Making Dinner Sucks

Not everything I make is a disaster. Here are the hits.

2011-05-07T00:20:00.001-07:00

I started this journey last June with the desire to share my cooking adventures with you as I went along. I took lots of pictures and notes on everything I made. However, those pictures and notes never made it further than the kitchen counter. Time is limited for me since I have a major cooking disability which translates into way too much time spent agonizing over what to make and how to make it. I also have three kids to nurture and a husband who I like spending time with. So although my blogging intention was always in the forefront of my mind, I just wasn't able to blog about every dish that I cooked up. I do want to share what I made with you though. Here are some of the "hits"---things we all, or a least most of us, liked a lot. There's plenty of "misses." I'll post those another time.

much anticipated / much dreaded birthday week

2011-04-29T15:06:00.000-07:00

The much-anticipated-slash-much-dreaded birthday week is finally here. I've been dreading this week for a long time, although Bella, who just turned 11, has been carefully planning this week since we cleaned out the cupboards and starting eating clean 10 months ago.

It was as she was crying over her precious "food" that was being carted away that I consoled her by saying, "On your birthday you can eat whatever you want." Later, as she realized that her beloved foods couldn't fit into the space of one day, we compromised and agreed upon "birthday week." For the past year she's been looking forward to one entire week devoted to processed, not-at-all-good-for-you, delightfully-tasting, highly-addicting, not-from-the-earth, chemical-laden, food. Yum.

Bella created a menu for the week and then together we created a grocery list. I gave the list to my husband who took the kids shopping. I honestly couldn't bear to do it myself. I have this thing now where I absolutely pride myself on the content of my grocery cart. Sending my husband was nerve-wracking enough. What would people think when they saw him with chips, candy bars, and all kinds of nasty stuff? Sure enough he ran into two people that we knew. Thankfully he mentioned to them that we don't always eat like this. (I'm glad that junk in the cart embarrasses him too). They came back with birthday week supplies.....3 packages of ramen noodles, 3 boxes of mac and cheese, 2 bags of chips, 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, 1 can of pineapple, 1 box of french toast sticks, and 1 box of fish crackers, and six candy bars for her birthday candy gram.

Are you still with me? Are you sick yet? Because I'm gagging a little bit as I write this.

Besides the menu for home, Birthday Girl also had two "restaurants" in mind that she wanted to eat at this week. She chose Wendy's as her restaurant of choice on Tuesday. Keep in mind I haven't eaten fast food since Sept 26 when it was my youngest daughter's birthday and we went to McDonald's (a bad experience for me since I was on the toilet afterwards). So it'd been about 8 months since I've had any fast food at all.

I ordered the plain baked potato and a bowl of chili since I was so hungry. Let's just say next year I'll only be ordering the plain baked potato. One bite into the "chili" and I could taste the salt, the MSG, and the high fructose corn syrup. Another bite in and I'm freaking out over the "meat" I just put into my mouth. What is that stuff?

The next evening....yep.....Chuck a Rama. It's a Bella-birthday-tradition. Our family used to love this place. We ate there once or twice a month sometimes. We liked going there because there was a big variety and it pleased each person in the family. Mostly we'd go there because I didn't like to cook and I never knew what to make for dinner. My husband would come home from work, see no dinner on the table, pack us into the car, and be the Chuck a Rama hero. We loved it! I especially loved the salad bar, the fluffy white rolls, honey butter, mashed potatoes, pot roast, corn bread, and sticky buns. Mmmm.

We were all kinda excited to go since it was our chance to splurge. I helped Roman with his plate, John helped Capri with hers, and Bella got her own. I was interested to see what everyone would put on their plate.

Roman and I strolled around as he looked at his options. He decided on fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, mac and cheese, and those beastly french fries. I hated putting all those things on his plate but whatdaya do? A deal's a deal.

Bella loaded up on similar things....mashed potatoes and gravy, mac and cheese, and french fries. I noticed she also put a little salad and corn on her plate.

Capri had lemonade and mac and cheese. And ice cream. Her stomach hurt so bad that's all she could eat. Soon Roman's stomach was hurting too. He didn't finish anything on his plate with no thoughts of getting up to get anything more. Bella only had two plates when she normally would get four. What's going on here? We're usually up and down, up and down, going for more, another plate here, another plate there, loving every minute of it.

And what about me? What did I get? Since this was also my moment to splurge I didn't go for the salad bar. But I didn't go for the meat either. I made burrito with a white-floured tortilla, lime rice, refried beans, shredded cheese, and a little cilantro-lime dressing. I've always had a thing for refried beans and the cilantro dressing had a nice kick. My complaint was the white flour tortilla tasted so white-floury. Bleh. After I finished the burrito I wanted to have just a taste of some of the foods I used to eat there. So I put a little bit of mashed potatoes and gravy on my plate. "These don't even taste like potatoes," I said to my husband. He looked at my like, "What did you expect?" I was so disappointed. Then I wanted to try the rolls I used to love. I grabbed a wheat one since it's healthier and you know what, it wasn't even good. Then I wanted to have a little dessert so I found the chocolate pudding and ew, that was gross too. Didn't even eat more than one bite. And I used to love chocolate pudding. Then I tried the brownie. Ew, that was gross too. Soft and supple but I couldn't even figure out what it tasted like. It had no taste. Isn't that weird? It wasn't chocolate, it was just, aw, I don't know....chemical sweeteners. I still can't discern a taste on that brownie and it's kind of frustrating me right now. I guess I'll settle for "chemical sweetener" as the official description, sure wish I could say chocolatey or something like that.

I was tired of trying things and tired of being let-down. I put down my fork and slouched down in the booth a bit. I had to come to grips with the fact that my taste buds really had changed. Eating at Chuck a Rama would never be the same again. (I know some of you who hate Chuck a Rama are laughing right now. But we used to love this experience and now it's no fun).

As we took our last sips of water, Roman said to John, "I want to go home and eat some healthy food." Did he just say what I think he just said? My old potato chip addict who recently told me his favorite food is red apples? He's such a good boy, man I love that kid.

As we put the kids to bed, Capri and Roman both complained of stomach aches. It made it hard for them to fall asleep. Something tells me they are both going to have problems with constipation for the next few days. It's a good thing birthday week is over tomorrow. I think we will all be glad to get back to healthy food. I know I will.

Mommy-guilt diminished

2011-04-01T21:45:00.000-07:00

Before we started eating clean I felt like such a crappy mom. I gave in to my children's requests for crappy food because they never wanted the carrot sticks or apples I offered. They wanted chips, Cheetos, fishies, cereal, fruit snacks, Fruit by the Foot, pretzels, wheat thins, cookies, graham crackers. Why did I give in? Because I didn't want them to starve. And I didn't know what else to put in their lunches. I knew it wasn't good but I didn't know what else to do. But I'll admit it, the bad-mom-guilt really, really got to me. It was always bringing me down and had me hating on myself.

I'm so glad I don't have to feel that way anymore. Actually now I feel rather pleased with myself. The satisfaction when my kids ask for healthy snacks and foods is amazing. I love, love, love it when my kids say, "Mom, can I have an apple? Mom, can I have oatmeal for breakfast? Mom, can I have some more carrot sticks? Yay, we're having (insert name of healthy dinner here) tonight!" Who knew that feeding your kids this way could make a mom so happy.

Tonight I walked into the house after a trip to the grocery store and my son said, "Yay, Mom bought bananas." A year ago he would have said, "Where's the chips? Did you buy chips?"

Moroccan Chicken and Lentils

2011-02-15T23:22:00.000-08:00

Lentils. Hmmm. Never had them before. I think I may have them in my food storage, but I've never actually eaten them before. I certainly don't know how to prepare them. I've had my eye on this Moroccan Chicken and Lentil dish for a while. Maybe I'll make that for Christmas Eve dinner.
Okay, just need to find lentils at the store. Hopefully they're in the bulk. Yep, they took a while to find but they have some.
Home now, let's get this dinner started. Uh oh, the recipe is calling for one pound of lentils and I'm not sure how many I bought. I just put a few scoops in a bag. Somehow I have to find out how much is one pound. ::putting some in a bag, running upstairs, and placing them on the bathroom scale:: Darn, they're not even registering. Next idea. Stand on the scale, weigh myself with and without the lentils. Um, I'm not sure how accurate this is. It says there is a 2 pound difference. Calling up neighbor-friend who once loaned me a candy thermometer. Nope, calling a different neighbor-friend. Score. A little nervous since it's Christmas Eve, I hope she doesn't mind me barging in like this. She's doesn't seem to be, oh good.

I'm so relieved the food scale allows me to figure out how much is one pound. I probably should have soaked these lentils over night. Oh well, too late now. I rinse them really well. Then I add them to some boiling water and let them simmer for 25 minutes until soft. I rinse in cold water and drain.

Then I get busy on the dressing. I mix together olive oil, red wine vinegar, ground cumin, chili powder, and minced garlic. I pour half of this over the lentils and let them cool. It's so strange that the lentils are served cool instead of warm. Huh.

Next I saute the onion until it's dark brown and soft. I add some thinly sliced organic chicken breast (I will never go back to inorganic chicken breast after seeing Food Inc) and add cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon. I know the husband isn't a fan of cinnamon in his dinner. Hope he doesn't notice.

I find a Christmas platter and place the lentils on it. The chicken and onions and the rest of the sauce go on top. Oh, I almost forgot. I need to chop up some parsley. I quickly pick off some parsley, wash it, and throw it in my I-don't-know-what-I'd-do-without-you chopper. The parsley gets sprinkled on top and voila dinner is served. Although now I'm thinking cilantro would have tasted much better on top. Oh well, next time.

