My husband came home from work the other day and said “Do you ever talk to Tabitha?”, referring to a mom we both know. “Yes” I replied. “Sometimes… why?” “I don’t know… I just got off the phone with her and she is kind of spacey. She just doesn’t seem to have it all together.” I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard this, turned around and stared at him. “Seriously?? Did you seriously just say that??”
Tabitha is a mom of four kids. She works part-time, volunteers for everything under the sun, and is a very involved mom. Well, of course she doesn’t have it all together, dude. She is soooooo busy, how could she possibly have it all together? I think I took such offense to his judgment on Tabitha because I am sure that is what people say about me sometimes. To be honest with you, before having kids, I probably would have thought the same thing about her, but now? Now I do not judge anyone for the things they do/don’t do as a mother. (I’m not talking about abuse here… just various parenting styles).
Have you ever fed your kids crackers for breakfast because you forgot to buy milk the night before and you are running late and there is nothing else in the house that is portable to feed them? I won’t judge you. Have you bribed your kid with a cookie to get them to stop having a fit? No judgment from me! Do you have a kid who is addicted to french fries and won’t eat much else at all so you always make sure to have some form of the spud on your dinner table just so they get something in their belly? I can absolutely relate and therefore, will not judge.
My three year old is my french fry addict and this whole not eating out thing is causing her to have some serious withdrawal. Not that its a bad thing that she isn’t getting her weekly dose of fries, but the girl LOVES her fries. Loves them. I don’t like to fry foods at home, but baked fries are quite tasty, so we have been having a lot of baked fries over the past couple of weeks. I wanted to share a recipe for a rib rub that we actually like to put on a lot more than ribs. It is called “Rib Rub That Rocks” and my husband mixes it into hamburger before he grills them, we sprinkle it on chicken breasts, mix it with mayo to make a zesty sauce and more. The other day I thought to try it on our baked fries and it was so good, I just had to share it with you! Just don’t judge me if I tell you these fries are all my kid had for dinner that night. Okay?
Rib Rub That Rocks (from Recipezaar)
10 min | 10 min prep
SERVES 32 , 2 cups
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup salt
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons ground red pepper
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground celery seed
- Mix ‘em up.
- Store in a tightly sealed container.
- Fire up the grill!
For instructions on how to bake the fries, head over to this post
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
The rub sounds really good. I made a confession a few weeks ago on my blog that I fed my family milk and muffins for dinner one night. They survived just fine. I wouldn’t do it every night, but I will do it again if the situation calls for it.
.-= Tiffany´s last blog ..East Meets West Burgers =-.
I definately need to make note of the rub! I am SOOO bored of my usual Italian bread crumbs.
I made oven-baked sweet potato fries on Labor Day and they were good. Maybe Ella would like some variety? I just tossed the taters in a Ziploc with olive oil, salt, cinnamon and paprika, and baked them for about 40 minutes. They were awesome.
I work very hard at filling my mommy karma bank by judging no mother. That’s the hardest job in the world and when it’s my turn I don’t want all that judgement coming my way!
.-= Jessica´s last blog ..Pickles at Happy Medium =-.
Those look awesome and how cool that you figured out the the rub goes great on other stuff too. Absolutely no judgement from me. Remember? I’ve got the world’s pickiest eater. You don’t even want to know what his meals consist of sometimes.
I second the mention of sweet potato fries. They are so great!
.-= Katie @ goodLife {eats}´s last blog ..Sky High Strawberry-Banana Peanut Butter and Jelly =-.
Love that picture. And what a great all purpose rub!
.-= Melissa´s last blog ..I’ll Be Your Huckleberry (Crisp) =-.
You’re so funny. The things we ALL do to get through – thanks so much for sharing and being transparent.
.-= Amy J´s last blog ..Savannah, Ga – The Hostess City of the South =-.
Ooooh a rub without garlic powder ( my family is addicted to garlic. It is sad) I am definitely going to try it.
This post cracks me up as I have done all those things. Great rub!
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..Garden State Italian Turkey Chili =-.
The rub sounds very good and it’s something I’ll try! We love baked fries.
I won’t judge what your little one eats…our second son went through a very long stage of eating only peanut butter and jelly!
.-= Lynda´s last blog ..Homemade Baked Chicken Strips =-.
I wish I had a grill now so that I could use that rub often – looks delicious! I know my parents started out having lots of principles when I was born (no TV, only super healthy food, no barbies, etc.) and by the time the fourth came around, it was like “don’t bite each other please” and “be back in time for dinner”. You just don’t have the time and energy to fight EVERY battle!
.-= Hopie´s last blog ..Wong Kei London =-.
