I am just an ordinary Mom trying her best to be SUPERMOM but failing miserably.
Now I'm sure all of you who know me personally might feel the urge to comment something on the lines of "You are not a bad mom!" or "What are you talking about, You are SUPER MOM" ,but the cold hard reality is that I am not, and I never will be! Of course we all like to think of ourselves as a good parent....and I know that there are certain aspects of being a parent that I have really mastered,such as sending the kids to bed, keeping them occupied or screaming! Yes, I have definitely mastered screaming!
Now I've actually been feeling like this for a while, but it's just been lately that I have came to the realization that I cant just continue to sit by and watch as my kids grow up kicking, shouting, shoving....(and that's just in Sacrament meeting!) Its time I do something about it, especially because you know what they say...Children are usually a direct reflection of their parents! Yikes!!
So on my Quest to be a better Mom, I've decided it would be best to document everything on here, if not for anything else but sheer entertainment! Of course I'm sure there will be bumps in the road and will be times that I just plain give up, but one thing is sure, I love my kids and I am GOING to get them under control if it's the last thing I do!!
Where do I start?
Of course there's me not being able to control my children, but I failed to mention all of the the zillion other things that make me a LOUSY mom like avoiding housework and cooking!! lol
Lets save Housework avoidance for another day and talk about cooking.....
You see when you stay as busy as I do, it's simply impossible to cook!!
Yeah,yeah...I know this is a crock of crap, but you see....this is what I have been telling myself to make me feel better for the past 12 years!!
Do I know that eating out 5-6 days a week is un-healthy for my Children?
yes!
So first up on my to do list is forgoing eating out.....
Let's just be clear...it's not that I am a bad cook, I just don't know how!! I will be honest, there are only a handful of things I know how to cook and yes Spaghetti is on the top of the list.
So.....this is my plan of attack, except special occasions, we are no longer eating out! I will no longer say what do you want for dinner, referring to where should I stop on the way home tonight??
When I was at one of my friends house eating lunch a few weeks ago I noticed a calendar hanging in her kitchen with what they were going to eat planned out on it! I was so jealous....What a Super MOM!! That's right
In order to accomplish this goal I am going to need lots of help, sooooooo I am asking all of you readers (If there are actually any of you out there)to please give me some tips and easy (**Emphasis on EASY) recipes to use!!
Although I don't currently own a Crock Pot I am totally willing to go get one first thing tomorrow!!
No Pain, No Gain...Right??
I have an extra one if you need it and a great Taco Soup recipe.
ReplyDeleteNot really a recipe, but the best fast food a busy Super Mom like yourself needs!
ReplyDeleteSurely, just the thing, to ease the guilt of not cooking for that ever so precious family of yours.
Morphing a Chicken
What you will need
Large package of chicken breasts (shop sales or Costco or Sam’s)
1 bottle of Italian dressing (your favorite)
1gallon size baggie
Cooking Spray
Baking Sheet
Foil
Add Chicken to Baggie Dump in enough dressing to cover chicken. Marinate anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight. I personally like overnight, but 30 minutes works. I’m pretty forgetful anyway, so overnight is what it usually is ..LOL.
When you are ready to cook just preheat your oven to 400. While you are waiting, take your baking sheet, spray with cooking spray, line with foil, spray your foil with cooking spray (yup, I ABHORR, dishes, this makes for easy cleanup) and place your chicken breasts on the baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes.
Here is the really neat part…You now have fast food! Chicken that is ready to morphed into several different dishes. Some of the things I make out of this:
Chicken enchiladas
White chicken chili
Chicken salad
Chicken Tacos
Chicken Fajitas
Lime Chicken soup
Chicken Pot Pies
Chicken and Rice Casserole
Sick of chicken??!! Freezes up to 4months! Are you dieting? Freeze in individual portions. Also, you have a pretty big family you may want to do a couple of large packages. Keep in mind if you at any time don’t think you are going to use what you have cooked for the week, just freeze it…There are so many chicken recipes out there…Chicken Shepard pie…and on and on and on just let me know.
Tip: Tivo Food Network’s Quick Fix Meals, channel 231. If you have direct tv. It’s cook ahead and crock pot meal recipes.
We grill things alot when we are running short on time. Also stir-fry made with frozen vegges and stir-fry sauce. We use minute rice if we are really in a hurry, but I have LOVED my rice cooker. Also I have been trying lots of recipes from www.ourbestbites.com. Can you tell this has been my goal lately?
