Weak excuses for not blogging and a recipe

So I've, ah, been really lazy, er busy. It's shit-ass hot here in Mid Mo and it sucks the ever-lovin' life outta me. The kids have been driving me nuts. It's too hot to think. I have lots of laundry to do. I've been in a depressive slump. I'm broke. Okay, all of that.

Life just comes atcha so fast sometimes that it's hard to catch your breath. I've been feeling that way lately. Of course there's work, then house work, family time, gardening - it's just all overwhelming at times. Coupled with being yes, broker than broke, and worrying about budgeting all the time and will we make the bills this months? And can I really afford to get the kids ice cream cones this weekend? And oh crap, I forgot to renew my car's registration last month and now there's a late fee? And what do you mean it's already time for an oil change again? Ugg. I'm sure you're there with me.

The truth is life goes on if you're broke or not and that's just what's been happening here. Gwendolyn is in summer school, hating every minute of it and vowing not to screw off next year and end up there again... which she also said last year... Fletcher's arm is healing up but the doc added two more weeks to his wearing a cast, so he's a bit bummed. I did purchase a wash tub, though, to make bathing a little easier. With a Wal-Mart sack on his cast, he can settle in for a good soak and really clean out that, ahem, private area, without much help from me. This week he will get a new, clean, tighter cast. He decided this one will be green. I'll post a pic when it all goes down.

My sweet husband purchased the new Lego Indiana Jones video game and he and Fletch have been pretty much playing it non-stop since. I hate playing video games with Fletcher (sorry, son) as it pretty much consists of him a) killing me repeatedly and him never dying and b) him winning always and me never scoring a point. Matt just has WAY more patience than I do when it comes to this stuff. I love to watch, though, as my husband is a dashing Lego Dr. Jones and my son is a cute, clever Lego Short Round. I'm thrilled to announce as well that I won an e-bay auction for a custom-made George Lucas Lego mini-figure. Okay, I don't know what I'll do with it, either, but we are REALLY into Legos at this house.

Okay, so here's an AWESOME recipe that even my very picky family LOVES. I mean, this chicken is the bomb-diggety and it's like really cheap to make, too. I changed the cook time to 350 degrees for 2 hours because we like our chicken falling off the bone, but the original recipe says 425 for one hour. Also, I was out of cider vinegar and used white and I'm not sure how many actual chicken thighs I had, I just used a package. So here you go:

Baked Terriyaki Chicken

1 TB corn starch
1 TB cold water
1/2 C white sugar
1/2 C soy sauce
1/4 C cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced (I used like 3, pressed)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp black pepper
12 chicken thighs (calls for skinless, but the skin is the best part so we left it on!)

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine everything except chicken and let simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles.
2. Preheat oven to 350.
3. Place the chicken pieces in a lightly greased (I lined with foil and then sprayed it with cooking spray - it's way easier to clean) 9x13 baking dish. Dump the sauce on. Turn the pieces over to evenly coat. The sauce is sort of thin but don't worry, it will coat well after repeated turnings.
4. Bake for 30 minutes then begin turning the pieces over with tongs like every 10 or 15 minutes or so. This builds up a nice, thick glaze. When the chicken is as done as you like, it's ready to consume! The leftover sauce in the bottom of the pan also tastes great on rice, which we serve on the side.