Boost your immunity by eating clean

2011-02-14T22:37:00.000-08:00

Last year the kids were sick the entire winter. I even charted it on my calendar. One week one kid was sick. The next week the next kid was sick. The next week the other kid got sick. Then it repeated. The first kid got sick again. Then the next kid. And I'm not kidding it went on and on like this all year. When I asked the pediatrician about it she told me it was normal for kids to have 8 to 12 colds per year.

I don't know about you, but when my kids get sick, it stresses me out. I always worry way too much and I'm so empathic that it's difficult for me to feel okay inside when they do not. In the past I would blame myself and feel helpless because I didn't know what to do differently. I kept them away from sick people, tried to disinfect the house and keep it clean, fed them the usual Standard American Diet, washed the bedding in hot, changed their toothbrushes often, had them vaccinated against the flu, ran the humidifier at night, gave them Motrin for their fevers, and had them stay home and rest when they were sick. Other than that I didn't know what more to do.

But I've learned a few things. Here's the difference between last year and this year. First of all, no flu vaccine. It's far more important to boost immunity than vaccinate. Since we started eating clean in June I've already built up their immunity in preparation for the winter. Each day they take liquid multivitamins, flax oil, and probiotics. They eat clean for the most part. (I say more part because they are allowed to eat whatever they want outside of our house be it at school or grandma's or a friend's house). When they do get sick I give them large doses of vitamin C throughout the day and make sure they get a lot of water and rest.

This year we have been sick once. I have a cold right now, my youngest daughter has a cold, and my oldest daughter is getting a cold. But none of us have had to miss any school and we've had no fevers. Thankfully it's been a completely different experience than what we went through last winter.

Ten unexpected benefits of eating clean

2011-02-13T18:40:00.000-08:00

1. No more McDonald's smell emanating from our mini van.

2. No more feeling like an addict walkin' around with a diet coke in my hand or sneaking out to the fridge in the garage to get my fix.

3. No more smashed-up fish crackers in the carpet.

4. No more mess. No diet coke cans, fruit snack wrappers, Hershey kiss wrappers, candy bar wrappers, small potato chip bags, fruit by the foot wrappers, juice boxes, and Capri suns. Besides the occasional banana or orange peel, we are mess free.

5. Fewer colds and flus. Quicker recovery times. Less stress over worrying about sick kids and less trips to the doctor.

6. No more mommy guilt.

7. No more thinking we are going to die if we don't stop for fast food.

8. Treats are now just that---treats.

9. No more napping. We are doing more and napping less.

10. No more B.I.F. (aka butt in front)

Just say yes

2011-02-12T18:35:00.000-08:00

Whenever I take my three year old daughter to the store, she always points to things and says, "Can I have that on my birthday?"
"Yes! You can have that on your birthday," I reply.

She knows that we don't have food like that at our house unless it's someone's birthday. This simple lifestyle change has really improved my grocery shopping experience with my kids. No more being pestered for junk food. No more giving in. And no more junk food in the cart!

The best part is I get to answer "yes" to what she's asking me and that makes us both happy.

Squash and Flax Soup

2011-02-11T18:33:00.000-08:00

I made Squash and Flax soup the other night. After we were done eating I noticed that I left the flax in the strainer on the counter. Oops. I forgot to add one of the main ingredients.

If she can do it, you can do it.

2011-01-28T01:19:00.000-08:00

Eat more greens.

Try something new this year. It's good for you.

2011-01-28T01:02:00.000-08:00

I love the old saying that goes, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you'll always gotten." In 2010 our family decided to stop doing what we were doing and indeed we got something different than we'd been getting.

We made some big changes last year and we continue to make more. Here's a rundown of some of the new things we adopted in 2010 and some of the changes we saw as a result. (Warning....These are all random-off-the-top-of-my-head-thoughts.....)

We started eating clean. We gave away all of our processed foods including all our favorites. We switched from white bread to a hearty, and may I say expensive, multi-grain bread. We stopped eating fast food. We stopped buying snacks at the gas station and stopped "treating"ourselves whenever we felt like it. As a result we're a lot more disciplined and a lot less spoiled.

We started taking vitamins, herbs, and natural supplements. We started eating different types of whole grains in the morning. We started sweetening our foods with natural, low-glycemic sweeteners. We started drinking organic skim milk and almond milk. We started cooking with coconut oil. We went from having three, maybe four, spices on the rack to having over 25 different spices, most of which I had to google to find out what they were. We started eating greek yogurt. We discovered quinoa, the mother grain. We bought oils and vinegars we'd never even heard of. We started using butter instead of margarine. We planted an herb garden and grew our own basil, oregano, mint, thyme, and rosemary. We started shopping at the Boise Co-Op and even bought two of their reusable bags. We started eating organic meat and organic fruits and vegetables even though they cost more we knew they would benefit us twice as much.

We purchased a bag of whey protein powder and a bottle of flax oil and started mixing them into our fruit smoothies. We started making green smoothies toos and discovered that they are delicious. We tried lamb burgers for the first time and liked them. We tried a lot of things for the first time and like them. We stopped eating on paper plates and started eating every meal on small 7 inch ceramic red plates. Some of us (okay just me) started eating salad without any dressing. We stopped skipping meals. We took to eating steel cut oats for breakfast. We did a lot more dishes. We did a lot more meal planning and grocery shopping. We spent a lot more money on food. We got fewer colds and sicknesses. We got excited to try new things. I got a lot less resentful of spending so much time in the kitchen and discovered that cooking wasn't so bad.

We began to look forward to dinner rather than despite and dread it. We started finding pleasure in our healthy meals. We felt good about praying over our food and asking the Lord to bless it to nourish and strengthen our bodies. (Not true when you're praying over a bowl of Top Ramen to do your body the good that it needs). We worked together as a team with the whole family on board with "this whole eating clean thing."

Then we extended clean eating to clean living. We tossed out the old products, did the research, and started using all natural household products without harmful chemicals. We bought all natural mascara, moisturizer, body lotion, shampoo and conditioner, soap, laundry detergent, hand soap, deodorant, toothpaste etc. I swapped out my antiperspirant for this crystal salt spray stuff. Hey, don't laugh. We bought a shower filter. We researched the idea of "earthing." We've learned more about composting and organic gardening. We learned more about our minds and bodies and holistic natural healing. We discovered the uses of essential oils. We bought house plants and salt lamps in effort to keep the air that we breathe cleaner. Man, we've done a lot this year!

More of our firsts: the farmer's market, organics, ginger root, tamari, hummus, garam masala, cilantro, tomatillos, parsnips, agave nectar, almond butter, natural peanut butter, real garlic, kefir, apple butter, yogurt cheese, greek yogurt, sucanat, quinoa, brown rice, milling whole wheat flour, whole wheat pasta, spinach pasta, organic chicken breast, ground chicken breast, ground turkey breast, ground lamb, buckwheat flour, steel cut oats, irish scotch oats, organic eggs, homemade vegetable stock, flax seeds, flax oil, lethicin, probiotics, CoQ10, vitamin, mineral, and herb supplements, chaste tree berry, spirulina, oat bran, wheat germ, sesame oil, prunes, dates, figs, acai berry, mango chunks, arugula, chard, beet tops, kale, wild Alaskan salmon, fresh parsley, fresh basil, fresh mint, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, fresh oregano, cardamom, sumac and garam masala (thanks to Emi for those) and more I can't think of right now....Wow, what a year it's been!

Step 3 to eating clean. Absolutes and consistency keep me on track.

2010-11-05T07:22:00.000-07:00

There's no such thing as willpower. At least there isn't for me. What works for me is a no-fail environment. In order to create that no-fail environment, I had to decide a few things in my head. Goals, resolves, absolutes, rules, aspirations, or whatever you want to call them, I had to decide them. I like to call them absolutes. Since I'm a bit of a freak it was easy for me to do this. (Remember I'm the person who sorts their laundry according to color, meaning one pile for purple, one pile for red, one pile for pink, one pile for orange, one pile for blue, one pile of brown, one pile for cold whites, one pile for hot whites, you get the idea). Anxiety was on my side in this instance. So here are my absolutes. You will notice there is always an exception to an absolute, lol.
Absolute number one. Absolutely no fast food.

Exceptions--when it is somebody's birthday and that's what they want. (See previous post for explanation). Also, if we are out of town, which is rare, and can't find a grocery store. Also if we are completely starving and going to die then it is okay. (You'd be surprised how many times you are actually not going to die, but will make it home alive and in one piece). So far every person knows where he or she want to eat out on their birthday and they're looking forward to it.

About this absolute--You will be tempted. Especially if you are anything like I was and stopped for fast food because it was calling you and it was so convenient and sometimes you are so hungry or thirsty. But I will guarantee you something, it will get easier. There were a few times I wanted to stop so badly. I was so hungry or so thirsty or so craving it, but because I had made it an absolute, I didn't. And you know what, I survived. And the next time I was tempted it was so much easier to just keep driving because I'd done it before. Now those temptations aren't as strong and my desire to eat there is less and less and my ability to overcome the temptation is greater. We really can adapt better than we think we can. And if I ever mess up, that's okay; I start again the next day. But I don't ever quit my absolutes.

Number 2. Absolutely no bad stuff in the grocery cart.

The exception--when it's someone's birthday, of course, and when John requests something that he will eat some place other than home. I'm not his boss or his mother so if he needs me to buy him some groceries for work or a tailgate party, I will. However, I'm to the point now where I refuse to buy him any diet cokes for work. They certainly aren't allowed in the house. No willpower, remember, and I'm a recovering DC addict. Not only that, but I’m learning how absolutely toxic that stuff is for you and I can't with good conscience knowingly let my husband drink that stuff. So he does it behind my back and that's fine. One day he'll die from it and I'll tell him I told you so.

