What's For Dinner?

Well, actually lunch...

Roasted Sticky Chicken

1 large chicken

1 cup onion - chopped

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon white pepper (I don't like, so I don't use)

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons paprika

4 teaspoons salt

In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all the spices. Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture into the chicken, both inside and out, making sure it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin. Stuff cavity with onions. Place in a re-sealable plastic bag and refrigerate overnight.

This is where I froze it...

I placed it in the crockpot and cooked on high for 4 hours. You can also roast uncovered at 250 degrees for 5 hours, basting every 1/2 hour - too much for me! I have also left it in the crockpot all day on low for 8 hours. It was perfect.

Back to the basics...

Everyone in the free world should know by now that my dryer is broken. Although a major inconvenience, it has not really been that bad. Now, when the washer broke - THAT was the end of the world! There is no way (in this day and time) that a family of 10 (at the time) could live without a washer. Well, thank goodness for my Dialysis Nursing background - because I was able to fix the washer. I can do plumbing. It's not that hard, really. The dryer on the other hand does not have any plumbing. It has electricity. Electricity scares me. I am in awe of it, but I have a very healthy fear of it. It can hurt you! I did try to change out the ballast on my laundry room light, but ended up having to call a dear friend, electrician, to fix it. Come to find out it was not an easy job for him, either. Something was wrong with the way it was wired. Thank goodness - I was afraid I was crazy!

Back to the dryer - My father in law and Rocky have been looking at it for 2 days now. After some much needed sleep, John came back over today and said it all made more sense to him (than at midnight the night before). It is a simple $14 part. Hopefully by tomorrow evening I will have a working dryer again. Then I have to go about loading up the top of the dryer with all that crap that gets stacked up on it, that is now all over my dining room table.

I have somewhat enjoyed hanging up my clothes on the line. I don't especially LOVE the smell of clothes dried outside - like so many other people, and I REALLY don't like crunchy towels. I guess there is something to the fact I am saving energy - and more important to me - saving $$$ by drying the clothes outside. I may continue to do so for a bit - except for the towels. Especially after I get the water bill - I discovered the hose on at full blast, towards the back fence, watering Summercrest Blvd., ALL DAY from the best we can discern. I may need to be saving a little extra on the Electric to pay for the water. Unless the City of Burleson will let me call and say "my kids did it" and take the usage off my bill - I don't think so...

What's for Dinner?

Rocky and I have spent the last two days cooking to save up for probably the next two months. I have been asked to share. Here is a list of what we made. I will probably post recipes a few as a time. I need to type them all up and put them in a word document so I can reproduce them more easily, and then remove the ones that we didn't like.

Here is what we did:

7 Can Soup

Honey Baked Pork Chops

Teriyaki Chicken

Wine and Herb Chicken

Lemon Parsley Chicken

Grilled Marinated Steak

Too-Good Baked Pork Chops

Lemon Chicken

Sticky Chicken

Citrus Pork Chops

Chicken Spaghetti

Candy's Chicken

Chicken Packets

Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Paprakash

Chicken Pie

King Ranch Chicken

Chicken Quesadillas

Magnificent Casserole

Tater Tot Casserole (x2)

Sloppy Joes

BBQ Pork

Quiche (x2)

Pork Enchiladas (x2)

Chicken Pot Pie

Rigatoni Bake (x2)

Colorful Chicken Casserole (x2)

Fajitas

Poulet De France

Baked Mac and Cheese with Ham

Crescent Chicken

Meatballs

Chicken Manicotti

Taco Pie

Meatloaf (x2) - had this for dinner tonight!

Here is the Meatloaf recipe. I did some changes - used bread crumbs instead of bread - soggy bread and me don't always get along... I made this knowing two of my eaters are on mission trip, so I left all the green things in it. I also usually don't put anything red in my meatloaf. Typically I'm a ground beef and lipton onion soup meatloaf girl, but this one was really good!

