Holiday Insanity

We are leaving in the morning for our 10+ hour drive to Colorado.

Oh goody. I might as well start knocking back shots right now.

As always, everything has been left up to me to take care of. And there is sooo much to do.

And traveling with a 2 year old and a 4 year old is not easy. Nor is it fun.

We had originally planned to leave this afternoon when I got off work early but I am having to work all day so we will leave in the morning.

I am so not even going to get the boys dressed. They can stay in their pajamas.

Things done:
I have their car bag packed. Hopefully, I packed enough stuff in there to keep them occupied for at least half the drive. If I remember correctly, this is what is in their travel bag:

• 2 boxes of crayons and 2 coloring books (we all know that they won't share)
• Monk Man's Leapster 2
• Bobblehead's "Laptop"
• a couple of Baby Einstein books I got in the mail Saturday
• a few action figures (X-Men, G I Joes, Little Peoples)
• the new V-Motion (because Monk Man won't let it go in their suitcase)
• some picture books
• and some of their cds

I also have a "secret" bag packed with juice boxes, suckers, Teddy Grahams and 2 candy bars.

Oh, and I found their beanies, mittens AND hoodies already.

And stuff I have to do still:

• pack clothes
• pack Bendaroos
• pack some books and magazines for me
• buy MIL some nacho cheese (her Walmart wont carry the good stuff)
• find the phone chargers
• find my sunglasses
• pack bathroom stuff (makeup, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes, toothpaste, tweezers, nail clippers, hair brushes)
• find a blanket big enough yet small enough for the car
• pack up the gifts

Plus, I guess we are doing some kind of cooking competition thing. MIL said that they got the idea from Top Chef. Ummm, we don't watch Top Chef so I have no idea. All I know is that I have to come up with something to cook. Riiiight. I think she forgot that I can't cook. Hubbs, BIL and step FIL are cooking the main dishes. MIL and I are cooking sides.

After days of stressing about this (because I can't even make Crescent Dogs without someone getting food poisoning) I have decided on either my Baked Mac & Cheese or Fancy Mashed Potatoes.

I am still keeping my fingers crossed that I get to leave work early (due to no business, that is another blog post) so I can make a dent in all the shit I still have to do. Even if I do get out of here early, I am sure I will still be awake at midnight trying to get everything done.

It is going to be a giant Red Bull kind of day.

Pantry Cooking

Hubbs has decided that we are going into "Extreme Saving" mode. He always freaks out a few days before payday. But usually he just rants about it for a few hours and forgets about it by the next day.

Not this time though.

This time he is actually following through with it. I was chosen to be in charge of the meal planning. Oh goody. I will probably have to cook it all too.

But instead of starting a fight about it, I actually started looking for recipes. I will post our meal plan in a few days, after I get it all worked out.

We will just have to take it like everything else, one day at a time.

We are going to have to focus our meals on what is already in the pantry and freezer. Luckily I have a pretty nice sized pantry of food stuff to work with.

In the Mood Tonight

To do some holiday baking/cooking that is.

Like you couldn't tell from my last 2 posts.

I will let you know how it all turns out.

Perfect Pizza

Ingredients
1 1/4 c warm water
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tbls olive oil
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp cornmeal
1 c pizza sauce
Assorted toppings
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Place 1/4 c warm water in a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over water and stir in sugar. Let stand 5-10 minutes or until bubbly. Add remaining water, oil and salt. Stir in flour until dough pulls away from side of bowl.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth, 8-10 minutes. Coat large bowl with cooking spray; place dough in bowl, turning to grease top. Cover loosely. Let rise in warm place until almost double in size, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 F. Punch down dough. Coat two 12 inch pizza pans with cooking spray; sprinkle pans with cornmeal. Divide dough in half. Roll dough to fit prepared pans; press dough against edge to form rim. Bake crust for 10 minutes.

Remove crust from oven and top with pizza sauce. Add the toppings and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until cheese is melted, 15-20 minutes longer.

**Hint: The secret to rolling pizza dough is to let it rest for 10 minutes after it is about half the size needed. Then it will easily stretch the rest of the way.

Whats for dinner tonight?

This is what is for dinner:

Salmon Filet with Mango Cilantro Salsa:
4 6-ounce portions salmon filet

Mango Cilantro Salsa:
1 ripe mango, peeled and ½-inch diced
¼ cup chopped scallion, green part only
¼ cup diced red bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely diced fresh jalapeno
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Bake salmon fillet at 400ºF for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon. For Mango Cilantro Salsa, lightly toss all ingredients in bowl. Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour for flavors to meld. Serve salsa as an accompaniment to salmon. Mango Cilantro Salsa also goes nicely with grilled meat or chicken.
Yield: 4 servings

Of course I am doing it lazy-style with canned jalapeno, jarred garlic, and lime juice from a bottle. But I am going to use the cilantro from my herb garden. We are also having a veggie-stir fry with it.

And even though we went grocery shopping a few days ago and spent almost $200, Hubbs is still going to the store because I can not plan ahead. Got to work on that!

Have I mentioned

Have I mentioned how much I HATE cooking? Gawd I hate it. Nothing ever comes out right.

Last night I made a hamburger and potato casserole. Its really simple and I should have no problems with it.

All that is involved is browning a pound of hamburger, slicing potatoes and onions, mixing up a can of cream of mushroom soup and milk. Then you throw it all in a baking dish and cook it for 45 minutes.

You would think that I would be able to not screw it up. Well, I did screw it up. The hamburger burned, the potatoes were still semi-raw, and so were the onions.

I give up! Hubbs is a much better cook than I am. He can do it.

OLD - FASHIONED SALISBURY STEAK

OLD - FASHIONED SALISBURY STEAK

4 frozen, chopped sirloin patties, defrosted
3 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. vegetable oil or butter
Garlic salt
Black pepper
3 tsp. beef-flavor instant bouillon
1 to 1 1/2 c. hot water
1 lg. onion, sliced
1 (4 oz.) can mushroom pieces and stems
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Coat each side of patties well with flour.
Heat oil or butter in skillet until hot.
Add patties and brown on both sides.
When brown, pour off excess oil.
Add bouillon to hot water; stir to dissolve or sprinkle bouillon in skillet and add water and stir to dissolve.
Add onion, mushrooms, and Worcestershire sauce.
Stir to coat meat.
Cover and simmer gently, about 25 minutes or until fork-tender.
Serve with mashed potatoes.
Makes 4 servings.

Salisbury Steak Recipe

SALISBURY STEAK

10 3/4 ounces cream of mushroom soup, condensed
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, lean
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs, or cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 cup water

Heat oven to 350 F.
In medium bowl, combine 1/4 of the soup with remaining ingredients except water; mix well.
Shape into 6 patties; arrange in single layer in 13 x 9-inch or 12 x8-inch baking dish.
Bake uncovered at 350 F. for 30 minutes.
Skim off fat.
In small bowl, combine remaining soup and water; spoon over patties.
Return to oven and bake for 10 minutes.
If desired, garnish with mushroom slices.
Serving Size: 6