About this absolute--Thanks to the reading I'd done, (see earlier post on education) Jillian and Tosca have taught me how to decipher between the good stuff and the bad stuff. It can be tricky at times. Usually I'm only buying products they recommend, like real, whole foods. If there's a question on something I do look for ingredients and if I see something in it that sounds like an "anti-food" I put it back. I don't bother with the calories and all that crap. It's what is in the food that counts the most. Otherwise you might be buying something that's not really food, just a bunch of chemicals that add up to empty calories and bad nutrition. Or you might be buying a "protein bar" that has high fructose corn syrup in it. (Don't even get me started). I have to laugh at the manufacturers sometimes. They will make an organic product that is completely not good for you. So don't be fooled. If organic sugar is one of the top ingredients than it's not good for you. Lately, I don't even bother with labels because I don't need to anymore. Everything I was curious about I've checked into so I know what to buy and what not to buy. It's very fun and exciting to look in my cart and only see good stuff and know that what I'm buying is perfectly good for my family and me. It's quite a thrill actually.

Number 3. Absolutely no popcorn and soda at the movies. Exception--birthday. Or birthday week in Bella's case. That's it.

About this absolute--This one was really hard the first time, especially at Overland Park Cinemas where everyone, and I'm not kidding you, every person there had a popcorn and soda in their lap. Just the smell of popcorn, the rustling of fingers going into bags, and our memories of previous times with their delicious, caramel popcorn was enough to drive us crazy. It definitely makes me not want to go there again. Some rich entrepreneur needs to start a movie theatre chain that sells only water and healthy snacks without the popcorn smell.......Eric?????

About this absolute. Chemical-laden popcorn is bad for you. So is soda pop. You can survive the movie with a cup of water in your lap.

Number 4. Absolutely must eat a breakfast that includes lean protein and complex carbs.

Exception--it's only okay to skip breakfast if I am fasting, which I'm trying to do once a month, and when I need extra help from the Lord, or when I am praying for someone who needs help.

About this absolute--Before I made this an absolute I used to dawdle around in the mornings. I never insisted my kids eat breakfast. I fed them breakfast most of the time (a disastrous breakfast consisting of frozen mini pancakes or frozen French toast sticks with sugar-free, aka, aspartame-poison syrup) but if someone missed it I really didn't care or notice. I figured they'd let me know when they were hungry. How bad is that? Terrible! Now I absolutely insist that every child and myself eat a hearty breakfast. It's more work for me, especially since the boxes of cereal that used to be in the lazy susan are long gone, but that's what my husband is for. He's in charge of making breakfast for everybody every morning. Hey, it's says "feminist" on this blog, doesn't it?
Number 5. Absolutely must drink lots and lots and lots and lots of water.

Exception--no exceptions for the kids and the only exception for me is when I'm trying to fast. The key word for me and fasting is "trying."

About this absolute--Tosca recommends drinking 16 oz as soon as you wake up. I had never paid attention to how much water I was drinking or how much my kids were drinking. Now I not only pay attention to how much they're drinking, I teach them the vital importance of it. I have felt a big difference in my health when I get plenty of water. Honestly, most days I don't, but when I do, I feel it, and it feels fantastic. Of course I have to pee all the time so that's not fun, but feeling good is. Now my kids are tired of hearing me say, "Everybody go get a drink of water. It's important to drink lots of water everyday."

Number 6. Absolutely must eat at least 3 meals a day consisting of protein and complex carbs and healthy fats.

The uproar

2010-11-05T05:52:00.000-07:00

Here's what I did when my kids were freaking out about their favorite foods and snacks being completely gone from our house never to return.

You should have seen the uproar in the house after I gave away my kids' favorite foods and snacks.
"I want some fishies. I want some fishies," they would say.
"Nope. They're not good for our bodies," I would reply.
"I want some chips, now," Roman would say.
"I want some french toast sticks. What else am I going to eat for breakfast?" Bella would moan.
"We're going to figure something else out. And you're going to love it."

And on and on it went. This is what got it to stop. "When it's your birthday you can have whatever you want. I will buy you a box of french toast sticks if that's what you want on your birthday." This got them very excited and they stop hounding me about the foods like missed and got busy writing down what they wanted me to buy them for their birthday. Bella came up with such a long list she started freaking out about having to choose only those things that would fit into one day.
"Can I have birthday week?" she asked.
"Okay, you may have birthday week."
Bella is always an exception to every rule. So she will get birthday week and the rest of us will have birthday day. Needless to say, all the kids are looking forward to their birthdays. And whenever they complain about something I just say, "You can have it on your birthday" and that quiets them. It really does work. That way they don't feel deprived and it gives them something to look forward to. Works like a charm.

2nd Step in Eating Clean -- go shopping

2010-11-03T14:45:00.000-07:00

After giving away 3/4 of the kitchen, the cupboards felt oddly creepy so I got busy filling the kitchen with clean foods and cooking supplies. From the reading and research I'd done, I knew how to stock my kitchen. So I went shopping. On my list: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, spices, healthy oils.

The shopping wasn't as easy as it sounds. A lot of these items I had never even heard of. I had to google them just to know what I was looking for and where I might possibly find them. I made notes that agave nectar was a liquid low-glycemic sweetener, that Sucanat was a non-refined brown sugar, that pepitas were sunflower seeds, that chickpeas were the same thing as garbonzo beans, that quinoa was a grain (actually it's a seed but everyone refers to it as a grain), that cardamom is a ten dollar spice, that coconut oil is the same as coconut butter because it's solid at room temperature, that bulgur is not a person trying to break into your house but a whole grain, etc, etc, etc. I knew I probably wouldn't be able to find everything I needed in one place so I started with Winco and tried to get as much as I could.

Here's what I found at Winco:
organic skim milk yes,
almond milk yes, it's by the cans of evaporated milk
organic eggs yes,
organic butter no,
non-fat Greek yogurt, yes, but not organic
kefir no,
agave nectar yes, it's by the the peanut butter and honey
coconut oil no, they need to do something about that
pumpkin seed oil no,
quinoa yes,
steel cut oats, yes in the bulk section
organic rolled oats, yes in the bulk section
organic salad mix, yes
organic spinach, yes
organic carrots, yes
buckwheat flour, yes
spelt flour, yes
aluminum-free baking soda, yes
Dave's Killer bread, yes
Ezekiel bread, no
unprocessed peanut butter, yes
unprocessed almond butter, yes
low-sodium black beans, yes
organic, low-sodium chicken broth, yes
organic, low-sodium vegetable broth, yes
nitrate and nitrite free bacon, no
organic meat, no
ground turkey breast, yes but not organic
ground chicken breast, yes but not organic
low-sodium tamari, yes
small BPA free plastic containers for freezing or storing food, yes
I buy bananas from Winco because they don't need to be organic

At Costco I found:
organic apples
organic spinach
organic carrots
organic milk, it's 1% there so I get the organic skim from Winco
organic eggs (they are a little less expensive than Winco's organic eggs)
organic butter
organic peanut butter
organic almond butter
organic quinoa
organic wild rice
organic short brown rice
organic boneless, skinless chicken breast
bison steaks
grass-fed ground beef
Dave's Killer Bread
multi-grain sandwich thins
nitrate and nitrite free turkey bacon
protein powder
Trio Bars
Larabars
pure maple syrup, they need to get organic pure maple syrup

Who would have known Costco would have so many organics? Yay for Costco. Now they just need to change some of their items such as the butter, broths, canned tomatoes, and black beans to low-sodium.

Next was the Boise Co-op for hard to find items such as:
kefir
organic yogurts
virgin coconut oil
all kinds of healthy oils
organic ground turkey
organic ground chicken
Sucanat
local, organic, fruits, vegetables, and herbs
spices and spice blends
whole grains
their bulk section is awesome
organic mango chunks (a favorite of mine)
organic frozen berries
frozen acai berry
dehydrated fruits (the dried mangoes are killer)
non-fluoride toothpaste
non-aluminum deodorant
safe housecleaning products
seeds for sprouting

The Captial City Market is also a wonderful place to buy food. However, I will save the market for another day. It deserves its own post.

Now I had the knowledge and motivation, I had the cookbooks, and I had the ingredients. It was time to start cooking!

The first step to eating clean

2010-10-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

Get rid of all your processed foods. That's what I did. I gave away boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes of food. I wish I had before-and-after pictures so you could see the loads of food I gave away. As a compulsive food hoarder, my fridge, pantry, cupboards, and freezer were completely full. Yo'know, just in case. In one day, the kitchen went from totally full to completely empty. Bye, bye, bad stuff.

P.S. My kids practically cried on this day. Oh well, they got over it.

These are just some of the items we gave away. Can you imagine your kitchen and your life without these foods? Yes, life goes on, even without French toast sticks.

ketchup
mayonaaise
margarine
I Can't Believe it's Not Butter spray
syrup
peanut butter
jams and jellies
frozen waffles
frozen mini pancakes
frozen French toast sticks
frozen tater tots and french fries
icecream
icecream bars and icecream sundaes
popscicles
Hershey's chocolate sauce
apple cider packets
hot chocolate packets
tubs of frosting
gogurts
boxes of brownies
Slim Fast shakes
granola bars
oatmeal packets
granola cereal
all cereal, yes, all
Classic Bread's white bread
Classic Bread's cinnamon swirl bread.....still miss this one :(
mango salsa
au gratin potatoes
gravy mixes
Hamburger Helper
A-1 steak sauce
Fruit by the Foot
fruit snacks
Peppridge Farms fish crackers
wheat thin
triscuits
saltines
potato chips
tortilla chips
bagels
barbecue sauce
Jello pudding
Jello gelatin ( a lot of these)
hot dogs
bacon
sausage
All marinating sauces and mixes

I know there's more, but I can't remember everything, it seems like so long ago. Basically, I dispensed of any item containing sugar, corn syrup, high frutose corn syrup, artifical coloring, additives, chemicals, too much sodium, nitrites, nitrates, gelatin, and other perservatives.

