Sometimes a blog post needs to be about more than one food. Though these two are worthwhile for their own post, it would be rather short!
Know how some foods just go together like a perfect marriage? Like, chocolate and peanut butter for example. Or chocolate and marshmallow. Or chocolate and banana. Mmmm....oops I got distracted for a minute. Two things that were just meant for each other: spinach and feta. For Mother's Day Brian said that he would make anything I wanted, so I chose Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts. On Mother's Day we were at my parent's house for dinner so we grilled and had the chicken breasts the next night. These things rocked! Not only were the chicken breasts stuffed with just the right amount of spinach, feta and garlic, they were coated in bread crumbs, browned on the stovetop and then baked. Heaven....I think that the Greeks were onto something when they put those two together.
At least one night a week, we have an "easy night." Usually this is something like Spaghetti and Meatballs, which I'm kind of sick of having. Same thing with tacos. So this week for something different, I put turkey club sandwiches on the menu. Turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo and three pieces of bread. Oh! And three pieces of the thickest, prettiest bacon I have seen outside of a Cracker Barrel. Different, and delicious!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
In the Garden
Hooray, it's May! That can only mean that it's almost time to plant our vegetable garden.
My first year planting, I had a great year with a bumper crop of tomatoes and zucchinis. Last year, high of the previous year's successes, I got cocky and tried to expand way too quickly. It was a ridiculously wet summer, and it took out most of my plants. I got like six zucchini (which Brian says is more than plenty for him!) and the plant just shriveled and died, turning to mush in the rain. Zucchini likes wet summer weather, but this was just too much. The peppers I had planted never came to fruition, the cucumbers and carrots were too small to be edible, and the sugarmelon? Sprouted then withered.
So, as they say in sports, this is a rebuilding year. After the soil is turned over, I am only planting zucchini, tomatoes and green beans. I plan on a lot of green beans, as they are the only veggie that Will eats willlingly. One plant for regular tomatoes, and one for cherry tomatoes. I don't care if I ever see a grape tomato again! That's the only thing that grew really well last year, and we had bushels of them. And there's only so much you can do with them, after you put them in salads and saute them in pasta a couple of times, you're sick of them.
I am also hoping that now that Will is three, he'll take a bit of an interest in helping take care of the plants. Maybe if he gets to help water them he'll be more apt to eat them?
My first year planting, I had a great year with a bumper crop of tomatoes and zucchinis. Last year, high of the previous year's successes, I got cocky and tried to expand way too quickly. It was a ridiculously wet summer, and it took out most of my plants. I got like six zucchini (which Brian says is more than plenty for him!) and the plant just shriveled and died, turning to mush in the rain. Zucchini likes wet summer weather, but this was just too much. The peppers I had planted never came to fruition, the cucumbers and carrots were too small to be edible, and the sugarmelon? Sprouted then withered.
So, as they say in sports, this is a rebuilding year. After the soil is turned over, I am only planting zucchini, tomatoes and green beans. I plan on a lot of green beans, as they are the only veggie that Will eats willlingly. One plant for regular tomatoes, and one for cherry tomatoes. I don't care if I ever see a grape tomato again! That's the only thing that grew really well last year, and we had bushels of them. And there's only so much you can do with them, after you put them in salads and saute them in pasta a couple of times, you're sick of them.
I am also hoping that now that Will is three, he'll take a bit of an interest in helping take care of the plants. Maybe if he gets to help water them he'll be more apt to eat them?
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
How can you Hate S'Mores??
I was home alone with the kiddos last night while Hubby was at his last class of the semester. Will was watching "Max and Ruby" while I was feeding the baby. The episode featured the bunnies going on a "campout" and making s'mores. Will adores campouts (which consist of setting up the sofa bed and having a breakfast "campout" in our house) and someday would probably love to sleep in a tent. Tonight, he asked if we could make s'mores. So, being a s'mores lover myself, I decided to indulge him. Normally he has a rainbow cookie before bed, tonight I would make him a special little treat of a s'more.
