Last week mid-week, Matt turned ill with a terrible sinus infection and the most painful (the adjective my nurturing side chooses) and annoying (the adjective my selfish side chooses) cough possibly on the entire planet. He slept for almost 4 days straight. Bright side: I had to put everything on hold and just enjoy the kids. As wonderful as that was, I realized that being a single mom is not for me. I missed having Matt around - both because I missed his company and I missed his help, but the kids and I had a nice time, anyway.
So, the kids and I made it through yet another evening at Six Flags (thank you, Chelsea, for stepping in for Matt and accompanying me - I'm not sure who had more fun - the kids or us!). I woke up the next morning to 4 hungry boys, a toddler running around and a man to take care of. It was hard manual labor all weekend. Then on Monday evening, just as I was really getting excited about going to work the next day (for some peace, quiet and adult time), our sweet nanny called to tell me that she had fallen ill and wouldn't be able to come. Bright side: I would get an extra day at home to spend with Brooke and get my house in order.
Then I woke up to a HUGE oil spill under my car. I drove it to the car dealership where I was quoted $3,000.00 to fix it. I politely said, "no thanks" as I chose to take it elsewhere. Bright side: they washed my car.
And so it goes - you know, just one of those weeks....Bright side: Matt is better and tomorrow is Friday!!
Last weekend when Matt was in bed and it was cloudy and raining, I decided to make a comfort food dish. And it turned out comfortingly delicious. I made homemade scalloped potatoes! I used three potatoes. I peeled the potatoes and sliced them in my Cuisinart.
When I finished that, I heated 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream with a sprig of fresh thyme, chopped fresh garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of fresh nutmeg. I let that simmer for about 5 minutes.
I buttered a dish and placed a layer of potato, in an overlapping pattern, on the bottom of the dish. Now - let me say that I had to cut the potato into small strips to get it to go through the little opening in the Cuisinart so my slices are less than elegant in style. Oh, and I didn't have time to overlap them in a beautiful pattern - I tossed a bunch into the dish and quickly spread them out.
I seasoned the potatoes with salt and pepper. I removed the cream mixture from heat and then poured a little over the potatoes - I used a 1/2 cup measuring cup to do this. Then, I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese over that. Oh.... yummy!
Repeat that two more times and generously sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on that top layer. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes - then broil until the cheese browns, about 5 minutes.
How scrumptious does that look!?! They were so warm, slightly creamy, simple and comfortingly delicious. Alongside a nice salad, it was a great meal! This is an EASY dish that you can serve as a side dish to any grilled meat. I will be making this again for company for sure.
I thought that as a variation, you could scatter blue cheese in between the layers instead of Parmesan cheese - that would be delectable, wouldn't it?! (if you are a blue cheese lover).
So... I mentioned a side salad. Let me tell you about the most wonderful little salad we had. And we grew it ourselves!!!
About 6 weeks ago, Matt and I set up our Tower Garden. For several months, we toyed with the idea of planting a true garden in the ground. But the more we read about it, the more we realized that it would take quite a bit of work to set it up and lots of continual maintenance to keep it producing fruits and vegetables. And as much as I would love to spend my days tending to my garden and cooking, we've got too much going on. Allison, my wonderful sister-in-law, introduced me to the Tower Garden. For $40 bucks a month (for one year), I'll have this $500 product paid for -and so far, so good. This contraption is truly amazing. We have a lot of fresh produce growing on our back patio and we just watch it grow without having to do a thing!
Just like when Matt and I get the Christmas tree all situated in its tree stand every year, or the time when we put a mailbox in the ground...we teetered between staying married and getting divorced while putting this tower together (not really), but all in, it took less than an hour and we remain married to this day. We planted seeds in little natural wool fiber pods (that come with the garden) and once we saw little sprouts, we transferred them from a container to the little pods in the tower garden. What you see in the picture above is about 4 weeks into it. It waters itself every 15 minutes for 15 minutes, and folks, it's yielding produce!!!
We picked lettuce the other night and made a salad!!!
Talk about fresh and clean. This was the best little salad (with cucumber and vinaigrette dressing) that we've ever had! The kids were excited about it - Matt and I were excited about it. It was a really great salad.
We are growing tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, basil, thyme... we will soon start squash and some other winter vegetables. No soil, no maintenance, no fuss... it's easy - and space efficient if you happen to have a small backyard. And your kids will be EXCITED about growing their own stuff! You can pick up the seeds anywhere - the hardware store, Home Depot, Walmart, grocery store, etc. I highly recommend that you look into this. If you want to order one, let me know and I'll hook you up!!
Tomorrow is Friday and Matt is well again (though that uh ummm.. annoying cough... remains), so we may enjoy yet another salad from the Tower Garden tomorrow night and a small steak. That coupled with a nice glass of Cabernet or Malbec, and mama is one happy camper. We are thankful for all the rain last week as it watered our newly sodded front yard.
There is a bright side to most everything, you see. You just have to seek it out. Happy weekend, my friends!
Scalloped Potatoes
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8 inch thick slices
salt and pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a saucepan, heat up the cream with a sprig of thyme, chopped garlic and nutmeg.
While the cream is heating, spray a casserole dish with Pam. Place a layer of potato in an overlapping pattern and season with salt and pepper. Remove cream from heat and then pour a little over the potatoes, and season with salt and pepper. Top with grated Parmesan cheese. Make 2 more layers and then bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Broil the last 5 minutes until cheese browns.
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