Kingsquared

My Three Children

Jessica — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 04:50:47 +0000

Here is my favorite picture of January. Havoc, Sawyer, and Duke hanging out on the floor. Couldn’t miss this photo op!

Mmm Mmm Eggplant Parmesan

Jessica — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 04:43:03 +0000

Since I missed the nesting phase of pregnancy due to Sawyer coming early, I think my body is trying to make up for it. Since John has been home all I want to do is cook and bake. I think my food is delicious so I’m going to share it with the world ( or just the three people who read our blog)
With out further ado I give you Eggplant Parmesan!

Things you will need for making this delicious dish:

2 eggs – beaten

1 Tablespoon water

2 eggplants (medium) sliced to 1/4″ thick

2 cups Italian flavored bread crumbs

1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese (divided)

2 jars garden style pasta sauce

1 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

Things to do to ensure deliciousness:

Combine eggs and water in shallow bowl. Dip egglant into egg mixture and place on baking sheet (single layer), feel free to squish them on there. Bake eggplant at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

While the eggplant is baking, you will need to spread a little sauce on the bottom of a 13″ x 9″ pan (do not grease). Mix bread crumbs and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese in a medium bowl. When the eggplant is done baking it’s time to layer it up.

Layer 1/2 of the eggplant on top of the little layer of sauce. Then, pour 1 cup sauce over the eggplant followed by 1 cup of the bread crumb mixture. Repeat with eggplant, 1 cup sauce and the rest of the bread crumb mixture. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. I started cooking my noodles with about 10 minutes left of the 45 minutes. I used angel hair but I think it’s usually served with spaghetti noodles.Your preference really. after 45 minutes uncovered and spread the rest of the Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella cheese on top and bake until cheese is mealted and bubbly (about 10-15 more minutes).

You might want to heat some sauce on the side while it finishes baking. The sauce in the eggplant loses the water and gets thicker after baking. I would suggest plating noodles, a little extra sauce, then a square of the eggplant Parmesan then enjoy!

Monster having a little fun

John — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:12:22 +0000

We caught the monster in a good mood – good moods are quickly followed by really bad moods and sleep so it’s all a matter of having a camera in the right place at the right time. I’m home (obviously) and I’m enjoying every minute of it.

A new year

John — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 04:53:31 +0000

So, we’ve finished all of our work, save for loading our bags and we’re simply waiting to go. The New Year celebrations weren’t too shabby. They had a local band play (and they did a damn good job) followed up by the DJ. We played some cards, drank our customary two beers, and laughed throughout the night. I was pleasantly surprised. I was kinda expecting – yep, it’s a new year and I’m going to bed.

Well, just a few more days and I’ll be back home with Jessica and the monster. I can’t wait.

It’s definitely not the same

John — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 09:49:49 +0000

I know that Christmas is right around the corner but it sure doesn’t feel like it. Here’s why

1. You can’t see my building from space (it isn’t properly decorated)
2. I haven’t eaten 26,000 extra calories worth of sweets this month
3. Jessica and I aren’t working as a dynamic duo in the kitchen trying to get everything ready
4. I’m not hiding in the kitchen away from the insanity that is the extended family annual white elephant exchange/pig out fest and I’m not avoiding a certain in-laws cheesecake
5. I don’t get to hang out with my son and my wife
6. They only have one type of turkey and it pales in comparison to the one Jessica prepares
7. My dorm room doesn’t smell like Christmas is here – and thank god for air fresheners or it would smell like me
8. There is no fireplace here (or that damned yule log on Comcast that everyone insists on watching) we’ve got a real fireplace this year bitches
9. I don’t get to stare at the aftermath with Jessica, shrug my shoulders, and say “we’ll take care of it tomorrow”
10. I haven’t made the 14th trip to the grocery store to get that last last last ingredient

Luckily, we’re ignoring the calendar this year – we’re going to celebrate in our own special way when I get home. It can’t come soon enough.

Hacking the mission

John — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:03:11 +0000

When I was in my first class on my way to becoming a loadmaster my instructor talked about hacking the mission. I’ve been doing that lately – quite a bit of that lately. I’m over 100 flying hours since I arrived here and I’ve moved over a million pounds of cargo. I’m not at the top of the list for the deployment but I’m near the top. Sometimes we fly to a location and we don’t have anything to load. Other times, we’re filled to maximum capacity. It’s all luck of the draw.

We’ve got a few weeks until we get home – I’ll be flying until that happens. I have a week off when I get home and then a little more time scheduled later in January. I’ll be glad to get the free time – I’ve got a wife and monster that I want to spend time with – I love ending sentences in prepositions.

The boy is finding his voice

John — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 06:45:50 +0000

Jessica sent me a video today of our little boy having a conversation. I’m a big fan of it – you might have to be related to us to appreciate it.

A holiday away from home

John — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:18:05 +0000

Well, it’s been quite a while since I’ve been away from home during a holiday. In fact, I’ve never been away from Jessica during Thanksgiving or Christmas. I’m sure that if I was home, I’d already be home from work trying to prep everything for the feast. Jessica and I would be working in tandem in a dance around the kitchen. We seem to do best under pressure, with no time, with lots of distractions, and with little working room. Each year we’ve managed to get everything ready on time and somehow not blow our tempers (at each other at least). This year I’m going to miss that part of the tradition. This year, of course, I miss out on spending the holiday with my son. He doesn’t know what’s going on yet and we haven’t got him eating solid food yet so he isn’t missing out on much. Next year, of course, I’m prepared for a little boy covered in gravy, turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberries. Hopefully somebody gets me the pressure washer that I want.

I never thought that I would miss preparing the food with my wife – it’s something we do every year. This year is the first time that I’ll be away from it.

This isn’t the first time that I’ve been away from my family while on a holiday. The first few years in the military I didn’t come home and I spent it with coworkers or in a deployed setting. Having a holiday in a deployed setting is by far the strangest part. Everyone is trying to enjoy the day as best as they are able while our minds wander to what our families are doing at home. We group together fairly well and make it through the day. I think we all have come to a universal consensus that no matter how special they try to make the day, it isn’t as good as being home. Since I’ve been around for a while I need to spend special attention to my newest airmen. Most have never been away from their families like this and they have probably never missed a holiday in their life. If nothing else, I’m just going to make sure that I put a smile on my face and involve them in they day – whatever that may hold.

So – I’ve got to run to the gym and start my day. To everyone that reads this – Happy Thanksgiving.

Losing track of time

John — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:59:36 +0000

I don’t know when to sleep. I don’t sleep at night. I don’t sleep during the day. I sleep when I can and it’s never at the same time each day. What day is it? I can only tell by the calendar. If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have a clue. It feels like I’ve been gone a long time. I guess I have… I think. What day is it?

(just some random rambling thoughts)

Rolling with the punches

John — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 07:39:16 +0000

This job is a constant uphill battle. Each day we show up and try to do something that 110 years ago seemed like a pipe dream. I enjoy the fight.

The major difference between this job and my last is that we often succeed when everything goes wrong. I haven’t had a mission canceled (yet) due to something wrong with the jet, the weather, air traffic control, or the cargo load. A few days ago we were 15 minutes from being cancelled. We were on the ground for hours trying to get out of there but it seemed that there was an obstacle at every turn. We still got the job done.

I like my job. Who else gets to say that?