rut

you know what i love? cooking. you know what i hate? cooking on a crazy weeknight. during the winter, i would always spend my sunday barefoot in the kitchen, boiling up some type of savory soup. now that mother nature busted out her blow torch, i haven't really had a hankering for hot liquid as sustenance. my husband has recently joined my healthy eating campaign. (sorta, as you will see) however, when i used to cook up soup on a sunday for dinner, he would say i was starving him. he'd eat it reluctantly and then tell me later that he was still hungry. in regard to weeknight dinners, now that the weather is warmer, i have found that we have fallen into the same rut that we always do. dinner is a grilled meat and a veggie on the side. (like, every night.) this past sunday i was so sick of it that i got onto the google to check out some new recipes. i'm always a little apprehensive to try new things, mainly because warren is very much a simple meat and potato kinda guy. i don't even include my kids into the equation, because they have like 4 food groups and they are as follows: chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, yogurt, fruit snacks. they somehow survive on very little and don't go all judgy on me you "i feed my kids organic foods" moms, because i'm not all judgy on you. (well, only a lil judgy anyway.) my kids try new things every once in a while, but for the most part they live on the same stuff over and over. alas, they are not starving.

anyway, back to my love/hate relationship with cooking...i find that now that i'm a mom, cooking isn't as "relaxing" or "therapeutic" as it once was for me. it seems anytime i am in the kitchen (especially on weeknights), there is some sort of magnetism to me. suddenly, both kids need snacks and drinks...and act as if they don't get it immediately they will meet some sort of untimely death. (like they have a tape worm) i could be making their actual dinner and whining overtakes my eardrums about how "hungry" they are. ("can't you see i'm making you food!"-me) it never fails, if i'm whipping something up...they are in there using my legs as a jungle gym and acting like i am their personal chef (all aboard the toddler pain train, people.) so last week i went through the same routine of making something on the grill, veggie on the side with one kid hanging off my femur like a playground fireman pole and the other trying to reinsert herself in my vagina...and i had HAD it! (had it.) i decided that this week i was going to have dinner all prepared via casserole or crockpot, because i just couldn't take the nonsense anymore. so sunday, instead of soup...i made 3 ready to go dinners for the week. the little one was napping and ella was coming in and out of the kitchen playing a harmonica (HAR-MON-I-CA) that her father bought her (why, butch, WHY?) i turned up the country music and got crackin.

                                                     sweet potato chicken casserole
for monday i made a sweet potato and chicken casserole. i've mentioned before that pretty much follow a paleo way of life, and this casserole follows that theme. it was super easy to make and i threw it into the oven when i got home, served it with a side salad and voila...dinner was done. no frustration, no anger about making snacks. i felt like wonder woman that night, martha stewert style. i will state that i was worried it was going to be too spicy for warren and he stated, "listen, if i'm hungry enough and you put dog shit in front of me...i will eat it." (i knew i married him for a reason.) i give it about a 6 outta 10 stars on the food scale...however, the leftovers were even better the next day for lunch.

                                                           crockpot chicken mole
tuesday's delicacy included a crockpot chicken mole recipe. when i told butch about it he yelled, "HOLY MOLE!" (what a fool) i mentioned that there was dark chocolate in it and he stated, "chocolate on chicken!? that's like putting icing on steak!" (icing on steak.) i served it over cauliflower rice (if you don't know what that is, look it up on the google...it's good!) i served it alongside cut green onions, avocado, and cilantro. during dinner, my husband asked me if there were any carbs in the casserole. i said not really. he then went to the cabinet, rooted around...and found a sleeve of ritz crackers. he threw some on top and crushed them in. mole chicken ala butch. i enjoyed my sans ritz and give it 7 outta 10 stars. sidebar: while getting the fixins together, both kids came down from upstairs...in bathing suits. they told me they were going to the beach (please take me with you, children.)

normal weeknight attire

wednesday is one of the only days i get to workout after work. therefore, i found a sausage and cauliflower casserole that i could have warren toss in the oven for a half hour. i told him what to do in the morning and he looked at me like i had 34 eyeballs. i muttered, "i'll write it down." i kept it simple (1. remove lid 2. turn on oven to 400 degrees 3. put in oven) despite my efforts, when he heard i was coming home to change clothes and run outside instead of going to the gym, he asked if i could just put it in the oven. (men.) also, the dog must've had a hankering for honey nut cheerios, cause she went in the pantry, took out the box, and destroyed it that day. (all over the living room) we had to run out the door to a soccer game that night, so thank god dinner was quick and painless. it was actually really good and butch went back for seconds. he said (and i quote), "it's a keeper." 8 outta 10 stars on the scale.

thursday's meals are always a mess, mainly because i leave butch up to the task of getting it ready. he usually stops at chic fila for he and the kids, and i end up having popcorn and wine at ladies night for dinner. however, when i had a bunch of chicken mole left over i thought, "i can make yummy enchiladas out of this." i picked up some enchilada sauce, whole wheat tortillas, and some 2% shredded cheese. last night i rolled them up and (again) left warren instructions of what to do. (1. pour enchilada sauce over enchiladas 2. top with cheese 3. put in the oven at 325 degrees until hot and bubbly) he looked at it and said, "that's A LOT of work!" (pretty sure just to get me hyper.) i shook my head. this morning i mentioned that he could also cut up some cilantro and avocado to go on top. he screamed, "so much PREP WORK!" (i told him to go to hell.) anyway, when i got home from the gym they were ready and they were delicious. this one was my favorite by far, and it happened by accident. go figure. 10 outta 10 in my book.

as warren stated this week while whipping up egg salad for his lunch, "eating healthy is WORK." (indeed, it is.) not only is work, it's kinda expensive sometimes. he went on to say, "remember when i used to eat those meals that cost a dollar with a coupon and that took a minute in the microwave!?...it was like 60 seconds to fattness." (i died.) the truth is, if you really want to commit to healthier eating habits, you have to want to do it for yourself. furthermore, falling into a rut in regards to dinner can't be a problem that only i face. the meals this week took like an hour tops to prepare on sunday, and made my life so much easier prior to dinner time. i didn't have anyone using my femur like a playground fire man pole, nor children pretending they were famished. also, i didn't feel like a psycho yelling for my offspring to "get out of the kitchen" for the 234 time while i prepared it. simplifying something like dinner can make life so much easier when you are aboard a crazy train. hold on tight and hope it doesn't derail..and keep an extra pack of crackers around if your husband needs a dose of carbohydrates. (just in case.) next week i plan on trying 4 new recipes as well, as to not return to the rut. let's hope they all get as many stars as the ones this week. if not, warren may have to go back to his one dollar minute meals and i'll have to survive on popcorn and wine. either way, my children will probably still be prancing around in bathing suits and acting like they have a tape worm at all hours of the day. winner, winner...that's what's for dinner.