My son the CHEF!

I love food and I love to cook!  My son does not, unless it is part of his limited menu.  On a relaxing Sunday morning before worship service, he showed me that he is growing up fast!  He taught me, and now you how you make a bowl of Cheerios!

Ingredients:  Cheerios, a small bowl, one observant kid!

First, set your bowl on a table while carrying a box of Cheerios.  My son choose to use the cheaper generic version of Crispy Oats, but it is just as good.  It is also important that you find a box that is already open and sitting on the dining room table.

Second, pour the Cheerios into the bowl and don't stop until the flow of Cheerios slows to a dribble.  You may need to lift the box at a higher angle to get the Cheerios to pour out faster, as my son is doing here.  If any Cheerios fall outside the bowl that is okay...it is part of the presentation.

Third, wait for the bag inside the box to shrink and fall outside the Cheerio box.  This is a one person job, even though I am trying to help my son would have none of it.  Observe the extra Cheerios outside the bowl.  Isn't it a lovely effect?!

Finally, toss the box on the floor.  You can eat with a spoon or your hands.  My son choose to use his hands, which is fine if you are eating the Cheerios dry!  My little chef has taught me well!

Mommy missed it...

Timing is everything in those first brief but amazing years when your child is growing up.  I don't mean to sound like an expert, but I have learned from experience.  Your child's first smile, first tooth, and other notable moments.  For my son, I have enjoyed a couple of huge firsts!  Unfortunately, both times my wife was unable to witness.  Kind of sad actually.  The first big 1st was my son's first rollover:

My wife gave me a specific time period after this artwork was completed

One morning in the spring of 2010, my wife had to leave our very young little duder with me as she left for a dentist appointment.  Up to that point as my son has grown up a little bit, we began to teach him the joys of laying on his tummy.  We called it "Tummy Time."  He HATED it.  My son would protest with crying and screaming at the top of his lungs.  Thanks to my contribution of genes, this screaming could be quite piercing.  So for 5-10 minutes that felt like hours, we sang and danced encouragement while my son would cry with increased vigor.  Finally after an eternity, he would give us the 5-10 minutes in peace, until he had enough.  Then this one eventful morning, while my wife was away, I watched as he shifted his hips and noticed he was rocking.  He continued, back and forth, and then to my amazement, he rolled onto his back.  He looked at me with eyes that spoke to me, "Daddy, what just happened!"  I'm bouncing off the walls, roll him back onto his back, and lamented that my wife missed this blessed event.  So I texted her, and we celebrated through the miracle of text messaging.

Event 2, my son's first steps;

No, there was never a bunny, except in legend

  This is a more stressful event.  My son was a late walker.  In the world of parenting, when your kid is over a year old and people say, "I bet he's walking all over the place" and you say, "Not yet," you get the look of concern and suspicion.  Concern that he isn't walking, and suspicion that your parenting skills are somewhat lacking.  At this stage in life (March 2012) no one cares when he started walking, but in those stressful months the thoughts plague you.  You compare notes, and even though you tell yourself, "He's going to walk one day, he has to!", you wonder and worry.
  Then on the quiet evening of April 30th, 2011 (thanks to Facebook's Timeline I have the post to confirm!), my son was taking toys back and forth to the fireplace hearth, on his knees of course.  I joined him to hand him some of those toys.  Then he pulled up to his feet next to the hearth to place the next toy.  He turned to see me hold out one of his building blocks.  I saw the hesitation in his face as he wondered, "Is there an easier way?  Why not."  Then he let go, walked to my outstretched hand, took the block, and took a couple of steps back to the hearth to continue!  I am cheering with sheer delight!!!  But where is my wife?  In the kitchen, cleaning up I think.  Go figure...

  I am sure my wife has witnessed such wonderful firsts with our son....I just can't think of any at the moment.  That said, if you do find yourself at the right place at the right time in the beginning of the life of your little duder, WRITE IT DOWN!  Treasure it!  You'll never get another 1st again, and these are wonderful things worth remembering.

I'm back with Chicken Roulade!

Okay, I stink. I did say that I would blog earlier but life has been insanely busy the past 2 weeks. And then I got addicted to the awesome "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" trilogy. So yes, I chose some books over blogging, I stink. But now I am back with one of my favorite recipes! I learned this one in my bachelor days while watching Hell's Kitchen one night, and it's amazing! It is Chicken Roulade with Fried Potatoes! Here we go!

