Which Wich and Where?

The other day I had to take a continuing education class for my real estate license.  Which meant I had to pay a babysitter to be able to pay to be able to sit in a classroom for 5 hours.  It was so many different kicks in the pants at once.

But the point of the story is, as usual, a sandwich.

After the class was over I went across the street to one of my favorite sandwich spots in town, Which Wich.

Source

As I was driving home I thought about eating in the car because I was so hungry.  Then I decided I wanted to savor it at home while relaxing and watching Barefoot Contessa.

Then, suddenly, I remembered that I had a 1 year old and a very needy dog.  There would be no relaxing with my sandwich ever.  That's when I decided the more luxurious option was definitely to eat the sandwich at various stoplights on my drive home.

It's funny because as you grow up, you know being a parent will be challenging, you know you will have very little free time, you know you might be sleepy for the rest of your life.  But you never think about small details like the fact that the most carefree lunch you have outside of the house all year might be by yourself in your car while honey mustard drips on your lap.

Source

That is also the day that I realized people eating food in their cars aren't fatties who can't wait to eat.  They are just parents who want to nosh on a sandwich in private every once in a while.

The sandwich was delicious by the way.

Oh Life, You So Silly

Before I had a baby I used to go to my favorite, nice, quality Mexican restaurant at least once a week at whatever time I wanted.  Usually we would sit at the bar, sometimes we would talk to each other, but mostly Grant and I would just enjoy our beers and fajitas and watch everyone around us.  It was so relaxing.

Nowadays, like today, I have to bribe my husband to get home before 6PM by promising we can eat Mexican food at the mall instead of something healthy at home.  Real fancy like.  Then we rush to get there by 5:30 so Jack can eat on time, spend my entire dinner feeding him instead of myself, then apologizing to the waitress for the cornucopia of shit on the floor by his high chair.

Source

The only people watching I do these days is to look around and make sure no one is judging me for feeding Jack directly off of what I only assume is a clean table.

But you know what, as long as I can still have Mexican food on a school night, the world is all right and my pants are too tight.

It's also funny how ballsy I am now about going out to dinner with Jack due mostly to my desperate need to get the hell out of the house.  Back when he was a baby we never went out.  

In fact, the first time we tried, we ordered an appetizer and things were going pretty well.  So we got all cocky and decided to spring for entrees.  Well, Jack must have thought that was hilarious because right as the waitress walked away he started screaming crying. 

Source

Grant took him, not to the bathroom to change his diaper, but to the parking garage where our car was.  I thought this was unconventional and was going to tell him when he returned.  But he never did.

After spending about 15 minutes looking like a sad over eater with a plate of nachos and two entrees by myself, I got the food to go and went looking for my boys.  I found them pacing around the parking garage, Jack still crying, Grant on the verge.  

We didn't dine out for a real hot minute after that.

Greetings

If you need something to add to the exponential list of things that are virtually impossible to do by yourself with a toddler, I have it: 

Picking out greeting cards.

I went before Mothers' Day to get my mom a card and while I was holding Jack he quickly began throw every card he could reach on the ground. 

A forward thinking person would have seen this coming.  I did not.

Sorry mom, no card for you this year.

Also, sorry to the lady at CVS who had to pick up a confetti of cards off the floor.  Next year I'm coming alone!

Te Amo Sleepy Time

Sometimes I really can't believe how late I used to stay up.  On any random week night I would stay up until 11, sometimes midnight.  And on the weekends I would often stay up until 1:30 or so just because I could.

No more.

These days I go to bed no later than 10pm.  Preferably by 9:30.  Simply put: I gotsta get my Zzzz's.  To get my solid 8 hours, taking into account Jack's 6:30 wake up time, the 3-4 times per night that Rosie wakes me up with her collar bling, and my own bathroom breaks, I need to be in a full REM cycle by no later than 10.

Source

Obviously that means dinner and general life maintenance have to be done earlier than pre-baby days.  I usually have dinner on the (TV) dinner table by 7 right when Jack goes to sleep.

So you can imagine my horror last weekend when Grant made me wait until 8 o'clock to go out to dinner with his friends.  I seriously felt like I was being abused.  I was only going to be getting my entree by the time I am usually having my pre-bedtime dark chocolate square!

We also had someone over for dinner a few weeks ago and when the conversation was still going after 9pm, Grant and I both got so panicky that we nervously drank an entire bottle of $5 wine that he bought while we were chatting.  We paid for that handsomely the next day.

Sure, maybe I need to loosen up a bit.  But instead, maybe group dinners and TV shows need to start coming on at 5:30 or 6.  Did you ever think about that?!

It's funny how priorities change.  My post-5pm concerns used to be 1) Do I have enough wine to last me through the night? 2) Do I have at least 4 hours of entertainment on my DVR? 3) Is my luscious fleece blanket out of the dryer?

Source

Now they are: 1) Is my baby going to stay asleep? 2) Did I lock the doors? 3) Buy bye.

Having a ball

I am so glad I just found my giant medicine ball in the closet. 

 

 

While it never did get me that 6 pack I was dreaming of, it did entertain my child for at least 3 segments of 20 seconds or more. And for that, I will be forever grateful.

Easy 5-Ingredient Chicken Enchiladas

I am always looking for seriously easy and delicious recipes these days.  Particularly ones that I can make while Jack naps because cooking while he is awake is NOT an option.  I am in constant fear that a splatter of hotness will land on his cute little face and no amount of delicioso is worth that!

 

This recipe is so good and easy. 

 

The only thing I did differently was to add a little bit of sour cream to the filling because it looked like it needed a little more moisture.  And I used chicken breasts.

 

Source

 

East  5-Ingredient Chicken Enchiladas

Source

 

ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
• One 7-ounce can mild fire roasted green chilies, drained and chopped
• 2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
• One 28-ounce can green enchilada sauce
• Eight 8-inch flour tortilla (sometimes marked as soft taco size)
•  
• From your pantry:
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 13 x 9-inch pan with non-stick spray.

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add chicken thighs and sear for 4 minutes on each side. Remove chicken and set aside on a plate.

Add 1/4 cup water to the bottom of the pan and stir up any browned bits. Pour in the enchilada sauce and bring to a low simmer. Add the chicken back to the pan along with any juices that may have accumulated on the plate.

Cover with a lid, turn to medium-low and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Remove chicken to a plate and cool. Shred with two forks or roughly chop. Stir in chilies.

Add 1/3 cup filling to each tortilla and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese. Roll tightly and place seam-side down in the prepared casserole dish.

Pour sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for 5 more minutes, until sauce and cheese is bubbling.

Get Cooking: http://www.target.com/r/recipes/easy-5-ingredient-chicken-enchiladas-recipe#ixzz3XKTykApN

 

You can't beat a yummy, easy, Mexican meal any day.  Enjoy!