The benefits of giving away all this crap:
If I just gave ten boxes of macaroni and cheese away I'm not going to feel like buying more the next time I'm at the store. See how that works? I've been motivated because I made an investment. I gave away hundreds of dollars of food and I am not going to ruin that by buying that crap again.
Secondly, I'm forced to start now. There's no procrastinating. This "eat clean" thing begins now or we starve to death. Better buy some produce, beans, organic lean meats, and learn how to cook asap. That's step two. More on that later......

Build a Foundation, Find Your Motivation

2010-10-12T19:57:00.000-07:00

The knowledge I gained from reading and research gave me the foundation I needed to begin my jouney. I wanted to not only look better, but to feel better, and have better health and longevity. More than that I wanted to give my children a chance at a good life. I didn't want to be the reason they suffered from depression, disease, fatigue, learning disabilities, ADHD, obesity, low self-esteem, infertility, miscarriage, cancer, low sex drive, etc. I was motivated to nourish my children to give them the best fighting chance. I wanted to teach them what it meant to eat and nourish the body with real, whole foods, the foods God intended them to eat. So that's what got me going. And here's how I did it.

Starting the journey

2010-10-11T23:35:00.000-07:00

How it all began
Okay folks, you're in for a real treat. I have somewhat of an announcement to make. Here it is......making dinner doesn't suck....as much. You may wonder what has brought on this sudden change when making dinner has sucked for me ever since I began cooking 13 years ago. Well let me just tell you that I have turned over a new leaf. In fact I feel like a totally different person. I do things completely different than I used to.

Let me explain how it all started. It all began four months ago, the first week of June 2010, when I was at home minding my own business when I suddenly felt compelled to go to Costco and buy a book. I was reading an article about Tosca Reno in the Costco Connection magazine when it suddenly dawn on me that I needed her new book called Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook. Call it divine inspiration (that's what I call it) or call it whatever you like, but I went to Costco and made one purchase. It wasn't Tosca Reno's cookbook (they didn't have it in stock yet) but I didn't want to walk out empty-handed since I had felt prompted to go. I picked up Jillian Michael's book called "Master Your Metabolism." I'd never heard of it, but what the heck, I'd never heard of Tosca Reno either and never heard the term "eating clean." I was completely oblivious (probably because I don't watch Oprah or any TV or read magazines). I just had a feeling I needed that book.

Little did I know the book I was buying would change my life and the life of my family. Everything I read in her book just made sense to me. Even though it all made sense to me it was all completely NEW to me. The concepts and principles about how our body functions on hormones and WHY healthy nutrition is so important and HOW it is bad for us was unlike anything I had ever read or heard before. I usually don't do anything unless I know WHY I have to do it. This is why geometry was so difficulty for me in high school. Now WHY do I need to know this? How is this supposed to help me in life?? Because my teacher never provided me with an answer, I continued to struggle.

Jillian taught me, thoroughly taught me, why it is so important to be free of additives, free of preservatives, free of artificial flavors and colors, free of chemicals, free of pesticides, etc. It's not a good idea just because it's a good idea. It's vitally important to our physical health and mental health. It's vital to our well-being. That stuff will absolutely kill us. And before we die from it first it makes us sick. Jillian explains how that happens in her book. How and why it leads to various cancers, autoimmune diseases, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, mental illness, chronic fatigue, etc, etc, etc. Who wants all that crap and who doesn't want to be well? Who doesn't want their children to be well?

After I finished reading her book I got a little frustrated that I didn't know any of this information before reading her book. Why didn't I know all of this before? I think because the way I was raised and the world that I've always lived in has pushed me away to something unnatural without me even knowing it was unnatural for me. Society led me to believe that the stuff you can buy from the grocery store is what you eat. You buy it and take it home and eat it. It was that simple. What I didn't realize what that it was UNNATURAL, UNHEALTHY, and WRONG on so many levels.

I have many, many ideas why this has happened. (Remember I always wonder why about everything. That's part of why I am so annoying to be around). I won't get into that now. Maybe another post. Once I had a foundation about why I should eat healthy foods I was motivated to make a change. More about my journey later. . .

Maybe I'm not cut out for steel cut oats

2010-10-10T22:17:00.000-07:00

If you're thinking I'm a great cook now that I'm cooking more often you are dead wrong. Actually it was me who was almost dead. I nearly burned down the house with what happened last week.  I burned my steel cut oats on Saturday morning, Sunday morning, and yes, Monday morning. Three days in a row. Imagine.....thick smoke in the house, a blackend, ruined pan, a horrible smell that doesn't go away even with the windows open, and no breakfast.

Why did you keep burning them day after day you wonder? Because after I did it the first time I thought there was no way I could do that again. And then after I did it a second time I thought now there's really no way I could possibly burn it two days in a row. Then after I burned it the second time I thought surely there is no way I could possibly burn it three days in a row. The third day was actually the worst.

Why do you burn your oatmeal day after day you wonder?  Because oatmeal takes ten minutes to cook on the stove and I can't stand to be in the kitchen that long. Besides, my kids have me running all over the house getting them clothes, socks, shoes, coats, backpacks, wiping their bottoms, and putting toothpaste on their toothbrushes. So you see there's not time to watch oatmeal cook. I always walk away. And because I have absolutely no memory these days (seriously it's as bad as my sisters was when she was in the hospital, now that's saying something). Anyway, being smart, well kinda smart, I set the timer on the third try so when I walked away from the oatmeal I would be reminded by the timer to take the oatmeal off the stove.  The problem is I set the time on the timer but forget to push start.

You can put me away now. I'm ready to sign the papers.   Do you think they have oatmeal in the hospital?

2010-10-09T22:47:00.000-07:00

Just passing along for a friend of mine. It's a chance to earn free food credits from a new company called E Foods Global. Check out the link if you're interested.

Just say no to couponing

2010-10-06T00:40:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed what you can buy with a coupon? Crap. That's what.

So just say no to couponing and don't do it. Don't buy the crap that doesn't nourish your mind and body. There's nothing in there but chemicals. That's why they sell it to you for next to nothing. It's not food. Nobody planted it, grew it, or harvested it. If it doesn't have a mother or come from the ground don't eat it. Period.

Do you really need 20 boxes of brownies?

Caution : Major road changes ahead

2010-10-06T00:36:00.000-07:00

This blog is about to undergo a major transformation. Don't get me wrong, making dinner still sucks, that much is true. It just sucks in a different way now that I've discovered healthy cooking. When I cook dinner for my family now I feel a real satisfaction and joy that I have fed them something other than crap. By "crap" I mean processed foods. I call them all crap. Some people all them "anti-foods" but I prefer the term "crap." That's what I used to feed my family and I am ashamed. So ashamed. I cringe when I think of all the goldfish crackers I let my kids eat. Ahhh! Now that I know what that crap does to you I am freaked.

But like Dr. Phil always says, "When you know better you do better." And I know better now. But believe me the process of making dinner still sucks. It takes forever and you have to be totally organized. You have to make everything fresh and you have to meal plan and grocery shop like every other day.

Stay tuned and I'll try and keep you up to date on this crazy journey I'm on.

Evidence that my kids won't starve

2010-04-21T14:28:00.001-07:00

Who needs cookie cutters when you've got these?

2009-12-11T22:21:00.000-08:00

Years ago I swore off making sugar cookies. Too much mess and too much work. I even sold all my cookie cutters at our moving sale two years ago.

Last weekend Roman comes to me and tells me he wants to make "Christmas cookies." Apparently he had done this at preschool and wanted to do it at home. I told him no, that we couldn't make Christmas cookies. "Miss Malia makes Christmas cookies."

Really? Not to be outdone by his teacher crush I said, "Okay, we can make Christmas cookies but we're going to need your Play-doh box." He ran and got the Play-doh box and his toy rolling pin that he got from a birthday party and we made Christmas cookies.

But we didn't frost them. Because that would be going too far.

2009-11-03T22:28:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is coming up. Is anybody else dreading it like I am?

2009-11-03T22:23:00.000-08:00

I can never pay attention long enough to stand and stir.

And this is what I get. It happens all the time.

2009-10-14T23:57:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when a two year old eats a bowl of cereal and then takes a swig of bottled water.

2009-08-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

Have you ever made chocolate chip cookies

and realized you didn't have any chocolate chips after

you had finished making the cookie dough?

I have.

So there you have it. I made cookies.

2009-08-05T20:52:00.000-07:00

Capri loves to wear one of two things. Either her swim suit or her jammies. Lately she's been insisting on wearing the water wings as well. So here's what she typically looks like at dinner time. Wings n all.

Another reason why making dinner sucks

2009-06-15T23:36:00.001-07:00

Mother's Day Dinner

2009-05-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

Have you ever gotten the feeling from me that I am married to a meat and potatoes kind of guy? Well that is correct. Meat and potatoes. Meat and potatoes. Meat and potatoes. Do you get what I am saying? Only meat and potatoes. Meat and potatoes. That's it. No water. No fruit. No salad. No vegetable. Happy with meat and potatoes. Happy with just meat in fact. The potatoes is just an extra. So what did John make for my Mother's Day dinner? You guessed it. Meat and potatoes.

The Frosted Cherry

2009-05-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

The night before Mother's Day I was up late per usual. I finally went to bed around midnight. As I laid in bed and my brain was going a million miles an hour, I wondered if I had left my jacket outside. We had had a garage sale earlier that day and I wore a jacket in the early morning and put the money that I made inside the jacket. Wouldn't that suck if I left my jacket outside and the money got stolen? So just in case I had, I went downstairs and checked the front porch for my jacket. No jacket. It was inside. Phew.

What's this? I noticed a box next to the door. A box of cupcakes???? For me????? Sweet! I was so excited to see that someone had dropped off a box of cupcakes from The Frosted Cherry on my front porch. If you've read my earlier posts you know that I have absolutely no self control. There was no saving these for tomorrow. I ate one right away. It was chocolate with strawberry butter cream frosting and a cherry on top. Yummy. It dawned on me after I'd eaten one that I should've take a picture of the pretty cupcakes before I ate one. Oh well. So I brought the cupcakes inside and took a picture of them in almost full glory.

