The Best Laid Plans

After describing my uber-busy, near-disastrous, crazy Tuesday to my mother, she asked me if I lie awake at night thinking up new ways to make myself busier (read: crazier).



Really, I don't. I try to avoid anything that might be viewed as actual effort in just about everything I do. I crave a quiet, serene existence.



I really do.



"Quiet" and "serene" just aren't words that jive with my life at the moment. Maybe when I'm 100 I'll finally be able to just relax and go with the flow.



About Tuesday, I don't know how that day morphed into chaos, but somehow it did. It all started last Friday when I offered to bring dinner to the super-sweet, super-cute, super-pregnant Pawranee. "How 'bout Tuesday?" she asked.



I thought about it for like, 2 seconds, when I said, "Yes! Tuesday will work for us."



Tuesday really did seem like the best choice. I wasn't planning on going anywhere and I only had 3 piano lessons. No problem.



What I didn't remember was Hallie's dentist appointment at 2:00. I was reminded of that Monday afternoon when the office called. Oops. This still was no problem. I would just have to get most of the dinner ready beforehand. The menu:

Green Salad (easy)

Hawaiian Macaroni Salad (easy)

French Bread (homemade--to be made in the morning)

and

Teriyaki chicken that could be baking during my lessons.



I was confident things would go smoothly. Then Monday afternoon Hallie began complaining about a wire from her braces poking her mouth.



Mom-Confession #1: She had actually been complaining about it since Christmas. I just kept forgetting about it.

Mom-Confession #2: Actually, this was the second wire she had had problems with. She had quit complaining about the first wire a few weeks ago when she finally gave up waiting for me to call and make the appointment. She ended up snipping it off with nailclippers herself.



So I called the orthodontist. They wanted her in Tuesday morning at 9:30. I was still deluding myself that this would all work beautifully. That I could do all the things I needed to do right along with all the things I wanted to do.

I had it planned out:
*Take Hallie to the orthodontist.
*Stop at Wal-Mart to get another pack of boneless, skinless chicken to go with the chicken I already had at home.
*Get dinner prepped.
*Take Hallie to dentist.
*Put chicken in oven to bake.
*Teach piano.
*Leave for Pawranee's house.

Consequently I didn't get dinner prepped because after dropping Hallie off at school for a few hours, I needed to clean my kitchen so that I could have a clean workspace. Still no problem though. I could get dinner going when we returned home and before my lessons showed up. What I didn't expect was for the dentist to take a long time also. By the time we got home I had about 5 minutes to get dinner going before my first lesson showed up.

Here is the near-disastrous part: When I went to take out the chicken from the freezer I realized that I didn't have the chicken that I though I did. Sure I had the package that I had purchased at Wal-Mart, but the other chicken that I was counting on being there, wasn't there. Instead I had a package of frozen chicken quarters. Really big, really frozen chicken quarters.

Oh, why hadn't I double checked the freezer?

Anyways, I'm getting bored with this story so I'll hurry it along. In between my lessons I had to keep checking on the chicken to see if it was finally thawed and ready to bake. Hallie had to make the salad. Hallie had to make the Hawaiian Pasta salad (the recipe of which I had to quickly jot down in the middle of giving a lesson). We ended up using store bought rolls because I didn't have time to make french bread. And we were 45 minutes late because those really big, really frozen chicken quarters took so long to thaw and then bake.

In the end, it turned into the nicest evening, though. We loved hanging out with Pawranee and Thomas, and their house is GORGEOUS!!!

And Pawranee made super yummy stuff for dessert: Pecan Pie and Pretzel Delight. Yum!

There were many lessons I learned that day. First, write down your kids dentist appointments. Second, never count on their appointments to be quick. And last, check the freezer to make sure you have the chicken you're thinking you have.

And thank Heaven for Hallie. We would have been doomed without her.

Here's the recipe for Teriyaki Chicken:
Chicken (I prefer boneless, skinless thighs, though chicken leg quarters work, too)
Yoshida's Teriyaki Marinade (buy it at Sam's. It's waaaayyyy cheaper than the grocery store, and you get a really big bottle of it)
green onions
sesame seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Place chicken in a foil-lined, greased baking dish. Pour a little marinade over the top, brushing to coat. Choose the appropriate time for the type of chicken you are using. Bake for half the time, then flip over and bake the rest of the time. When done, place chicken in a pretty serving dish (pretty serving dishes make everything look better). Pour more marinade over the chicken, brushing to coat. Top with coarsely chopped green onions and sesame seeds (if desired).

This is the easiest chicken dish. Hardly any prep at all and it looks beautiful (depending on how pretty your serving dish is, anyways).