Bringing Home the Bacon...

So many times I am still amazed at the way God answers prayer. This shouldn't necessarily be the case, but in all honesty, it is. Take the past few weeks for example. Brian and I'd been talking for a while about the cash flow in our family (or how it seems to just flow away), so I'd been considering a second job. Now Craigslist is fine, and there are a lot of jobs on it, but I was more concerned about a couple of things. 1) my résumé. I have been teaching and coaching fencing for eight years now, but that's pretty specialized as was my previous job as booking agent/ administrative assistant for Master's Image Production. Of course, I also have the wife/mom/home educator thing under my belt, but it doesn't sound very impressive to the business world. 2) scheduling. Would I be able to get a job that would allow me to keep teaching and coaching, take care of family stuff, and not have to work on Sundays? This was all taken care of a few weeks back when my dear friend, Annette (she of Fordyce Farms fame), texted me asking if I'd be interested in working part time in the F. Farms kitchen helping her husband, Ray, with the marvelous baking he does. After polling the kids and talking with Brian, I texted back saying yes to the job. With the new job comes new busyness. Between the two jobs, I have been working full time (plus still doing the homemaker stuff), which is a really new thing for me. I finally realized after doing it all for a bit more than a week, I needed to ask for help in domestic-land. Whoever coined the whole bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, etc. etc. etc. thing was either a man or someone who could afford to have live-in help (I don't mean children, either)! Anyway, I decided to put my homemaking pride on the line and ask husband and youngest daughter for help in the kitchen. I then pretty much stepped back and let them plan the menu for July. So far, so good. I've only had to help a few times plus I've only had to cook a full meal twice- Sunday brunches with the kids help. The food has been tasty, and no one is starving. Of course, there have been some glitches like forgetting to put pasta on the grocery list and things like that. Thankfully, Mary is a whiz in the kitchen, so she's helping her dad quite a bit. I am still trying to use my one full day off to bake bread and make other necessities like mayonnaise and salad dressing, but it is really nice to have dinner ready when I come home after one of my really long days. Would I have done this earlier when the kids were younger- no way. Am I glad to be able to get to do it now as they are all transitioning to full grown up land- absolutely! The other fun thing is still getting to try new recipes, like the Mexican Tater Waffles I made a few weeks ago. It's a great recipe and so easy, not to mention it tastes excellent! Who would have thought you could use your waffle iron for something so creative? Try it, you'll like it!

Mexican Tater Waffles

1- 1 lb. bag frozen tater tots, thawed

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1-4 oz. can chopped green chiles

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1 tsp. taco seasoning

Cilantro, sour cream, salsa and extra cheese, for serving, if desired

Preheat waffle iron. Mix all Ingredients in large bowl, being sure to break up tots. When waffle iron is hot, spray with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon about 1/2 cup of potato mixture into waffle iron. Cook for 4-6 minutes, or until golden brown. Top with cilantro, sour cream, salsa and extra cheese, if desired.