At least I'm trying

Hat tip to my sister's friend Paula for my dinner tonight. No, she didn't cook it, but I went to her awesome blog recently and she inspired me to try out some new dishes for dinner tonight.

I made Chicken Picatta using Paula's recipe which you can find here. After tonight, we are huge fans of this dish. So yummy.

I paired it with some green beans, fruit, and I made garlic mashed potatoes using this recipe-

* 3 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
* 2 tablespoons kosher salt
* 16 fluid ounces (2 cups) half-and-half
* 6 cloves garlic, crushed
* 6 ounces grated Parmesan

Directions

Peel and dice potatoes, making sure all are relatively the same size. Place in a large saucepan, add the salt, and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork.

Heat the half-and-half and the garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain off the water. Mash and add the garlic-cream mixture and Parmesan; stir to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes so that mixture thickens and then serve. I added some crumbled bacon pieces at the end for an extra bit of flavor.

Then I finished the evening off with apple fritters. I also got the recipe from Paula's blog but these are my lovely creations below.


So, why does the title of this blog post say that at the very least I am trying? I'll tell you why. Because I am INSANE trying to make this kind of a dinner with a 2 year old and a 15 month old all up in my space. All the time!! Why do I try elaborate dinners when by the end I am stressed, the kitchen is a mess, the kids are screaming, and you eat it all in 20 minutes? Seriously- I was in the kitchen way too long to have all the food consumed in the time it took to boil the potatoes. Sheesh!

Try the recipes for yourself, but we are having spaghetti tomorrow night. And the next. And the next.