Potato Chip Fish

Good Tuesday morning!

I hope everyone had a good Labor Day. We were spread hither and yon, but it was a good day for all. As the pictures in the Gallery indicate, Roxie and cousins, Katie and Zac, spent the day at the pool. Mikie and Austin cut a yard or two, and then Austin and Melia washed their car and truck, respectively. Josh had football practice from 10:00 until 4:30. He had the hardest Labor Day by far.

The best thing about the day was dinner together. And the fact the dinner was FREE made everything even sweeter. That's right. If you wore your team's logo to Chick-Fil-A, they gave you a free chicken sandwich. So we loaded up the van, and everyone wore hats, shirts, etc. and picked up free sandwiches. A few potato chips, tea and ice cream for dessert and it was a very easy dinner.

I've also added a picture of a fall place setting. Simple and casual. I bought several packs of fall paper plates at Target in their $1 section, and I use them on top of my regular olive green dishes. It's not fancy, but it is festive, and clean-up is fast and easy, too. (Target has paper plates for most seasons in this section. For only $2 or $3, you can have several meals with the "fun" non-china.)

REMINDER - So far, I've kept up with Belinda's Project 365. Some days have been easier than others, but so far there has been a moment to catch each of the past 13 days. (Why do I think today's picture may be of someone tasting my parsnip/carrot dish? Why do I think that someone will probably be me? I'm waiting until Roxie comes home to catch the "honest" reaction on my digital camera. We'll see. We'll see.)

After dinner, most of the family watched Madagascar 2 with Melia. (She provided the movie.) I watched Anthony Bourdain in the bedroom and finished getting Austin's clothes ready for 12 DAYS AWAY AT SCHOOL. That's right. He will not be coming home this weekend since JSU is playing in Tallahassee, Florida. They'll be spending the night, and won't return to campus until late Sunday afternoon. (I know what you're thinking. And you're right. He knew better than to be grinning like an idiot when he pulled away this morning headed for JSU. I still have some things to teach him... and "looking" sad when you leave your family is one of them. But he'll learn. He always does.)

Football Story #2

I really shouldn't call this a football story. It's just an odd little coincidence that took place during one of the boys' football parties at the lot located at the end of our street.

It was one of the first football parties we ever had, and I was nervous about someone getting hurt. However, I knew it was the MOST uncool thing in the world for two teenage boys' mother to sit in a camp chair on the corner of the lot watching the boys play.

Everything would have been just fine if it had not been for the large wooden fence one neighbor had put around their pool. It completely blocked the view of the lot from our deck. If I stood on the deck, I could make out one or two heads (of the tallest guys), and I could occasionally see the football being lobbed from one side of the lot to the other, and I could faintly hear the shouts of the boys... but it was sometimes difficult to tell if they were happy or angry.

What's a good, non-meddling mother of teenage boys to do? Well, any self-respecting woman would stand in the middle of her wrought iron deck table with her hands on her hips and feet slightly spread apart for balance to see more clearly... and yet not be seen by any of the boys. (Hey! It was that or climb the magnolia tree... but I couldn't get my leg up to the first branch!)

So, there I was standing on my deck table watching inconspicuously when I noticed my across-the-street neighbor on top of his house checking out his new roof. (Did I mention this was around the same time everyone was getting new roofs put on because of the tornado that ripped through our neighborhood? Sorry. It was around that same time.) I only mention it because it explains why yet another neighbor was on his roof at that same time, also.

Unfortunately for the real estate agent who had decided to show the house with the pool which had the wooden fence around it (beside the lot where the boys were playing), the three of us were all standing on our respective houses (or deck tables) looking toward the horizon... or from where they were standing, looking directly at the house they were contemplating buying.

In only a matter of minutes, the potential buyers and irate real estate agent left the house never to return. (The potential buyers... not the real estate agent.) I suppose it looked a little odd to the average citizen, but it wasn't until much later that it occurred to me how strange our little neighborhood must have seemed.

I always wonder what kind of neighbors they might have been. Would they have let us swim in their pool? Would they have been our new best friends? We'll never know. Ahh. Just one of those little "what ifs" that makes life interesting!

NOTE - See what I mean? Technically, that is NOT a real football story. But it's just about the best one I have. I'll try another one tomorrow, but I've got a feeling it's going to be a stretch, too.

(If Thursday's story sounds a lot like the movie Rudy, you'll know I've gone completely blank!)

Potato Chip Fish

This recipe is from Family Fun Magazine (September 2009). I love fish and I love potato chips, but put them together... WOW!

1/2 of a 5-ounce bag of kettle-cooked salt and vinegar potato chips
4 (5- to 6-ounce) cod fillets, 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick
Salt for seasoning
4 teaspoons light mayonnaise

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the potato chips in a gallon-size zip-lock bag and use a rolling pin to crush them.

2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it lightly with cooking spray. Arrange fillets on the foil and season them lightly with salt.

3. Smear a teaspoon of the mayonnaise over the top of each fillet, then sprinkle on the crushed chips, completely covering the top of each piece.

4. Bake the fillets on the top oven rack until they are just cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Serve with coleslaw and tartar sauce. Yum!

Remember, today is Parsnip Tuesday. I'll be letting you know how that recipe from so long ago (March) turns out... in detail.

Have a wonderful Tuesday! It's going to be a great week... only four days before the weekend. I love short school weeks. Tomorrow we have a seasonal tradition from Let's Make a Memory, Wednesday Wisdom and another (made up) football story. (I had no idea I was so low on sports stories. I'm going to have to read some inspirational football books and make them my own.)

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda