Friday, 5/21/2010

We made it to our hotel in Carmel tonight by 8pm. Not too shabby. We stopped about an hour North of Carmel for dinner in Morgan Hill, CA. We found Las Palmas with the help of our Garmin GPS. As we drove up, one restaurant sign said "Fine Mexican Dining" and another said "Mexican Dining -and- Miniature Golf". It looked really nice inside and we were immediately seated. The salsa was good and spicy hot. I really liked it. But, we were only mildly satisfied with the rest of our meal.


First of all, the margaritas that we ordered were filled with too much margarita mix and not enough tequila. So, that was disappointing. You would think a Mexican restaurant in California would be able to get that right. And then the food... Ben and Spencer ordered enchiladas. They were fine, but lacked flavor. I ordered a cheese quesadilla, which I planned on sharing with Katie, and tortilla soup. The quesadilla was just not cooked enough. And the soup was broth based and really didn't have any flavor either. It had beans and carrots in it, which I have never seen in a tortilla soup before. And, strangely enough, it didn't have avocado in it. Tortilla soup always has avocado in it in the Seattle area. Katie ate some of my beans and tons of black olives. She wanted nothing to do with the quesadilla. Jennifer had a chicken tostada. She thought it was good. Anyway, we didn't really think it was "fine" dining. The atmosphere was fine, but overall, the food... not so much.






Ben and Spencer tried to go get us a bottle of wine to share at the hotel, but found out that the stores that sell wine all close by 8pm. Oh well.

Thursday, 5/20/2010

Happy Vacation to us! We are officially on vacation today. We are headed to Carmel, CA, for the wedding of our friends Lauren and Tim. Ben's mom and brother are on the road with the three of us. Our goal was to make it to Medford, OR, for dinner tonight. But, we didn't make it that far. We stopped for pizza at Abby's in Sutherlin, OR. We split a delicious pepperoni and sausage pizza. Katie was super entertaining while we were waiting for the pizza to bake. After being cooped up in the car all day, she enjoyed walking around and playing with the highchair straps.

Tomorrow, we head to Carmel.

Wednesday, 5/19/2010

We had Caribbean Pork Bowls tonight. I don't have time to type up the recipe today, but will definitely be making it again. So, the recipe will come to those who continue to follow this blog:)

Basically, it is pork tenderloin, tossed in chili powder, brown sugar, salt and pepper, pan fried in olive oil. Kielbasa and minced garlic are added to the pan and eventually deglazed with fresh lime juice. It boils until syrupy. We served it with white rice and a delicious tomatillo salsa. I actually made up the salsa months ago and froze it in an ice cube tray. Now, each time we fix this dish, I just defrost one cube and I'm good to go!

Tuesday, 5/18/2010

I was going to make Caribbean Pork Bowls tonight, but our afternoon and early evening got away from us. I had a chiropractor appointment in Redmond at 2pm and then stayed on the East side to do some shopping. By the time I got back over to Seattle, picked up Ben, stopped at the grocery store to get some food for my sick friends (hope you are feeling better soon!), and then dropped off their food, we weren't about to go home and wait another 1/2 hour + to eat. So we called in an order to Buddha Ruksa, our favorite Thai restaurant in Seattle. We got our standard dishes:

Phad Prik Khing (green beans, bell peppers, and tofu with kaffir lime leaves in
curry paste.)

Crispy Garlic Chicken (sautéed in a rich garlic sauce, served on the top of crispy
Basil.)

The green bean dish was wonderful, lots of good sauce with it. The crispy chicken was not as great last night as it usually is. Quite a bit of it was over cooked and dry. If this had been my first experience with it, I don't think I would reorder it. Katie was not hungry for dinner tonight. Perhaps it's because she ate a big breakfast, wouldn't eat much for lunch, and then snacked all afternoon on crackers and cheese. Surprisingly, after she was done with dinner and while Ben and I finished, Katie was willing to come over to my chair to get a couple bits of sautéed red pepper:)

Monday, 5/17/2010

We finished off our left over grilled chicken breasts tonight. I fixed a spinach, strawberry, and pear salad, with a balsamic vinaigrette. Katie was a super fan of strawberries today. She had some with each meal. Nothing more to share about this meal:)

Sunday, 5/16/2010

Happy Birthday to my husband Ben!

