Mike even followed through with his resolution to get Jack a booster seat, complete with a seat belt. Mike is certain that Jack will love the booster seat. I'm doubtful.
Tonight, I decided to go with a tried and true recipe of my mom's, Chicken-in-a-Bag. I love making this because it makes you feel very professional to cook an entire bird, plus you really can't do anything to mess it up.
I love that this recipe is written out on one of my recipe cards. Those are way better than cook books! The only thing that makes them even better is if they are written in someone else's handwriting! The ingredients were so simple, I already had everything I needed except for the chicken. I picked that up yesterday at the store.
We almost made it one day without going to the store but Mike stopped by Homegrown Foods for some potatoes.
This recipe is really simple. You just shake a bunch of stuff all over the chicken. Then put it in a brown paper bag; then stick it in the oven.
It will sit in your oven for an hour and a half, during which your kitchen will begin to smell amazing.
Please note the placement of the cookie sheet. As instructed on the nice little recipe card, it is to be placed underneath to catch any drippings. There will be drippings. Lots of drippings. If you forget the cookie sheet, or put it directly underneath the chicken instead of down a row, you will set off the smoke alarm. The smoke alarm will go off, despite how many times you push the button or wave a towel in front of it, for roughly 30 minutes. The dog will bark. The cat will tear through the house with his hair standing up. The dinner guests will look uncomfortable.
We did this when we were newlyweds and having our first guests over for dinner. Luckily, Kelly and Louise had the good grace to pretend like they set their smoke alarm off all the time.
Today I got the drippings tray correct, though. So, while the chicken was cooking we had time for some art.
I also had time to use that leftover cabbage to whip up some Crunchy Slaw. This favorite comes from the Mueller Family Cookbook, and is pretty much a summer staple at any family gathering.
Jack helped by unwinding the paper towels and playing hop scotch with the pizza stone.
I also chopped up those lovely, homegrown potatoes for some garlic roasting. I tossed them with a bunch of good stuff and then stuck them in the all-important drippings-cathching cookie sheet.
When the chicken was done, Mike got to display his manly prowess by carving the bird.
Our dinner looked great, and two of us loved it.
Jack refused to eat the chicken, slaw, and potatoes. He did like the crescent rolls, though. Surprising, I know. Actually this was a bit of a success since he has previously scoffed all crescent rolls. We'll take the victories however small!
Jack had a great time eating everyone's crescent rolls and smashing them with his fork. He had no worries at all until his bulging belly revealed a troubling fact about his new chair... what was this?!
A seat belt?!?!? Seriously, Dad?!?! And what is that?! Oh yeah, my belly button! I forgot about that little guy! (And he was successfully distracted).
So we made it through our second day swimmingly, and head towards day three with a fridge full of leftover chicken. Any guesses as to tomorrow's course?
