The Mom Bowls

Some members of my family have been busy watching the College Bowls. For those of you who are athletically challenged (or easily bored) like I am, let me explain the system to you as best I can.

From what I understand, a College Bowl game is a football game that isn’t on the teams’ schedule, it’s a post-season invitational. More like a beauty pageant than a sports rivalry. There are games that are considered more prestigious and viewed as play-offs between better teams. Think Miss Congeniality. The rest seem to be an attempt to fill time between commercials.

I may not be a football player, but I’ve maintained a home and been a Mom for a while now, and I’ve been involved in a few post-season invitationals myself over the years. So here’s a list of MY Bowl moments:

The Home Based Bowls:
The Dust Bowl: No one’s playing cause who’s got time? This is an easy bowl to ignore.
The Laundry Bowl: No winner here. You can play the game but the next day you end up playing all over again.
The Toilet Bowl: The never ending bowl. You play round after round but no one wants to be called the winner.
The “I Hate Dinner” Bowl: Winner goes to bed hungry.

The Childcare Bowls:
The Enema Bowl: Sorry, game canceled. We need to evacuate the field.
The Diaper Rash Bowl: The competition is raw.
The Ipecac Bowl: This challenge is a god old-fashioned throw down (up).
The Disrespect Bowl: Everyone loses because no one follows the rules.
The Where’d it Go Bowl: Everything disappears; first the concessions, then the players.

Popovers, loved by all in my family

The “Letter” Bowls:

The MYOB Bowl: We won’t be divulging who the players are.

The BYOB Bowl.  Best. Bowl. Ever. The fans win!

Popovers
                                           ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients (for 12):

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

6 thin slices of butter

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
*Spray the muffin tins with cooking spray.
*Put 1/2 slice of butter in each tin.
*Whisk eggs. Whisk in milk, then flour and salt.
*Put the muffin tin into the preheated oven and watch carefully. Leave there until the butter melts.
*Remove the muffin tin from the oven and move it around a little so the butter swirls around in the bottom of the tins.
*Quickly fill the tins with the batter and return to oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
*DO NOT OPEN OVEN at all during cooking or they'll fall.   

Take 1 - Jan Secret Subject Swap

Welcome to Take 1 -January Secret Subject Swap, the first of two this month. This week, 15 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swaps. Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:


Baking In A Tornado
Chewylicious
It's a Dome Life
My Life as Lucille
The Mommy Chronicles
The Insomniac's Dream
Life on Peanut Layne
Raising Ragan
DeBie Hive
My Brain on Kids
Follow me home . . .
 The Family Pants
Dinosaur Superhero Mommy
Momaical
Juat a Little Nutty

My subject is: Think of a day in your life when everything seemed to be going wrong. Write about it. It was submitted by:  Life on Peanut Layne.  Here goes:

Think of a day when everything seemed to be going wrong? Really? It would be easier to pick a day when it didn’t seem like everything was going wrong. Eeny meeny miny mo, how many bad days in a row . . .

OK, I’ve picked one. But just so my bad mojo doesn’t rub off on any of my friends who are reading this, instead of telling you about my bad day, I’m going to tell you how to avoid my bad day. That way if you read this and then have one of your own, we’ll both know it’s not my fault.

2. Do not wake up while it’s still pitch black out, grab the glass of water off of your bedside table and think that you can make it down the stairs in one piece without turning the hall light on.

1. Let’s go backwards. First of all, do not wake up while it’s still pitch black out.

3. Do not think that the glass of water that you spilled all over yourself going down the stairs constitutes a shower. This will inevitably be the day the new neighbor stops by.

4. Do not check your email when you know that your son’s teacher sends out emails when an assignment is missing.

5. Do not start to make Potato Crusted Meatloaf without checking to see if you have all of the ingredients.

Potato Crusted Meatloaf 

 6. Do not call your husband out of an important meeting because your car keys were stolen. He told you this morning (probably as he was stepping over you at the bottom of the stairs, again) that you left them in the bathroom. He does not choose to remind you of this in a calm way at this particular time.

7. Do not run out to the garage to get your missing ingredients forgetting that your kids have taken your car to school. Before you run out to get the ingredients you’ll have to walk up to the school and play hide-and-go-seek with the car.

8. Do not think that the campus police will not choose to speak to you if you are wandering up and down every aisle of the school parking lot looking like a person who hadn’t showered in a while.

9. Do not turn the oven on before walking up to the school and forget to turn it off. Yes, there was grease in the bottom from last night’s dinner and yes the smoke alarm is loud and yes that’s the same new neighbor standing in your driveway giving you the same look she gave you this morning when you answered the door looking like something the cat would never dare to drag in.

10. Do not call your husband out of yet another important meeting to tell him that you have to move because you think the new neighbor is giving you the evil eye. He will not choose to discuss the sale of your home in a calm way at this particular time.

11. Do not think that you will be able to convince yourself that the banging coming from the washing machine is normal. Or that the water under it is either.