We celebrated Ben's birthday tonight with our friends Ryan and Vanessa. I wanted to meet somewhere near Tacoma, half-way between our homes, so that none of us had to drive too far. I did lots of internet searching and finally found the Adriatic Grill. The restaurant's website was really nice, easy to navigate and full of great information. I don't know about you, but I have a hard time getting excited about an unfamiliar restaurant if it's website is poorly designed. Anyway, the menu had a lot of variety, the entree prices looked reasonable, and they advertised 1/2 priced bottles of wine on Sundays. Also, I was thrilled when Google Maps showed me a photo of the restaurant and it had a parking lot. Sweet! No street parking!

I made my reservation online and was pleased to receive a call a couple days ago to confirm. They had our table prepared for us when we arrived, complete with our requested high chair for Katie. They gave her some crayons and she actually used them to scribble with! Ok, she did try to eat them later on, but the nice waitress let us know they were soy based. We took advantage of the 1/2 price wine and shared a bottle of chianti. We toasted Ben for his birthday. Katie took notice and insisted on clinking (or clunking) her sippy cup into our glasses too. SO CUTE!!!

Ben ordered Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo. I had Steelhead Salmon with Fresh Pesto off of their Fresh Sheet menu. Vanessa enjoyed the Pesto Shrimp pizza. Ryan tested the lasanga, and Katie had a cheese pizza. For dessert, Ben got a complimentary cup of ice cream with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. He shared that with Katie, who showed, once again, that she loved ice cream! Vanessa and I each had a chocolate amaretto cake with amaretto ice cream. Whoa, sooo rich and delicious. Neither one of us could finish our dessert even though we wanted to. Ben had Affogato Al Cafe- a white chocolate ice cream drizzled with espresso and topped with whipped sweet cream and chocolate covered espresso beans. Ryan enjoyed a dish of spumoni.

Bottom line: I would HIGHLY recommend visiting this restaurant if you live anywhere near Tacoma.

Saturday, 5/15/2010

I sang in a benefit concert this evening, so we had dinner a bit early. We got Chinese food from the Safeway deli counter. In addition to fried rice and chow mein, we had Mongolian beef, General Tso's chicken, and a few pot stickers. I am always amazed at how much food gets packed into those small take-out boxes. The food was ok, but definitely was not as good as going to a Chinese restaurant. It just loses something when it is not served immediately after cooking.

Katie was not very thrilled with our dinner choice. She had a couple tiny bites of chicken and noodles with us, but then waited to eat an apple and cheese with her babysitter.

Friday, 5/14/2010

I used another McCormicks marinade packet tonight- Tomato, Garlic, and Basil. I marinated four boneless, skinless chicken breasts for about 6 hours. They were grilled on Medium Direct heat for approximately 12 minutes, flipping at the halfway mark. They were perfectly cooked in my opinion; although, they didn't come off the grill very nicely. Big chunks of chicken were stuck to the grill grates. Thankfully it didn't affect the flavor!

We had a spinach, mandarin orange salad tossed with a balsamic vinaigrette. Most of the time we include goat cheese crumbles in this salad, but went without since we didn't have any. Katie ate one orange segment before dinner; so, I thought she would be willing to eat some more during dinner. She did eat a few, but not before squishing them between her fingers. What an orange juice mess. Then she decided it would be fun to hide pieces of orange and chicken on her lap. Oh, she sure likes to test her boundaries. We say "no, no" and she responds with "na, na". I know she isn't trying to mock me on purpose, but it sure sounds like it.

Thursday, 5/13/2010

I was late getting dinner ready tonight, but that's ok. While we were waiting for the oven to preheat, Katie insisted on going outside to show her daddy the flowers in the front yard. She spent about 45 minutes out there with me this afternoon. I was dead-heading pansies and weeding while she chatted at the neighbors, hollared at the dogs down the street, picked up dirt and rocks (some of which she handed to me and some she ate), and practiced standing up on her own. Until just this week, she has preferred to crawl to something that she can pull herself up on. It was fun to see her practicing this new skill on the soft grass. Good choice Katie!

Anyway, back to dinner. We baked beer battered halibut tonight. Since we had a fruit salad last night, we decided to use up the remaining iceberg lettuce for salads. Ben went with blue cheese, while I went with Italian dressing. Too bad, we didn't have any more bacon to crumble on top. I cut up two strawberries for Katie, but that was not enough. She wanted more, more, more! I'm going to have to get more berries for her before next week's shopping trip.

Wednesday, 5/12/2010

I used left over rotisserie chicken to make chicken burritos tonight. This is such an easy dish to make when the chicken is already shredded. Looks like I last made this dish on 4/20, almost made it a month before repeating it:)

We are trying to have more fruit and vegetables with our meals so that Katie will eat them. She eats much better when she is offered the same things we are eating. So, although we would usually go without a side dish when having burritos, I fixed a lovely fruit salad this evening. I used fresh strawberries, pear, and grapes. This thrilled Katie, who gobbled it down. There was a little salad left over. I plan to give it to her for breakfast tomorrow.

