Saturday Night... Live?

Saturday night is date night in the Ellingson household. Mom and dad either order take out and eat it in their bedroom together while watching movies, or they go out. During this time in their bedroom/out on the town we are not allowed to text, call, email, facebook, or use any source of technology used for communication to bug them. It's a commandment in our home and if it is neglected then... bad things happen.

Anyway, tonight my parents ordered dinner from Pei Wei and watched a movie in their bedroom (I think they bought a new one... "You Again").

They somehow forgot to inform me that I was in charge of dinner.

On a normal day I wouldn't mind this assignment at all. I have been looking for opportunities to broaden my cooking intellect and create new dishes. However, tonight the premier of the new season of Tabatha's Salon Takeover was on and I seriously couldn't miss it.

I told my siblings that were home with me (three of them were home, one was out) that they needed to fend for themselves. They're old enough to get a bowl out of the cupboard and pour some cereal and milk, right? Apparently not. My little brother broke the commandment (Thou shalt not disturb thy parents on date night) and tattled on me. He told them I didn't want to make dinner. As much as I wanted to deny this to stay out of trouble... I couldn't lie. So I explained the situation and thought they'd be cool with it...

I was so wrong. Instead, they told me I needed to make a nice dinner for the kids. I could record the show and watch it tomorrow.

Okay, there are soooo many things wrong with this scenario. One, who records PREMIERS??? If you record it you're missing the premier part. You're watching a re-run. No bueno. And besides, it totally takes away the experience.

Two, make the siblings a nice dinner? On a Saturday evening? Kids don't eat NICE dinners on weekend evenings. That's when babysitters come over and they have the gross babysitter food like macaroni, chicken nuggets, corn dogs, etc. What kid has an actual health benifitting meal on a Saturday night? No one. Promise.

Well, I didn't want to get into too much trouble so I turned on my show, locked the kids in the basement, turned on a movie for them, and went upstairs to create a nice meal on a Saturday evening while watching the premier of my show.

Can I just add that I never miss an episode?
Anyway. My plan was to just whip up the pasta dish that I made last Sunday and call it good. It's quick, easy, and everyone liked it.

This possibility was thrown out the window when I discovered we have no chicken in our freezer.... I used it all last week. And you CANNOT make this dish without chicken. That's like taking ice cream away from a slice of  warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven apple pie.

What to do now?

I looked in the pantry in hopes of finding ingredients for something new. I failed, because my mom didn't do the weekly grocery shopping due to a meeting at work and dad was at the fire station, so I was left with a bunch of random stuff that never would have tasted good together, no matter how many cups of cheese I added.

What I did find was a package of frozen edamame (soy beans), a box of rice, soy sauce, lemons, fresh chives, carrots, and onions.

I was determined to create an oriental dish.

I made the rice, mixed up some soy sauce and lemon juice (with a touch of vinegar), shredded the carrots, sliced the onions and sauteed them in butter, cut up the chives, and boiled the edamame.

The kids grew bored of watching tv downstairs so they came up to the kitchen and gathered around the counter to watch me experiement and create. My little brother said, "It's just like a cooking show... But live!"

When the rice was done cooking I immediately poured the sauce on top and mixed it up (so the rice wouldn't get sticky) and added the vegetables, minus the edamame. I put the edamame on a separate plate and sprinkled kosher salt on top.

It was pretty dang tasty :)

For dessert my siblings helped me make some lemon bars. I am sorry to say I had a recipe... But there is absolutely no way I am going to mess with baking. Cooking you can experiement with pretty easily. Baking is a different story.

Anyway, we had fun preparing, baking, and devouring our dessert together. Then, with full tummies and smiles on our faces, we cuddled up on the couch and watched "Megamind."