Baked Chow Mein

I do a lot of bitching here, the very kind of bitching which allows me to put on a somewhat happy face for most of the work week.  But before I continue with my bitchy ranting for the week, I need to say something about the High Commander.  As far as leaders go, she's got it going on!  She was publicly commended by the Supreme High Commander, and instead of just standing there like I know some others would do and take all the credit, the High Commander recognized that her  success as a leader was possible only because of all the good, hard-working people who work in her complex area.  And this is EXACTLY why I have tons of aloha and respect for her and why I go to work (I also need the $ because I don't always get my big fat child support payments in a timely fashion and I have services I need to buy).

Well, I managed to survive week 1 of work, and I'm going into week 2 not any happier than I was last week.  I need to look ahead and figure out how many more days until the next vacation/break.  Oh, yeah, it was supposed to be on Thursday, but my fellow union idiots sold their souls to the devil and voted to work on those days.  Some people will do anything for chump change!

And we didn't even get to the longer work day yet.  In a week from today, my work day will be longer by an hour (the school day for kids in my district will be longer also).  I suppose the hard work by the drones has been paying off.  According to last year's testing results, many schools did well.  Even the shoe chewer's school did well.  The thing that gets me most upset about the extended day is that I'm going to need even greater planning skills in order to get dinner on the table in a timely manner.  D1's cheer practice will be over at 6:00 pm, so I guess our dinners will be at 6:30 or so.  If I'm able to leave work at 4:00, I'll possibly be able to make it home by 4:30, which will not leave much time to prepare dinner.

Luckily, this easy noodle dish can be thrown together quickly, and it can even be made the night before.  I'm feeling like a lot of my cooking will be done ahead of time.

click on recipe title for printable recipe
Baked Chow Mein

     1/2 lb char siu
     2 trays (@10-12 oz) chow mein noodles
     2 tbsp oyster sauce
     1 tbsp sugar
     1 tsp salt
     1 tbsp sesame seeds
     1 tbsp sesame oil
     1 pkg chop suey vegetables (about 10-12 oz)

Combine all ingredients thoroughly in a 9 x 13" pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring once during baking.

And if you're still reading along, here is a tip:  lightly grease the pan or line the baking pan with foil.  If you forget to do either of these things, you run the chance of baking your noodles into your pan and having to chip them off later with a chisel.  Not fun.

Speaking of "not fun", I spent this past weekend fixing 9 cheerleader skirts.  The skirts flared out too much, so somehow (according to D1, this whole issue is my mom's fault), I ended up doing the alterations.  OMF!!!  I don't want to see another seam ripper for a long time!