krunkstar

Four months post surgery, and here’s what my hand’s looking like. The scar comes and goes – okay, well the coloring changes depending on temperature and how much i’ve been using my hand. The pain is almost totally gone. Once in a while it feels “strange” but mostly I just forget about it! Healing ahoy!!

joe spent all this time seeding the pomegranate, but look how beautiful they are!!! had to share. tis the season!!

12/13/2009
So we had some friends over for dinner on a Friday and i decided to do some serious comfort food. It’s been cold out and we were cooking for the masses, so I went with a nice pot roast dinner with roasted potatoes and carrots. It was my first pot roast (without my mom’s help) and it was super awesome!!! gonna have to make it again. Dinner came out great and the left overs can be made into anything – hense – chimichanga breakfast
It started out with Joe wanting to make some breakfast tacos with the left over pot roast. Then, the tacos morphed into chimichangas. Us, not being simple people, had to go ahead and make all the sides and serve it on a bed of fresh shredded lettuce. AWESOME!! just so good. in fact, my mouth’s watering a little as i type this. That’s it, i’m taking some meat out of the freezer today and we’re making pot roast again this week!!

rib eye and veggies

from 9/28/2009
steak and veggies – do you really need anything else. roasted carrots and asparagus to go along with some nice rib eye – okay okay – made a nice onion/balsamic vinegar reduction, and some rice. We just can’t say no to more more more.

from 10/15/2009
so some of you may wonder how i could have possibly lived in sunny southern california and not tried a bacon wrapped dog from one of those carts on the corner. Well, finally, in my 30th year, i did. We were walking home from the local drinking hole – it was still early in the night, maybe 9:30pm, and apparently 3 nights a week we have our own local bacon dog vender. Of course the biffy and his friend had to have some. I had a bite of his – i wasn’t hungry, and honestly – i was just too cold to eat.
They couldn’t believe I had never had/tried one before. So the next day we were on mission bacon wrapped dogs. When we have dogs, its not normally just a dog on a bun. There’s all the fixings – mayonaise, mustard, ketchup, relish, pickles, beanless chili, cheese, grilled onion, fresh onion…but for some reason, we had never done the bacon. I thought it would be super salty, which, it was, but somehow, the juicy hot dog and sweet grilled onion is just enough to make it all work together. And yes – I could only eat one. My eyes were bigger than my belly that day for sure!!

from October 10, 2009
It all started back in may 2009 – we made our way to South Beach Florida. It was the last few days of the trip and we needed a quick lunch before taking Doug to the airport and driving down to the Key’s. (ps – i need to go back. pps – hi benita) We heard about this burger joint – CHEESEBURGER BABY – and ever since, the mini burger is a thing of our dreams. We ordered a half dozen to split. 3- each. no problem. They’re tiny!!! They were served, cheesey, shredded lettuce, diced dill pickle beasts. We didnt even finish two each. but ever since that day…

i have to say, i’ve gotten pretty good at making these little babies. The first time we tried to recreate the burger baby burger. it was good, but not the same. it’s better just to make our one of our own. So now, in less than 10 minutes, i can prep, cook and serve mini cheeseburgers. They’re warm, juicey, melty, a little greasy, and oh so good!! They’re just one of those things you see on a plate and think “2. really, you’re giving me 2 of these tiny little bite sized burgers” but then you start eating. 2 is perfect. And, as i’m sure you can see from all the food posts, its not like i’m some light eater. I’ve put back my share of double doubles…but these babies really hit the spot.

From 9/21/2009
The BLT – good ole’ standby. there’s nothing you can say bad about a sandwich made of fresh sliced bread, crispy thick cut bacon, sliced roma tomatoes, and some light iceberg – topped off with some mayonaisse, salt and fresh cracked pepper. and the best side for the blt – chips and fresh made ranch dip. creamy, crispy, salty, sweet. YUM!!

 This is one of my new favorite ways to prepare baked potatoes.  We went a while peeling and roasting, then we tried peeling, quartering and roasting, but i’ve taken to this method as my favorite.  Crispy skinned, buttery, salted, and sweet garlic melting in between the slices as it all bakes.  Yes, it takes a while.  but if you plan ahead, they’re a perfect accompaniment to a nice rib eye steak and grilled artichokes!!