Housework is Exercise

Today's the last day of school!  The girls are excited about summer break.  I'm excited because I don't have to get kids out the door at 7:15 in the morning and pick them up at the bus stop in the afternoons.  I'm also excited because we're leaving for Tampa on Saturday.  We are going on a mini-vacation, and it's also Kay's "birthday party."  We're spending 3 nights in a hotel, going to the aquarium and hopefully going to the beach.  They are calling for rain the whole time we're there so hopefully it will just be the typical Florida 10 minute rain storm that passes and makes way for a bright sunny day.  

Today I spent the day cleaning.  Our afternoon swim got rained out but, while the girls were in school I did the majority of the cleaning so we could leave for the weekend.  

I managed to burn 400 calories washing dishes and about 110 folding laundry!  Who knew that doing housework could be such a good workout?  

Dinner tonite was really simple.  Broiled Mahi filets, corn and orzo with garlic.  

I broiled the fish for about 7 minutes.  I glazed a couple for Mr. Amazing and myself.  The glaze was a real easy combination of chili-garlic paste (1 heaping tablespoon) and soy sauce (2 teaspoons, just to thin it out).  Just spoon the mixture onto the fish.  The pasta recipe I actually got from the back of the box and I altered it a bit.

Publix Orzo Pilaf  

4 cloves garlic sliced (the recipe actually calls for 1 T garlic butter but, I substituted pan spray and garlic)
8 ounces Orzo (approx 1 2/3 cups or 1/2 the box)
2 cups water
1/2 tsp steak seasoning blend (I used Tony's Creole seasoning, it gave it a nice kick)
2 springs fresh parsley (I used 1 teaspoon dried)
1/2 tsp salt
sprinkle pepper

1. Coat medium saucepan with pan spray
2. Add garlic and sautee for a minute or 2
3. Stir in orzo and cook for 3 minutes and stir frequently until it's slightly browned (I added a bit more pan spray when the pasta started to stick)
4. Add water and steak seasoning.  Cover, and bring to a boil.  Turn down the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and add the salt, pepper and parsley.  Cover it and let it sit for about 4 minutes

Doesn't dinner look yummy?  I have decided to give up on intricate dinners.  I'm sticking with simple meals.  After a year of menus and trying new things I have figured out that my family enjoys simple meals like this rather than casseroles or fancy, time consuming meals.  They wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if I had made orzo tossed with mahi and corn even though it would have basically been the same thing.

As I told you before I'm doing a blog challenge.  I've weaved most of the other questions in with my normal blog post but today's I just couldn't find a link.  

The question is:  Do you need to look before you leap?  I'm that person that leaps and then looks while she's falling.  I question my decision while I'm in the middle of it or after it's already been made.  Sometimes it works out, other times it fails miserably.  

Do you look before you leap?  What kind of meals does your family enjoy most?