sticking.  the night before i put small cooked peeled devained shrimp in the fridge to defrost.  i took those out gave them a quick rinse and set them aside.  i took 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp of olive oil and heated in a skillet.  i threw in 2 cloves finely chopped garlic 2 tsp Worcester sauce pepper and simmered that stirring constantly for about 5 minutes.  i then added the shrimp and stirred that for about 2 minutes added the spaghetti and tossed so everything was coated and removed from heat.  i sliced some romaine hearts and threw them in there and whoa la that was dinner.

for tonight i am making bbq chicken kabobs and baked potatoes.  i am just wondering if everything will come out ok.

What's For Dinner Tonight and a Review of Last Night...

well i made baked pork chops with sage Parmesan crust with orzo and rice pilaf with spinach.  what i did was take and put about 2 tbsp of butter and heat it in a skillet on low.  while that was doing its thing i took the pork chops and dipped them in flour then eggs that were whisked well and then i dipped them in a bread crumb Parmesan cheese 1 tbsp rubbed sage and the zest from 1 lemon.  turned the heat up to medium high and put the pork chops in long enough to brown both sides... about 2 minutes each side.  i would then transfer them to a baking sheet and when all the pork chops were done browning and they were all on the baking sheet i put it in the oven at 425 for about 20 minutes when the chops had an internal temp of 160.  for the orzo and rice i took about a tbsp of butter and heated it on the stove.  i put about two thirds cup raw rice and half cup of orzo and stirred til golden.  i then added 3 cups water some garlic little salt and onion powder.  brought it to a simmer and turned the heat to low and covered.  it simmered for about 20 minutes til all the liquid was absorbed.  when that was all done i added 1 10 oz bag of frozen spinach heated and squeezed of all juice.  i really didn't like the way the rice came out but i loved the pork chops.

what is for dinner tonight.  i am making a lemon garlic shrimp with pasta and romaine lettuce.

sorry for all the typos but i am on my phone and for some reason it looks like this.

Just tired of it all today.....

Today is just one of them days.  I am just fed up with being a stay at home mom.  I am in the kitchen getting everything out need out for supper.  I tell my 4 y/o that she can have a jello cup, but she had to eat it in the dining room.  Then I go into the living room and there is orange jello EVERYWHERE.  I get the floor picked up and decided to wait a little bit and then vacuum.  I go to the bathroom and come back into the living room and there is red jello EVERYWHERE.  I wanted to scream.  I get it all picked up and scrub a couple of spots and have to go to the bathroom again.  I walk in there and my 4 y/o squirted my older daughter's body soap all over the radiator, floor, and toilet.  I am at the point where I just wanna run to my room and just cry my eyes out.  I now have 2 hours til the oldest two get home from school and 3 hours til my third comes home.

On the bright side I am making baked pork chops with a sage parmesan crust with orzo and rice pilaf with spinich.  I hope it comes out ok.  I am on this kick where I do something new every night for supper.  I made my menu for three weeks and got main entree and 2 sides for every meal.

Last night I made enchiladas for the first time.  I made everything from scratch.  The tortillas, the sauce, even the mix that went inside.  Then I made a black bean and corn casserole as the side.  It all was amazing.  I ended up making 2 different sauces for the enchiladas.  I made a mild tomato one and a spicy ancho chilie mole type one.  I first boiled the chicken in chicken broth with all the spices (garlic, onion, oregano, thyme) in a coffee filter, because I was gonna use the juice for the sauces.  As that was cooking I made all my tortillas (20) and started to cook them.  As they were warming up I was cooking my sauces letting them reduce.  Then after the tortillas were done I drained the chicken and diced that after it cooled a little bit.  After the mole was thicker I started to add the chicken broth to it.  I took some thin sliced onions and caramelized them in a skillet and added the chicken. I removed it from the heat and added oregano, and garlic powder, cheese, and sour cream.  I put some in each tortilla and rolled them and filled a 9x13 and a 9x9 pan with them.  Then I poured the sauce over the tortillas and covered them.  I also put cheese on the top.  I put them in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes (til sauce was bubbly and cheese was melted).  For the black bean salad I put 2 cans of black beans and 2 cans of corn and rinsed them good.  Then I took a medium onion and finely diced it.  Added about 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinaigrette mixed and put in the fridge and wha la there was dinner!

Is It Really Worth It.......

Sometimes I ask myself all the things that I do "is it really worth it", "does this really matter", "if I didn't do this or that would it really matter".  I agree that not all the time I am the best mom, wife, sister, aunt, daughter, or friend.  I am human and I screw up and stretch myself to thin.  I don't mean to, but I want to do everything and help someone who needs it out.  I just wonder in the long run does it really matter or am I just gearing myself up to be a bitter person?  I do like helping people out, but not at the expense of getting bitched at for something that in my eyes really didn't matter.  I won't get into details, not the place to be ousting people.  I just really feel that yea I could have thought better, but I fucked up.  No one got hurt (physically or emotionally).  I do tons of running around for my kids.  Some days with all the running around and lack of sleep I just make minor judgment calls.  I am just really torn up about it.  I am to the point where for the first time my youngest slept through the night, but I was up all night beating myself up over it.  So in turn I am short tempered and still kicking myself in the ass over it.  Pretty soon soccer starts and I will be stretched thinner.  Not only did I sign up 3 kids, but I signed up to be a coach.  Why do I do this shit to myself?  Some days I wanna cry and some I just wanna scream.  I wonder what it's like just to be content!