1/2 cup milk

4 slices white sandwich bread, torn into pieces

1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin

1 1/2 lbsw ground pork

2 small onions, finely chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup chili sauce, plus 1/4 cup for glaze

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Coarse salt and ground pepper

In a large bowl, pour milk over bread; let soak for about 30 seconds. Add sirloin, pork, onion , garlic 1/2 cup chili sauce, parsley, parmesan, eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Using your hands, mix well until combined; do not over mix or meatloaf will be dense.

Divide mixture in half. Gently pat each half into a log and place each log into an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. Do not press down or into corners. I use disposable foil ones. Cover with two layers of foil and label. Freeze.

On serving day, thaw in fridge and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Brush tops of loaves with remaining 1/4 cup chili sauce and continue cooking until juices run clear (160 degrees internally if you want to check).

Now - to finish cleaning up and go to bed! I'm whipped!

Consequences

We are trying the "Love and Logic" thing around the house again. I really like the concept, but in practical application, when someone has just pushed the last button left, I wish Charles and Jim Fay were in my living room to tell me what to say exactly! Well - experiment #1 this morning. Joshua had found some balloons in some old craft things upstairs. He had blown some up for his siblings. As always, things started out nice, and then turned to chaos...

Well, this morning, he put the bag in his pocket. I told him not to take the balloons to school. He said "I'll keep them in my locker all day". OK - well, just so you know there will be consequences if you make a bad decision.

Guess what - as we are sitting at the hospital, Rocky gets the call...Josh has after school detention for taking balloons to lunch, and then arguing with the teacher about where he was sitting.

After school - I asked him what my last words were to him before we left the house. He said - I love you and have a good day - I said nope - that was in the car.

Again - what were the last words I said to you at home - he repeated MOST of the conversation - got the part right about consequences. So he then proceeded to tell me that all teachers are the devil, their heads spin around all day and spit green pea soup. (well, that's not entirely all, but close). Everyone hates him, they run school like a prison, etc.

I asked him why when he said he would keep them in his locker all day, did he not do that - and he said he did. And clarified that to mean that lunch didn't count. He didn't KNOW he would get in trouble for taking balloons to lunch, but he knew he would in class. We didn't even go into the fact that he argued with the teacher about it instead of just taking his punishment. He always HAS to be right.

After dinner, we went upstairs to talk about consequences...the natural ones, such as he has detention, and the imposed ones - he will write an apology and apologize in person to the teacher he argued with. He said that was redundant - we explained that sometimes redundancy is a good thing.

The next thing to tackle is his relationships with his siblings. I might need a nap!

How long has it been?

Well, it would seem that it has been some time since I updated this blog. Things have been rather busy here in the land of chaos. I'll start by giving you a brief synopsis of the happenings for the last few months:

September: My office mate, coworker and friend's husband was diagnosed with Colon cancer. He had surgery, and nearly died SEVERAL times. School started. I went to weekend camp at John Marc with the teenagers from work.

October: I had another Birthday, enough said!

November: Thanksgiving, 4 birthdays in 3 days, trying to get some Christmas shopping done.

December: Christmas. Attended a New Years Eve wedding that my husband performed. It was so nice!

January: My office mate, coworker and friend's husband passed away. They were fortunate to have one more Christmas with their Husband, Father, Grandfather, and friend.

February: One of the physicians I work with gave his wife a kidney. Kidney is working wonderfully. Had the start of some family drama.

March: Emily turned 12. The wife who received a kidney died unexpectedly. Mema was hospitalized, diagnosed with pneumonia and has been asking to die for 4 days now. She has uncontrollable pain. We don't think it is pneumonia. My father in law is having quadruple bypass monday. My uncle is coming in town from Hawaii to help my dad care for my grandmother. I have spent all weekend at the hospital to give my dad a break.

I'm really tired! It has been a busy year already. I promise I will get some pictures up soon!