Ingredients:
2 Chicken Breasts
2-3 slices of prosciutto (or substitute with ham)
2-3 Potatoes
Feta Cheese
Italian Seasoning
Rosemary
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
A Large Frying Pan you can put in your oven (no plastic handles)

First peel and cut up your potatoes into wedge-shaped slices. You'll want them to be fairly thin so they'll cook, but not potato chip thin. You want these potatoes to cook in a short time. This round I made the mistake of using 3 LARGE potatoes. 2 would have been plenty. But it all worked out. Set the potatoes aside and now work on the chicken.

Now take your 2 chicken breasts and butterfly-cut them. That means you are going to cut the chicken in half so it folds open into one large thin piece of chicken. It will look like a chicken butterfly!...sort of. A word of advice, you want to start cutting on the bumpy side of your chicken toward the side with the straighter edge (which I am pointing to). It makes the breast easier to work with. Also don't fret if you mess up, it may take some practice.

Here are my two chicken breasts butterfly opened. Now that you have that done, lay 1-2 slices of prosciutto across it. You want to cover the surface of the chicken as bast you can. That was easy!

Now it is time to add your feta cheese across your prosciutto. This cheese transforms this meal into pure magic! Next sprinkle some Italian Seasoning on it. If you buy Feta Cheese that has herbs already in it, you can skip the Italian Seasoning.
Then it is time to roll the chicken up (thus the roulade!). Using this picture as a reference, take the pointy end at the top and roll it up toward you. Once this is done you'll want to use either toothpicks or string to keep it together.

Once you have done that season the outside of your "rolled" chicken breasts with salt and pepper. It's time to heat up your pan on your stove, around medium heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and wait for it to heat up. Then add the chicken breasts and give it a good searing, one side at a time. Wait till it's a healthy brown before you do the other side. When I cook this, I start with the opening of the roulade on top and then turn it so it is on the bottom.
While this is happening pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees.

Now it is time to add your sliced potatoes around the chicken. Observe that I have way too much, but you do what you can with it. I then pour 2 - 2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil over the potatoes. Stir the potatoes a bit so the hot olive oil is spread fairly evenly over the potatoes. Then put your pan in the oven. Time it for 20 minutes so the chicken can cook with the potatoes.
(another hint, if there is some fat on your chicken, leave some on. It will melt into the oil and give the potatoes a yummy flavor)

After 20 minutes or so get your pan out of the oven (with oven mitts) and back onto a hot stove on medium heat. The chicken should be cooked (if not, put it back in the oven), but the potatoes need more cooking. They always do. So while you prep the chicken the potatoes can continue to cook on the stove. Cool huh?
So get the chicken and place it on a cutting board.

Now remove the string or toothpicks. Then begin slicing up the chicken like a loaf of bread. You should have this pretty swirl of chicken, prosciutto, and feta cheese. Do this to both chicken breasts and remember to stir the potatoes a few times while you are doing this.

Once you are done slicing the chicken finish cooking the potatoes. This is the time I add rosemary to the potatoes. Rosemary and potatoes are always a great combo! (PS, I like my potatoes to get nice and brown.)

Now it is time to serve!

Nothing beats a snappy presentation. It will impress your guests and is a definite keeper! Bon appetit!

Busy

If anyone is wondering where my blogging wisdom has gone, it is still here.  I am just overwhelmed with work at the moment, but am hoping for a reprieve this Friday and Saturday and will return with a yummy recipe for your enjoyment.  Till then, peace!

My son in the jungle...

As I have mentioned, I am a pastor.  And I had the most interesting encounter this week.  I was visiting some of the shut-ins of my parish; one being in a nursing home.  He was in the hallway when I noticed an angry old woman in a wheelchair going down the hallway yelling at people, heading our way.  I had never met her before, and I was already intimidated.  If she wished to kick my butt, I believed she could.  Well she wheeled up to my parishioner and myself and said to me in a stern and angry voice, "I am going to take your baby to the jungle!  What do you think about that?!"  I had never met her before, so I answered the only way I could...honestly.  I said, "Well, he would probably like that."  

She wheeled away to deliver her mass protests, and I was left giggling.  I felt bad for the lady, but I've learned it is best to roll with the punches when you dealing with people whose minds are sick.  Take this advice if you ever find yourself visiting a nursing home.  Just roll with the punches and it will be okay.

Meanwhile, my son has treated the house as a jungle; sneaking into rooms, finding sacred objects that he normally couldn't reach (ex., anything off of the table), and climbing up the furniture.  It's an adventure with this kid.  

