Schemed a little schemed, payback is not YOUR friend children

There is a rule in this house, if you can pick up a fork and eat my cooking, then you can pick up a sponge and clean up after dinner.

With that said, there is not a night that doesn’t go by that doesn’t end with someone getting in trouble for flinging dirty dish water across the kitchen, breaking a glass because they are too impatient to put it away right, half washed dishes put away with food still stuck to them clear as day. Actually I think that is my favorite way they do the clean up. I just LOVE getting a glass out, pouring ice cold milk in it, sitting down to eat my food, take a drink and discover as I’m in mid gulp that the remnants from another nights dinner has made its’ way inside my cup and is now crusted on. I am just a HAPPY mommy when that happens. The Man though, oh you’d think that someone had just committed murder right there on the table while we were eating when it happens to him.

Or I love it when one kid, usually ‘Tater, decides that they are going to sing a song horribly off key, purposely forgetting words, and increases their volume each time the other protests. (Seriously NO clue where they get this increase the volume tendencies either) I have even heard farm animal noises waft from the kitchen followed by either more outrageous singing or huge grunts that put a dog trying to pass a shoe to shame, sadly the animal noises and grunts is usually Lil t’.

These antics always end up in the same way EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. Me threatening to cut them off from everything sacred to them; the TV, cell phone, video games, library books, friends, and sadly they usually respond with “well you can’t take our imagination away”. At this point I say a silent prayer asking the Lord to please grant my loving beautiful children with a child themselves that will say these kind, sweet, sensitive words to them.

Now as a loving and devoted mother, who puts her children’s needs before her own, who NEVER gets tired, stressed, angry, or upset at them. A mother who has never yelled “O.M.G. You really irritate the piss out of me and my ears are shutting down now”. A mother who never drops the “F Bomb” as she slams the lid on the washer because she has hit her breaking point. A mother who never yells from another room to knock it off rather than go into the kitchen to assist with the problems. I take full control of this situation. I have schemed a little scheme. I am going to save their dirty plates, forks, cups, bowls and the next time I serve dinner, they will get to eat off their own handy work. The more I think of it, the more I feel it’s only fair. If they expect me to eat off half washed dishes then they should eat off them too. I WILL be on the lookout this week for their nasties because I am so ready to serve justice. Let’s see how Mr. Imagination will handle this when he comes face to face with it.

With that I tried a new recipe this week. The original looked a little dull to me, so I changed it up a little.

**This picture does NO justice to the dish especially since they are trying to kill me with the olives, but since my camera picks when it wants to work I found one thanks to Google**

Nacho Casserole

1lb. ground beef (we use only ground turkey)
1 ½ c chunky salsa (I just poured till the smell was strong)
Corn to your desire
¾ c. Miracle Whip (YES I am that person that LOVES my Miracle Whip)
Burrito Seasoning Packet
2 c. crushed tortilla chips
2 c. shredded cheese (I actually found a Colby mixture that had jalapenos peppers in it that scared the tar out of me. Another story for another time)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Brown the meat w/ seasoning packet. Since I use turkey and it really only has excess water, I always put the seasoning packet in with the turkey, but if you use regular beef, you’ll want to brown, drain then add the packet. Remove from heat, pour into bowl and add salsa, corn, and Miracle Whip. Stir.
3. In a 2 quart casserole dish, layer meat mixture, tortilla chips, and cheese twice. End with cheese on top.
4. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes uncovered. It will depend on the type of dish you use. I used my all time favorite Pyrex dish and it took about 23 min, however if I were to use my stoneware dish it would probably take about 45 minutes.
5. Serve with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and sour cream.