“All marriages are happy. It's the living together afterward that causes all the trouble.” -Raymond Hull

Hello Blog,

Well my weekend was ok but it could always be worse so I'm grateful for that. I can't type long because I have a mess of a house to clean. My mother always told me growing up never keep a mess bigger than a five minute cleanup. Well my house is a straight  90 min mess. Since my husband is reading this, I gotta go.

Tonight for dinner:

Panko Pork Chops

The key to keeping pork chops moist and light is the cooking time and temperature. Once done, a slight, warm tinge of pink color through the center is considered safe to eat. This recipe calls for a ’barbeque sauce’ of sorts, these chops can also be served with Thai Sweet Chili Sauce and Jasmine rice for a complete meal.

For the Pork Chops:

• 4 boneless pork loin chops, about 1" thick and trimmed of fat
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the Sauce:

• ½ cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• Rinse chops well and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside on large plate.
• Place flour, egg, and panko, each in separate shallow bowls. Dip pork chops into flour shaking off excess well and then egg just to coat. Lay chop in panko, pressing to adhere on both sides. Return chop to plate and season both sides with salt and pepper while you coat remaining chops.
• In a large non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chops, and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 6-7 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate and allow to rest while you make the sauce.
• To make the sauce: In a small bowl, combine ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar, stirring well to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Serve with pork chops on the side.

"A mother who is really a mother is never free." Honore de Balzac

Hello! It's been a while, yea I know but so many things have been going on making blogging a low priority. Lately I've been struggling with my identity of mother. I feel like I lost myself with that last push on December 20th. I'm no longer the feisty incredibly sexy Sasha, instead I'm Baron's mom or Brandon's wife. Suddenly my needs are placed on the back burner and my world revolves around them. Instead of my husband asking me how my day was, he says "how's Baron?" The same thing being asked by my mother on a daily basis via the telephone. The only variation to "How's Baron?"
is "What's for dinner?".
How do I find peace you may ask? I hide in the bathroom. I sometimes sit there until my legs are numb and I have to grab on to a towel rack for assistance getting up. It's the only place I'm safe from my son who lacks the ability to sit independently much less look for me. My husband usually assumes I'm having stomach problems and stays clear giving me15 minutes of bliss . Oh course retail therapy works and oh boy would Gandhi be disappointed. Since I have yet to regain my confidence to buy clothes, my new hobby is to immerse myself in plants. I know it's a hobby that seems harmless but when you add up five buck here and ten dollars there, you've spent over fifty dollars on something that's purely for aesthetics. My house also looks like a greenhouse now due to this obsession of buying plants!
My question is how do I balance the needs of my family and my own? Will I ever be that person I thought to be feisty mamacita again or am I destined to mom jeans and a minivan forever?


**Note: yesterday I got out for a bit and bought 5 new plants, one being an Orchard.
I really need help people.

BLAH

Hello blog! Its been a couple of days but I'm back. Well my quest to stop buying junk has commenced. I think Ghandi would be proud. I did purchase two house plants. Since having the baby the body confidence has gone down a bit, so when I want to purchase things its mostly for the house. The house size always stays the same and its rare that I look at something and feel bad about it.

So easter came and went and I cooked a very large Ham for the family. Yay for me but at the same time, I have to eat ham for the rest of this week. BLAH. Tonight we are having....
HAM FRIED RICE

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons cooking oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons cooking oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups cold, cooked white rice
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 pound diced cooked ham

Directions

1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a skillet; cook the eggs in the hot oil until set, 3 to 5 minutes. Cool and slice into thin ribbons; set aside.
2. Heat 2 more teaspoons oil in a large skillet; fry the garlic in the oil, mashing it while frying until light brown and almost crispy, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and mix thoroughly until it is well blended with the garlic. Add the soy sauce and mix again; cook for 2 minutes. Stir the ham into the mixture; cook and stir another 5 minutes. Fold the sliced egg into the mixture and cook until hot, about 3 minutes.            Anyway I gotta go. Today is such a blah day. 

Paging Dr Drew....

I wonder how Dr. Drew would feel about me going to the store to buy some ingredients for Chili tonight. I know Im trying to overcome my addiction to the store but I gotta eat and so does my husband.  Tonight just feels like it should be a Chili night so I figure why not make chili.This makes me think, what would Ghandi do? Maybe I should make a bracelet with the letters..WWGD? To make up for this, I'm going to purge myself of all of the junk and trinkets in the house. I think  that should settle the score.

Here are the ingredients:

Ingredients ( serving of four)

• 13 ounces ground beef
• 3/4 (16 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 3/8 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 3/4 medium onions, chopped
• 3/8 green pepper, chopped
• 3/4 clove garlic, minced
• 2-1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Shredded Cheddar cheese

I'm serving Corn bread and sweet tea on the said. Can we say MMMM?

In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Transfer to a slow cooker. Add the next nine ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4 hours. Garnish individual servings with cheese if desired.
Anyway BABY  is waking up..gotta go.