Soy Sauce Suicide and Broccoli Chicken Casserole

So, as a family (well, the half of the family that we could convince to join us) watched Ramona and Beezus last night. 

I saw strange similarities between the sisters in the movie and my own girls.  It was precious how they were constantly at each other's throats.

That Ramona is a real character.  It was interesting the way her parents looked at each other and shook their heads and smiled when they saw that Ramona had squeezed an entire tube of toothpaste into the sink. 

That Ramona is one lucky girl to have those parents. 

The scene would have been a tad different here in our household!  I know that because I actually have a Ramona in my family!!!  We won't mention any names, but her name starts with an E, and from the moment she entered my womb, she has been a "Ramona," (I still have the misshapen ribcage to prove it).

After the movie, we all sat down to dinner.  Even the truant family members were there.

On the menu:  Rice.  It was actually my beautiful Broccoli Casserole with rice, but my children like to have an enormous pile of plain rice.  And then they like to dredge it with soy sauce until it resembles one of Idaho's giant Buttes that juts up out of the ground, hard and rocky with no vegetation.

And on this night of nights, Ramona--with an E--left the glass bottle of soy sauce too close to the edge of the table and while gesturing grandly with her arm, bumped it and sent it hurtling into space.  It hit the hardwood floor with a black EXPLOSION. 

I originally thought it was her cup of ice water . . . we've dealt with that kind of explosion before.  In fact, we deal with that kind of explosion at our table nightly.

This was a much more sinister explosion.  One in which all surrounding areas were splattered and sprayed with the dark, salty liquid and shattered glass.

There was a moment of disbelief that came before good sense took over. 

I stared at what looked like a black hole on my floor while trying to decide the best method of cleaning up this kind of mess.

My white bathroom towels would be reduced to rags.

I looked toward the paper towel rod.  I saw a brown tube with paper towel fragments randomly sticking to it.  My mind searched for a solution as I tried to hold back the growing panic.

The stash of old, dark-green towels!.  We grabbed a few and started sopping up sauce and glass fragments.  It became a family affair as Emily shook the towels into the trash, James rinsed the towels in the bathtub, I vacuumed up all of the leftover glass, and the little boys hopped from chair to chair safely out of the way vying for the best view of the action.  The others just watched in disbelief, chewing slowly with wide eyes.

A little too late, I realized that I hadn't snapped a photo.  I guess we could reenact the scene.  It couldn't be possible though because now I only buy PLASTIC containers of soy sauce.

So, tonight I will share two recipes with you.  One is my beautiful Broccoli Casserole, and the other is an amazing dish I recently discovered using Soy Sauce.

Broccoli Chicken Casserole

Broccoli fresh, steamed or frozen, thawed

1tsp Lemon juice

2 C chopped, cooked chicken

2 Cans Cream of Chicken soup, undiluted

3/4 C Mayo

1 C grated cheddar cheese

2 C Bread crumbs or stuffing

Preheat oven to 350.  Layer broccoli, then chicken in a greased, 9x13 casserole dish.  In a separate bowl, mix lemon, soup and mayo.  Layer mixture over chicken and broccoli.  Sprinkle cheese then bread crumbs.

Serve with hot RICE (soy sauce optional)

We had this recipe tonight and it was really amazing.  We did not have rice, however.  It was served with homemade smashed potatoes.

Panko-Parmesan Chicken

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup Kikkoman Panko Bread Crumbs

1/4 cup shredded fresh Parmesan cheese

1 egg

3 tablespoons Kikkoman Soy Sauce

4 chicken breast halves (each about 10 oz.)

Instructions


1. Melt butter in 13 x 9-inch pan in 400°F. oven, about 3 minutes. Remove pan from oven.
2. Meanwhile, combine Panko and cheese in large plastic food storage bag. Beat egg with soy sauce in shallow dish until well blended.
3. Dip chicken pieces, one at a time, into egg mixture; then add to bag of bread crumbs mixture. Close top and shake bag to coat both sides. Place chicken, skin side down, in prepared baking pan, leaving space between pieces.

