Los Hermanos . . . .my belly hurts

The kids didn't have school today so we decided to take a late lunch then take the kids to a movie.  There is just something about greasy Mexican restaurants. They lure you in with chips and salsa leave you rolling on the ground in the fetal position . . . moaning. Why is it that a place can make you feel so sick, but some how it still sounds good enough to come back for more? It is an enigma.  After today however, I'm not sure I will ever go back.

I am the one who completely fills up on drinks and chips and salsa.  It is my usual MO to take two bites of my main course, and push it away. My daughter had been complaining about a stomach ache for part of the day. At the restaurant however, she happily ate her cheese enchilada.  So we started to drive over to the movie theatre and Alta said she felt like she was going to throw up. I rushed fairb to roll down the window, and demanded that if she barf she do so out the window. So she put her head out the window and proceeded to hurl. Although her head was out the window, she neglected to move her hand from over her mouth, to which the barf bounced off her hand and went all over her face and hair, her clothes, inside of the car door and seat. It was awful, but it was also hilarious. I really should have taken a picture. With no napkins to speak of,  my sweet daughter remained in her state, refusing to even wipe the puke off her face for 30 minutes till we could get home. Fairb and I argued the whole way home who was going to clean it up. He lost. I helped Alta into the shower and got her clothes into the washer.  She felt great after that.

So food wasn't the first thing on the brain for a while. However, after the kids were in bed, my body informed me that I had in fact not eaten dinner, and that a peanut butter sandwich wasn't going to cut it. I was craving pasta!

I know I said that I don't like ground beef mixed in things. Normally with spaghetti I am a meatball girl.  However, I did grow up on the meat sauce, and the sauce needs meat. So I used a frozen hamburger patty, and it worked just perfect. It was the perfect amount of ground beef, and it was easy. So since I made pasta tonight, I thought I would give a couple pasta tips:

1. if cooking spaghetti, use thin spaghetti.

2. liberally, and I mean liberally salt the water.

3. use the biggest pot you have and fill it with plenty water.

4. be patient, don't add the noodles till the water is boiling.

5. if your pot isn't as big as you would like, stir it often.

6. Please, please don't over cook it, the only way to do it right it to bite into the noodles, none of this throwing it on the ceiling stuff. It's not a timer thing, its a check it often thing.

7. Martha doesn't rinse, I rinse. So if you secretly want to rinse you pasta but don't because Martha told you not to,  she's not God, I rinse and so can you. So crave yourself some pasta!