Tuesday, 5/11/2010

Katie and I did a super quick grocery store run this morning after her breakfast. Usually, when I want to purchase boneless pork chops, I can't find the right quantity or thickness. But today, I hit the jackpot- two pork chops in one package, weighing just under a pound. Plenty for the three of us, plus a little left over for Katie to snack on.

I marinated them in McCormick's Grill Mates Southwest Marinade. We use these marinade packets a lot; all of the flavors are great. Most just take a little water, oil, and vinegar. Although I usually marinate meats for 8-10 hours, today, the pork chops only got an hour or two- didn't matter, they were really good. I grilled them on medium direct for 10-12 minutes. I spooned on extra marinade as I flipped them so that they were good and coated. Ben would have been ok if they were a little less done, but said they were a good compromise. I like my meat cooked more than he does.

For a side dish, we had iceberg lettuce wedge salads. Ben topped his with blue cheese dressing and blue cheese crumbles and added some crumbled bacon I baked earlier in the day. I had some of the bacon and used an Italian dressing. Since Katie doesn't eat salad greens yet, I steamed some broccoli for her. I know, I know...it's crazy that I would cook it for her, but won't eat it myself. Truth be told, Ben won't eat it either. But, I did put it on my plate so that she would see it coming from me. I even pretended to eat a piece she passed to me. Oh the sacrifices I make for my daughter's health:)

Monday, 5/10/2010

I am singing in a benefit concert this coming Saturday; so, my normally open afternoons are filled with rehearsals. I usually do my grocery shopping Monday afternoons, but didn't get out the door until just before 4pm today. Katie and I decided to pick Ben up from work and headed to Costco. We purchased our standard Costco grocery items and added a rotisserie chicken. Man, they are super cheap at Costco. I think we paid $4.99. About a buck cheaper than Fred Meyer and several cheaper than Safeway. Anyway, we paired it with a caesar salad and the meal was complete. I removed the remaining chicken from the bones and will use it later in the week.

Sunday, 5/9/2010

Happy Mother's Day to me:) My morning started off with three lovely cards- one from Ben, one from Katie, and one from my mother-in-law Jennifer. Ben also gave me a beautiful video slideshow he put together with photos of me and Katie. It made me cry happy tears within seconds. Here it is for your viewing pleasure:


I know, that didn't have anything to do with food at all, but I wanted to share:)

We stopped for lunch in Cannon Beach, OR at the Lumberyard Rotisserie & Grill. We all shared a mac & cheese appetizer. Ben and I split a bbq chicken pizza and managed to save a couple pieces to have for dinner. It reheated well in the toaster oven. Katie had a plate of cheese, crackers and fresh fruit. Strawberries and grapes are now her favorite fruits. Spencer had a Spicy Prawn Quesadilla which he said was delicious. Ben and I ate at this restaurant a couple times on our honeymoon, almost 5 years ago. Good memories:)

Saturday, 5/13/2010

The birthday surprise for Ben's grandma was absolutely perfect! She was blown away that all of her family came to celebrate with her:) After a restful night's sleep listening to the ocean, we gathered for breakfast at the beach house. Then we headed back to the hotel so that Katie could nap around 11am. Turned out Ben and I needed naps too.

After our naps, we had lunch and headed to the beach to play. I should point out that it was Katie's first time playing in sand. Her Grandma Jennifer showed her how to brush her hands together in order to remove some of the sand. We went back to the beach house for dinner.

We had grilled hotdogs and hamburgers for dinner followed up with birthday cake and ice cream. The cake was carrot with raisins and nuts, so Ben passed on it. I am not usually a carrot cake fan, but I am always a butter cream frosting fan...so I had some:) Katie definitely enjoyed the cake!

Friday, 5/7/2010

We took today off and drove down to Newport, OR with Ben's brother Spencer. Tomorrow is his grandmother's 80th birthday and her whole family is going to be there. It is a huge surprise party!

Although I-5 is technically faster, we decided to drive along the coast for most of the trip. It was more scenic and had more towns to stop in. With a 16 month old in the car, we thought having more options for stopping would be a good thing. And, we were right. This route took us right through Tillamook, OR. We did not drive through; we most definitely stopped...at the cheese factory. Now, you might just think about cheese when you hear the name Tillamook. But, it is equally important to think ice cream:)

Ben got a waffle bowl with a scoop of marionberry pie ice cream. The ice cream was delicious, but the waffle bowl left a little to be desired. Spencer and I opted for chocolate peanut butter, and Katie had utterly chocolate. She couldn't finish all of her's, so I helped:) I would like a reason to stop for ice cream on all future road trips!


