New month again?????!!!!!!!!!

I cannot begin to take pictures of all the food we produce and consume around here. It's really frustrating.  Those boys are always on it before I even get to sit down to join them, it seems.  Here are a few shots I was able to sneak in last month........
Delicious buttermilk "oven fried" chicken, delectable desserts at The Palisades Restaurant, grilled seafood and asparagus, scallops and black rice, some concoction Kevin made with all the leftovers in the frig (it was very good!), pork chops with apples and caramelized onions.  All good, but all gone so fast...........I will TRY to do better this month!

OH SWEET SUMMER, come on, baby!  The first pico de gallo of the season was had last night and it made me ever so anxious to sample the bounty that is about to come.  Even the kids who were lounging watching March Madness last night seemed to smell the sweet scent of cilantro and come running to check it out.  Last night was a simple meal of fresh greens served alongside a bread crusted cod and topped with the beautiful pico.  The night before we had lobster tail, but the one thing I can't quit thinking about is the beauty and freshness of the pico de gallo.  Note to self...it goes with everything!

WHERE does the time go?

OK, a whole month has flown by and I have had very little time to document meals.  The family has been lucky to get home cooked meals as I have been on the road most of the month.  Here were a few shots that I managed to snap off before they were devoured.  I can't even remember what the first two were...some kind of chicken/onion/potato crock pot dish and a beef casserole.  A quick midweek salad and a big pot of homemade barbecue for my son who loves his meat and had a little foot surgery.  Trust me, meals were coming out of the kitchen, but no time to take pictures.  Many meals on the road....and a drink or two along the way. 

Hump Day Help

Looking at all these yummy blessings in the frig and anticipating the arrival of fresh produce at the farmers market soon!  Homemade pizza with cauliflower, broccoli, red peppers, onions and a medley of different Italian cheeses.  Delicious!

This is the beginning of Serbian ground beef, veggie and potato bake.  With spices of red pepper flakes, cinnamon, cloves, red wine, etc. this was a real winner.  The house smelled great!

Serbian Ground Beef, Veggie, and Potato Bake Recipe - Allrecipes.com

Found this delicious chicken, broccoli, mushroom casserole.  Don't usually make a lot of casseroles, but this was really yummy.  I will definitely make this again!  I added crumbled Ritz crackers with butter on top at the end to give it more flavor.  Bon appetit!

http://www.food.com/recipe/swiss-chicken-broccoli-casserole-290602

Homemade California rolls.  YUM!

Spicy tilapia wraps.....yum!

Monday meltdown

Well, I am in love with this Sriracha Sauce, but still learning all the different ways to use it.  Tonight's experiment was spicy chicken stir fry with broccoli, edamames, red peppers, onions, cashews and a spicy/sweet sauce with honey, Sriracha, rice vinegar, etc.  Turned out quite yummy!  

Superbowl Sunday

OK, maybe it's just me, but every year on Superbowl Sunday I regress and eat junk food all day long.  It is just an American tradition, I guess.  We had BLTs for lunch and then commenced to eating nachos and homemade bittersweet chocolate and oatmeal cookies.  It was all so worth it!

Friday night wind down...

Out with Kevin and Mason at Lenores

The frig is WAY too full!  HELP!

As the weekend dies down......

the

Wow!  Let it snow!  Two Friday snows in a row and freezing temperatures have kept me in the kitchen for much of the weekend.  I did manage to get off a few shots before it was devoured.  Lots of warm filling soups, chilis, etc.  Love the reason to stay in for a change.  Beautiful to look at through a steamy window in a warm kitchen!  Started it off with a nice nutty quinoa salad with almonds, wild rice, white quinoa, red quinoa, red onion, raisins, spices, etc.  Soooo good for us and healthy tasting!   Followed with roasted red pepper soup (thanks to Kevin who finally got tired of waiting on me to use the red peppers I had bought).  Followed by pinto beans and cornbread which Matthew really wanted me to teach him how to make.  I love it when the boys realize how easy cooking really is; they love to be able to fix themselves good food when I am not around.  Note that one of the next dishes is one Matthew made for us during the week, crunchy chicken parmigiano.  VERY tasty and served with one of Mason's favorites, orzo.  (Thanks, son!).  One flop this week...I made white bean chicken chili again, but put too much liquid in it, so it ended up being soup since we were all hungry and we couldn't wait for it to cook down before eating.  The "soup" was good, but the situation was remedied and the leftovers will be more true to form.  Finally, a new soup recipe from my friend, Yvonne, for beef, barley Italian vegetable soup.  YUM!  The house smelled yummy and it just looked awesome.  The best news of all...many leftovers and we will eat well for the rest of the week.  One note....the refrigerator is WAY too full....come on over....

Busy couple of weeks....

      

 

 Many of the meals that were made these past two weeks got by me.  I have been too busy to capture the moments.  Here are a few highlights....lots of salads, blackened chicken over angel hair pasta with parmesan cheese sauce and tomatoes and avacados (Mason's favorite), chili, chicken with risotto, tomatoes, basil and asiago cheese (yum). (Do you notice a trend here?  Cheese?).  Oh yes, and my favorite, dessert (from a bottle).  I will hope to do better this week, although Monday night will be leftovers so we can finally get those Christmas decorations down before the neighbors kick us out of the neighborhood!

Friday night again????????

Wow!  It's Friday night already and Matt is a bit under the weather.  Looking for something warm and filling....comfort food.  Beef stroganoff to the rescue.  Paired with a nice cranberry, apple salad with a homemade vinaigrette made from my favorite Roanoke foodie place, Oliveto.  This little baby was comprised of their grapefruit infused white balsamic vinegar and their delicious Koroneiki extra virgin olive oil.  Added some garlic, honey, dijon mustard, salt and pepper - YUM!  Happy Friday!

Angry Birds with Ian

I'm home finally!  Liquid refreshment and Angry Birds again....with the boys and Ian.

New Year's Day Dinner

Typically I make corned beef, black eyed peas and cabbage every year.  Since we are a little bit beefed out I opted for lobster tails and Chilean sea bass instead this year.  What a wonderful day!  Angel food cake with fresh raspberry sauce for dessert.