Pre-stuffed Blackened Chicken

Cost: $11

Prep: ???

Tonight I am not feeling well. I have had a migraine coming on all day. It started with the dryer making an awful sound and progressed all day.

I managed to get the chicken, a pre-stuffed $9 bird, in the oven at 3:30, but when I checked on it at 4:30, it turned out I hadn't turned on the oven. I turned it on a bit higher then, but by 4:45 when Matt got home, I needed to shut my eyes with the lights off.

I checked with him and made for the bed. I let him know the chicken was on, and that he probably wouldn't see me until he came to bed.

So, imagine my surprise when I came to check on the boys near 6PM, and they are sitting on the couch watching cartoons. Matt, it seems, expected me to finish making them dinner. This wasn't likely.

I took the chicken out of the oven, and it was VERY crispy with blackened stuffing on the outside. Matt steamed up some broccoli. I whipped up some gravy, which I have been told was gross.

There are lots of leftovers of all components.

The boys ate. Matt said the chicken was good, and Charlie ate a lot, but I lay on the couch.

Now, at 9PM, I made myself a meal: cup of soup, an orange, and some crackers with margarine. Note: this is also a good hangover meal--salt, sugar, fat, carb. I am having this with a side of ginger ale.

My Mom Rules the Kitchen

Sunday dinner at my parents again! Yay and yum!

I will never be able to cook as well as my mom. She is a fantastic cook. I cannot speak highly enough of her or her cooking.

Tonight's dinner was roast beef with all the fixings. The roast was done perfectly medium rare.

The Yorkshire puddings were so puffy and delicious.

The gravy was thick and rich, as was the cheese sauce for the carrots and broccoli.

Honestly, I ate a delicious meal, but I didn't try to make it as healthy as possible. There were other choices for vegetables, spaghetti squash and frozen green beans, but I chose to have a white dinner roll from Safeway (BEST every day bakery) that our friend Claudette brought.

Charlie ate a much healthier meal, since he had a little of everything and didn't smother his veggies in cheese sauce. He did, however, also have a large serving of dessert.

For dessert, my mom made an apple crisp. It was fantastic. I love my mom's apple crisp; her crumbly topping is like no other, absolute perfection.

I wish I had appreciated my mom's cooking my entire life as much as I do now. My brother is in the phase where he TOTALLY does not relish in it, but I'm sure some day he will also look at all her hard work and talent fondly.

Family dinner

Another slow-cooker day! It was nice not to have to take too much time away from being a family to make the evening meal today.

I made a slow-cooker pork roast today. I used a recipe from the "Fix It and Forget It" cookbook my friend Jamie lent me. Although I did not have all the ingredients, the recipe was called "Savoury Pork Roast".

The recipe called for simple ingredients: onions, bay leaf, and soy sauce along with the roast. I didn't have a bay leaf, and I accidentally spilled far too much soy sauce in. I also added carrots and potatoes.

I paired the roast with steamed green beans, zucchini with butter and parmesan, and Pillsbury crescent rolls (leftover from Christmas-time--must use up). Using the drippings and soy sauce from the bottom of the pot, I made a surprisingly good gravy. Little cups of apple sauce completed the spread.

My parents, even my mom who is a fantastic cook, gave their approval! So, I guess I can safely say week 1 was a success.