I didn't want to be a pig so I wanted maybe five minutes until I ate a second one. It was a lemon merange pie cupcake and so delicious. I could have had another one but I decided that I'd wait until it was actually Mother's Day to finish off the rest. I go to bed thinking of the cupcakes.

Which brings us to the next day. It's Mother's Day so I absolutely don't move when the kids start waking up. I'm going to sleep in because it's my day. Around 9:30 or so (give or take another hour) I get up and go downstairs to see my cupcakes. Ahhh! Who ate one of my cupcakes? Without even asking? And where's my breakfast? It's Mother's Day.

John was the culprit of the missing cupcake. Why must I tell him everything? He should just know me well enough by now to know that I was planning on eating all six of those myself. Anyway, because I'm nice I decide to share the rest with the kids even though I still want to eat them all myself. The kids pick out a cupcake and enjoy the sugary goodness. Well, I guess that means I don't have to make breakfast.

Thanks Holly and Charise for making my Mother's Day extra sweet. You can count on an order from me for Roman's birthday coming in June. www.thefrostedcherry.blogspot.com

My Week

2009-05-02T23:46:00.000-07:00

Monday--burned the chicken.

Tuesday--burned the popcorn. Two times. In a row.

Wednesday--burned the pizza.

Tried again.

Undercooked it. Yuck!

MAKING DINNER SUCKS

Remember the red jello and orange salad I made at Christmas?

2009-05-01T15:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought it was about time I got them out of the outside fridge and threw them away? What do you think?

2009-04-07T23:25:00.000-07:00

Making dinner has sucked more than usual because the kids have been sick. Bella was sick for a week. She stayed home from school and everything you have no idea how constrained I'm being right now. Now I get to spend this week helping her with her 20 pages of school work that she missed. How fun ::wink, wink::

This week Roman is sick and staying home from preschool. He is the opposite of Bella when he's sick. In fact, he likes to tell me that he is NOT sick and that he doesn't have a fever. I have to tell him, "no, we can't go to the park today" and "no, you're not going to school."

So much face time with my kids has left me feeling BLAH. I made mac and cheese for dinner tonight. John had toast with jam and cheese. I know, he's weird huh. He fixed it himself but at least he never complains. I am so glad to be married to someone who doesn't expect dinner on the table when he comes home from work. If I make something great, if I don't, great. He doesn't really care. He doesn't care if the house is a mess either. I'm telling you I have the perfect husband for me. He's way laid back and happy with whatever. He even does his own laundry.

Now on to a different subject. Tonight I went to Albertson's because tonight was the last night of the stupid cereal sale. I thought what the heck I'll just go so I don't have to be envious when I hear everyone else bragging about how much cereal they got for $20. It was also double coupon day so I took three one dollar coupons for three different products.

Now on to why I hate Albertson's and why I hate couponing. First of all, it took me forever to decide which coupons to use. I just kind of chose three foods: sausage, Rhodes rolls, and cereal. The cereal coupon was great since I was buying the cereal on sale anyway. But Albertson's doesn't carry the type of Rhodes rolls that matched the coupon. Ugh. So I went looking for the sausage and finally found three, yes only three and they were hidden, Johnsonville sausage links. They were "on sale" for 2 for $7. What? 3.50 for a pack of sausage? The coupon I had was $1 off two so I grabbed two. I figured I'd pay about 2.50 a piece since the coupon would be doubled and I'd get two bucks off. Then I found a coupon in my wallet for $1 off two Tree Top juices. I go over to them and see they are "on sale" for 2.79. Regular price is 3.79. Holy crap. At Winco I typically get my juice for 1.58. I hate Albertson's and their crappy prices. So then I get my cereal. I grab 5 boxes. Two Raisin Bran and 3 Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds. I also get a loaf of bread. My total is 17.57 and I get a catalina for $5 off my next purchase. Not too bad but I should have just bought the cereal. I'll save my coupons for Winco.

When I got home I realized that I forgot to buy more Motrin and Roman is going to need some for tomorrow. So I run to Winco. Good ol, dependable Winco. Thank you Winco for having decent prices CONSISTENTLY. Sure enough the sausage is 2.78 a pack and the Tree Top juice was 1.88.

Bottom line--I'm frustrated with couponing. I found I was spending a lot of money trying to "save" money. And time. It sucks up a lot of time. And who needs that much Pillsbury crap anyway?

Here's my new strategy for saving money. Every time I go to the store I write down how much I've spent. A new concept for me since I have NEVER balanced a check book or budgeted. I know, I'm an idiot. But in my defense, how do you budget without an income? The other strategy, this one is also new to me, only buy what you need. And don't buy three of four just because you like them all. Just try and pick one. Ok, I know you can't just pick one because you're mental, but keep it to two.

The other strategy that I do is I shop without my children. This isn't so much to save money as it is to save my sanity. Seriously, I think I have taken Roman and Capri to Winco maybe twice in their lives. I did take them for the first time ever last weekend and I ended up buying so much junk because I have this habit of saying yes to everything. Roman asked me yesterday if Capri had a penis and I said yes. I told you, it's automatic. I don't think. I just say yes to everything. I think it's because Bella trained me this way. That and I'm stupid.

The other way I try and save money is by stretching out shopping trips and going without for a little while. Boy did it suck when I was out of hot chocolate for a week.

I also don't go chasing after good deals. It's only a good deal if you need it. Besides, it also messes with the environment to have 100 bottles of shampoo and lotions on your shelf. I know they were "free" but we need to be careful with our resources.

Last, but not least, I enter blog raffles in hopes of winning something to help us get by.

2009-03-10T19:35:00.000-07:00

Occasionally, we have hamburgers at our house. You know the ones I'm talking about. They come wrapped in yellow paper with a little bit of ketchup, a few cut-up onions, a slice of cheese, and one, maybe two, pickles if you're lucky. They also always come with fries. And a toy.

Well, tonight we had a different kind of hamburger. Something I've never had before. A slider. And not just any slider. A big city slider. Compliments of Billy Mays himself and courtesy Miss Emi-kins of Hawaii. I hope she doesn't mind that I gave her that nickname. Because I really like calling her that.

How did you come across such a fine slider station you may wonder? Especially when you are on a permanent spending freeze? Miss Emi-kins hosted a blog raffle after buying her son a Snuggie. She bought two other prizes As Seen On TV to give away in a giant raffle. Mr. Gavin drew my name out first. I couldn't believe it. The odds were nearly impossible. I felt so lucky afterwards that I almost went out and joined another raffle. And bought a lottery ticket.

When it came in the mail, I was so excited to see that Billy Mays had personally autographed it and said, "Congratulations!" Emi must have told him about the drawing.

Today I set about preparing to make sliders for dinner. Oh, I was so excited! I love new kitchen toys. First I washed it in hot, soapy water. Die germs, die.

Then I did this. Don't worry, I didn't touch a thing. It comes with a scoop.

And this. What do you think so far? Impressive?

And this.

Then I finally got around to opening up the instructions.

Um, whoops.
There's an actual recipe in here for how to make these things. Oh well.

Then after a few minutes I wonder if they are done. I put on my magical pot holder also courtesy of Miss Emi-kins. Love ya babe.

Could it really be this easy?

Yes.

Oh Yes!

2009-03-05T09:56:00.000-08:00

There are many reasons why I don't BAKE.

Here are just a few. I'd rather play with Capri.

Or Roman.
Or Bella.
I'm too busy doing more important things. (Yes, we made all those). I can make one for you too, if you pay me.
The kitchen is ALWAYS a mess. So there's no room to make more of a mess. (Good strategy, huh.)
But the number one reason why I don't BAKE is:
Because I eat it ALL. This is a picture of what happens when I get a craving. Last week I was craving chocolate really bad and the hot chocolate just wasn't cutting it. I couldn't find any candy bars in the house, believe me I looked everywhere, and we were out of chocolate chips. We did have a box of ready mix lemon bars so I decided to make those. And this is what they looked like 12 hours later. I had eaten the entire pan. Which screwed me up for the next four days craving all kinds of naughty stuff. So you see folks, that is why I don't bake. I have no self control. None.

2009-02-17T14:09:00.000-08:00

Dinner isn't good unless it's full of fat.

A fat-filled dinner tastes good but makes you blow up like a cow

Blowing up like a cow means you no longer fit into your clothes

Buying new clothes gets expensive

Wearing clothes the size of cows means less clothes fit into the washer

leading to more loads to wash.

Washing more loads of laundry means less time for cooking dinner.

That's why dinner isn't good unless it's full of fat.

Tonight I am making Basil Chicken. It's an Olsen favorite. I'm surprised I haven't blogged about it before. It's easy. You put 3 chicken breasts into the crockpot, dump an entire bottle of coleslaw dressing over the chicken, add some basil that your sister grew in her herb garden with the help of her boyfriend and gave you for Christmas, duct tape the lid shut, and cook on low for 3 hours. Serve over white rice since Bella won't eat the brown rice.

If you are looking for the remote, I found it.

2009-02-17T13:44:00.001-08:00

2009-02-04T14:15:00.001-08:00

For a few years now I've been thinking about making cornbread. My sister makes it and her family loves it. I love cornbread too. I always load up on it whenever we go to Chuck A Rama. It's like eating healthy cake. In the past I have bought those little bags of cornmeal thinking that I would make corn bread. Well, you know me, I never do what I intend to do, so over the years I have thrown out expired corn meal that's never been opened.

