Keepin' It Real

Reality has set in, indeed. You may have noticed - a short time ago, new recipes flooded this blog. The spirit of innovation flourished, new flavors graced our table and we were eating - and eating quite well, if I do say so myself, at home.

Fast forward to this past week. Today is Saturday, and in looking back at the week, I note 3 dinners not made by me - pizza last night, and si, mis amigos a las restaurantes Mexicanas made two of our meals this week. And - one lunch was eaten out as well.

Epic fail.

I could easily justify each indiscretion. Monday was my birthday - and who should cook on their birthday? I did make a dessert that night, however. Brownie Bottoms - http://www.crock-pot.com/Recipe.aspx?rid=344. It was...rich. If you make this, I strongly recommend you use it as a topping for ice cream, rather than as the recipe recommends, which is to serve it with ice cream. It was like a fudge bomb going off - ooey, gooey, rich, luscious - but like anything that decadent, must be consumed responsibly.

But - we did eat our main meal out that evening - as we did the next night. I was exhausted after a long day, and wasn't feeling well either.

The meals I did make were woefully sub-par. Wednesday was penne pasta with some red sauce slapped on it. Thursday was a hastily thrown together chicken stir-fry that suffered because I threw the chicken into the wok before it had completely thawed. Therefore, as the ice melted, it became water pooling in the bottom of the wok, which then not only half-boiled, half-steamed the meat instead of searing it with a luscious crust - but washed off the seasonings I put on the meat. It was edible - but I can do much, much better.

Pizza night was a result of a headache - a nauseating, horrid headache.

All perfectly reasonable excuses. In addition, our daughter's schedule has become ridiculous, so many nights she simply does not have time to eat anything at home, which reduces my desire to make anything.

But, these are simply excuses, nonetheless. And, our schedule won't be clearing up any time soon - if anything, it will be getting worse.

This provides the perfect opportunity to re-evaluate. I need to be better at planning, as well as building more "last-minute" emergency food options so I won't be tempted to fall back into old habits. Illness will happen, schedules will change, crisises will blossom - I need to be better prepared. Now is the opportune time to renew my commitment. I've identified some problems, now it's time to formulate some solutions.

In other news, this morning I decided to spoil my family with a pre-Valentine's Day breakfast: Chocolate Chip Pancakes. I just made regular pancake mix, dropped batter on to the hot griddle, let it cook for a minute, then dropped a bunch of semi-sweet chocolate chips on the pancake and flipped it over for a few seconds to finish. I topped the pancakes with butter and powdered sugar, then served them to a grateful family. As I took a bite, each chip formed a pocket of chocolate lava that gushed into my mouth, filling it with sweet-yet-sinful bitterness that is the essence of chocolate.

Hmmmm...perhaps an innovative, sinfully delicious meal is in order for Valentine's Day also...but, this presents a challenge. I don't get home until 8:00...so how can I make this happen?

Stay tuned, faithful readers, for the conclusion to our tale...