Top Secret Dinner

*Disclaimer: This recipe calls for onions (yuck) which I NEVER and also vowed to never use - ever. But I did this ONE TIME as it was a special occasion. Do not expect it to happen again.

D has a little side job as a guinea pig. He gets paid to test new food products, which if you think about it, is kinda cool. We won't become millionaires, but it's fun for him. Tonight was a take home test! The whole family got to eat!

The product is top secret so I can't tell you exactly what it is, but I can tell you it was YUMMY! And it had a Mexican twist.

Someone wasn't interested 

Not too bad for a gal like me, hey? The product got rave reviews - even from AJ. We hope to see it on store shelves in the near future. 

Now I have to go scrub the onion smell off my hands. The things I do for the people I love. 

My Little Firefighter

As AJ and I were driving home from her daycare the other day, we saw a fire truck. She thought it was so cool! Then she began talking about how she was going to be like Fireman Sam when she was not a kid anymore. I told that was a great idea.

Funny enough, I was making dinner tonight and the oven was smoking. Not because I was burning food - there was something on the bottom of the oven from the last time it almost smoked us out of the house. Pretty sure it is grease from the meat loaf I made last week.

Yes, I realize I need to clean it.

Anyways, I opened the oven and smoked poured out, which triggered our overly sensitive smoke detector. I grabbed a towel so I could wave it around under the detector to make it stop. Who was already there? My little firefighter. AJ was there flailing her blankie like a crazy kid to help her mommy.

Either her choice to be a firefighter is truly her calling - or I burn dinner too much.

Mini Muffin Tins VS Regular Muffin Tins - Does it Matter?

Did you know that there is a difference between mini muffin tins and regular muffin tins? Yes the size is an obvious answer, but did you know that using one instead of the other can totally ruin your dinner?  If you didn't, then you need to read this.

There has been a recipe for Mini Quinoa Pizza Bites floating around Facebook for a while now and they look so good! I decided to give them a try.

Big mistake. 

I took a glance at the recipe and came to the conclusion that I had everything I needed. My spice collection is not as fancy or complete as most, but I felt it would suffice. As the quinoa cooked, I grabbed a bowl and threw in a dash of dried oregano here, salt there, pepper and paprika all over. I also threw in some Wine & Garlic seasoning I "got" from The Melting Pot which is AMAZing. I add it to everything.

Next came the grated mozzarella cheese, two eggs and ..... no onions. Onions are gross and you will never read about me adding them to ANYTHING. I skipped the pepperoni as well, as I wanted to share my culinary masterpiece with a vegetarian friend at work. What can I say, I am an unselfish cook.

Once the quinoa was cooked, I mixed everything together and felt really confident that I had a good thing going. As I was filling my muffin tin with the mixture, it occurred to me that the recipe yielded 40 pizza bites. How could I make 40 when I have just used all of the quinoa in one muffin tin?

OH! I need a MINI muffin! Duh. How different can it be?

Very. It is very different. I promise you.

I put the pizza bites into the oven anyways and set the timer for a wee bit longer seeing as they were a wee bit bigger. After about 10 minutes I started to smell them. They smell like pizza! I win!

Not so much. I took them out and #1 - they stuck as I forgot to spray the tin and #2 - they were mushy and I wasn't 100% the egg was fully cooked. I dug in and sort of flipped them over to try and cook them all the way through. Put them back in the oven and waited.

Another 15 or so minutes went by and I checked on them. Should I flip them over again? Does it matter that half of each bite is now crusted and baked permanently into each muffin hole? Do we have a jackhammer?

No one, including me, got to enjoy the quinoa pizza bites. Well, unless you count the garbage can.

At least I got to smell them.

You Know You Are Meant to Go Home When ...

I am simply adoring my new job at the Cerebral Palsy Association in Alberta as - Communication and Social Media Coordinator. They respect and encourage a balanced work/life and that is very appreciated.

Especially today.

I currently work part-time. Well, sort of in between full and part. I do a minimum of 20 hours a week, but if there is lots of work, I do the hours it takes to get it done. Very flexible. This week I have done my allotted hours plus will have a few extra due to a staff retreat tomorrow. I technically did not have to head into work today, but figured I would make sure I was prepared for the weekend. I made the choice to battle the Deer Foot and go into the office.

I take AJ to school each day and recently she has given me a hard time when I drop her off. It breaks my heart to see her cry. Because of this, D has agreed to try to take her more often when he isn't in a rush to get to work himself. Today was one of those days.

We were leaving at the same time, said our goodbyes and went in separate directions. When I was about 15 minutes into my 20 - 30 minute commute, D calls and asks where AJ's blankie is. If you know AJ - she needs her blankie. I said "Well it must be at home." D responds with "Are you sure?" I look beside me and there is it. I brought her blankie into my car out of pure habit. Crap.

She was apparently freaking out so I said I would see what I could do. I began to think of my options. 1) I could turn around, take her the blankie and be at work by 10AM. 2) I could go into work for a few hours then take her blankie after lunch in time for nap time. or 3) I could take her the blankie and go home - seeing as I had done my weekly hours. Plus, I had my work lap top and could do a few things from the kitchen table.

What to do, what to do.

Well I was apparently so conflicted that I blew right passed my exit and was well on my way to Fort McLeod! Ugh. If that isn't another sign to turn around and go home - I am not sure what is.

So, here I sit with a Tim Horton's coffee at my kitchen table working away. Message read loud and clear.

Damn You, Netflix!

Sigh. How can one be a blogger, yet not keep up their own blog? When your brain lacks the strength of a spry 20-something year old - you all of a sudden can only do one job at a time.

Moms are known to multitask 24 hours a day. Yes, even when sleeping, we somehow manage to listen for the pitter - patter of little feet making their way to take over the bed. I can write an article, make AJ a snack, and find Dora on the TV all at once. Really, I can. But can I physically sit down to write in my personal blog? No.

Why? My brain just doesn't seem to ......

What was I talking about???

See what I mean?

Anyways - you get the idea. I once again have to make a point to commit to writing in this blog on a more regular basis. I have become a blogger who writes for everyone - but herself. Not fair.

Let's begin with an update on what's really happening around here and what keeps me so busy:

• I am doing a lot of writing for the WhatToExpect.com blog - Word Of Mom
• I have been taken on as a content writer by a few local web, social media and SEO specialists.
• I just mailed off wedding invitations this morning! That was actually a lot of work to put together.
• I have a toddler. 'Nough said. 
• D figured out how to get American Netflix on the Xbox. Very distracting. 

It's been a struggle to find a good balance with my work and family life. It is really a team effort. But I think it is beginning to fall into place, and I will have this blog back up and running in no time!