Another Public Service Announcement...

WARNING: Toddlers in peripheral vision may be quicker than they appear!

(The picture is a reenactment of the crime, I obviously wasn't quick enough during the actual turning of the knobs, but you can see that a certain someone has a very unhealthy fascination with the oven--I had just said "HOT!" right before she reached out to see if I was right or wrong--and that certain someone also is the perfect size to reach up and turn the knobs which I left out for the purpose of the photo--but will now be pushing in every single time!)

I was so proud of myself for starting dinner at 4 PM. The sun has been shining for most of the day, it hasn't rained at all and the kids have been entertaining themselves by picking flowers (AKA weeds) and going back and forth between the trampoline and the swings...

I tried a new recipe (thanks to my lovely friend, Janet) and wanted to give myself plenty of time to make dinner and play with the kids simultaneously. Everything was going according to plan until...

I thought that maybe I smelled something burning. Sure enough when I opened our tiny Euro-oven, the spaghetti bake was quickly becoming spaghetti overbaked. The temperature had been turned all the way up! Note to self: The buttons on the oven can be pushed in for a reason...Honestly, I really don't remember her being near the oven, but apparently she is faster than I thought. The Euro-oven is very tiny (barely holds most of our casserole dishes and American pans) and cooks much, much faster than what every recipe calls for. Thankfully because of this I am constantly checking on whatever goes in there and our spaghetti bake was saved in the nick of time. Time to feed my hungry monkeys!

PS Dinner was a huge hit. Seconds all around. We had to eat outside to enjoy the sunshine to the full extent. Here is the recipe shared by my wonderful friend, Janet:

Spaghetti Bake

1 1/2 lb. hamburger meat

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 (28 oz can) chopped tomatoes

1 (15 oz can) tomato sauce

1 (4 oz can) mushrooms drained

2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

1 tsp basil

12 oz spaghetti (broken in half)

1-2 c. shredded Mozzarella cheese

1/3 c. Parmesan cheese

Brown and drain meet. Add next 8 ingredients. Simmer slowly for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook spaghetti, drain. Mix meat mixture and spaghetti. Grease one 9X13 inch dish. Put half of mixture into pan, add Mozzarella and then add remainder of mixture. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Can be frozen before baking. If frozen, thaw and then cook for 40 minutes.

Bon appetit!