And I HELPED!!

And I helped.

Do you remember the old Shake and Bake commercial?  So to set the background, Nita and I plan our family menu each week on Saturday or Sunday morning.  We make a list of events, and then do one big shopping trip at the store.  We try to round out the menu with a chicken, beef, pork, and seafood and match up the veggies.  We try to keep it pretty healthy, figure out prep times and coordinate with our schedules and routines.  We even put it on a grease board so our nanny can coordinate lunch and not overlap. I know it sounds pretty hospital corners, but it makes things pretty efficient and we NEVER worry about what we’re having or missing ingredients.  We also have a pretty good inventory of our pantry and refrigerators and are able to purge the old stuff.  (We wouldn’t want a grandmother or nanny grabbing leftovers that should have been thrown away three weeks ago).  Anyway, we’re not trying to patent or defend the process, just share the methodology.

This past Saturday we started going through the menu options.  The only bad part of this is you have a tendency to pick some of the same meals over and over again.  So while trying to think of something different for poultry, “Shake ‘N Bake” just popped in my head.  I remember back when I first started in the Texas Senate, we had this woman named Cyndi in the office.  Her dad was a hotshot lobbyist and she was what we called a “political must hire.”  Not going to get into that but she always knew where the great lobby parties were during session and I can personally thank her for keeping me fed during that time (they didn’t pay us very much).  One time in the office, while she was nursing a hangover from a huge bender I remember, and actually cannot get it out of my head since, her talking about the “shake ‘n bake” commercial.  And with the thickest southern drawl she could muster saying, “It’s shake ‘n bake and I helped!”  She said it about 100 times, which is why it is so deeply ingrained I suppose.

Needless to say, I suggested that as our “chicken” dish for this week.  Well Monday was my day to make it.  I came home a bit early and Connor was outside and had just finishing gluing everything he could put glue on, had moved to painting, and was inching towards the dirt patch.  (See last week’s blog, at least we have some grass over the trench now, and the sprinkler head has been fixed, but are probably two more pallets from being done.) Connor was really excited about daddy being home and wanted me to play with him.  I told him I had to cut some veggies for dinner but I’d let him help with the chicken and then we’d play trains while it cooked. I went inside to start on dinner and Connor headed toward the dirt. Connor was crazy excited.

Once I got down to the shaking part, I called Nita to wash him up to come in.  When I looked outside the kitchen window, there was my son, buck nekkid, being hosed down by the fire hose nozzle.  I know.  And of course I couldn’t stop laughing…until I was told (by a neighbor) this is the new daily routine.  Anyhoo, I watch as my wife chases my wet naked son down the hall and expect him to emerge with some clothes on.  Instead, he’s in just a diaper carrying his little step up stool.  He’s ready to help.  So as promised I put some chicken in the bag, pour in the contents of the mix and hand it to Connor to shake.  I told him it’s “shake and bake” which means he has to shake it really well and then we bake it.  He shakes and giggles and shakes and squishes and shakes some more.  He does a pretty good job coating the chicken.  We put it in the dish and I put it in the oven.  Just then my mom comes over, and we invite her to stay for dinner. 

Once we get the table set and everyone’s ready, Connor is going to his chair and says, (You guessed it) “Abuelita, abuelita (grandmother in Spanish), It’s Shake and Bake and I HELPED!!”  I really started laughing.  Then before the meal, Connor usually leads the prayer.  This time he said, “God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our ….Chicken!”  Now I couldn’t stop laughing.  One of those things were you almost can’t catch your breath and as soon as you stop you replay it in your head and start laughing again.  It was REALLY funny to me.  Of course Josie thought my laughing was hilarious and was cooing and clapping.  Could have been the bourbon, either way, it was funny.  By the way, his lack of clothing and the spontaneity of this kept us from getting any new pictures.  So I’m sorry for no new photos this week, just the link to the original commercial. J