ReplyDeleteForgot to tell you...I do this EVERY week. That way I ALWAYS have cooked chicken on hand and never have an excuse to go out to eat :)
ReplyDeleteRikke, you crack me up. You are NOT a bad mom...far from it.
ReplyDeleteYou'll have to tell me what recipes you try and love. In the meantime, you'll find me at the fast food drive-thrus. ;)
and menu planning is easy... like just pick a plan like monday is beef tuesday is chicken wed is pork thursday is fish friday is breakfast or monday is mexican tuesday is italian wed is asian thur american fri leftovers..just pick a pattern and get in a habit..that way it will start to make grocery shopping easy...like for me every Thursday is crockpot cuz my husband has softball..so I throw something in the crockpot wed night :) and now that its summer we always have a soup and sandwich night..and always have a leftover night, cuz when you cook there are always leftovers ...YOU CAN DO IT!!!
ReplyDeleteI love the new blog. Also, Allrecipes.com is my BFF when it comes to cooking. So make up a list of things you wanna cook then look em' up on allrecipes & find an easy but yummy meal to make.
ReplyDeleteRikke, you are SO not a lousy mom...just a normal one!!! I feel this way all the time too. I feel like all the women around me are supermoms, when really I think we are all trying hard to appear to be supermoms. You sure look like a supermom to me! =) I was trying to rack my brain to think of a recipe to suggest...I have the same problems trying to think of meals too, and I have never been good at cooking in our 8 years of marriage! And spaghetti is on the top of my list too! So I am completely in the same boat as you. I have had a crock-pot since we were first married and I've only ever used it once! Ryan is actually a much more talented cook than me. He can make some awesome stuff, but a lot of it takes awhile and I would probably never make them myself if he didn't! But he has also come up with some quick and easy things to eat that are good. One is egg and cheese sandwiches. These are becoming pretty common around our house for breakfast, lunch or dinner...they are basically just a homemade version of a fast food breakfast sandwich. Just fry up a bunch of eggs and put them on some buttered toast (or english muffin) add a slice of cheese and then a slice of turkey or ham (its even better if you fry the meat on both sides for a minute or two) and then another slice of bread/english muffin. These sandwiches are pretty quick and they're super filling!
ReplyDeleteNot a darn thing wrong with cooking your pasta when you have some extra time. Just when its done cooking throw it in a baggie with a TBSP or 2 of olive oil and throw it in the fridge. Then you always have pasta on hand. When your ready to eat just throw the baggie under running hot water and serve with your favorite sauce, meat or veggies...
ReplyDeleteRikke, what a cute blog. I think we all feel the same way. So if you're willing to spend a few bucks a month for someone to do the planning for you, you might like this service I signed up for called DealstoMeals. Every wednesday get new recipes for the whole week, including desserts, sides and food storage recipes. And they include the shopping list and where to buy all of the ingredients at the cheapest prices. I've done it for a few months and love it. I don't mind cooking but I hate the planning part. And I have really loved their easy, delicious recipes. The owner is a local girl (from Riverton, I think). Anyway, you can go on their website and see/print off some sample menus and see if you like it (www.dealstomeals.com). Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHA! I sat in front of you in sacrament... my kids were the crazy ones! yours were all quietly sitting!!!!
ReplyDeleteas for cooking... corn dogs and taquitos and lean cuisines are pretty much all we eat around here...
but, you could do stuff like crab alfredo (crab meat, veggies (last night i threw in tomatoes and green beans) and pasta and then some alfredo sauce) that is real easy.
or our favorite - mac n cheese, hotdogs (or sausage) and peas...
or cereal for dinner? ;)
Rikke, you are funny. I think every mother out there goes through this. Being a housewife and mom IS a full time job. Get the crockpot. I swear to you it will be one of the best purchases you make. Stock up on things you'd normally want to cook with. Frozen meats (beef, chicken, fish), marinades, frozen veggies, rice, potatoes, etc. I'm not the best at list and calendars for planning my meals. So I give myself a dinner deadline. I choose what we are having by 1:00 that day. That way I have time to gather the things I need from the store or I have time to let things defrost or start cooking in the crockpot before dinner time. It makes 4-6 o'clock a lot less stressful for me. I hope you find the groove that works best for you.
ReplyDelete