cook more often

Usually I make this from scratch, beginning with the pesto. Last night I was in a jam for time, so I bought the Boboli jarred pesto. Made the alfredo, mixed in the pesto, tossed it with the linguine and added seared chicken cutlets on top.

Not bad, but using the jarred pesto really dilutes the freshness of the dish. But it was fast, and actually less expensive than making your own pesto.

Hubby was out and about, said he would stop by the grocery store to pick up fixin’s for dinner. Hubby: what do you want? Me: I don’t care.

BIG MISTAKE.

He just came home with a package of hotdogs, canned chili and frozen french fries. I HATE that shit. It’s the worst meal for me, because I really dislike hotdogs—taste, texture, health, knowing what they consist of (thanks to a PBS special 3 yrs ago).

I got took. He didn’t even have the courtesy to buy a bottle of wine to make this crap less offensive. Yes, I am actually pissed off that I have to eat hotdogs tonight.

The only silver lining is 1) very few dollars were spent on this feast; and 2) hubby’s “misperception” regarding my thoughts on hotdogs for dinner has been cleared up.

Yep, last night I took the plunge, and did something very naughty, that I knew I really shouldn’t, just to see what it was like. I fired up the fry daddy and fried me up some fish and homemade hushpuppies.

The fish was tilapia (frozen bag of which was 2 fer 1 at my Winn Dixie), a little muddy tasting, but still good, really in the vein of catfish. The 2 for 1 deal helps me with another of my 43 things: become debt free. A little egg wash and flour, mixed with some bread crumbs gave it a nice little crust. I think I prefer a milder fish, though, like snapper or mahi. Recipe was straight from master: Southern Living Ultimate Cookbook (without which I would be nothing). Props to my hubby for being the actual fry master for the fish. I did some watching and learning, which allowed to me create…

The hushpuppies, while fun to make, left something to be desired. If it is possible for something to be oily and paperweight-like at once, I have accomplished it. I can’t blame Paula Deen’s recipe, since I was as liberal as Ted Kennedy with the substitutions.

of what ultimately became greasy, dry cornmeal-ish hushpuppies.

Still, it was quite fun drop spoonfuls of batter
into the fry basket and see them ball up into golden masses

The side item: good ole Zatarain’s Red Beans and Rice, a household classic and in this evening’s case, health food.

Last night I made Lemon Roasted Chicken, fresh green beans simmered with ham chunks, and mashed potatoes. This is a standard meal I’m pretty good at. The only problem is the mess! Ya’ll know I hate to clean, so this meal is a real conundrum for me. Love the chicken, but the mess is time consuming.

I use Julia Child’s recipe for the chicken, so it’s delicious and pretty foolproof. Maybe I should just make it a rule to buy a deli rotisserie chicken if it’s just a meal for 2.

Tonight’s a dinner party at someone’s house, so I’m off the hook.

I’m sick, so my dear husband took care of me with an all-star comfort food meal. Hamburger Helper, green bean casserole (frozen but still yummy) and a slice of peach pie. Hoping tonight I’ll feel better and roast a chicken or something.

It was okay. Hubby picked up chicken tenders instead of the chicken cutlets that I requested, which resulted in a bit more work. Shook all the chicken pieces in a ziplock with flour, Italian season bread crumbs and salt/pepper. Then pan-sauteed (re:fried) in olive oil. I think the oil wasn’t hot enough, it just didn’t yield crispy chicken, instead it seemed to absorb the olive oil just a tad.

Anyways, live and learn. Sopranos was pretty good… is Tony going to die? I don’t think so, but they’re doing a good job of trying to convince me otherwise. Good to know he’s a born philanderer who’d screw around no matter what turn his life takes. At least he’s consistent.

We got stood up by our friends, but managed to rally. We made teryiaki glazed salmon, steamed spinach and mashed potatoes. Whole grain baguette (thanks Publix!) and a nice German viognier on the side. Yummy Yummerton was in the house.

Off Topic: What was not so great was the fight that broke out b/t hubby and me over doing the dishes. Seriously ya’ll, I about had a stroke over a relatively benign event. Apparently being left behind to scrub salmon off of a broiler rack and doing lots of dishes by hand while he wanders off to “fix” the computer didn’t sit too well with me. Anyways we yelled at each other, dumped out our nice wine and went our separate ways. We didn’t even finish watch “Red Dawn.”

Anyways, my man the late, great Chris Farley came to the rescue in the form of an E! special, highlighting his SNL years. Damn, could anyone else fall on a table, through a glass door, or cough up an entire pork chop better than him? Probably not, but I know for DAMN sure this world will never see a more talented Chippendales dancer. I’ve seen that skit countless times, and I still laugh my ass off watching his “dance off” against Patrick Swayze.

Note to self: must buy the Chris Farley DVD to combat future episodes of anger, sadness, hangovers, etc.

enough said

Ok, so it was a family dinner planned a couple weeks ago. Tonight I will take advantage of the beautimus weather and grill in the backyard. More to come.

Oops. At least the cranberry/vodka cocktails were homemade. But I will not lose heart, for as one of my role models is known to say, “tomorrow is another day!”