White French Salad Dressing

Around Christmas, my business partners and I took ourselves out to dinner.  We chose an upscale, local restaurant that has been around since the dawn of time.  They charge way too much for a tiny steak, but it's 5 minutes away and we can't afford to eat there any other time.

I quickly decided upon the Chicken Parmesan, which only came with a small side salad.  There was a wedge salad on the menu that included all that good stuff like sourdough croutons, bacon, blue cheese, and other goodness.  I had to have it.  It came with White French Dressing.  I am a Ranch girl at heart (or the occasional sweet and sour), so I asked for the dressing to be put on the side.  I asked for a side of Ranch too, in case I didn't like the White French.  Honey, let me tell you how good that dressing was!  If it wouldn't have been a classy establishment, I probably would have licked the dressing cup!  I assumed the primary ingredient was crack because it was downright addictive.

I've thought about that dressing a lot since then.  I may have even dreamed about it.

I recently mentioned that we decided upon a venue for our May banquet.  It's that restaurant.  As overpriced as the restaurant was, the banquet meals are actually quite reasonable.  When my mom and I had lunch there, we asked if the White French was an option for the banquet.  She explained that it's homemade by the chef, so she would see if he was willing to make that large of a quantity.  We told her how much we loved it and complimented it greatly.  "Oh it's just Hellman's mayonnaise...." and she started LISTING the ingredients!  My eyes widened and I tried my very best to memorize them.  I came home and Googled recipes, looking for something close that could give me and idea on measurements.  No such luck.  I decided to buy what I needed and give it a try on my own.

Today, I sat down at the computer and Googled it again.  My second hit seemed to find the perfect recipe!  It lined up perfectly with the ingredients she mentioned.

1 C Hellman's mayonnaise
1/4 C grated onion
1 t Dijon mustard
1 T plus 2 t white vinegar
1 T plus 1 t sugar

Place mayo in a bowl.  Grate onion, then mince by hand.  Measure onion; add to mayo.  Add remaining ingredients and stir well.  Refrigerate overnight.  Makes 1 cup.

I couldn't wait for it to sit overnight, so I indulged right away.  I'm watching calories, so I tried not to use too much.  But what I had was very tasty!  If you're in the mood to try your hand at homemade salad dressing, give this one a try.  It's quite simple.

Anyone ever heard of White French before?  Let me know if you ever decide to try this recipe!

(Note:  With any recipe I make, I typically cut down on onions.  I only used 1/8 C and can't imagine using any more.  I also added a pinch more sugar.)

Late for a Very Important Date

I have a situation that I would like a little advice about.

There's another mom at school whom I've become friends with due to the similarity of our children's ages.  We both have a 9th grader, a 7th grader, and a 4th grader.  I have a 5 year old and she has two more younger children.  We often joke about how crazy we both are for having so many kids and I tease her more for having five children.  She's a good Christian mom and I like & trust her husband too.  I've allowed Big Sis to attend functions at their house, which is not something I do with very many school friends.

At some point this year, we discussed that we should consider car pooling since we both have 3 kids who are in 3 different schools.  We live about a half mile from each other, so it wouldn't be too inconvenient for either of us.  Time passed; nothing happened.  She brought it up again before Christmas, so we decided to give it a try.  It was around the same time I found out I was going to start babysitting a little Autistic boy in our church.  I was supposed to have him on Wednesdays and Thursdays so pick up on those days would be very difficult anyhow.  We agreed that I would do Monday and Tuesday, she would do Wednesday and Thursday, and we would alternate Fridays.

So far, it's gone fairly well.  She's always followed through when it's her assigned day and is flexible to any change in schedule I have to make.  There's one problem, however.  Her daughter is in NO hurry to get to the car.  My son passes her on his way out the door every day while she stands and talks to her friends at her locker.  He reaches the car and then we have to wait an extra five to ten minutes on her to arrive.  When we do see her coming, she's walking as slow as molasses, looking around like she's out for a Sunday stroll.  I thought that she would try to hurry a bit when she realized we waited on her every day.  I was wrong.  I also thought that maybe her mom would realize that my son makes it to the car so much faster and would question her daughter's lateness.  Nope.

Last week, Hubby was doing pick up for me and finally called me.  "Are we picking up this girl?" he asked.  I confirmed that yes, he was supposed to pick her up.  My two boys and her brother were both already in the car.  I told Hubby I'd text her mom and make sure she didn't go home from school sick.  "Is 'Morgan' at school today?" I texted, "Because she's still not out."  A couple minutes later, Hubby replied that he finally saw her coming (walking like a Senior Citizen).  "Never mind," I replied to her mom, "Here she comes."  I didn't feel bad about it because she needed to know we were getting irritated but I didn't want to say anything.

The next day, Son #1 was walking out of the building and he passed her.  She was at a friend's locker, chatting, but she stopped him and asked which mom was picking up.  He said it was our turn.  She arrived at the car several minutes later and said to Hubby, "Sorry it takes me so long to get to the car...I have a lot of places I have to stop."  So obviously her mom said something to her.  Yet, she's lying about having obligations to fulfill.  The places she needs to stop are to see friends.  I find that very annoying.  School traffic is insane and we would like to get out of there as soon as possible.

In my opinion, we have two options.  We can either let it go and do nothing.  OR- we can tell her mom that we're going to quit the carpool and pick up only our kids from now on.  Either option is inconvenient for us.  But I've already said one thing to her mom and I don't feel like I can bring it up again.  I feel like this girl is being very rude and inconsiderate of our time.  What would you do?

