Almost Irish Stew

I made this dish in the slow-cooker a week ago when my mom and sister visited. Everyone enjoyed it which was good. Being together with my mom and sister was something of an experience this time around. I really don't know where to begin, but my mother tried to convince me that monkeys don't have tails and my sister thinks that her employer would not have had the right to tell her she couldn't take time off to go to Obama's inauguration. I think they both must be out of their minds, at least a little. It seems the longer I am away from them, the less I understand them. I just can't imagine what my life would be like if I hadn't gone to college and made a life for myself. Am I destined to be irritated by my family? Should I readjust my expectations and acknowledge that they don't understand my views just as I don't understand theirs?

Oh and my sister slurps - I hate slurping.

Swedish Meatballs with Cabbage and Apple Salad

This was our dinner last night. The salad was great and the meatballs were good, especially if you could tolerate all of the butter in the sauce. Thankfully I made a dessert that wasn't particularly heavy so we didn't feel too gross by the end of the night. I have to admit that even though the butter was heavy I am looking forward to the leftovers. I guess I am a glutton for punishment. I do enjoy our weekend meals that can turn into cooking extravaganzas. I don't enjoy the mess that the cooking creates, but I guess that's the price to pay. There's always a price.

Hungarian Beef Borscht Leftovers

J made borscht last weekend. It was the first time either of us had had such a dish. It was pretty tasty, but the recipe stated that you should make it 24 hours in advance and then reheat it. I had some leftover borscht for lunch the following day and it definitely was more flavorful. It seems that just about all meals are more enjoyable the second time around which boasts the question, why? Is it that the work of creating the dish has retreated farther into our memories so we can relax and enjoy the dish more? Is it that we already know what to expect from the dish and that allows us to be most pleasantly surprised if the dish seems more delicious? Does the refrigerator have some magical power? Is there some augmentive force in my Ziploc containers?

Should we make all meals one day in advance?

Parmesan and Herb Crusted Beef Tenderloin, Potato and Baby Spinach Gratin, Brussels Sprouts and Goat Cheese Salad

This was our dinner on New Year's Day. Since J and I have been together I have always taken the first foods of the New Year seriously. I figure we can eat terribly anytime so we should eat well on New Year's Day. I guess it helps that we enjoy cooking and cooking together. The meal was excellent and we had enough beef for two more meals.

In addition to good food New Year's Day also brings some pressure to identify resolutions. I have quite a few this year. Many of them are small or things I can't do anything about immediately. Here are my resolutions for 2009:

~ make at least 1 blog post per week. I was going to aim for once per day, but I know that won't happen once the baby gets here so I am trying to be realistic about my goals.

~ stay on top of household clutter. I need to really get moving on this one. Thankfully the Christmas decorations are down and put away so I should be able to get things organized soon.

~ pay bills in the office every Monday. I want to start using that room more often and be more organized about bill paying.

~ Be more mindful about spending!

~ lose this baby weight quickly after Niner gets here. I want to get back into leather pants shape by the Fall and be able to wear a bikini if we go on vacation in December. Speaking of being pregnant here is what I look like at 25 weeks:

Cheesecake and Booze

The two things I missed on vacation 2008. The booze I planned on missing, but the cheesecake not so much. On the flight down, the flight attendant served J and I our meals separately so that Rex could sit on one of our laps while the other ate. It seemed like such a good plan. J ate first and his meal arrived with a slice of cheesecake. From that point on I couldn't wait for my meal. When it finally arrived my cheesecake had been replaced by a bowl of fruit. It is safe to say that I was very disappointed.

Let me continue my complaining about airlines with our trip through security to board our plane in NY. J and I loaded up the bins we needed, collapsed the stroller, took off our sweaters, jackets and shoes. Rex and I headed toward the metal detector. The guard told me to remove Rex's shoes - he is 22 months old, his shoes are the length of 1.5 Q-tips! Then the guard "padded" Rex down after we walked through the detector due to the fact that he had a sweater on. I still can't believe my 22 month old was padded down.

Tomorrow is our return flight. Hopefully I will get Rex through security with less fanfare and manhandling.

Blackened Steak Tips over Penne with a Ricotta Cream Sauce

This was my tasty dinner this evening. We tried to go to Miss Vicky's for dinner, but didn't realize that they didn't start serving dinner until 6pm which was a bit of an issue considering we arrived at 5:20 with a hungry toddler. We opted to dine at Shipwreck Landing for the second time on this vacation. The food is tasty, the service is good and it has a kid's menu.

We are about halfway through our vacation and boy is vacation different this year. Taking care of a toddler is much easier than taking care of an infant which is what we did on our vacation last year. This year Rex will play in the sand with his toys and nap on the beach so that J and I can actually get in some good tanning/skin cancer time. We have also been able to go out for early dinners instead of lunches this year which is nice. The other kink in our vacation is my pregnant status - no booze on the flight for me or rum and cokes since landing. Instead J has kept me from grousing too much by making me virgin coladas of one variety or another.

We are still working on a name for the little baby boy that will join our family in April, but other than that we are just trying to relax and not let any of life's other stresses get too us too much until we get back home.

Grilled Cheese and Clam Chowder

This is a meal I have had more often lately. It's quite tasty and ranks pretty high on my comfort food scale. I like my grilled cheese with mustard or tuna fish and I add pepper and hot sauce to my chowder. The meal just isn't the same without these things. Unfortunately I have not enjoyed a martini lately. I am pregnant and a tini is definitely off limits as are many other enjoyable things - raw food such as my beloved sushi; salmon - I can't wait for a bagel, cream cheese and smoked salmon to grace my brunch plate in the Spring; coldcuts - not really a big issue for me, but because I can't have them they seem to be everywhere and they look tasty. I will keep making due with my grilled cheese sandwiches, at least it keeps my mind off of the other foods.