4. Bake chicken 20 minutes. Turn pieces over and bake 20 to 25 minutes longer, or until chicken is no longer pink near bone and is golden brown.

Honey Milk Balls and the First Day of Spring

It was a crazy weekend to say the least!  With celebrating three birthdays, Alex's play; Much Ado About Nothing, and having two sets of visitors, me and my house are exhausted!  I have spent the day letting the house rest from being cleaned, and instead, crafting away. 

It has been lovely :)

I shamefully ate so much cake and frosting over the past week, that I went into sugar shock!  Today, I wanted to take it easy.  Have you ever noticed, though, that when your body gets used to the sugar, you crave it so much more?

I was really craving something sweet today, so I grabbed a piece of Orbit Sweetmint gum.  It helped a lot.  But then once my jaw got sore (I went to the dentist this morning) I got rid of the gum and BAM the sweet cravings came back.

My brain started doing a subconscious inventory of my kitchen.  There is still a huge batch of frosting pre-made and ready to go for Emily's upcoming birthday and some graham crackers in the cupboard!  Once I realized what my brain was trying to do, I stopped it immediately and tried to think of a healthier alternative.

Honey Milk Balls! 

They are sweet, nutritious, and YUMMY!  Did I mention that they are QUICK!  No baking necessary.  In fact, if you like to eat the cookie dough more than the cookies, like I do, then this one is for you!

See what YOU think!

Honey Milk Balls

1/2 C Honey (or the evil corn syrup)

1/2 C peanut butter

1 C dry powdered milk

1 C uncooked rolled oats (whole grain!) or 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs.

I like to warm the honey and peanut butter so it mixes more easily.  Combine all ingredients and knead (with your hands) until blended.  Shape into small balls.  Roll in coconut or chopped nuts, if desired.

Perfect for after school!

I couldn't be more overjoyed that SPRING has finally arrived!  And with it, the melting of snow.  I wish that I had taken a photo of my backyard everyday this past week.  On Monday, 1/4 of the ground could be seen.  Exactly one week later, I have a yard full of brownish--gold, matted looking grass and no snow!  My doggie also did some damage all winter long that will have to be cleaned up soon by the kids (evil laughter).

The Weekend's Activities:

Our friend, David and his daughter, Megan came to watch Alex's play.  James made an entire list of honey-do's that he and David could do together.  It was so nice of us to put him to work while he was here!  

Here they are fixing another kitchen drawer. 

 James and David took a drive around town and found some pretty hilarious small town signs.  Yes, our Subway has 8 foot long sandwiches.

 And don't forget a halibut float for dessert.

 My mom and I crashing after a vigorous game of "This is a serious and solemn occasion" taught to us by Megan.  Let's just say that our cheeks hurt from laughing!

 My dad decided to check on my Rainbow vacuum and took it apart to clean it and found that it was cracked and spent the next several hours(to my mom's dismay) fixing it.  I was a little frightened when I saw it in several pieces!!!

 The boys ripped the couch apart.  Exactly what I want them to do when I have a house full of company.

 Now that it's spring, maybe they can find something to do OUTSIDE!

Megan and Emily used the leftovers from Hannah's Masquerade and made themselves masks.  Beautiful!

Someone asked me if this is Alex's girlfriend IRL.  Well, no, he is JUST that convincing as an actor!

 I cannot believe how well they did on the play.  Each person had their lines expertly memorized!  Not one person needed a prompt either time I saw it.  They did just a fantastic job!

The cards I made.  It's like taking a little vacation for my mind :)

Today, I am grateful for Monday!  It was an amazingly exhausting yet wonderful weekend.

Welcome to Dinner With the Moore Family

What's the best thing to do when you have three birthdays and a play in one week?  You invite out of town guests for a visit, of course.

