Keepin' It Real

All right people.

I'm going to come clean.

I just need to come out and say it. 

Sometimes, I just don't feel like cooking.

There...I said it. 

I feel so much better now.

I've been cooking and baking steadily for the past 3 weeks.  Even got some lovely salmon thawing in the fridge for dinner tonight.

But 6 o'clock came, and suddenly, I just didn't want to make anything for dinner. 

I wanted take-out instead.  Correction....I needed takeout.  Yes, really...we are normal.  I've told y'all that from the start. 

I decided to make the kids something quick for dinner, and David and I would get some take-out later on, preferably after the chittlins were in bed. 

So you want to see what the kids had? 

I have the pictures to prove it. 

I got some frozen tater tots (the package actually said, "Potato Rounds"), frozen popcorn shrimp out of the freezer, and some frozen peas.  'Cause every Mom I know feels better serving a green vegetable to their kids, especially alongside frozen, deep fried food.  

The shrimp and tater tots went into the oven, and the peas got zapped in the microwave. 

15 minutes later, dinner was ready.  Man...that was easy, wasn't it?

(Side note:  I don't mean to make fun of anyone who makes dinner like this okay?   Seriously.  I did my student teaching in the poorest ward of our city.  I am sure any one of those kids would have been grateful for a meal.  I know for a fact the free lunch at the school was probably the only square meal they got every day. So by no means am I mocking anyone here.) 

Okay...now that I've clarifed things, back to our dinner. 

I used paper plates.  What's the point of ordering take-out for yourself if you have to do the kids' dishes?  That's no fun, right?

So I made up the kids plates.  No fancy garnishes here...just a big dollop of ketchup.  

Yes, this is Gabriel using his hands to scoop up his peas, dip them in ketchup, and shovel 'em into his mouth.   (We make sure to teach our kids proper table manners, and always use their fork and spoon properly). 

Check out that tongue action.  This takes serious concentration, don't you know? 

For good measure...because dinner was so healthy, we had yummy chocolate Halloween cupcakes for dessert.  The kids surely appreciated that. 

And you can bet Gabriel especially enjoyed his cupcake.  Didn't even miss a crumb!

Isn't he so stinkin' cute?   Especially when he's eating. 

Oh, one last thing.  We  had just enough milk for everyone for dinner.  I haven't been to the store since Monday (today's Friday).  So thank goodness we had something wholesome to drink with our dinner :-). 

That's it for this confession. 

I'll be back in a few weeks.  Hopefully my penance won't be too serious.