LOL about the mom thing. I am SO there. It’s a good thing my head is attached if you know what I mean. :-/ Thanks for the rub, sounds great! I have one too that I love, will have to try it on fries!
.-= Amanda´s last blog ..TWD: Flaky Apple Turnovers =-.
We mothers do the best we can, no doubt about it!
I imagine this rub would be great on home fries! Good idea.
.-= Aimee´s last blog ..Talking Jam on SimpleMom =-.
LOL! I can sooooo relate to that mom! I am involved in so many different things and work full-time that I’m sure people think I am a bit spacey!
Love that rib rub, gonna bookmark it and try it soon!
.-= Patsyk´s last blog ..What’s For Dinner Wednedays: East Meets West Burgers =-.
I won’t judge… especially if you don’t judge me that I’m a little scared of ribs. I love to eat them, but I worry about cooking them that they’ll be tough if I don’t treat them just right.
.-= Julia´s last blog ..Tupelo Honey (Recipe: Honey Cake) =-.
We have a french fry junkie in this house too … so much so that I (*gasp*) stop at McDonalds before we head out to dinner so that we don’t have meltdown at the restaurant (she’s 3 … what can I say?)
.-= Naomi´s last blog ..Under my skin. =-.
Gotta love three year olds. They are the terrible twos a year late. Have you tried other vegetables “french fried”? The thing about french fries is that they are the ultimate finger food. Easy to grab and eat.
I just found your blog and I love it…. I have the pickiest eater and mealtime is soo stressful at our house, I can’t wait to try some of your recipes! Thank you!
.-= Jessica ´s last blog ..Perfect Perfumes =-.
“Have you bribed your kid with a cookie to get them to stop having a fit?” —Hey! You’re not supposed to be blowing my cover in a blog post!
All teasing aside, there’s nothing wrong with fries. For a change, try sweet potato fries. My kids love them (and so do I)!
.-= Sandie (Inn Cuisine)´s last blog ..A Must Make! (Recipe: Snack Mix Bars) =-.
hehe love it!! totally agree with u. had the same feeling as you before i had kids
.-= nora@ffr´s last blog ..Poach a whole bird =-.
that rub seems to be so versatile that i could actually put on anything to spice things up!
.-= lululu´s last blog ..Cheesecake with Blueberry Topping =-.
This is great! I hadn’t thought of that, and we’re currently making a family cookbook where my uncle gave a rib rub recipe to add. Now we can tell folks to think beyond ribs with it! Like it.
p.s. FUNNY about the crackers for breakfast. No judgment here either.
We’ve all been there, done that. My kids have had cereal for dinner on many occasions, and we’ve all managed just fine. There has even been a time or two that we were so busy with something that I forgot to make dinner at all! Happens to the best of us.
But if I was planning on making these french fries for dinner? You can bet I’d remember that! They are my weakness and they look awesome.
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Double chocolate snack cake =-.
I’m sure people say that about me and I don’t even have kids…so don’t feel bad!
.-= maris´s last blog ..The Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge (Week 13) Focaccia Bread =-.
Love homemade fries. I teach nutrition and one thing I stress is not fighting with your kids over food. If its french fries she likes then give her homemade baked french fries until she asks for something else. It might take a year or two but she’ll eventually want to try something more adventurous off of your plate. Good job mom!
.-= DailyDiner´s last blog ..Inspiration Sando-Roasted Eggplant, Pepper, Mushrooms with Tomatoes and Basil =-.
Hats off to moms everywhere! You’re amazing. So is that rib rub.
Great rib rub! After becoming a mom, I no longer judge either. Once I ran out of diapers- none anywhere- house, car, secret stash box, and diaper bag! The one he had on was poopy. So I dumped the poo out, slapped that bad boy back on him, and drove to Walmart for diapers. I was so mortified I changed him right there in the diaper isle. I think we have all done things like that out of desperation and exhaustion!
.-= Robin Sue´s last blog ..Bulgogi Tacos with Spicy Slaw =-.
Ha, you crack me up!
You know, I think hubby needs to spend some quality time alone with all of your four kids for a week and see if he hasn’t got it “all together” by the end of it!
I certainly don’t have it all together and you know I don’t have kids to tend to…. Eek!
Oh yes I was one of those judging. With my first (The perfect child) I did everything by ‘the book’ and I did it well I tell you….then the second son came along and I swear something snapped, my universe is chaos and madness. NO one told second son about ‘the book’ yikes! I don’t know her but your friend with her four kids is my hero!
.-= Wizzythestick´s last blog ..A Tale of Whale =-.
Hey, thanks for this recipe! I’m always looking for new ways to spruce up our BBQ’d entrees.
.-= Deanna´s last blog ..Germany and London – 2009 =-.