March is always a stressful Month for me--it might as well be Christmastime.  I love to go all out for my kids (even though they beg me not to year after year).  Why should I deprive them of something that I love, Right?  So I selfishly spend hours and hours planning and stressing over each and every detail to make them suffer--um, I mean--happy.

By the end of March I look and act like a crazed lunatic.  My mind starts shorting out, and I basically turn into a zombie.

When Easter is in March, I become a basket case.

This year "The Play" was in March.  The same week as the three birthdays.

Alex was starring in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing as Benedick, and opening night was on his birthday.

I invited my parents and our friends, the Atkissons for the same weekend to see the play and celebrate the birthdays.  I panicked later as I wondered where I would put everyone and how I would get everything done for the  birthdays.

I decided to save myself some sanity and have everyone go out for dinner on the night of the play.

I had recently scoped out the only place in our small town that could house a gathering so large; Me N Stans.  Yes, I know, the grammar is incorrect, but the atmosphere was a homey, country 1963.  I mean, nothing had changed since 1963.  The chairs wobbled and the table had lost it's shine years before, but we were all together and that's all that mattered.

I was sitting next to Emily--a very dangerous spot to be.  When we eat at home, the children use plates with their names on it, and I always do the old switcheroo so that Emily is sitting next to her daddy  (he wears darker colors than I).

The moment the waitress came out to take our orders, Emily tipped her water over.  I immediately jumped up and started sopping up the mess with the little cocktail napkin.  It was insufficient.

Ice cubes scattered and water splattered across the table and onto the floor.   I had a moment of clarity just then, thinking back to when Alex wrecked the car and then the next week I wrecked it, and since people were watching, I decided to make a joke out of it rather than screaming.  I said, "You are only supposed to spill your drink AT HOME, not at a restaurant!"  And with a grand flourish of my hand, I knocked over Emily's red soda!

My mom, dodging ice cubes and flowing red liquid was laughing so hard that she was tearing up.

I laughed too and I was a tiny bit glad that I hadn't gone Loco Mom-o on Emily when she spilled her water.

After all of the mess was cleaned up and our dinner was served, our out-of-town guest could not be outdone, and she knocked over her drink as well.

All I could say was "Welcome to dinner with the Moore Family!"

Please Help Japan

I am stunned by what has happened to Japan.  It is heartbreaking looking at the devastating footage on the news.  It will be a long time before the people of Japan are back to normal, but we can help in our small ways.

(from NOAA, via Wired, used w/o permission)


"Image: A forecast for the tsunami caused by a magnitude-8.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. Heat-map colors show maximum tsunami height within the first 24 hours. (NOAA/PMEL/Center for Tsunami Research)"


Please pray.  Prayer will help dramatically!

 . . . and a little bit of cash from each of us. . .

The following was copied from MSNBC:


"Using your cell phone, you can text-message donations of $10 to the Red Cross. Text the letters REDCROSS to 90999 to make the $10 donation, or visit the organization's website."

It isn't much, but it is better than sitting in our cozy homes and doing nothing.

Thank you for your help!

To Protest, or Not to Protest

We are not a very politically minded family. I mean, we uphold the constitution and love to celebrate the Fourth of July and all, but we enjoy watching political matters from the comforts of the living room couch.

In our home, we stand for truth and righteousness. We believe in being good citizens and obeying the law. But when it comes to feeling so strongly about an issue, that we would stand outside and hold signs and protest, we defer to those who are more opinionated.

Until now.

It started several weeks ago when Hannah came through the door after school ranting and raving about a proposed ID bill--The Luna Bill AKA Students Come First Legislation. 

In her freshman level of understanding, Hannah believed that students would be forced to own laptops, which they would then destroy, and teachers would become obsolete due to required online courses.

She was outraged by the bill.

Students across the state decided to hold a walk-out at 1 PM on Friday afternoon.  Through Facebook and texts, they notified each other about the event. 

