These Are Probably The Worst Pies In..Jackson?

While it's perhaps not the healthiest meal ever, it's still super delicious and great comfort food. The best part of chicken pot pie is that you can almost add anything to it. Any veggies you want. Yeah. GREAT way to get the kids to eat vegetables..unless you're Myriah. Then you pick out the green beans. 

Every.

Single.

One.

*sigh* This kid. She's something else. But I love her.

And now, onto the main event.

Mixing the inside goodness. *drools*

Ready for the oven. I'm WAY too impatient for this.

Tater Tots Are Nice And Round.

I first heard of tater tot casserole watching a documentary on The Duggars (who currently have the show 19 Kids And Counting..and props to them for being able to do it all). It was one of their older episodes, and they were talking about how tater tot casserole was one of their favorite foods. 

I loved just about all the ingredients they were putting into it, so I HAD to try and make it. I've been making it for a few years now, but ofcourse I had to tweak it here and there to try and make it fit me and my family best. I think I finally found the best for us!

Nomnom! Ready to be baked!

This is really great for the kids, too. What kid doesn't love tater tots?!

Beef: It's what's for dinner.

Kyle works swing shifts, so there's a fair amount of night shifts that I'm only making dinner for me and the kids. There's days he's off so I'm making dinner for everyone. Then, there's his day shift, when I make dinner for everyone, but alone. Needless to say, trying to cook ANYTHING with Gabe is tough. That kid runs to food like moths to a flame. 

I've been trying to get it through to him about the whole "HOT" thing, but he doesn't care. He wants some food, he gets some food and that's the end of it. But lately, he's been just standing between the kitchen and dining room, thank God.

Tonight, I opted for an easy choice seeing as I had to cook with Gabe at my legs. I went with some good ol' beef stroganoff. Marie Callander's ain't got shit on me.

Cooking egg noodles.

Making the sauce. Looks icky, but it's SUPER delicious.

This is something requested by a ton of kids in my family, if not my kids, then my nieces and nephews.

As shepherd's watched their flocks..er..food..by night?

I don't understand why this is called Shepherd's Pie. I probably never will. But I will always understand the deliciousness of this. Not to mention, the comfort aspect. It always seems to have a calming effect on me. Why? I'll never know. But it's a great way to get the kids (and the husband) to eat some veggies. There's nothing wrong with that!

Myriah's notorious for picking out EVERY green bean, saying "I don't LIKE this one, mommy. I don't LIKE this one." She won't do that for this. She eats it up QUICK. Hell, Selena takes 3 servings..but she's been eating 3 servings a LOT lately. Helloooooo growth spurt.

First layer...looks like puke. I'm sorry, but it does. It almost makes me not want to eat it. But it smells good. Oh, the dilemma.

Second layer, mashed potatoes! Yum! These are my cheesy garlic variety. *mouth waters*

Ready to be baked! Yay!

Italians Do It Right

I'm a huge chicken eater. I could eat chicken for every meal, every day, and not get sick of it. I get it from my daddy. ;)

I love how versatile chicken is. You can pair it with just about anything and get a whole new taste from just one main ingredient. Who can't love a food like that?!

Tonight, I made some Chicken Parmesan. Yummm..Italians sure know how to cook!

Pan frying before baking.

Mmmm I could eat it just like this!

Covered in sauce and mozzarella, ready to bake and eat! Yum!

Meatloaf, Meatloaf, Double Beatloaf.

I REALLY need to watch that movie. Get it out of my system. Oy.

So, a common staple in almost anyone's kitchen is meatloaf. A brick of meat. Yeah. Almost everyone knows how to make it. But there in lies the interest.

Almost everyone has a different way of making their meatloaf.

When you're using just a pound of ground beef and adding random things to it, the possibilities are almost endless. It's one of those versatile meals that you can add just about anything to. I know someone who adds a packet of dry onion soup and then bakes it on a sheet in little mini loaves. I like the mini loaves for the kids, and they do too. But I don't add dry onion soup. And one thing I ALWAYS make sure to do: Bake it on a sheet in a loaf shape. Why? This makes ALL the sides get that nice crust.

I DID have to try something I've never done before. I realized too late that I was out of regular bread crumbs. So, I improvised. I crushed up a bunch of Goldfish crackers to make up for the bread crumbs. 

Goldfish slaughter! <insert evil laugh>

Ready for baking!

Ohhhh F-U-D-G-E.

I was totally channeling A Christmas Story with my title. >.<

So, we've been going through a lot lately, more than anyone could probably imagine. I've been on edge and stressed out so badly. I needed something to calm myself.

I needed baking.

Ironically enough, I didn't want to bake. <insert shock face here> 

I went for the next best thing, though. Chocolate.

Now, everyone knows diamond ads lie ALL the time. Diamonds are NOT a girl's best friend. It's hands down chocolate..unless you're regretfully allergic. And I apologize to anyone who's allergic to chocolate. What a sad, sad world.

WIP shot, rolling boil.

Nomnomnom. Almost done.