I don't know wether to be offended, or impressed!

My hands-down, least favorite chore of my whole motherhood career so far is, indisputably, figuring out what to have for dinner. I would rather scrub toilets & walls, wash, dry, & fold 25 loads of laundry a week, de-mineralize windows & shower doors.......you get the picture.

It is apparent to me that if I were to organize and streamline this operation, it would probably not even be an issue, but if you think this knowledge solves the problem, you must not know me very well. **cough, defeated perfectionist, cough**

So I continue to let it be my bane, though I have thousands of recipes to choose from and an actual like for cooking, and even time at home to plan a menu. Ah well.

When the planets do align, and I end up making a nice meal, nothing irks me more than watching my family inhale the food in less than five minutes, totally disregarding the amount of effort and angst that was exerted in its creation. Sometimes they even up and leave the table without lifting a finger to clean up after themselves--the final degradation. (At this point I usually begin shrieking like a banshee about how I do so much on their behalf and this is how they show their appreciation???)

So the other night I made this:

It's called a Maple Sausage Apple Braid. Mmmmmm

The recipe makes two braids and really is pretty simple. It smelled heavenly. I called my family to dinner as I sliced a few bits to quickly take pictures of. I set the remainder on the table for Jason to slice and pass around and ran outside for some decent lighting. I hadn't even finished taking pictures before three kids came out asking if there was any more. Any More??!? What the freak??!? It was GONE!! All that remained were the pieces on my plate! Of which I only got ONE!

So I'm torn between being indignant that once again, the fruits of my toil were ravished before I could even sit down, or impressed that they loved it so much that they could not contain their gastronomic gusto! Seriously, I heard about it for several days afterward!

I think I'll go with impressed. That way I can have something to be proud of in the dinner preparation department. If only I could get away with making this several times a week, my problem really would be solved!





Maple Sausage Apple Braid

1 pkg. Maple flavored sausage
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 eggs
1/2 cup sliced green onions
3 apples--peeled, cored & pretty finely chopped
1 1/2 cups dry herb stuffing mix
17 1/4 oz. package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)
2 T. sesame seeds (optional)

Take pastry out of freezer and let thaw. This takes about 30 minutes, so plan accordingly. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine uncooked sausage, syrup, 2 eggs- beaten, onion, apples & stuffing. Set aside. Roll out each pastry sheet to an 11X14 inch rectangle. Divide sausage in half and spoon mixture down center third of each pastry. Lightly beat remaining egg with 2 teaspoons water. Brush exposed pastry on each side with egg mix. Use knife to make 45 degree diagonal cuts in sides of pastry. Cuts should stop about 1 inch from filling. Fold strips over filling, alternating sides until filling is enclosed. Brush pastry surface with remaining egg mixture, sprinkle with sesame seeds if using. Place on baking sheet; bake 40 minutes or until braids are golden brown and filling reaches 160 degrees on a meat thermometer.
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