I found out about it the night before as Hannah was debating whether to skip the last two periods of school and stand up for what she believed to be very bad for students, or support her teachers by attending their classes.

She decided to remain in school and protest by wearing strips of duct tape with penned messages across her clothing.  Her teachers appreciated her level of support and applauded her decision to remain in school.

I was surprised, then, at 1PM when I got a call from my middle- schooler asking if I would pick her up and drop her off in town so she could protest.

After questioning her for several minutes about her reasons behind protesting and making sure she wasn't just ditching, I decided to check her out.

As I drove to the school, I passed a hoard of teenagers surrounding a white Local News 8 van holding posters of varying colors while screaming and waving their hands as they tried to persuade me to honk in support.  As I crawled by in my green van, I looked over the crowd to see if I recognized anyone.  I waved timidly at their flailing arms, then felt silly when I realized I was supposed to honk.  Too late, I honked and drove on. 

At Emily's school, I felt somewhat guilty as I checked her out of class.  It must be human nature to want to be a part of the herd, because I really wanted to know who else was crazy enough to check their kids out of school to stand for what they believe in.  Not many kids were on the check out list.

I hoped I was doing the right thing.

There seemed to be NO protesters at the designated spot (the local grocery store), so I made Emily go shopping with me instead.  Every few minutes she went outside to see if the protesters had arrived. 

We finally saw the protesters on a different street as we were leaving the parking lot.  I slowly drove by to see what the crowd looked like.  At the front of the line, standing tall above the other students, and blond, holding a giant fluorescent sign . . .  

was my son!

So much for living quiet, un-opinionated lives! 

 

Students Protest Passing Of Education Reform - Local News Story - KIFI Idaho Falls

One Benjamin Franklin

 . . . That's how much it took to convince the 14 year-old to get straight As again. 

When I make these promises with my children, I guess I never really think through the situation to the end, because it was painful paying up. 

The offer has been around for many many years.  It began when we could see our oldest son's potential report card success, but he couldn't.  For some reason, Benjamin did not tempt him enough.

Back then, Hannah always pulled straight As on her report cards.  We (and she) knew she could do it, but in order to save the bank, we told her it was for achieving all As in "High School".  I know, it was pretty low of us. 

She showed us by bombing out in 7th grade.  Well, I guess if you consider a couple of Bs (and a D) bombing out.

The offer kind of got brushed aside for a couple of years while we just tried to muddle through as best we could.  We made sure to remind them on report card day that if they would have only gotten all As they would have gotten $100.  Then out of the blue this year, and way ahead of time, the kids asked if the offer still stood. 

"Of course, it does!"  We'll do whatever it takes to help them achieve academic success!  It's our job as parents.

Hannah must have skipped home from school knowing that for once she had me!

She beamed at me as I opened the sealed report card. 

I think my bright, yellow purse actually squeaked as I unlatched and opened it.

"I want you to know how hard I worked to earn this Benjamin Franklin."  I told her as I dangled the bill between two fingers.

"I want you to know how hard I had to work for him."  She tells me back and snatches the bill from my fingers.

I am so proud of my daughter.  She is extremely smart.

I am also proud of my manipulative and coercive parenting skills.  It feels really nice when it pays off. 

Almost as nice as One Benjamin Franklin feels in my purse.

TEAM WORK

As I was making dinner tonight, I could hear the little boys in the living room playing on the Game Cube.  I couldn't tell what they were playing because for once they had the volume very low.  I could however hear them cheering each other on.

At one point, Hunter enthusiastically yelled, "Come on, Connor!  There's no I in TEAM WORK!  We can do it!"

I had to giggle and wonder where a nine-year-old learned that one. 

I'll be anxiously waiting to hear it come out of Connor's seven-year-old mouth soon. 

They are like little sponges at these ages. 

Makes me wonder what "phrases" they have soaked up here at home and spewed back out to their teachers at school.

Hmmmmmm