Shaun and I have developed a rating system for dinner.  5 is a favorite, special occasion meal, 3 is make again, and anything below a 3 is either relegated to lunches (if I like it) or never made again.  I made Peanut Butter Pork tonight (recipe found here) and he gave it the first ever 0. *sigh*  It was pretty disappointing.  It got rave reviews on Crock Pot 365 but it was a big disappointment in this house.  It was TOO peanut buttery and just heavy.  Oh well.

Tomorrow night is tried and true winner in this house!  Meatloaf, mashed “potatoes”, and corn.  Isn’t she on a diet? You ask.  Why yes I am and my meatloaf is on a diet too (and my husband doesn’t even know).  I put it together tonight, that way I can just throw it in the oven when I get home tomorrow.  On normal nights I have 30 minutes from the time I get home until dinner needs to be on the table so that Lucy can be in bed by 7 (to avoid monster child).  I’ll be able to just throw the meatloaf in the oven tomorrow and have dinner on the table by 6:30.

Doesn’t that ^ look appetizing?  Believe me, it’ll be great tomorrow 🙂

Here’s the recipe:

Crush 3 Ryvita Crackers and place into a bowl

Add to that:

1 egg

1 pound leanest ground meat (I used grass fed 9% from Whole Paycheck)

~1/4 cup grated onion (it has to be grated or else it’ll be too over-powering)

Salt and Pepper

Garlic Powder

Mustard Powder

White Pepper

Some glugs of Worcestershire Sauce

Mix it all up with your hands and place it in a pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray (you can also do mounds on a cookie sheet but I think that makes too much of a mess). Score the top with a knife. Cover the top in ketchup and cover with foil and then bake at 350* for about 30 minutes.

Pictures of it done in tomorrow’s blog 🙂

I also peeled 2 potatoes and cut up 1/2 a head of cauliflower to put on the stove when I pot the meat loaf in. I’ll mash those with chicken broth, some vegan spread (I’m lactose intolerant) and some seasoning salt and pepper.

I put it all in the fridge and I’ll be able to just pop the meatloaf in the oven, put the cauliflower and potatoes on the stove and then just heat up some corn and we’ll have a dinner!

I’ll get to play with Lucy while it cooks-which is the BEST way to spend 6-6:30 in this house.

Obviously, I’m feeling MUCH better 😉  Thank goodness for some mindless tv and knitting.

That’s Sick At Home for those who aren’t surrounded by acronyms everyday!  I thought I was going to be able to WFH (Work From Home) but my body thought otherwise.  So I’m sitting on my couch watching Top Chef Masters-where’s Padma? 🙁 I don’t like this host.

I thought I’d post some pictures of Lu and then I’m going to take a nap.

At Mommy’s Work Parade:

At Daddy’s Work:

With her friend Aiden on Halloween:

I love the look on her face in this one 🙂

Off to nap!

I’m feeling a bit better.  I’d say 70%.  I’ll be working from home tomorrow and I hope back to 100% by Wednesday.  I wasn’t able to keep the soup down at lunch but I was able to have a protein shake at 5 and then I had dinner-Teriyaki Chicken and “Fried” rice.  Lucy ate like a madwoman today (making up for Mommy).  She had 3/4 of a large avocado, 1 chicken thigh, a LARGE helping of “fried” rice, and 3 Healthy Times cookies.  I swear I don’t know where that kid puts it.  This is after she had crackers and milk at 3, yogurt at 4, and crackers and cheese at 5 at daycare.

Anyway.  I felt good enough to put together my menu for this month.  It features a lot of crock pot recipes.  I LOVE my new crock pot. Here’s the plan:

I’ve been sick since Saturday.  Yesterday was the worst but today isn’t much better.  I’m extremely tired, nauseous, dizzy, and achy.  No fever higher than 99 though and only a hint of a stuffy nose and cough.  I tried a piece of toast earlier and it wasn’t such a good idea but I think the lack of calories is affecting me so I’m going to try some chicken noodle soup.  Just typing that made my tummy grumble 🙁

This really sucks.