To Cook Or Not To Cook

I'm having some trouble cooking. Mostly I feel too exhausted to cook. The rest of the time there's no food in the house. I'm starting to feel stuck.

I've tried making lists of possible meals based on ingredients that I have on hand and posting them on my fridge.  I've been ordering groceries online because I have no desire to figure out shopping with a baby.  I started keeping a file (oops, I mean pile) of quick and healthy meals.  Nothing seems to stick.  All it takes is one bad day or a particularly long week and the whole system comes undone.

How do you keep motivated in the cooking department? For me it's a real challenge making time to cook family meals.  My goal is try to stay positive and encouraging myself to prepare and then sit at the table for dinner three times a week.

So far this week we've had two sit down meals. Hoorah! I tell ya it helps to have company coming over to really motivate me to clean off the kitchen table.  Our guest also reminded me how nice it is to sit at the table, chat without the tv blaring in the background and really be mindful of this special time of day.

For our dinner with company I prepared Gilbert's Gluten-Free Beer Bratworst which were really delicious.  Our guest brought deli salads and for dessert I made Lemon Bars with Buttery Crust.  The bars were amazing.  I absolutely loved the crunchy crust combined with the tart creamy top.  The only thing I did different was I used bottled lemon juice.

What are some of your goals when it comes to food?  Are you trying a new way of eating or seeking a new relationship with food?

Little Piles

My mind is all over the place lately.  I blame it on the little piles.  My house is filled with stacks of books or toys or laundry.  It's like a nightmarish game of jenga in here.  One false move and the whole place will fall down.

Some people flourish in clutter.  I am not one of those people.  Chaos causes me to shut down.  If I could ignore the mess away my house would be spotless. Instead I am left with more clumps of crap. It doesn't bother my husband at all. That is until he has to fix dinner or something and then he wants to shove everything on the floor.  I understand that feeling completely.  Somedays I just want to run around my house with my arms out clearing off every surface.

Yet chaos begets more chaos.  Messy house...messy mind.  It's a neverending struggle between cleaning and me time.  For instance right now I could be cleaning instead of complaining but then I wouldn't get this selfish moment to work my brain.

It's Monday

It's Monday.

Mondays are the hardest days of the week especially after a holiday.  Baby is just starting to get used to a bunch of people just aching to entertain her and then on Monday is left alone with me. It's a fussy day.  A day where I wish my husband would play hookie so I could sleep in instead I have a cranky baby and one hell of a cranky Momma.

Baby is sleeping for the time being and I need to steal a second to myself. This is my moment.  I could take a shower or read a book but instead I blog.  It feels good to shout out to the universe that today sort of sucks.

The good part is there's a fridge full of leftover holiday desserts and I am armed with a fork. ha ha!

Olive oil is not an adhesive.

Last night we dined on Easy! Oven-Baked Cod.  It was delicious and a simple dish to prepare.  The only problem was step three which is to brush cod with olive and face plant into breadcrumbs (by the way I used panko instead of regular.) Olive oil is not a good a adhesive no matter how much you put on your fish.    So rather than just have four breadcrumbs I recommend you pile the breadcrumbs on top and gently pat onto fish. Then slowly move the cod to the baking dish and then add a few more for good measure.  Overall it was a good dish but I think it could have been made differently.

For instance, zesting a lemon=pain in the ass.  Why not just squirt a little juice on top of the breadcrumb mixture or even just the plain fish?   I could hardly taste the lemony goodness until I squirted lemon on the finished fish.  I'm sure there's a reason to zest the lemon but when you have a ticking baby time bomb you might consider my way to save time.

Also I prepared the Baked Chicken Breasts with Parmesan Crust from a previous post.  This time I used cayenne pepper in the mustard mixture and spooned it on the chicken before putting in the breadcrumbs.  The chicken had a bit of a kick from the cayenne pepper and because there was a good amount of the seasoned dijon it tasted awesome. I recommend eating the leftovers sliced cold on warm flatbread.

I also made some new jewelry. I'll be donating some pieces to the Metro Friendship Foundation 7th Annual Ice Breaker Social Gala on Sunday April 19th from 5:00-10:00pm at the Bayview Event Center on Lake Minnetonka.

Kleenex

So I've been sick.  It's the absolute worst to be sick and have to take care of a baby.  Infants just don't understand that Mom wants to lay on the couch and be selfish while eating massive amounts of crackers.  If I haven't mentioned it before THANK HEAVENS FOR GRANDPARENTS! Seriously I don't know how I would have survived without help.  I'd just turn into a gigantic pool of mucus and who wants to clean that up?

There isn't a lot to report.  Today I feel mostly human with just the frayed edges of sickness lurking about my body.  I'm coughing and such but am on the mend.  Hoorah!

I just finished a children's book called Fortunately the Milk.  It was a cute story and since I'm giving it to my niece and nephew I thought I should preview it to make sure it's not too scary.  I would definitely recommend it to read aloud to kids in grade school that don't get freaked out by brief mentions of aliens and vampires.  My niece and nephew are 8 years old and I think they will enjoy reading and listening to the story over the course of several bedtimes. It's very imaginative and a lot like Dr. Who so I think both parents and kids will like it.

Today I have a few hours to myself as both hubby and baby are snuggling and napping.  Our little one sleeps so much better when being held so I'm sure to get more than the normal 45 minute morning break. I might just start a little sewing or knitting project. Stay tuned for the results.

Spring Cleaning

I am desperately trying to get my house organized and by house I do not mean basement. So far we have donated three bags of clothing, one box of home goods and brought one box to a local consignment store.  Needless to say there is still too much crap.  I think it's our new roommate.  Sure she's cute and all but why does she need all these things.  We may have to scale back to pioneer days when all babies had were bugs, sticks and rocks...perhaps not that sparse but you get my drift.

Today my Dad came over and was a huge help.  I cannot tell you how much Grandparents rock.  Seriously anyone who comes over and mops my floor is probably going to be my new best friend.  Do they still sell those BFF necklaces?  I may need to stock up. 

Tonight we have Baked Chicken Breasts with Parmesan Crust.  Delicious! The only trouble I had was getting the dijon mustard split evenly between the chicken breasts.  I think that next time I will try the spoon and schmear method.  Other than that the chicken was crunchy, moist and flavorful.  

I am still trying to find time to craft in between the madness that is being a stay at home parent.  Yesterday I made a dinosaur pincushion out of a planter a friend made me. My cat ate the plant so I repurposed it.  I think it turned out pretty darn cute.

Sweet dreams

It gets harder and harder to find time for myself.  Baby has been waking me up at 4:30 in the morning hungry.  It really takes a toll when you lose a full nights rest.  It's probably easier on me than my husband because I don't have to function at work the next day.  I do what I can to make it balanced but when exhaustion rolls over you like a deafening thunder there's little sympathy for anyone else.