just another day in paradise...

So much for waking up at 6am... more like 6:45am. Ha. Oh well. I got to work in plenty of time to get started on my super busy admin day [I encourage myself to be there no later than 7am on Wednesday's bc I'm swamped with admin junk]. I wasn't exactly welcomed back to The Chicken Shack in the warm manner I'd imagined on the ride to work. Instead, I was promptly tossed in the middle of a storm of vulgarity mixed with broken equipment. Awesome.
Enough of that greasy nonsense...

Considering I have a 25 minute ride home from work, I have started a new routine [as of today] of listening to Pandora's Acoustic New Age radio station to wind down & clear my mind before I get home. I'd say it worked out pretty nicely. I will continue to try it over the next week or so [if I remember] and update accordingly. ha.

FINALLY... my favorite part of the night: dinnertime! Dinnertime is my favorite for several reasons. First, I get to cook for my family which makes me feel happy. It's MY responsibility to make sure these people eat dinner & darn it, I'm gonna make sure it tastes good! Also, being busy in the kitchen relaxes me... it's my domain, I have total control [even when it appears that I don't] and I can make something I can be proud of. Aside from the food part, we [David & I] are firm believers that a family should sit down at the dinner table, eat together, and talk.
Now that you know why I love dinner time so much... I'd planned to fix tater tot casserole for dinner... Don't judge- Michelle Duggar has fed this to 19 kids + her husband for 2 decades & they are all just fine! However, I wasn't feeling the taters tonight & opted for a new recipe that I put my own spin on. Let's call it "L's Cheesy Tex-Mac Skillet!" YUMM. Let's just say that David had seconds & Cami cleaned her plate! [find the my version & the original recipes + pics below!] After Cami set the table, we said grace, it was time for the fun. "Fun?" you ask. Yes, fun. We have learned that in order to get Cami to eat her dinner without a fight, tears, daydreaming, etc., we must make it a game. And, oh, what a game it was tonight! I'll spare you all the fun details, but just know, we were doing the wave at our table tonight. Jealous?... I thought so.

So now that Cami's in dreamland & David's studying, I think it's time for bed... g'night y'all!


L's Cheesy Tex-Mac Skillet
[recipe altered from here]

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• salt, pepper, onion powder, & chili powder
  
• 3 chopped green onions [thanks slice of heaven farms]
  
• 1 can original Ro*tel
  
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
  
• 1 package Kraft Homestyle baked macaroni & cheese, prepare as directed
  
• 5 slices Kraft Big Slice cheddar cheese
• about 1/2 cup of water
  

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef with salt & pepper in a large skillet. Add onion, corn, Ro*tel, and tomato paste; heat through. Sprinkle onion powder & chili powder to taste & mix in. Stir in prepared macaroni and cheese & top with cheese slices. Place in oven until cheese is melted. Plate & serve to your hungry family!
Serves about 6, or 2 1/2 + leftovers!

Almost step by step pics...