Working momma dinner strikes again!

I am addicted to pinterest. The creativity and great time saving tips I've been able to find are just great. However, it is the recipes that keep getting me. My family thinks some sort of recipe renaissance has exploded in my head....but really, I've abandoned my Farmville crops and shifted my evening obsession to pinning things to make our lives better!


Sometimes though, some of these recipes are still a little more work than a full time working, full time student, mother of two has time for! So I have to make some tweaks, but still get some awesome results.


This recipe started through pinterest from the great blog Iowa Girl Eats (link here: http://iowagirleats.com/2012/01/30/super-bowl-recipe-week-mini-corn-dog-muffins/) my son saw them on the board (oh yeah, he checks out the pins too) and immediately wanted them. I looked at the recipe and realized "I can be lazy on these!" So I was.


LAZY Corn Dog Muffins

1 - package of hotdogs
2 - boxes of Jiffy Mix Corn muffin
shredded cheese, if you're into that (we are!)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees


Cut hotdogs into 1 inch chunks
Prepare Jiffy mix and pour into mini muffin tins, about 3/4 full
Push 1 section of hot dog into the middle of each dog
Bake for roughly 10 minutes, until the muffin is golden brown

*you can sprinkle with cheese before baking if you want or get it on thereright as it comes out of the oven.


The end result?




Delish. The kids were so excited I had to start plating right away, no time for fancy pictures - but here's one of the end result. And the pickiest six year old ate six of these!! The one year old packed away FOUR (don't ask me how she did it). It was a hit.


And for my husband who declared I was goin to need a lot more muffins, I made some grown up ones too. Same recipe but in a standad muffin tin, still filled 3/4 full but with TWO hot dog sections in it and then baked for about 10 minutes.


Daddy's plate:


Super easy. Super fast. And SUPER yummy. The reviews at home were great! Welcome to the recipe rotation little corn dogs. This would be a GREAT recipe to get your kid chef involved on too...mine was too busy playing outside to be troubled this day!

Working momma rocking dinner :)

I work. A lot. I mostly manage to skip lunch hours and bring work home to do after the kids are in bed so I can spend time with them and not just be a myth in their childhoods (I'm tired, but I'll sleep when my nest is empty!). Most of the time, I think I balance it well. Sometimes I feel guilty but I think the guilt means I'm doing things right - it'd be a real problem if I didn't care, right?

But, no matter what. Seven days a week my family sits down at the table, at the same time, and we eat. And laugh, and talk, and sometimes argue (you DO have to eat the vegetables and keep your elbows off table!) but we have some good times.

I'm blessed - really blessed - that my husband is willing and able to step up and make the meals so we can do this a bit more efficiently during the week. Weekends are usually Momma's domain. Sometimes though, I throw them for a loop and make dinner when I get home from work. Leaving me pressed for time. And this recipe? We love it. And its easy. And a little outside of the box which makes me feel happy!

Goldfish chicken!

Honestly, no clue where I got this. I've been cooking it for about 6 years and never got a complaint! And when MY six year old will eat an entire meal without a whine? "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!"

Try it - you'll like it (kid cooks can help a bit too):

What you need:

2 cups goldfish crackers (we like flavor blast cheddar but we've played with them all and love them. The flavor blast ones were best)

1 1/2 cups ranch dressing

1 lb chicken tenders

Prepped baking dish (greased) - 9x13 should do it

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Smash those little fishes into itty bitty little bits and crumbs (kid chefs do good work!), then pour into a bowl

2. In separate bowl, pour ranch

3. dredge chickn through ranch

4. roll in the goldfish to coat

5. place in baking dish

Bake them for 20-30 minutes and SERVE!

(I forgot to take a picture. We were hungry! Just imagine them cooked and yummy and my kids smiling as they eat it!)