Random February Thoughts

Son #1's most recent concert

Presently, I am sitting at Son #1’s orchestra rehearsal.  This has become a place of escape for me.  Now that Hubby is getting home from work earlier, I get to come alone.  There is nothing quite like sitting without kids for an hour and a half, listening to beautiful music.  For free.  No distractions.  I bring my Diet Coke and a snack and thoroughly enjoy myself.  Today, I was planning on being a good girl and working on my coupons and shopping list for next week.  However, the orchestra is rehearsing in the band room instead of in the auditorium, which another group is occupying.  So, all the parents are hanging out in the single classroom available to us.  It’s far too crowded to get out all my coupon inserts, binder, and scissors.  Plus, I forgot to bring a plastic bag for trash.  The parents whisper in a polite manner, but the various noises are a bit too distracting to read.  I’m currently one-third of the way through Pride & Prejudice and it takes a bit of special concentration on my part to comprehend the old wording.  I’m used to more shallow, easier to read literature.  P&P has been quite a treat for my mind.  :)  Since I have my laptop with me, I thought I’d jot down a few lines to catch you up on where I am in life.

My grandpa arrived home from the hospital this afternoon following a 2-day stay.  They determined that he had a small stroke 4 or 5 days prior.  Luckily, it didn’t do much damage and I think he’ll recover fine.  Some diet alterations and medication should do the trick.

I’m looking fervently for gray heels for the wedding I’m in next month.  One major problem is that I’m quite cheap, which you all know.  Most everything I find that I love is Christian Louboutin.  Yeah, that’s not gonna work.  I’m prepared to pay no more than $30.  DSW had one pair of gray heels.  No, not one style.  One pair.  Size 8 1/2.  No good.

I’m really enjoying browsing Pinterest for shower and wedding ideas.  Man, everyone who got married before Pinterest should get a wedding re-do!  I would really enjoy planning my own wedding with the resources available in this day and age.  Actually, I would probably waste an awful lot of time staring at a glowing screen if I was getting married.

Yep, he has a beard right now.

Speaking of married, I got into a whopper of a fight with Hubby last night.  Truthfully, I think he’s going through a bit of a depression.  He’s working considerably less hours, which is something he claims to be excited about.  But as my mom always says, my husband has two speeds – High and Off.  He has to be doing something.  I think he’s getting bored and he doesn’t know how to handle his extra time.  When it was nice out, he was mowing and working outside constantly.  He’s not handling being cooped up well.  He enjoyed tinkering around the house at first also, but that has worn off.  He’s not really very handy, so he will only fix what’s causing a problem.  He’s not the kind of guy to look around for things to improve.  I wish he could find a hobby, something useful to occupy his time, and be a happier person.

That draggy, mopey feeling has worn off of me too.  Mid-afternoon, there is nothing I crave more than a nap under all the covers.  That’s a horrible habit to start.  I have tons that needs done, yet I have a hard time making myself do it.  I think I’m jealous of his free time, the time he spends on the internet or in front of the TV.  I have to fight to overcome that desire to be lazy.  It’s way too tempting.  I guess it boils down to the Winter Blahs.  Unfortunately, there’s lots of winter left to go.  Oh joy.

My family’s food pickiness is getting no better, which is another thing frustrating me.  Anyone want to Wife Swap for a while?  Preferably a mom who makes her kids eat fresh veggies every meal.  Maybe my family would learn to appreciate me more afterward.

If you’ve been a reader for a while, you know about my annual May Banquet.  Thankfully, I just secured a venue for this year.  It’s a beautiful, CLOSE restaurant that we used to utilize often many years ago.  Something happened, no one can remember what, and we quit patronizing them.  My mom and I had lunch there last week and it was awesome.  The prices are about the same as the delicious, but rude restaurant we used for about 15 years.  Last year, because we were mad at them, we hosted the Banquet at our church.  Two words – NEVER AGAIN.  The best part is, while I started questioning the banquet coordinator about all the things the picky restaurant is difficult about, she didn’t have a strong opinion.  She is going to be so much easier to work with and I’ll save 25 minutes (each way) on the drive.  Looks like a win-win situation for me!  Let’s hope!

All that said, I still don’t have a theme or many thoughts about what I’m going to do.  Any suggestions?  I was thinking maybe something along the lines of Downton Abbey or the Great Gatsby.  That time period is so popular right now (even though I’ve never seen the show or movie associated with the aforementioned), and I think it will be fun.  Maybe focus on 100 years ago…calling it 1914 or something. Can I make it funny?  I guess I could do a spoof on today’s technology and say how easy life would be if you could telephone someone while on a carriage journey.  Who knows.  Some previous themes have been Peculiar Princesses, From Paris with Love, The Wild West, and Under the Sea.  One more side note- this is a production put on by a group of teenage girls.  I write, produce, and direct it.  Then I need a vacation.

I’m sure I’ve babbled long enough at this point.  My new version of Word just informed me that I reached 1000 words at this point.  Thanks, Microsoft.  I knew I was wordy…you didn’t have to call me out on it.  I just have a lot to say, hence the blog about nothing. 

Brotherly Love

And now, noticing that I have no internet connection (thank you old public school building), who knows when this will actually get posted.  Also, I have to look around for some sort of photo to accompany my wordy thoughts so it’s not too boring.  Still enjoying my Me Time though (even though I hate that term)!  Hope you all have a fabulous day and that it’s not as cold wherever you may be as it is here.  Thank the Lord for warm, snuggly sweaters.