Thud! Then A Cry.

On Father's Day, I totally thought that I was being punk'd by my husband. I am sound asleep and hear my son giggling. Okay, that's my cue to get up because he is playing in his crib and wants to play. Yeah, not so much. I open my eyes and beside my bed is a three foot little boy smiling at me. I am flabbergasted. I wake up my husband and start quizzing him like a drill sergeant. He just rolls over and goes back to sleep. Fast forward a few hours: I am still quizzing him -- are you sure you didn't get up and get him? Why aren't you concerned that he climbed out of his crib? What do we do now? What if he gets hurt? You get the idea.

The next morning I hear him stir, race to his room and see his leg about to swing over. I quickly tell him that Mommy says no and only she can get him out of his crib. He such a sweet little thing, we don't have any more problems...until this weekend.

It happens again. Now, he is super quick, super stealth and I realize he has got me beat -- and he is not even two yet. So, last night we converted our son's crib into a toddler bed. It was a piece of cake. We made a big deal about it, explained that he couldn't get out of bed and made sure he had his books and cars to keep him company. I kept peeking in and he was still in his bed. Success!

Rewind 20 minutes. About to go to sleep. Hear a thud. Then a cry. I start sprinting. Yep, he fell out of bed. He was so confused and it broke my heart. I lifted him back into bed, gave him a kiss and just sat there. It's not like his bed is three feet off the ground, but still...my baby hit the floor. I know, I know, I have years of bumps and bruises. Notice I didn't say broken bones.

So, that's the events that led up to my son falling out of his bed for the very first time. I gotta go and feel his head for any bumps.

Finger Lickin' Chicken Drumettes

OMG! I discovered this great recipe on Stephanie's Kitchen about a week ago, realized I haven't made chicken drumettes before and decided to try it out. Let's just say, I have no idea why it never occurred to me to make chicken wings before. It was incredibly easy -- my toddler even helped me make it -- and it only took a few minutes to mix the ingredients, baste the chicken and into the oven they went. My only regret is that I didn't buy a lot of drumettes -- three for me, one for my son and six for my husband. Never fear, I have learned a valuable lesson -- it won't happen again.

Side note: Check out Stephanie's blog. I have no idea how I discovered it, but it is now a favorite. I even added it to my side bar.

Brown Sugar Barbeque Chicken Drumettes

1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
course salt and black pepper
2 pounds chicken drumettes, patted dry

In a medium bowl, whisk together ketchup, sugar, worcestershire, and vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Set aside 1/2 cup for tossing raw chicken; use rest for baked chicken.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place drumettes on baking sheets and toss with 1/2 cup sauce.
Bake chicken until opaque throughout, 20-25 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through. Toss baked drumettes with a little more sauce and serve the remaining sauce on the side.

We Can Bake It!

Attention!

Have ya'll heard about the bakingGALS? It's a fantastic blog-roots effort to send cookies to our troops overseas. It basically cropped up overnight and it is taking off. I signed up immediately. My cousin's husband is in Iraq while she holds down the fort with her four children and I know how much he misses his kids and yummy desserts. I have even dated my share of military men and I must admit that I came close to marrying a Marine way back when. Gosh, I am going down memory lane now. {Pause, rewind 10 years ago, sigh, good times}.

Okay, I am back. If you have any interest...visit their site and start baking. Lemme know if you sign up.

Picky Palate Inspired Me: Lasagna Ciabattas

You all know by now that I am new to the blogging world. A late bloomer, if you will. One of the first sites that I found was Jenny over at Picky Palate. I absolutely love her blog. She is everything that I am not -- a good photographer, a fantastic cook, etc. I don't think she even knows that I exist, much less knows that I am a huge fan. I fully admit to being a lurker on her site and have a ton of her recipes printed out. Okay, I must stop gushing about her...but here is my last plug...visit her site and you will understand.

Anyway, I tried this recipe the same week I saw it and have made it three times since. It's a great standby, incredibly easy to make and is delicious. What more can you ask for? Goodness, I sure have built this up haven't I? Try this, savor it and pass it on to your friends.

Garlic Toasted Open Faced Lasagna Ciabattas

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 lb ground Italian Sausage(I used ground beef)

1 26 oz jar of your favorite pasta sauce

8 leaves fresh basil, chopped (I used dried herbs)
15 oz container ricotta cheese

½ Cup grated parmesan cheese

1 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

¼ teaspoon Italian Seasoning
8 garlic roasted ciabatta rolls

1 ball fresh mozzarella cheese (yeah, I didn't do this...)
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place oil into a medium dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Cook sausage until browned, about 5-7 minutes; reserve ¼ Cup of sausage for ricotta. Reduce heat to low and stir in pasta sauce and basil leaves. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Place reserved ¼ Cup sausage, ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella, salt, pepper and Italian Seasoning into a medium bowl. Stir to combine.