Technically we didn't have "dinner" tonight. We had the ice cream snack and then munched on crackers, hummus, summer sausage, cheese, and chips at the family gathering. We didn't go hungry, that's for sure.

Thursday, 5/6/2010

Tonight is easy to describe: Leftover Beef Roast with Vegetables. It took a while to reheat the dish, but it was pretty good. It helped that we reserved some of the juices to pour over everything.

No photos of this dish; beef roasts just don't look very appetizing in photos.

Wednesday, 5/5/2010

It's been a while since I cooked a Pot Roast, so I decided to give it a try again. I used the recipe that came with my Slow Cooker. To loosely quote Ben:

"It was enjoyable, but I've had better."
"I would be perfectly happy if that exact dish was in our regular dinner rotation. However, I wouldn't mind if it was more moist and flavorful."

So, there is room for improvement:) The recipe does give the option to brown the roast in a skillet over medium heat before placing in the cooking pot. I haven't done that before, but perhaps that would help to seal in more moisture and add flavor. Also, I have not attempted to make a gravy out of the juices. I'll give those options a try next time. I cooked our 2 1/2 pound roast for 10 hours on LO, seasoned with steak seasoning, kosher salt, and pepper. Here's the recipe as it is printed.


BEEF ROAST WITH VEGETABLES

2-2 1/2 pound beef roast
salt and pepper to taste
1 small onion, quartered or sliced
4 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 medium potatoes, quartered and halved
1/2 cup water

Cook at:
LO for 9 to 10 hours
HI for 5-6 hours

1. If desired, brown roast in skillet over medium heat of range unit before placing into stoneware cooking pot. Season as desired. Place vegetables around roast. Add water.
2. Place pot into heating base, cover and cook at desired heat setting for time given or until meat and vegetables are tender. (Meat thermometer should read 170° for well done). Thicken juices with mixture of 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water if desired. Set control to HI and slowly stir mixture into juiced until thickened. Serves 4.

Tuesday, 5/4/2010

We enjoyed a delicious PEPS meal tonight at Sara, Aaron and Ari's house. Sara fixed chicken alfredo with penne noodles, caesar salad, garlic bread, fruit salad, and cookies. I wish I knew her secrets, because each dish was fabulous. The pasta dish in particular had a divinely gooey sauce that I could have eaten like soup. And, the garlic bread was restaurant quality. Rustic wheat bread (I think) with thinly sliced garlic on it. Sara, please share your secrets with me;)

Katie loved the strawberries from the fruit salad, ate a bit of the pasta, and begged for more cookie crumbs than we would give her. But, eating was not her primary focus. Ari's toys were far more interesting. Oh yes, and she was a champion sippy cup tester tonight. She can spot a friend's sippy cup from across the room and has no problem taking a swig or two to see what they are drinking. The parents played a good game of protect the sippy cups.

Monday, 5/3/2010

Time for something different tonight. No sausages, no chili:) I made Parmesan-Crusted Halibut & Brown Butter Beans. You will notice that both recipes came from Cuisine at Home. Ben and I have received subscriptions to this magazine a couple times and love it. The dishes are practical with great tips. And, the flavor is usually really good...not bland at all. I've made the Halibut before. It is super simple to put together and the taste is FANTASTIC! Definitely a dish you could serve to company. I didn't have a lemon on hand tonight, so I made it without the lemon zest. It was still delicious, so don't fret if you don't have that ingredient.

The Brown Butter Beans recipe was new for me. I didn't weigh the beans when I purchased them, so it is very likely that I had fewer beans than the recipe called for. Regardless, it was a super tasty way to fix them up. I really like that the beans boiled in the same pan that the sauce was made in. It is far better to clean one pan than two:)


PARMESAN-CRUSTED HALIBUT (from Cuisine at Home magazine)

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
Minced zest of 1/2 a lemon
Salt & pepper to taste
4 tsp. purchased pesto, divided
2 halibut fillets, 1-inch think (4 oz. each)

Preheat oven to 450°; coat a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
Combine panko, Parmesan, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
Spread 2 tsp. pesto on 1 side of each halibut fillet and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Press panko mixture onto pesto side of fillets, spritz crumbs with nonstick spray, then refrigerate until ready to roast.
Cook fish until crumbs are golden and flesh flakes easily with a fork, 10-12 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets.

