Lessons Learned

Well, today has been very educational for me. 

Lesson #1.  Even if the house is 76*...Adriaan must wear a pair of shorts to bed!  He apparently took off his diaper at bedtime last night...needless to say...lesson learned the smelly wet way!

Lesson#2.  Never let Matthew go to the bathroom unattended at Sea World!  No, I didn't go to Sea World today, but, I did take him and some friends to the movies.  As we were standing outside the bathrooms waiting on everyone to potty...Matthew takes a drink from the water fountain and describes the taste this way...Gross, this taste like the toilet water at Sea World!  I am unsure how much of this comment was from direct experience.

Lesson #3.  Not really a lesson per say...I was one of 2 people in the car that could touch my nose with my tongue!  Tatum Martin...you rock!!

Lesson #4.  Taking 6 children to Amarillo, eating, doing a tiny bit of shopping, and going to a movie is alot like living in nature.  It is survival of the fittest and apparently...I need to work out more! 

Chocolate Caramel Cake

ANI MADE THIS CAKE ALL BY HERSELF AND SHE WROTE THE BLOG FOR IT!  ENJOY!

 We are to make a Chocolate  Caramel  Cake. Trust Me the Title is not the only that is good .
1st get some Chocolate CakeMisk, WhippingCream, HeathBar, and some Caramal.

 

Pesto Cream Sauce

Say it with me...NOTHING TO IT!!  This is THE easiest sauce ever, but soooo tasty!  I am not sure how many of you have tried pesto.  It is a combo of basil, olive oil, garlic, and usually some kind of nut (mine had cashews).  While it is fairly easy to make your own pesto...I bought mine (that's even easier!!).  This pasta dish is very versatile, it could be a side dish for almost any kind of meat...a main dish if you added shrimp or chicken, or even just by itself. 

Alright...get out your pen and paper cause this is what you need:

   
YEP!!  That's it! 
1 container of Pesto
1 c of heavy cream


Ok Ok...I know there is butter in the pan and I didn't list it...it is completely UNNECESSARY!!  I just have an addiction...it's my own affliction and I try desperately not to corrupt others!!  (But everything is better with butter...just sayin!!!)

Add the pesto

Add the cream...
I like to let this simmer and thicken while my pasta cooks.

Shown here with Chicken Cordon Bleu.



Chicken Cordon Bleu

I LOVE shoving "stuff" inside chicken breasts!! Chicken makes the best vehicle for tasty little tid-bits. Ian actually requested "Chicken Cordon Bleu" for dinner one night. Let me just explain how this usually goes...me - "Hey babe, what do you want for dinner?" him - "I don't care, just something." Soooo, when he  asked for "something" in particular I took notice. I had never attempted Chicken Cordon Bleu before so I looked around and read several recipes, then adapted my own from the compilation of them all. It's classic, yet simply done.

Chicken "Schnitzel"

Has anyone else gotten caught up in this "extreme couponing" whirlwind?? I had heard of it in passing, and since I cook enough for 8 every night I am constantly seeking some way to save money ESPECIALLY on my grocery bill. Well, Ian and I caught our first episode of "extreme couponing" the other night. While I was fascinated by all of the things they got for free like 1000 tubes of toothpaste, and 114 bottles of excedrine pm...the one that stood out most to me was the 97 packages of croutons this lady got. Seriously? Who needs 97 packages of crountons for God's sake?! And because my mind works the way it does, I was up at several different intervals that night trying to imagine what all you could do with croutons. Then it hit me...BREADCRUMBS!! Butter and garlic croutons would make pretty darn good breadcrumbs. DUH!
Now, what can I do with breadcrumbs?? SCHNITZEL!!!! My family loves schnitzel...which is a chicken breast pounded out flat, breaded, and pan fried. I typically would use italian breadcrumbs but today...today I used croutons!! This dish is SUPER easy and weeknight friendly!!
I will apologize in advance for the lack of step by step pics but I was 1/2 way done with dinner when I remembered "I should blog!"