Split each ciabatta roll and place cut side up onto a large baking sheet. Spread ricotta mixture over each roll, about ¼ Cup (*you probably won't use all of ricotta.). Top with a couple spoonfuls of pasta sauce, and fresh mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and hot. Remove, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Chicken & Rice Casserole

Bad day. No, horrible day. There weren't too many bright spots in the day. Thankfully, this is such an easy recipe to make that I prepared it last night. Yep, I actually made two dinners last night. So, tonight, despite my grumpiness, I didn't have to yell at the oven for not having dinner ready for me. Instead, I was able to give it some love and walk away. That's when my day got better.

Want an easy recipe that I promise will be gobbled up? If so, this one is for you...

Chicken and Rice Casserole

Uncle Ben's original long grain rice

4-6 deboned, skinned chicken breasts

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

Chicken broth

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Prepare the rice according to the directions on the box, with one slight change: I substitute 1 cup of chicken broth for the cup of water. Don't cook it as long as the box suggests since you are also going to cook it in the oven. Salt and pepper the chicken and saute in olive oil. Cut into bite size pieces. Mix the two soups with two cans of water (if condensed). In a casserole dish layer the rice, chicken, soup mixture. Repeat. Cook at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

Menu Plan Monday

I was pretty darn successful with my menu last week, I didn't get off track and I wasn't stressed. I spent a few hours on Sunday getting ready for the week and making what I could in advance. That really helped -- I just walked in, turned on the oven and played with my son while dinner was cooking.

So, now I have to keep the momentum going. I am going to try two new recipes from a few of my favorite blogs. It's still going to be a busy week but hopefully not too stressful. Wanna see the menu's of some of my favorite bloggers? Stop by I'm an organizing junkie for some inspiration.

Sunday: Pot Roast
Monday: Chicken & Rice
Tuesday: Lasagna Ciabatta
Wednesday: Girls Night Out -- Mama Mia
Thursday: Kids' Concert

Friday: Working late -- yep, on a Friday night
Saturday: Chicken Wings

All Day Pot Roast

My husband is a meat and potatoes guy, much to my chagrin. That means that I have to make a dinner that fits that criteria in order to keep him happy while I try out new recipes. I decided tonight was the perfect night for a pot roast. I had a lot to do and this recipe allowed me to only be in the kitchen for a total of 10 minutes. What's not to like about that! Let me know if anyone tries out this family favorite. I hope ya'll like it as much as we do...and did I mention I make it in the crock pot?

Crock Pot Pot Roast

2 pounds pot roast

1 can condensed Cream of Mushroom soup

1 pouch of Dry Onion Soup Mix

1 cup of water

3-4 potatoes

3-4 carrots

Brown the roast on all sides in 2 tablespoons of hot oil. Mix the soup, dry soup mix and water in the crock pot. Add the roast on top. Cook for 6 - 8 hours.

About three - four hours prior to serving, quarter the potatoes and cut the carrots. Place into the crock pot. Eat when the meat is tender.

Crayons Are Bad News!

Yep, it's happened and I am totally stressed. My toddler found a rogue crayon and had a field day on the sofa. If only he had found a crayon that matched the sofa, instead he found a red one that shows off his fabric artwork quite nicely. So, you know where this is headed...anyone have any tips on how to erase crayon. Can I wash the covers? Should I just flip the cushions? Is there some mom-tested concoction that will fix everything. Is there a fail-proof solution that someone can offer up and save the day? Anyone... anyone?

Lions, Tigers, Bears...Oh My!

I wouldn't say that I am a very spontaneous person, but we just decided we are going to the zoo tomorrow. We are getting up early, traveling a few hours and going to see how big our son's eyes get when he sees a lion, tiger and bear. I can't wait! We are charging up the camera and packing some DVDs and books as we speak. I am actually excited! Gosh, just think how giddy I will be when we decide to go to Disney World.

Update: Rain, rain, rain, on the radar and we decided not to risk it.

Never Fail: Steak & Potatoes

Disclosure: I forgot to take pictures but I promise the meal was good. The house was chaotic, I got a late start and everyone was hungry by the time the food made it on the table. Anyway, I decided the try a teriyaki steak marinade so spice up a good ole' standby. Not my hubby... he likes his steak with only A1, nothing else. I call that boring, he calls it good. I only made enough marinade for one steak, but you can always double this recipe if you want. Oh, and here's one of my favorite tricks...mix the marinade in a ziploc bag, drop in the steak and freeze. When you are ready to thaw it out, just pop it in the fridge and it will marinate as it defrosts. Nifty, huh? I think so.

Teriyaki Steak

Sirloin steak
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar (I never measure this, too much brown sugar is a good thing)
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder


Combine all ingredients in a ziploc bag with the steak. Marinate for at least 8 hours. Put steak on grill, discard marinade and cook to desired temperature.