On that note, I treated my camera skills as of that of a National Geographic reporter; maintaining stealth and distance while I document the exotic creature in it's natural habitat.   It is an exhilarating experience when I capture such a moment on film.  I should submit this to the networks!  And here is my rare experience in documenting this exotic, independent, and busy creature:

Parental Karma

Worry. It is the habit of every new parent. You want your kid to grow up normal, smart, happy, with minimal challenges. And when things do not go according to plan, you worry, and that worry begins to fester. I did it to my parents; I was a late talker. Who knew that a future PREACHER would freak out his parents by refusing to speak! It concerned my parents enough that they took me to doctors and professionals to make sure I was developing okay. It turned out I was fine, I started chattering my parents' ears off without any therapy or surgery or whatnot, and everyone lived happily ever after. Until....the sequel!

The Vow of Silence: Part II! I became the parent, and then my son became the latest addition to the silent-kid-club. He had grown up well so far; happy, content, very busy, very independent, and very analytical. Seriously, this kid studies everything with a focus that would rival many a scientist. Of course there was one thing lacking as of last fall...speech. My wife and I would talk constantly to him, read to him, sing to him, dance, run, play, ANYTHING to encourage him to repeat what we said.....to no avail. He would just stare with those giant brown eyes, grin, and soak it all in without any response. I kept repeating to myself, "I did this to my parents. I did this to my parents. Karma. Karma. He will be fine."

My son spoke 6-8 words at the time, which was considered to be behind as far as development in 16ish month olds. Those words included, "Out-side," "Dada (which he would only repeat me saying)," "Mama (the same repeat thing)," and "6, 7, 8, 9." I have no clue where that came from. He would never say 1-5, even when I would say them. But when you got to 6, he would take over until 10. He showed he could understand us, but he was serious about his vow of silence. Talk about frustration! So what does a good parent do? Take him to the doctor and give him an additional checkup. It is a humbling thing to do; to admit that you need help and that you've reach the end of your parental rope. So just as the tests began...BOOM!

My son experienced a LANGUAGE EXPLOSION! Seriously, that's what I call it. Non-stop chatterbox. It's karma. Here's a little video proof (I hit record after 1-6, take my word for it)

Let it be said, there is no shame in asking for help when you new at the parenting thing and things are looking uncertain. Being humble and asking for help can give you a piece of mind, which is worth a lot more than being prideful and getting into a deeper mess. If you have any encouraging stories of the young trials of parenting, please share! Peace.

A Simple Breakfast Recipe: GRITS!

So I am a Cooking Gaming Daddy, so now it is time I cover some cooking here. I LOVE to cook, it is my favorite activity to do! I was sort of disinterested in the past, but when my wife was pregnant with our son I took over. On this blog I will cover some simple stuff and some tough stuff, and how I did. So let us begin with grits.

I never ate grits growing up. I wasn't opposed, it just wasn't something we ate. Meanwhile my wife LOVES grits! She insisted that grits become part of our breakfast routine, and there was no run for the instant stuff. This is a recipe for real grits! As Joe Pesci taught the world in "My Cousin Vinny," all good southerners eat grits. Nothing instant! So here we go:

Here is what you need:

Grits (none of the instant stuff)

Salt

Butter (it is margarine here, it will work too)

One pot and lid

Measuring Equipment

(this recipe will make enough grits for 2 people, my wife and I)

First get a 2 cups of COLD water and put it in your pot over the stove. Then measure out 6 Tablespoons of grits and pour it into the COLD water. Cover it with your lid. Then crank up your stove to HIGH and bring the water to a boil. I have found that having cold water with the grits being brought to a boil together allowed the grits to become creamier and less clumpy.

Now WATCH THAT POT! It will boil over if you are not watching it, and it is a nasty mess. Once it starts boiling as you see here immediately turn it down to medium-low heat to low heat, depending on your stove. You just want the grits to gently bubble without overflowing.

Now it is time to add your salt. Add 1/4 of a Teaspoon of salt to the boiling mixture. Don't overdue the salt, it will ruin your day (it ruined mine one day).

Stir the grits frequently with a spoon, especially on the bottom to prevent clumping. Keep the lid on unless you are stirring. Do this for 6-8 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed. Once the water is absorbed turn off the stove.

Then add a generous amount of butter or margarine. I use about 2- 2 1/2 tablespoons of butter (margarine in the picture) and stir it so it mixes with the grits.

Time to serve and enjoy. I enjoy putting fresh ground pepper on my grits. This morning I served my grits with a biscuit and a cup of coffee. It is an awesome way to begin your day! Thus begins my first recipe on my blog. I plan to do 1-2 recipes a week, so stay posted! Peace out!

