Happy Monday, folks! Sorry I fell off the face of the earth for a bit. I thought I had recouped from my birthday celebration, but then my mom came into town. My mother is going to be 73 next month and believe me, she doesn’t quit. Most times, I swear she has more energy than me. But then again, I love being lazy.
She came that Friday night and I made dinner. Knowing that we were getting fondue the following night, I tried to keep it somewhat light. Foil-packed veggies are one of my favorite meals for summer (especially when we go camping). I mean what is easier than cutting up vegetables and tossing them into foil with some oil and seasoning? Nothing (I mean probably something, but just agree with me).
I bought a really good steak for the occasion and decided to try my hand at tofu. I know, I am kind of all over the place. The only tofu I’ve ever had and loved is Double Wide’s “wings”. And imagine that, they aren’t even tofu. They are Seitan wheat protein cubes. Alright, vegetarians, what’s the difference? Guess I should do my research first.
Anyway, I believe you can cover anything in hot sauce and call it a meal. I’m sure this is the quote I’ll be remembered for someday and I am ok with that. Other than hot sauce, the recipe I found called for oil, cornstarch and the tofu. I skipped the ranch sauce listed because I was trying to be healthy. Meanwhile, I think I had cheese for dessert. This is a thing, guys.
I am on three types of cold meds, so pardon my ramblings. Bottom line? The tofu was great, the steak was great and the veggies were delicious. My mom and I shopped, went to a movie and then met up with Dave to gorge ourselves on fondue. Come Sunday, I was birthday’d out.
Fast forward a week later and here we are. Tonight’s dinner is goulash. When I mentioned this to Dave, he had never heard of it. WHAT. So, I called my mom and she said my grandma made it. That was a boring answer, so I went to the Internet and IMMEDIATELY regretted that. (go ahead, try it!) I have my goulash recipe ready to go for tonight, and I already have the ingredients. I found a lot of variations, so I know I’m not alone with this “weird” dish. But now I’m curious. How many of you have heard of it?
On a side note, the camel has nothing to do with anything. I searched a free photo site for food images and that came up. The Internet is clearly on some colds meds too.
I celebrated just like any other 35-year-old would. I drank copious amounts of wine with Dave, ate sushi and stayed up till 4 a.m. Facetiming with Tomdee (my best friend who just moved to Denver). Needless to say I was hurting today. I spent most of the day on the couch cuddling with Ivy, watching The O.C. on Hulu (Judge away. That show is freaking fantastic.) and napping. 
Once 4:30 rolled around, I was like crap Dave will be home soon and LOOK AT YOURSELF. So, I showered and did what any amazing wife would do. I cooked.
Then I decided that wasn’t enough. I wanted to add a veggie or something. I found frozen tortellini and thought why not? Keep in mind I am basically a zombie moving around the kitchen at this point. I went back to the Bible (I promise to stop calling it this.) and found a 
Nothing feeds my hangover quite like spicy food. I’ve spent many of Sundays on the couch wishing Qdoba delivered or cursing myself for not having jalapeños in the house. Today’s medicine of choice? 
My carnivore of a husband does not feel the same, so I threw in a 
If you love artichoke hearts, you will love this recipe. The smell of them cooking mixed with fresh garlic was amazing. You’re basically making a pesto, so I got to bust out my new food processor. I am unfamiliar with these fancy gadgets and it took nearly 30 minutes for me to figure out why mine wasn’t working. The safety features they put on things these days, geez.
After combing all the ingredients and finally getting my pesto pureed, I added it to the chicken and pasta and piled on the spinach. If there is a way to add greens to anything (which there usually is), I’m in. The final product looks a lot different than the original, which I can only assume is because the pasta soaked up the vegetable broth. Or, more likely, I messed something up. Regardless, the outcome was delicious.
Tonight’s dinner was something new. I was at the grocery store the other day and forgot to pull a list together, so I decided to pick a recipe on the side of a pasta box. I went with Mezze Penne, which basically looked like smaller penne noodles. I love Brussels sprouts and lighter pasta dishes with oil-based sauce. The recipe was simple. As you can see, you cook the sprouts and pasta. Once the sprouts are thoroughly cooked, you brown them in a skillet with sage. I didn’t have sage, but after a quick search online, I found you could substitute poultry seasoning. Oh, the joys of the Internet! After the sprouts are brown, you add in the tomatoes until tender and then mix everything together.
