Different Styles of Cooking

I'm relaxing.  While making dinner.  Sometimes I forget how great it is to pick a dinner with quick preparations and long baking, stewing, or cooking time.  Tonight I felt like sitting.  I've had a long week with state testing, marine biology camp planning, and an eighth grade retreat to lead.  Of course, I had all my normal teaching, mom, and wifely jobs on top of those added events this week.  So tonight, I sit.

I couldn't pass up a chance to cook at home, though.  I don't get to do much on my own when we are so busy.  Often we do frozen food or quick pizzas...but those dinners are busy prep time and little cooking time, so there isn't much relaxing on those nights.  Tonight I decided to Southern bake some fried chicken!  My newest and currently favorite cookbook is the Complete Southern Cookbook by Tammy Algood.  I adjusted her recipe for "Crush on You" Oven Fried Chicken with Panko bread crumbs since I didn't have cornflakes in the house.  It's baking right now and smells heavenly.  I threw some brown rice on to simmer and when the timer goes off in 45 minutes, I'll steam some vegetables for us to have.

My very busy week is ending with a great day.  The eighth grade retreat went really well.  The students bonded and stayed together in a group even on the beach, laughing and sharing memories.  Some of the teachers had an insta-week-debriefer (just add teachers in a common place) in the parking lot after school that involved funny stories and much laughter.  It went on for about 20 minutes and left me smiling.  Now, I get to make dinner and relax.  Arnie brought me home a great bottle of Washington Hills Shiraz, so I will sip a glass and reflect on my rewarding day.

Maureen's Birthday (after the actual birthday)

Spring is way too busy to have a birthday.  Okay.  Anytime of year is hard to have a birthday!  Arnie was at a school talent show on my birthday and Robby had soccer practice, so we waited until this weekend to celebrate my 43rd.

Arnie smoked a chicken for me.  Yum.  Applewood chips and garlic - so delectable and moist. He such a good guy he even chose asparagus for me, roasted it with balsamic vinegar, and so yummy.  We had sourdough bread - cracked wheat, no less - with it to round out a delicious dinner.  After dinner we played Wii as a family- apparently I'm really good at Frisbee and really bad at basketball.  During basketball, I kept jumping up and hitting the ceiling, sending myself into fits of laughter.  How can a video game make you do something so silly and ridiculous?  I can power cruise pretty well and I'm okay at table tennis.  Robby laughed a lot when I bowled and Katie was mad because she was my partner.

My sister-in-law made these beautiful plates for us in 2005.  We get them out every year on our birthdays.

Nice table, Arnie!  Such a prince.

Arnie's job.

Not Robby's job.

Katie's job--searching for something, but what?

Wow!

Yummy pie.

After some Wii, we ate a delicious frozen pie.  Chocolate and whipped cream with a cookie crust. Delicious.  An excellent 43 years, I tell you.  A person couldn't ask for more.