12. Do not think that you are going to be able to move that giant TV that is in the basement directly below the washing machine by yourself without a whole lot of trouble and swearing and grunting and groaning and pushing and pulling.

13. Do not even think about calling your husband at work again.

14. After all that exertion, do not fall asleep, even for a couple of minutes, with your neck turned in that position. You absolutely will walk around for the rest of the day looking like the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

15. Do not answer the door. Hide. You know it’s going to be that new neighbor again and you know you still haven’t showered, your hair is standing straight up from falling asleep and you’re walking around like Quasimodo. And you’ve already tried the “sale of the house” discussion with your husband and it did not go well.

16. Do not be surprised when your son calls to say he’s called the police because the car has been stolen. What did you think was going to happen when you took the car, forget to text him, and didn’t bring it back?

17. Do not. I repeat do not under any circumstances, when you are having a day like this, think you aren’t asking for trouble if you allow your kids to come home from school . . .

Note: Potato Crusted Meatloaf featured as a Best Winter Recipe from The Daily Meal's Culinary Content Network on The Saturday Evening Post's website on 2-14-14

Potato Crusted Meatloaf
                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

 Printable Recipe

 

Meatloaf Ingredients:
 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/4 cup ketchup
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 egg
1 TBSP seasoned salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp pepper

Topping Ingredients
1 1/2 to  2 cups mashed potatoes
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 to 3/4 cups shredded cheddar
1 TBSP chives, chopped
2 - 3 TBSP butter or margarine, sliced
paprika

Directions:

*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put tin foil into a 9 X 13 pan.
*Gently, with your hands, mix all meatloaf ingredients just until incorporated, don't over mix.
*Form meatloaf into a log, leaving room around all sides so you can add mashed potatoes later.
*Bake for one hour.
*While it's cooking, make mashed potatoes. Add in the garlic, cheddar and chives. Set aside.
*After one hour, take meatloaf out of oven. If your beef was very lean, there shouldn't be much fat around the loaf, but if there is any, I like to gently remove it with a paper towel.
*Spread the mashed potatoes onto the top and around the sides of the meatloaf.
*Top with pats of butter and and sprinkle with paprika.
*Return to oven for 20 - 25 minutes. Take out and let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

Resolved

I have to admit, I’ve really never been one for New Year’s resolutions. But in my old age, I’ve been blessed with perspective about this whole issue. So this year I’ve decided to try to come up with a few I can live with. Yes, it's only been one day but I'm happy to report, so far so good . . .

Resolved:
1. I will watch more TV. This is a selfless resolution. So many people are making so many shows, I figure if I can do my part to keep them employed, I’m doing a service.

2. I will stop picking up after myself. I’m always arguing with the kids to pick up, but what if I give them this one? I’m trying the “if you can’t beat them, join them” approach and I’m going to have to admit, not only does it cut down on my arguments with the kids, but it’s actually made my life easier.

3. I will spend more time talking about my kids on FB and Twitter. If talking TO them results in blank stares, maybe talking ABOUT them is the way to go. After all, what better way to show them how much I care about them?

4. I will sing more. When my older son was little, he pretty much only cried when I sang. Now both kids cringe and run away when I sing. Clearly I need more practice.

5. I will do better at covering all the food groups:
grains: flour in the crust
fruits and vegetables: strawberries
proteins: cream cheese
dairy: whipped cream for topping
fats: oil in the crust
So Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie works perfectly, right?

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie

6. I will not hide the toilet paper. There’s only so many times that’s funny.

7. I will let the boys take over the laundry and washing the dishes. I know this is a huge sacrifice but they’ll need to know how to do these things when they’re on their own. So really, I have a responsibility . . .

8. I will not run away from home. I will not run away from home. I will not run away from home. I need a pair of Ruby slippers.

9. I will drink more red wine. It’s been known for some time that red wine can be good for your heart. I also happen to know that it’s good for patience, anxiety and state of mind. And since corking a red and sticking it in the fridge is sacrilege, I promise to be a good Mommy and make all gone.

10. I will stop trying to convince myself that chocolate is not a food group. Because I need to face facts, it is.

So there you go. I know it’s a long list, but I have confidence that I’m up to the challenge.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie
                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients, crust:  
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup canola oil
2 TBSP milk

Ingredients, pie:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3 TBSP sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 quarts strawberries
2/3 cups sugar
3 TBSP cornstarch mixed with 3 TBSP cold water

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Stir all crust ingredients together. Press into the bottom and partially up the sides of a pie plate.
*Bake 12 - 15 minutes.
*Cool.
*Beat cream cheese, vanilla and sugar until smooth. Carefully spread over cooled crust.
*Wash all strawberries, pat dry and cut off leaves.
*Opt: can pick the 4 biggest and arrange them, upside down towards the center of the cream cheese.
*Puree strawberries and add them to a saucepan with the sugar. Simmer.
*Add the cornstarch/water mixture to the saucepan and stir until thick and boiling.
*Turn down the heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
*Cool slightly, then pour over the cream cheese layer.
*Keep refrigerated. Opt: Garnish with whipped cream before serving.