But last week the stars aligned. I found a recipe for cornbread and a new bag of corn meal in the pantry, Capri was asleep, Roman was playing race cars by himself and the kitchen was fairly clean, so I thought ok, I will give this a try. I made the corn bread which was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. I didn't burn it so that was good. The only thing was I didn't know what else to make with it. What goes good with corn bread? I don't know. Probably a whole bunch of things but nothing that my family will eat.

I ended up making chicken and, yeah, it didn't go that great together. But hey, at least I can say that I have made corn bread now and it turned out pretty good. The kids weren't goo goo over it but that is to be expected. My kids don't get excited about any food unless it's chocolate chip cookies. Then all the sudden they love to eat. I made sure to eat lots and lots of corn bread that night to make it worth all the effort.

PS Does anyone feel sorry for me? I mean, I seriously can't stand this whole dinner thing. And it doesn't feel like it's ever going to change. Ugh.

2009-01-22T00:09:00.000-08:00

Proof that Roman spits out his food.

I opened the dishwasher and found this the other day.

The other night I thought I would make Rice a Roni. Um, whoops. You would think after burning it so many times in my life that I would learn to pay attention long enough to stand and stir, but no, I always get bored and walk away from the stove, only to remember about it later. Oh crap, I did it again.

2009-01-16T15:07:00.000-08:00

Cathy said something once about making Hootenannies for dinner. I asked her, "What in the heck are Hootenannies?" German Pancakes, duh.

So I decided to give it a try. Ya know, mix things up from our everyday, gourmet, three course meals. The recipe seemed easy enough. The only hiccup was the fact that I had to remember where I unpacked my blender. In a small kitchen it didn't take long to find it and I didn't have too much trouble making these. I didn't burn them and they didn't spill into the oven so that was good.

Although these Hootenannies are strange looking, I thought they were quite good tasting. However, not all my children agreed. Roman and Bella did not even try them. Capri liked them them well enough but John said they weren't very filling. So there you have it folks, another dinner that sucked.

2009-01-04T23:20:00.000-08:00

Today I made ham and those potatoes. Ya know, those ones with cheese and corn flakes on top? We also had corn. Big surprise. No rolls since I figured we had all the carbs covered with the potatoes. Here's the report.

What did you make? Ham, potatoes, corn.

Is that it? No jello? No jello.

Did Roman eat it? Just the ham.

Did Bella eat it? Actually yes. After telling me it looked gross of course.

Did Capri eat it? She loved the potatoes and ham mixed together.

Did it make John sick? No.

Did you burn anything today? No. A fairly successful dinner. Except for the fact that I put the ham in the crock pot and it didn't fit so I had to put it in the roaster oven and now I have to wash the crock pot and the roaster oven.

Will you make this again? Yes, because I love ham. I'm part pig.

Duct-taping Christmas Eve dinner

2008-12-28T19:24:00.000-08:00

These pictures are not in order because I don't want to spend the time to put them in order.

Here's a picture of one of the many spills that occurred while trying to make dinner. And here's some left over sticky stuff on my crockpot courtesy of John trying to duct tape the lid closed.

The paint spill happened right after the flour spill.

Who needs utensils when you've got fingers?

Those are Roman's fingers in the pink mashed potatoes, not mine.
Gravy?
Here, let me do it. (Um, no.)
My solution. (Worked).
John's solution. (Didn't work).

Much like Thanksgiving dinner, we sat down with Bella and talked about what we were going to have for dinner to make sure we were all happy with the menu. No sense in making dinner if nobody eats it right? She suggested having the potatoes she likes this time. Easy enough. We agreed to roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, red jello, orange jello salad, and corn. Totally doable. My FIL gave us a roast the day before. I didn't even have to go shopping as we had everything we need for this dinner. At least, I hope we do. I don't care enough to check. It's snowing and I'm staying indoors.

Wednesday morning John calls from work and asks me if I started the roast yet. Um, I just got out of bed and you expect me to be thinking about a roast? So around 10:30 I put the roast in the crock pot and start worrying that it's not going to be ready by 6:00. So I worry and worry and worry about it. Then I start worrying that it might not taste good. John's the one who always makes the roast whenever we have one. I don't know what spices he uses. Then I remember someone telling me they put in a package of dry onion soup mix when they make a roast. Someone gave us a box the other day so I know I have that. I mix two packages with a cup of water as suggested on the box. I pour it over the roast.

That's when the trouble begins. Because I added the cup of water, now the crock pot lid won't stay down all the way. The roast is so freakin huge that it's lifting up the lid. My worries that the roast won't be ready just skyrocketed. I push and push and push on the lid but it won't stay down. Great. What are my options? I could somehow pour the water out but that's going to be really messy. I could try and scoop out some of the water. "Honey," I call, (he's home from work now), "the roast is too big and I can't get the lid to stay down." He comes over and inspects. "Should I just pour out the water?" I ask.

"We need something to hold it down." He starts looking for something. "Do we have any tape?"

"I don't think the tape will stay," I say. "What should we do? Should I just pour the water out?"

"Where's the tape?" he says again and looks around the kitchen.

"Honey, you just fix it okay." My stress levels becomes uncomfortable. "I'm putting you in charge." I hate decisions and trying to solve problems. Like I really hate decisions/stress/dinner crisises.

Then he has it in his hands. I'm completely surprised. I think it's the first time he's found something without me either telling him where it is or me getting it for him. He starts duck taping the crock pot lid. I almost laugh out loud but cover my mouth as I realize a blog post coming on. I reach for my camera and start snapping pictures. I manage to get one picture before he realizes what I'm doing. He goes for the camera and we start dodging each other as he protests and I insist. We are both laughing hysterically. "This is going to be so funny on the blog" I say as I'm taking pictures of him trying to get the camera away from me. Unfortunately, the camera is too slow to get the picture of him flipping me off.

He gives up and goes back to ripping off pieces of duct tape with his teeth and putting them on the lid of the crock pot. It doesn't work of course.

I find something that does. It's a $30 platter I bought from Target a couple of years ago. We've never used it. I bought it as an accessory when I was staging our spec house. I tried to sell it at our moving sale but nobody bought it. It also didn't sell at our garage sale this summer. But now it has a purpose. The very heavy platter is going to sit on the crock pot lid and keep it closed.

I make the orange jello salad and remember to put the mandarin oranges in it this time. With only four ingredients you wouldn't think that I wouldn't forget the main one, but I did last time I made it. No wonders it tasted different. I ask John to go out in the garage and find the potatoes someone gave us. He brings them inside and peels them and I chop them up. They are red. I've seen potatoes that are red on the outside but these ones are red on the inside. I start worrying that they aren't going to taste good. Oh well. I chop em up and cook em and mash em. They are pretty lumpy so I grab the whipping cream that's in the fridge and pour some in. Whoops. That was too much. Uh oh. Now they're too runny. I can't really peel, chop, and cook more potatoes. Well, I guess I could but that would really suck. So I get this really good idea and I make instant potatoes and put some aside for Bella since she wanted them anyway, and then I add the rest to the real potatoes. Runny potato problem solved. I smile at myself. What's next? The rolls. Easy enough. I grab the bag from the freezer and put them on the cookie sheet. Then I open a can of corn. It's kind of shameless how easy this Christmas Eve dinner is to make. Oh wait. I haven't made the gravy yet. I don't know how to make gravy but I'm not in the mood to call my sister, so I try this one on my own. I get out this new utensil I bought at the store that sucks stuff up, I have no idea what it's called, and I start sucking up the juice from the roast and dropping it into a pan on the stove. As I do this I make a huge mess as I have no problem sucking up the juice but a huge problem transporting that juice to the pan. With the roast juice in the pan on the stove, I try and think of what I should do next. Flour? I think people put flour in. So I say to John, "Do you think I should put flour in the gravy?"

"Here, I'll do it," he says.

He starts to put some flour in the gravy, loses patience and ends up dumping tons of flour into the gravy, spilling it on the stove and the floor. Thanks. I'll take over from here. So I take some of that crap out and add more roast-juice spilling even more juice onto the counter. We are both idiots in the kitchen if you haven't noticed by now. (The gravy doesn't end up turning out that good even though I fix the flour consistency problem. It tastes too much like dry onion soup mix.)

This is when we find that Roman has gotten into the paint that Gregg and Allen gave Bella earlier in the day when they came over to exchange presents. I pick up the bottles of paint, wash Roman's hands, snap a picture, and walk away from the paint in the carpet. Yes, I just walk away.

I dig out the Christmas dishes that I have somewhere. Oh yeah. Top shelf of the pantry. Glad I didn't forget to use them as that would kind of defeat the point of having special Christmas dishes. I also get out the special red goblets that Bella loves.

We set the table and then sit down to eat. Roman eats the red jello. He spits out everything else. Bella eats a roll, red jello, orange jello salad, corn, and some of her instant potatoes. She's mad the gravy tastes gross. John eats the roast. I eat a roll. Capri eats it all. We have leftovers out the ying yang.

2008-12-28T19:22:00.000-08:00

Amanda is craving a knock your socks off /smack your fanny chinese chicken salad.

2008-12-22T22:15:00.001-08:00

Tonight's dinner was dinner charity thanks to a good friend. She made us chicken noodle soup and breadsticks. Thanks Michelle!

Spaghetti--the old stand by

2008-12-21T10:25:00.000-08:00

As some of you know, John has been sick lately so I haven't had to cook a lot. Not because he makes me cook, just because there's really no point to making dinner if he doesn't eat it. Nobody else really cares. But he started feeling better and I was feeling okay on Friday so I decided that afternoon to make dinner.

First I had to decide what to make. We had some leftover chicken from Thursday night so I thought I would make chicken noodle soup. I call up my sister and ask her how to make it. (Are you laughing at me already?) Then I start searching for all the ingredients. Noodles. Where are the noodles? Check. Chicken. Check. Bouillon cubes. Bouillon cubes. Ummmm. Bouillon cubes. Come on. I have to have bouillon cubes. I can't believe I don't have any bouillon cubes. I used to have some. Oh yeah, I threw them away before we moved because I never used them and they had expired. Crap. So I guess I won't be making chicken noodle soup. Dang, that kind of sounded good. Ok. Now what am I going to make for dinner? I could make hawaiian haystacks. I know we're kind of sick of those but it would use up the chicken and Bella really likes em.

