Mistress Chef - That's Me!!

Due to the recent death of my great uncle, my mom went on a week-long trip up to Seattle to help take care of his estate and stuff. This meant mom left early in the morning Saturday morning and came back one week later. This has been interesting. Everyone had jobs that they had to take care of and since we're all teenagers and adults in my house it's not like we're 5 year-olds who have to be constantly reminded to do our assignments. Or do we?

Day one resulted in dogs who were constantly begging and I couldn't figure out what they wanted. I eventually found out early in the afternoon my 15-year old brother had forgotten to feed the dogs after he spent the entire morning on the computer instead! Geesh!!! My sister who was in charge of watering the garden did pretty good keeping it watered. She only forgot one day.... the hottest day in the week... those poor plants were so wilted by the time she got out there that evening. And then yesterday she practically drowned them when she forgot she left the water on... Oh dear. If it weren't for me, our house would've been a disaster when mom came home. No joke. Dad made them all do a few chores to get on the computer, but I made sure laundry got done, the table got cleared for dinner, and that the general cleanliness of the house didn't plummet.

The main thing mom did assign me was cooking dinner. I figured this was a chance for me to see what I could do when I had to try and cook dinner on a consistent basis, and not just helping out on Sundays. To tackle my job I started by making a menu, figuring out what ingredients I needed that we didn't already have, and came up with basic ideas for side dishes to whip together or assign to a sibling.

Here was my basic menu plan and how they turned out.

Saturday: Cucumber soup and garlic bread

This was so gross. Seriously. My first day on the job and I failed! Talk about disappointing. Dad thought it sounded interesting, but he was asleep so after we all took one spoon full we just flushed it down the toilet. He wanted me to make it again so he could try it, but he doesn't understand how cold soup can be gross when made out of cucumbers, green onions, and dill. Ick. But the garlic bread was fabulous... thank goodness.

Sunday: Roasted chicken, sweet potatoes, and green beans

This was pretty good if I say so myself. The chicken was super easy since it came pre-seasonsed. I just stuck it in the roasting pan until it was done and then put it in the oven under the broiler to crisp it up a little. Then green beans were a cinch just heated out of a can.The sweet potatoes were little stinkers because they didn't want to cook all the way through. I gave up and made slightly stringy/undercooked sweetened potatoes. (Don't worry, they were still good enough to eat.)  But mom tells me sweet potatoes are a pain to cook sometimes, so it's not just me. I just got impatient. :)

Monday: Hot dogs, cool whipped jello salad, and green salad

Since it was the 4th of July it was only natural to BBQ something. Dad bought some high grade hot dogs and then I just whipped up the sides as they cooked on the grill. Simple, yummy, and quick. I likes.

Tuesday: Chicken enchiladas and Mexican rice

This was by far my favorite meal! I've never made enchiladas before, but I wanted something yummy to use up extra chicken on Sunday and I think I made a perfect choice. They tell you to use flour tortillas in the recipe, but don't listen to them! Corn tortillas taste so much more authentic and add just the right flavor! Dad said I was ruining his diet since he couldn't stop eating them. This is definitely one I'll have to remake. :) The rice was really good too. I put Lizzie in charge, and she whipped them up just right. But boy, that rice was fattening! It was fried in oil... and that oil never gets drained... talk about calories!

Wednesday: Hambergers, jello, and the left-over Mexican rice

This is the day I work a full shift at work and all I want to do is come home and nap so I knew it had to be easy. Turkey burgers and jello with left-over rice it is! Thankfully, all still really nummy and easy to whip up. Especially since I made my siblings help.

Thursday: Grilled pizza

Dad screwed this up for me. No joke. He didn't think it would work taking pizza dough and putting it on the grill since he thought it would just fall through the spaces. So he bought par-baked crusts to use instead. I decided to go ahead and try it but I ended up burning the bottom on the first one really bad because the crust was done before the cheese had a chance to melt! The second pizza I ended up grilling as far as I dared and then put it under the broiler to melt the cheese. Next time, I'm not telling dad what I'm doing.

Friday: Taco Pie and green salad

This was just as yummy as my enchiladas were! I made a pie using a homemade crust (I hardly eat anything else now), and cooked hamburger flavored with taco seasonings and such, crushed tortilla chips to top it covered in cheddar cheese. This is baked for a few minutes until the cheese melts. Then you eat it with whatever you like on tacos. I had sour cream, lettuce, salsa, olives, and extra cheese. This is definitely on the make again list! (I think I might have a thing for American-Mexican foods...)

So overall my cooking dinner for a week was a success! Yay for me! As my reward for keeping the family fed and the house alive mom brought home a sewing machine from the 50's she said I can have!!! Look at how AWESOME this thing is!!

It even comes with a big wooden case that fits over the top. And my great uncle kept everything that went with it! Extra light bulbs, instruction manuals, parts, you name it. And it still works!! I'm so stoked!