Duck Hunt, the Timeless Classic!

Do you ever look through a box of old stuff and enjoy the feeling of nostalgia? I do. I have a little box full of cards, pictures, notes that I consider my little treasure box. It helps me revisit a bit of childhood and memories I thoroughly enjoy. You know that videogames also have the same effect for me? They do, and I am not alone.

I was blessed to grow up in the game where Nintendo entered the US market like a Japanese Invasion, much like the British Invasion with the Beatles. The Beatles changed music and America, and Nintendo changed us the same way. Upstairs in my dad's office is where I would spend countless hours diving through pipes with Mario, face off evil dragons as Link, or fight the wicked Dr. Wily in Mega Man. Mom and dad would watch with fascination, but they didn't get it. My sister would sometimes join in, but usually it was a solo trek. There was one game though that would get everyone involved....and I usually hate it....Duck Hunt.

You grab a gun, which is fun, you shot it at the TV, which is a fun novelty at first, and you shot the ducks. It is something everyone can enjoy, but the ducks get faster, the time to shoot gets smaller, and as your aim fails you, you are MOCKED!

I HATE that dog! He's evil! I don't know how many times I've pulled the trigger of my orange gun on this annoying pooch! I would go to sleepovers with my friends, we would play games for hours, which would turn to the game that every Nintendo came with, and we would all laugh at each other when the stupid dog mocked your marksmanship. I don't think anyone enjoyed that stupid mutt.

Soon a Super Nintendo came into my possession, and Duck Hunt went into a box to be forgotten. Until one day, last Christmas, we went to the beach. There in the beach house this same box had travelled, and on a rainy day, behold!

My wife is not a gamer, not by any means, yet the sight of Duck Hunt gave her an excitement about gaming I've never seen. So we began firing at the ducks like when we were kids, evil dog and all. We had such a fun time! I reached level 13, even though I hadn't played in 15 years at least! If you played games in your past and those game systems are gathering dust in your closet or garage, get them out, give them a whirl. You might be surprised how much fun you will have. (images come from Wikipedia, except the one I took)

A Typical Sunday...

As I have stated before, I am a pastor. It's a nice appointment; a small country church where I know EVERYONE'S name (for me that's a big one), good country people, and I only have one service to preach in. Some have 3-4 services in one weekend, so I know to count my blessings. And it warms my heart each Sunday to look to my left and see on the 2nd pew my lovely wife and 2 year old son sitting on the pew for church.

As the service begins my son stares at me with those amazing brown eyes with a smile that I cannot help but return. The hymns are going great as my wife sits with my son and reads to him the hymns out of the church hymnal. Sometimes he's into it, other times he is a little disinterested. It's usually a cool thing.

Then around 15 minutes have passed, and the squirminess begins. He's wanting to get out of the pew and his noise level is rising. So out comes solution #1, Cheerios! Never fails! Sometimes my wife also has goldfish or oyster crackers mixed in. Now as I look at my adorable son, his cheeks are bloated as he has used every square inch of his mouth to maximize the number of Cheerios he can fit into one mouth-full. As the Cheerio solution ends as his supply dwindles, there are more songs, and he calms down. Then comes passing of the peace, where everyone shakes hands, gives hugs, the 7th inning stretch of a regular church service. After that...well...see above.

I'm usually in the middle of my sermon, and my son has lost all patience. Hymnals are falling, juice cups are flying, toys are scattered, and he's threatening to pull his arm out of his socket as my wife holds on for dear life. Then he gets loud and cries. My concentration is out the window. An awkward silence fills the sanctuary. Thus my wife collects our son, Cheerio container, fallen cup, etc, and the two leave the church less happy than when they came. Once upon a time when he was a year younger he would sit through church without making a peep. Now, the "terrific" twos are the norm. Granted he is very easy most days, but church has become something of a challenge lately. Will this trend continue? How much longer till he chills out? Or are there better solutions? Sure, a nursery or children's church thing would be nice, but we lack these luxuries here. Add your insights and have a great Sunday!

And so it begins...

Greetings internet world! I read a lot of blogs about gaming and parenting, so here I will do some blogging regarding those subjects and my other great love; cooking! This strange hybrid should provide good reading, insights, and I hope some good entertainment as life is too goofy to be taken too seriously. I am new to this, so a few glitches are bound to happen, but I do hope you enjoy this! Every week I plan to cover all three with my own spin, including recipes once a week. Successes and failures included! The fun begins tomorrow! Till then, I'm going to try to learn how to make this look cool. Till then, enjoy!