I wash out the rice cooker. (Are you laughing again?) Then I reach into the pantry for the rice and where's the rice. Dang it all to heck. We're out of rice aren't we? Yep, I used the last of it last time. We might have some in the garage in the boxes of food storage. I don't know if I can find anything out there. I go looking but I give up after I've said about 5 swear words in my head. You can't have hawaiian haystacks without rice so now I have to figure out what else to make. We could have spaghetti. That's what it's got to be. Spaghetti, the old stand by. We have it ALL the time. And there's a reason we have it all them time. Well, four reasons actually.

1. We've had too much McDonald's.

2. We've had too much Papa John's.

3. There is nothing else to have.

4. I can't think of anything else.

So reasons 1-4 applied this time so we were having spaghetti. I make two kinds. With meat and without. I'm sure you know who likes the meat one.

What did you make for dinner? Spaghetti.

Did everyone eat it? No. I didn't. (I was feeling sick again by this point and didn't eat anything and Roman had maybe one bite.)

Did Capri eat it? She loved it.

Did it make John sick? No.

Did Bella put too much Parmesan cheese on? Probably. I choose not to watch her put it on anymore.

What about John? Did he put too much Parmesan cheese on? Yes.

Why do you care if John puts too much parmesan cheese on but you don't care if Bella puts too much on? Shut up.

Was it easy to make? What do you think?

Will you make this again? Oh you know I will.

2008-12-17T23:05:00.000-08:00

Is it bad to feed your kids McDonald's for lunch and for dinner? On the same day?

Does it help that lunch was a Cheeseburger Happy Meal and dinner was a Chicken Nugget Happy Meal?

Go ahead and pass it over. Bad Mom Award.

This is really long please don't waste your time reading it

2008-11-27T16:20:00.000-08:00

Here's an entry that I started writing minutes after eating Thanksgiving dinner. (My mother in law was still in the house snuggling with her little boy, my DH, who was snoring on the couch. LOL). My fingers were flying over the keyboard and she was probably wondering why I was on the computer rather than in the kitchen doing the dishes. The dishes can always wait. Always.

The following entry will be full of whining and complaining. Consider yourself forewarned.

So it is days like today that I absolutely hate. Making Thanksgiving dinner definitely sucks. I mean when you think of the dinner of all dinners what do you think of? Thanksgiving dinner, right?

What kind of holiday is celebrated via dinner anyway? Who's idea was this? I have issues with those pilgrims I tell ya. Where does that leave a person who hates dinner to begin with? How are people like me supposed to celebrate Thanksgiving if we hate making dinner?

The problem is the fact that Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving without Thanksgiving dinner. The entire celebration revolves around one meal. You get one chance and that's it. Without the meal would it be Thanksgiving? If I were to choose to not make a big meal (or even just eat a big meal) for Thanksgiving would that mean that we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving? Like we don't believe in it or something? Would people accuse me of being anti-Thanksgiving?

Here's my problem with cooking a big meal. My family--we just don't appreciate it. Myself included. Too much work for not enough reward. Now if I were to go to your house and enjoy a nice Thanksgiving dinner with your family that's completely different. I would love that. I would also love to go out to a nice restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner. But with three kids it'd be more difficult and expensive than relaxing and enjoyable.

But you have family in town Amanda dearest. Why not have dinner with them? Yes, I do have family in town and we did get one invite from my sister. But we always mooch dinner off of her. During my last pregnancy she brought us dinner about once a week since I was practically dead and she didn't want my family to starve. So I feel like we've kind of used up our dinner charity for a while. My mother also lives in town but was fixing dinner for her DH and his family. She, too, brought dinner once a week.

So that left it up to me to create the big meal. Because you can't have Thanksgiving without the big meal. Great. I love cooking. I love being in the kitchen. I love service. I love feeling domesticated. I love turning into my mother. And to make it even more pleasant on myself, I'll invite my mother in law and her DH.

I'll keep it real simple and I'll survive this. I will do simple. No new recipes. No unique twists on sweet potatoes. In fact, no sweet potatoes. Just the basics. And just the things I know we all like. I can make it easy on myself. I have all day to do it right? So what do I do? I read two books in preparation for not preparing for Thanksgiving. Pro-procrastinator, that's me. Pre-thanksgiving night I am up to 3 am the night before reading Eclipse.

I did do a little shopping to grab some essentials. The whole family helped plan the extremely simple menu (I wanted to make sure we were all going to eat what I make) and I made a shopping list and went to the store. All set. Time out to read. I read until 3 am. Did I already mention that?

The house was a mess. More than usual. So I drug my tired butt out of bed this morning and thought to myself, okay I can do this. I forced myself to get the turkey out of the fridge and put it in the sink. I think okay, if I just get the turkey started and the rolls out of the freezer I can read until 1 pm...

I enlist my fam to help clean up the house and my husband to wash the turkey and put it in the roaster because I can't stand to touch dead turkeys. As he's doing this he tells me he doesn't really like turkey that much anyway. Thanks hun. Let's stay on task and not make this any harder for me than it already is okay.

So he gets the turkey in the roaster and I get the rolls out of the freezer (yes, Rhodes rolls, what did you expect?) and then make a plain strawberry jello. My kids requested the jello and it's funny that they are so excited about it. I usually don't make jello just because it's so hard to make LOL.

I sneak upstairs to read and then shower and get dressed as my DH cuts up the potatoes and cleans up the kitchen. Yeah, I know I'm lucky. I wait until the very last second to pull myself out of fantasy land until I come downstairs and start making the green salad and set the table. My MIL is coming at 2:30 to make the gravy at my request. I figured since we're going to the effort of making real potoates we might as well have real gravy to go with it and that's one of those things I've never made.

Soon the turkey is done, rolls are done, jello is set, green salad tossed together, mashed potatoes and gravy are ready and we sit down to eat. I told you I kept it simple. The next part is pretty uneventful. I help Roman eat and laugh as he spits out the turkey and balk at the mashed potatoes and gravy. He only eats the jello (with his hands). Bella eats mashed potatoes, gravy, and jello. I'm a little freaked out about the turkey because I know how long it's been in our freezer so I only eat a little bit. I love, love, love, the creamy mashed potatoes and I love the salad too. I eat like four rolls because I'm starving. I haven't eaten much this week since I've been too busy reading. I am glad I didn't go to all the extra work of making stuffing or real rolls or exotic side dishes or cranberry sauce or sweet potatoes or creamed corn or anything that would have taken more of my time. It wouldn't have been well received by my kids anyway and my husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy and me, well, if someone else wants to go to all that trouble well then I love that kind of stuff.

I didn't make any dessert because desserts put me over the edge of sanity. Especially pies. So I bought two pies and a quart of ice cream. My kids loved the ice cream and ate like one bite of their pie. Roman spit his out. My MIL's DH loved the pie so I sent it home with him along with everything else but the salad and the rolls. I didn't want any Thanksgiving dinner reminders in the fridge. We don't eat leftovers anyway.

I am trying to think of what to do for Thanksgiving next year. I'm thinking that maybe we'll go to Utah. My aunt Pat lives in Orem. She is an amazing cook. And she didn't bring me dinner while I was pregnant (aka almost dead) so that would be a viable option. Either that or grilled cheese sandwiches.

Ahh, Pardon Me Readers While I'm Stupid

2008-11-24T20:05:00.000-08:00

Hi. I know I have only one reader (thank you Emi) but I just wanted to announce officially that I haven't forgot about this blog. And I have good intentions to be better at it. However, I have been sucked into the Twilight series and won't be blogging again until I'm finished.

Dinner won't be made until I finish either. So there's really nothing to blog about anyway. (Except for the fact that I'm not making dinner LOL).

2008-11-20T13:58:00.001-08:00

I'm in another dinner rut. Aaahh. And a blogging rut obviously. And on my period.

2008-11-14T15:54:00.001-08:00

Ummm. I don't know what to make for dinner. I've got one hour to come up with something.

Update

What did you end up making? Hamburger Helper the Lasagna Cheese one.

Was it good? Actually yes.

Have you ever made Hamburger Helper before? Once, I think like 6 years ago.

How many ate it? Everyone but Roman. He spit it out.

What else did you serve? Corn and red grapes.

You're feelin' really good about this dinner blog aren't you? Yes, it totally has motivated me to make dinner for my fam. And when it doesn't go well, I have a place to gripe.

Well, everyone wants to know what the heck you did for dinner before if you didn't make it. Simple really. It's called Meals in Moments and Dinner's Ready. I ordered meals from them for the past 4 years.

You mean you used to go and assemble meals at Meals in Moments and Dinners Ready? Heck no. I did the pick up service for a few dollars more.

Well, then why don't you use Dinner's Ready anymore? Because we got tired of the meals and we can't afford it anymore.

Oh, I'm sorry. Me too.

2008-11-11T20:47:00.000-08:00

As a true feminist, I have always steered away from traditional female activities such as scrapbooking, sewing, ironing, cleaning, coupon clipping and cooking. Yes, coupon clipping. That is something I have never done. Why spend time clipping coupons to save a few cents? Well, I tell you why. When you only have a few cents you want to spend as few of them as possible. And that's the position we are finding ourselves in right now. John is looking for work and we have everything we own up for sale on Craigslist right now.

