Lemon-Soy Chicken

This is a really quick meal to prepare, it's a lot of "set it and forget it!"  Chicken thighs with a sauce of lemon and soy, served with rice to sop up the sauce.  So simple, so delicious!  I'm taking the rest of the leftovers for lunch today.  Chicken thighs are great....they're cheap, they cook easily, and they make great leftovers. 

Best Sandwich in the World

IMHO, the best sandwich ever created is the #9 Pocket at D'Angelo's.  Lean steak, american cheese, peppers, onions and mushrooms.  Mmmm....I'm in heaven!  Happiest.  Lunch.  in a Long TIME!!  :)

I've tried to duplicate this simple, out-of-this-world goodness, but it never turns out the same.

Perfect Party

I'm very proud of myself.  Sean was baptized over the weekend, and we had the reception at the house afterwards for about 25 people.  Usually I stress to the gills over parties, rushing around cooking like a madwoman and cleaning my house.  (Yeah, because my party guests are going to critique our cleaning skills.)  I didn't freak out, and I didn't cook.  That's right, I didn't cook.  I ordered deli platters, a cookie tray, a small sheet cake and enough soda, beer and wine to fill two coolers in my kitchen.  I didn't agonize over what to make, and I didn't end up with tons of leftovers, just a small bag of leftover sandwiches and a little cake.  It was perfect, and I had as good a time as everyone else without obsession.  Hooray!

Double Duty

One of the problems with writing a menu is that if you punk out and order pizza because you didn't feel like cooking, you have something defrosted for a meal you didn't plan on having the next day.  I had bought swordfish at the grocery store on Saturday  for that night's dinner.  But when it came time to make them how I had planned (roasted in foil packets with red onion and lemon slices)  I had zero drive to actually prepare it.  So Hawaiian pizza indeed.  However, then last night we were supposed to have chili with leftovers for tonight.  (Brian goes to school for his master's on Monday nights)  So there I am on a Sunday afternoon, throwing together a batch of chili while hurriedly preparing the swordfish packets, along with potato packets for that night's dinner. 

It all came together though, and the fish came out well.....slightly overcooked.  A bit annoying, but what can you do.  However, I discovered a new way to prepare broccoli that's different from the usual "steam and butter" method.  I stir-fried it on the stove, and just as it was getting tender I mixed in a little Three Cheese Italian dressing.  Wow, was that good!!  So now tonight all that has to be done is microwave the chili and rice, and butter the cornbread.  I do love the easy nights!

Mmm Bacon

Besides my vegetarian friends, who doesn't love bacon?  Seems like there's a lot of new bacon ideas out there lately.  Some I'm more excited over than others.  Like the praline bacon that was featured on "Good eats,"....bacon with brown sugar sounds intriguing.  And I already know that an Elvis Burger (burger with just bacon and chunky peanut butter) is out-of-this-world good!  I know, I knocked it and then I tried it and figured out why the husband had been raving about it.  Then I get my Taste of Home magazine the other day.  They have a whole section on bacon recipes.  Cheese and bacon waffles...absolutely!  They sound fantastic, as does bacon scones.  However, I think I draw the line at candy-coated bacon.  I love chocolate, I love bacon.  I'm just not sure the two can go together.  However, I'd be willing to try it just once as an experiment.  :)

Try Thai

Here's something exciting--there's a new Thai restaurant in town!  The local Qdoba closed...no big surprise since it was about a block away from Moe's Tacos and Burritos (excellent!), Taco Bell and Chipotle Grill.  For my last day of freedom on maternity leave, as I was doing errands and running around, I found myself in their parking lot.  I decided to treat myself, thinking that the meal that I would order would probably be about the same price as the Panera sandwich that I was considering.

It's a small place, but classy-looking.  The menu is typical Thai, with curries, appetizers, Thai Iced Tea and a whole page of vegetarian options.  (Something to keep in mind the next time one of my handful of vegetarian friends is in town!)   I ordered the Masaman Chicken Curry....chicken, potato, carrot, zucchini in curry sauce with ground peanuts.  Awesome!  I savored every bite.  And when the bill came I was indeed correct, the same price as that sandwich and I got something so delicious and satisfying.  I did however, forget to get a take-out menu.  I have a feeling that this is somewhere that we'll order from again and again!