BROWN BUTTER BEANS (from Cuisine at Home Weeknight Menus)

Makes 4 cups
Total time: 15 minutes

4 cups haricot vert or thin green beans, trimmed
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 t. garlic, minced
1 T. fresh lemon juice
Cooked beans
Salt & pepper to taste

Cook beans in a large saute pan of boiling salted water for 4 minutes. Drain and set aside; wipe out pan. (We thought they could have cooked a bit longer.)
Melt butter in the pan over medium heat until light brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 30 seconds.
Deglaze with lemon juice; remove from heat.
Add beans, toss well, and season with salt and pepper.

Sunday, 5/2/2010

Ok, time to finish off the chili. I covered two plates with tortilla chips, added the chili that I made earlier in the week, and topped with shredded cheddar. A minute in the microwave each and we each enjoyed chili nachos. It was a fine, filling meal, but I now know I prefer to use taco meat for nachos. The chips got a bit soggy and would have been better dipped into the chili.

Saturday, 5/1/2010

What a fun day this was. My friend Elly and I hosted a bridal shower for our friend Lauren at my home. I will create a special "Bridal Shower" post later on with details about the shower. It was perfect!

After the bridal shower, we all went to downtown Seattle to the CanCan, a kitchen and cabaret, for the bachelorette party. I'd been there two times before, once for another bridal shower and once for a 30th birthday party. There is a tiny stage and the tables are packed in. Each show I've seen is a bit different, but always very entertaining and slightly odd at the same time. We arrived at 6pm so that we could have dinner and relax before the 7:30 show. Our ticket included a 3 course meal. Here's what I ordered:

1st course: Vegetarian soup made with fresh market produce (it is located at the Pike Place Market)
2nd course: Salad Ortaggio- spinach, pear, gorgonzola, and spiced walnuts tossed in balsamic-basil vinaigrette
3rd course: Three Cheese Macaroni- penne pasta in a sauce made with pecorino, gorgonzola and parmigianno cheeses, fresh sage and bread crumbs.

The food was delicious, the show was fun, and the drinks were tasty! I highly recommend a visit to the CanCan if you ever need something different to do in Seattle.

Friday, 4/30/2010

It would take quite a bit of time to mention everything that happened in this day, but I can sum it up by saying it was EXTREMELY busy for me. This evening the youth from our church performed their first Sweet, Sweet Music concert: Fauntleroy Fledglings. Ben's brother Spencer came down to watch Katie for us so that we could go to it. I sang and played the guitar and piano on the group songs. Ben was in charge of videography for the show.

Dinner had to be simple, so I grilled Italian Sausages. That's it. I dipped in left over Roasted Garlic pasta sauce and Ben and Spencer dipped in mustard. For dessert we all indulged in the bounty of cookies at the concert. Spencer ended up bringing Katie for an hour or so until intermission. It was fun to have them there with us.

Thursday, 4/29/2010

With a batch of chili in the fridge, I decided to make and eat my first ever chili dog. I grilled a couple of big sandwich buns and Hebrew National Polish Beef Sausages. Spooned on some chili, sprinkled on shredded cheddar, and TA-DA...chili dogs. Ben said they were great. I thought the taste was good, but don't really need to try it again. I prefer to eat my hotdogs/sausages separate from my chili.

We cut up part of a sausage for Katie and gave her some chili. Seems like she is now a cheese snob. Shredded cheese no longer works for her. It must be sliced or cubed. Fine by me, shredded cheese gets everywhere!

Wednesday, 4/28/2010

My friend Lyle invited me to go see the musical "On the Town" this evening at the 5th Avenue Theater. He brought over burritos from Chipotle Mexican Grill for us to eat before heading downtown. I had a Carnitas Burrito with rice, pork, cheese, and medium green salsa. Although the burrito was huge and delicious, I must comment on the crappy website I tried to navigate in order to find the menu.

When I first went to the site, I looked at the graphics and links on the page and saw nothing that said menu. I tried looking for a location near me, thinking the menus might be regional. Nope, nothing there. Eventually, I started the process of ordering food online and found a faxable form which was essentially the menu. The funny part is that just now, when I was getting the site link to add to this post, I just happened to run my curser over the Chipotle graphic in the top left corner of the page and out flew the site menu. It included the food menu I previously struggled to find. In my experience, it is expected that the header graphic on a website will take you back to the home page. I have never seen a site menu hidden in that graphic before. I'm not sure it is the best strategy Chipotle.

While out on the town (pun only slightly intended) Lyle pointed out that we have been friends for over 10 years now. On one hand, I can't believe that so much time has passed. And on the other hand, I can see how 10 years have passed based on how much has changed in our lives since we first met at BER orientation in 1999. I'm glad we are still friends:)