Yes, desperate times call for desperate measures. Which has inspired me to raise up and clip those coupons. It's like doing a huge math problem. It takes time, concentration, and no kids around. I was up past 3 am clipping coupons via the internet and making an Albertson's shopping strategy with help from Jenn S. and forums on Pinching Your Pennies. Albertson's is having many sales where if you buy $30 worth of certain products, you get $15 off your next purchase. That's %50 off. Nice. My dear husband came home from work(?) today so I could spend some time at the store. Who knew it would be three hours, but it was. Have you ever spent 3 hours at Albertson's? I don't shop at Albertsons so this shopping trip was more like a scavenger hunt. Especially since I could only purchase exactly what was on my list.

This is my first time ever doing this sort of bargain shopping and I was really nervous. I just didn't believe that people really stopped their transactions after thirty dollars without getting crap from the checkers. But the checker I had was really nice and she even gave me a compliment which I loved. She said she would have never known this was my first time doing this. Ahh thanks. So let's cut to the chase so I can brag about the good deals I got from Albertson's today.

How much did you spend? $158.05

How many items did you purchase? 137 items

How much money did you quote n quote save? $315.00

How much did you pay per item? $1.15

How long did this take you? More time than I'd like to admit

Did you even make dinner tonight? Heck no, Papa John's baby.

What did you buy? Milk, bread, boneless/skinless chicken chests, yogurt, deo for John's B.O., frozen veggies, frozen entrees, boxed potatoes, liquid laundry detergent, soups, mayo, soap, margarine spread, brownie mix, Hamburger Helper, salad dressing, etc.

2008-11-10T21:05:00.000-08:00

Dinner tonight was a recipe from my sister. Technically she got it from her husband who got it from his mom. So tonight I served my kids something that my brother in law ate as a kid. And it was very good. I don't know what it's called. I just know that it used up the remaining roast that I had left over and that it was super easy to make. I'm going to call it orange spaghetti because the sauce is kinda orange. I'll even tell you how I did it. Mix one can of Campbell's tomato soup with one cup of sour cream, add leftover roast pieces, warm, and serve over thin spaghetti noodles. Surprisingly delicious.

What did you make tonight darling? Orange Spaghetti.

How many ate it? Four out of five of us. Roman just had apple juice.

Was it easy to make? You betcha. Wink, wink.

Did you serve anything else with it? Nope. Couldn't think of anything.

*This just in. A wonderful friend of mine and kind-of-relative, Sara Frogley, was gracious enough to tell me the name to this great recipe. It is from the kitchen of Dorothy Frogley, her mother (also my brother in law's mother, small world) and her mom called it Stroganoff. That sounds way more appropriate than orange spaghetti. Thanks for sharing this info Sara.

2008-11-09T00:19:00.000-08:00

Success was half and half today. I successfully made a pot roast per the menu from Menus4Moms. John put it in the crock pot for me since I don't like touching meat. But I added bay leaves, celery salt, and 7 up. The roast cooked for 7 hours and turned out really good. I even made real mashed potatoes. This I did all by myself while John was trying to nap off his migraine that he woke up with this morning. I also cooked some frozen corn I had in the freezer.

Not a bad meal you might say right. Yeah, I thought I had done pretty good. But not by Bella's standards. The potatoes weren't "the kind I usually make" and the corn wasn't "the kind we usually" have. And the meat wasn't the usual kind either. So Bella had a yogurt for dinner. She made sure to tell me that the yogurt was really good. Oh, thanks Bella. You're too kind. Roman found two strawberry pediasures in the pantry and helped himself. See what I get for spending hours in the kitchen today? At least John and I liked it. And Capri loved the mashed potatoes so that was good.

What did you serve? Lemon-Lime Roast

How many ate it? Two

Did you serve a vegetable? Yes, mashed potatoes. Real ones. Bella prefers potato pearls.

Did you have corn? Yes, freezer corn. Bella prefers canned.

Did it make John sick. No.

Will you make it again? Yes.

Is this blog really helping you? Yes, actually it is. Thank you for asking.

2008-11-08T22:55:00.001-08:00

Good news. Good news. Good news. Tonight for the first time in a long time, I made dinner and each and every one of us liked it. Wow. So awesome. I made Tuna Noodle Casserole per Bella's request. The last million times I've made this it hasn't been right. Usually because I fiddled with the ingredient amounts always putting in too much cheese. But this time I held back and put the exact amount of mayo, sour cream, milk, and cheese. Yay for self control.

Did everyone eat it? Yes.

Did it make John sick? No.

Did you serve anything else with it? No.

Will you make it again? Yes.

2008-11-08T22:45:00.001-08:00

Friday night was supposed to be fish, but we don't really eat things that are really smelly. So I warmed up a can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup. And then John and I headed to the Cheesecake Factory for a good old fashioned date. It was our 11th year anniversary after all. And we still like each other a lot. I guess it's because he doesn't mind that I don't cook. Or clean. Or sew. Or (insert anything homemaker-ish).

I kinda mind that he doesn't cook. I mean, it would be real nice if he did. Oh, that would be so great. But since he doesn't, I just look at his other good qualities. Like his handsome good looks and the fact that he does dishes, laundry, takes out the trash, changes the litter box, mows the lawn, and even fills my car with gas. So that makes up for not cooking.

2008-11-07T21:46:00.000-08:00

The weekly menu I bought from Menus4Moms said it was Alfredo Rotini night. So I gathered up my ingredients that I had purchased previously and...oh wait. Where's the alfredo sauce? Did I forget to buy alfredo sauce? Was it even on the shopping list? I check the list. Yes. It was the first thing on there. This is why I hate making dinner.

Me placing a frantic phone call to John.
"Honey, could you please buy some alfredo sauce on your way home? It's by the spaghetti sauce.
I need twenty eight ounces. Thanks. And could you do it like pronto since this has to bake for 35 minutes?"

Making dinner always creates stress in the household.

So the Alfredo Rotini didn't turn out so great. Bella didn't like it. And she's very opinionated and vocal like her mom. I probably won't make this again.

So lets talk about dinner shall we?

How many ate it? 2 out of 5

Did it make John sick? No.
Did you serve a vegetable? Yes, green beans again. We're out of corn.
Did you have bread with it? Yes, that's what kept the kids from starving.
What about canned peaches? Yes.

2008-11-06T21:28:00.000-08:00

Last night I made the Cheesy Ham and Potato Casserole and had great success. I tried to follow the recipe as much as possible without thinking, "No, two cups of potatoes, that can't be right. I'll just add a few more." So I tried not to do that but I did. I don't know what's wrong with me but I can never do anything EXACTLY the way anybody tells me too. Call me stubborn and rebellious. But even though I added a few extra of this and that the casserole still turned out great. And it was fairly easy to make. I still spent a total of two hours in the kitchen (which I hated) but at least my family got a meal this week.

Let's chart my dinner shall we.

How many ate it? Four out of five.
Did it make John sick? No.
Did you serve a vegetable? Yes, green beans.
Did anyone eat the green beans? Not really.

2008-11-05T12:49:00.000-08:00

Dinner last night was frozen pizza. Not a huge hit because we eat pizza way too much. But I do have some good news. I am making progress. One of my biggest challenges to making dinner is thinking of what to make. Since we don't like anything and nothing ever sounds good (unless someone else is making it) I decided to search for menus on the internet to help me out. I found a site that has weekly menus that they will email to you. So I subscribed to this and printed out my first menu. The best part about it was the shopping list on the last page. I took that shopping list to the store last night and bought all the things I needed for the meals this week. So tonight I am making ...ahhh...what am I making tonight? Cheesy Ham and Potato Casserole. I don't care if anyone likes it or not, that's what's for dinner.

Oh well.

2008-11-03T10:05:00.001-08:00

I'm not off to a good start. Yesterday I was going to make a menu for the week and I forgot. And we are completely out of food. No bread. No eggs. No yogurt. No boxed pancakes. No peanut butter. No mac and cheese. So I guess I'm going to the store tonight.

Ok, so I'm going to get busy figuring out what I'm going to fix this week. But just so you know, this is the hardest part for me because we don't like anything. Is it just me, or would that be a challenge for you? The next hardest part after figuring out what to make is seeing if I have all the ingredients. The answer 9 times out of 10 is no.

If I do have the ingredients, then the next challenge is actually preparing the food. If I'm in the kitchen for more than 15 minutes I start to get real anxious. Like, get me out of here anxious. And then I get distracted. I check my facebook or my email. I pick up a toy to two. And that's when things start to go bad. I burn what's on the stove. I forget a main ingredient. I start getting lazy and don't measure things. Or I get over zealous and think oh, I'll just add some of this. Never works. Why haven't I learned to just stick to the recipe?

Speaking of recipe, I hate em. Maybe it goes back to being a child and hating being told what to do. I've always preferred to live by the spirit of the law anyway. So I guess that trickles down to my cooking. Because I can never just do it like it says. I always have to mess it up.

And why is it that I can be having a really great day, but once 4:30 hits all hell breaks loose? The kids are hungry, the house is a mess, the preschooler's tired, the baby wants to be held, the 8 year old wants help with her math. Aaagh. I am trying my best but.....

Okay, so then my husband gets home after I've called him nicely and said, "get home now," and he sets the table and rounds up the children. Except for Roman, since the rules don't apply to him. We try and say a prayer but this too is pretty difficult. "Bella will you say it?"

"No."

"Roman will you say it."

"No."

"Ok, I'll say it."

Roman cries. "No I say it."

Then we eat. This would be the crescendo in most mealtimes. Oh the food. Yeah! But not at our house. I will save this drama for another post. I better get to my menu before I run out of time.

2008-11-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

So this is my good idea. Maybe if I make a blog about cooking, it will motivate me to cook more. I don't know if it will work, but I'm willing to try anything at this point. It might just be that I blog about cooking rather than cook. Just like I buy recipe books but I never cook out of them. Time will tell. But at least I will have a place to vent all my dinnertime frustrations. I won't have to take it out on my Facebook friends anymore. I'll just spew my dinnertime hatred here instead. And if I ever have any success, I'll share that here too. Notice that I said if.