Since I've mentioned that I'm alone with the boys, there obviously won't be a fire involved. Roasted marshmallows for s'mores are infinitely better than microwaved ones, but it's just not gonna work tonight. I've perfected the microwaved s'more over the year, the trick is to walk that fine line between squishy melted marshmallow and tire rubber. S'mores made, I poured us each some milk and we had a seat at the kitchen table, anticipating divine goodness.
Will chooses one, picks it up and squishes the two graham crackers together. Marshmallow oozes between the layers, and he gives the concoction a look of disdain. "Ugh....that's sticky. Ewwww." I encourage him to take a bite, and hegives the cracker the tiniest nibble I've ever seen. Then he drops the entire s'more onto the paper plate and declares that he'd rather have a rainbow cookie instead. Huh???
Sometimes, if I hadn't been there to witness his birth, I'd wonder if he was my kid. :)
Since I've mentioned that I'm alone with the boys, there obviously won't be a fire involved. Roasted marshmallows for s'mores are infinitely better than microwaved ones, but it's just not gonna work tonight. I've perfected the microwaved s'more over the year, the trick is to walk that fine line between squishy melted marshmallow and tire rubber. S'mores made, I poured us each some milk and we had a seat at the kitchen table, anticipating divine goodness.
Will chooses one, picks it up and squishes the two graham crackers together. Marshmallow oozes between the layers, and he gives the concoction a look of disdain. "Ugh....that's sticky. Ewwww." I encourage him to take a bite, and hegives the cracker the tiniest nibble I've ever seen. Then he drops the entire s'more onto the paper plate and declares that he'd rather have a rainbow cookie instead. Huh???
Sometimes, if I hadn't been there to witness his birth, I'd wonder if he was my kid. :)
Monday, May 3, 2010
Grill Woes
Uh-oh......
Saturday night was the opening of Grill Season in our house. It was to be just a simple meal of grilled kielbasa and potato packets. Brian lit the grill and went inside to get the food.
When he came back, flames were licking the OUTSIDE of the grill, near the control panel. He quickly turned off the fuel supply and the flames died down. Luckily there was no need for an emergency pizza, as the food was still inside the house. So the kielbasa was grilled on the George Forman Grill, and the potatoes were adapted to a skillet.
After some examination, Brian determined that there was an issue with the fuel line and fixed it for the time being. However, one of the burners got taken out in the fracas, leaving us with two. Last night was WAY TOO HOT in the house to cook, so he grilled hamburgers. But it appears that our grill is on its last legs of it's short, eight-year life.
How come this kind of thing doesn't happen at the END of grilling season, when the gas grills are deeply discounted?? :(
Saturday night was the opening of Grill Season in our house. It was to be just a simple meal of grilled kielbasa and potato packets. Brian lit the grill and went inside to get the food.
When he came back, flames were licking the OUTSIDE of the grill, near the control panel. He quickly turned off the fuel supply and the flames died down. Luckily there was no need for an emergency pizza, as the food was still inside the house. So the kielbasa was grilled on the George Forman Grill, and the potatoes were adapted to a skillet.
After some examination, Brian determined that there was an issue with the fuel line and fixed it for the time being. However, one of the burners got taken out in the fracas, leaving us with two. Last night was WAY TOO HOT in the house to cook, so he grilled hamburgers. But it appears that our grill is on its last legs of it's short, eight-year life.
How come this kind of thing doesn't happen at the END of grilling season, when the gas grills are deeply discounted?? :(
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Cocktail Hour
Friday night, and friends over for dinner. A nice way to relax with friends, a cocktail. Just one...and I think I've found my new favorite.
A Tequila Sunrise
This is a very simple drink, just orange juice, tequila and grenadine. The grenadine is heavier than the juice, so it sinks to the bottom and makes for a very pretty drink. Brian saw a Good Eats on pomegranates, and I was surprised to find out that grenadine is pomegranate, not cherry. AB featured this drink as a use for grenadine syrup, and as soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to try one. I'm not much of a drinker, but I do enjoy an occasional tequila drink. Like frozen margaritas, those are the best!
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