Yo quiero

I just cannot believe that I have been at home for six days now...

Today's rambling is on kitchen conundrums. I've had a lot. 

I'm a terrible cook.  I think I have an attention deficit, because I often walk away after turning on the stove and return when I smell something that could not possibly be edible any longer my food on the brink of being a Cajun specialty.  I know I do it.  But then, I'm not as bad as my brother/father who tried to put out a grease fire by setting the pan in the sink and running water on it; an action which resulted in a beautiful marbleized char on my mother's back splash and on her wooden over-the-sink shelf.

Nevertheless, Chi is afraid of my skills attempts.  I stole commandeered a package of frozen hamburgers from Mom'n'dad's in preparation for our snow-in and Chi freaked out.  This might be because the last time she remembers that I made a hamburger, we had a "fire drill"  because the grease created a bit more smoke than I anticipated and the alarm is very... sensitive.  Then, Chi ran down the stairs and past the kitchen carrying her little brother to safety and yelling, "Come on Mom!"  (You know, the British lady on my alarm system is way too calm - - I need a "Yo, get out' da house, the roof is on fi-yah" kind of alarm.) 


Since we've been home these past six days, I have spent more time in the kitchen than in any other room of the house.

Ya insists he can get his own food and drinks, so he's always in there, too, yanking at the fridge doors or pulling out cups for juice.  He's pretty good with open cups now, but when he's had enough, he enjoys dumping it onto the floor and then grabbing the towel to wipe it up.

Breakfast is about the only meal I am really good at, so we've had veggie scrambled eggs, French toast, oatmeal, pancakes, bacon, kielbasa, grits, and egg white-only omelets.  I burnt my coffee (left the pot on, oops), but so far everything else has been pretty good.

Lunch is usually reserved for do it yourself sandwiches (Chi specializes in jelly sandwiches, but forgets to put the bread away and last time I found the jelly jar in her bathroom -- yuck!).  Yesterday, I tried a recipe for Pasta Fagioli.  It was awesome, except that one of the beans in the kit was crunchy despite being in the crock pot for four plus hours.  Does Olive Garden deliver in snow storms?

And dinners... well, those have been interesting.

I have a tremendous craving for Taco Bell.  My homemade Taco Bell dinner kit did not fix the taste.  I still have a tremendous craving for Taco Bell.  Charles Barkley's $5 box advertisements a la Dr. Suessian rhyme are not helping my desires...

I made chicken and vegetable rice (thank you Uncle Ben!), seasoned fried chicken breast and a salad.  That was fabulous.  

Yo quiero Taco Bell...

I made French fries and smoked sausage. That was a bit greasy and unhealthy. 

Yo quiero Taco Bell...

Spaghetti is a staple meal around here.  Chi eats hers with butter and season salt.  Ya and I do ours with meat sauce. Yummy.

Yo quiero Taco Bell...

Bar-B-Que chicken baked until nearly charred - - that's the best way to do it when you can't find your deck under the two feet of snow covering it.

Yo quiero Taco Bell...

Perhaps I should wash the dishes again and defrost something for dinner ... yo quiero...  I don't want the sink to resemble my front lawn - piled high with dishes like the snow that now sits six feet high on my unfortunate grass.