Menu Tuesday

Menu Monday also took a holiday yesterday. For our Memorial Day meal, we had hamburgers, twice-baked potatoes and a Dijon slaw I made up on the fly that actually turned out to be pretty good! See below. :)

Here's what we're having the rest of the week:

• P-Dub's Chicken Tortilla Soup with Cheese Quesadillas
• Pasta di Parma (Alfredo, Ham & Peas)
• Leftover Grilled Chicken Cobb Salads from last week

Dijon Slaw Recipe
For slaw, combine:
-1 bag shredded cabbage (or shred your own)
-3 carrots, shredded
-2 Tbs chives, chopped

For dressing, whisk together:
-1/4 cup canola or veg oil
-2 Tbs cider vinegar
-2 Tbs Dijon mustard
-1 tsp white sugar
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
-1/8 tsp garlic powder

Pour dressing over slaw and toss to coat. Very tasty and refreshing...and best of all: no mayo! (I don't do mayo.)

Memorial Day Weekend

Hope you've had a happy, fun, exciting, relaxing and/or whatever else you hoped it would be holiday weekend. :) {...and, that you've also taken a few minutes to remember the reason for the day, of course. I read up on the history of Memorial Day here.}

We've done a little of this and a little of that, but the weekend gets a thumbs up overall.

Saturday we went to Atlantic Station for lunch -- in part because we wanted to check out the Great Food Truck Race, which was filming there!

HodgePodge was selling comfort food, but we didn't try any. ($4 sweet tea...no thanks.) But, it was fun to watch! (The star of the show is Tyler Florence, but he wasn't at Atlantic Station. We heard he was out filming his "Host's Challenge" in the Highlands and then at the High Museum on Sunday. Then today we drove by the High, and there he was! Just standing on the sidewalk talking to the camera. No picture, though. Oh well.)

Sunday was spent almost entirely at the pool, where Brooks and Caitlyn joined us for mojitos before they went to the Braves game!

Today we had...

...Fox Brothers BBQ! Perfect for Memorial Day.

A few minutes after we sat down, some nice looking ladies arrived at the table next to us!

                                               Hi, Sarah & Rachel :)

We bid B&C adieu and made a quick trip by Andrew's [very quiet, a.k.a. empty] office, where an unfortunate locked-in-a-hallway incident occurred for one of us. But that's neither here nor there. Then, we made it in and out of Lenox in about 20 minutes, which is unheard of but certainly not unwelcome.

Tonight we had a cook-in (too hot to grill) and are (watching The Bachelorette and The Real Housewives of New Jersey) enjoying the rest of our holiday. Yay for a short week!

Got it Made

This week, our schedule went something like this:

• Get up
• Make coffee*
• Make bed*
• Make the a.m. commute
• Make some money
• Make the p.m. commute
• Make dinner
• Make our way to the couch
• Bed

*Disclosure: These things are done for me.

Clearly you can see that I had a lot of scintillating things to blog about! We did go out to eat one night.

Salads were on our menu, but somehow the salad bar at Jason's Deli sounded way better? Our house doesn't have this view:



...or free ice cream at the end.

Then last night we got to go to this banquet where Ogeechee Tech was well-represented! Thanks to my table neighbor for letting me take a picture of his share of the...creative...dessert. (Hey, Ryan!)



The lady at the table next to us said to the waiter, "I just have one question. What is it?"

Menu Monday

Back to cooking this week with a few lazy dishes thrown in!

• Grilled Cheese & Tomato on Sourdough with Roasted Red Potatoes and Fruit Salad
• Grilled Chicken Cobb Salads
• Beef with Broccoli over Rice (FN Mag)
• Creamy Mexican Chicken with Guacamole (If this one works, I'll post the recipe - looks good!)

Have a good week!

Surprise!

Yesterday, we were part of a covert op to surprise Andrew's grandmother for her 90th birthday!

Our mission, as we chose to accept it: flowers. Publix was our destination, and they had some really pretty spring colors! I especially loved the lime green.

Aren't these little guys cute?

We thought it was going to be a long table, so we bought five and had plans to make a little line down the center. But, as it turned out, we had a big square table...so we improvised. :)

Andrew's mom had arranged for family members to come in from near and far, and we all chatted and had drinks while we waited for the birthday girl.

It's pretty safe to say....she was surprised!

She thought she was walking into someone else's party though, so at first she turned to leave when she saw us! It took her a second, but she put it all together and was so sweet.

Grandma Dort lives in Canada, but she never misses a special occasion in Georgia. (This time, she was already in town for Tim's graduation.) We were so happy to finally be able to celebrate her for a change!

Happy birthday, Grandma Dort!

Today, we got up bright and early to clean-clean-clean the house. You know how there's a controlled level of untidiness one day, then all of a sudden you have more clothes laying around than hanging up the next? (I could understand if I had too many clothes or something, but...)

We earned ourselves some Sunday Funday time and went to The Nook on Piedmont Park for a late lunch. Hello, Totchos!

3 Wishes

I BBMed Andrew from work this afternoon to say, "I have visions of eating takeout, doing laundry and drinking mojitos tonight."

Just goes to show -- if you set your goals high...

No Menu Monday

A couple of nights worth of leftovers from the Boro and last week + two nights out to eat = Menu Monday is on vacation. ;)

Bowtie Lasagna from Last Week
So simple & so good -- make it!

On the Road Again

Following along with what has become our Spring 2011 tradition, we were back on the road this weekend! We chased a storm down I-16 and arrived in the Boro on Friday night. There was just enough time to eat some RJ's baby shrimp before we fell asleep.

We went to bed early because also scheduled for early-thirty was GSU graduation day for brother-in-law/brother Tim!

Of the several thousand people in attendance, we happened to sit two rows up from a girl wearing the same dress I had on. "Same shoes, too!" (As she told me.)

The new grad! (Click to enlarge beyond ant size.)

Family came from far and wide -- Canada, New York, Virginia, Maryland & North Carolina! And, I didn't get a picture of any of them! But, we all enjoyed a great lunch at Chops after the ceremony.

Congratulations, Tim!

Saturday night we headed for the country to fish and grill out. (Hamburgers -- not the fish.)

The Sportsmen on the Pond
O-fish-al Count: 1 Each

We enjoyed a Sunday around the house today eating until it was time to eat again, playing with puppy dogs, and wishing teleporting was a real thing so that we could take a Sunday afternoon nap instead of driving back to Atlanta...

Toby being sweet

Rocco could not be bothered for a photo. There was a lizard to be watched.

Alas, no teleportation. But, the car did magically steer itself off Exit 212 and into the Tanger Outlet parking lot. A few things were ridiculous about this: 1. It was 61 degrees, cloudy and windy when we got out. Isn't it mid-May? 2. I found only one shirt I wanted in the Banana Republic Factory Store. Unheard of! 3. The shirt was $3.97.

Who goes all the way to the outlets to spend $4??

Friday Funny

Blogger decided to take a few sick days this week, it seems. But, it's Friday now! So, yay!

I know this dog is making the rounds (to the tune of 17million+ YouTube views, last I checked), but we just love him.



Special Note: It's particularly entertaining* to use his voice in everyday conversations. Example: "You know that meeting I was telling you about?" "[dog voice]...yea?"

*Entertainment is contingent upon the other person having also watched this video. Otherwise you'll just seem weird.

Menu Monday

BBQ Chicken Pizza (CPK inspired - yum!)

This week's specials:

• BBQ Chicken with Broccoli Slaw & Cheesy Broiled Tomatoes (New Real Simple - not online yet)
• Pork Loin with Mustard Sauce, Sauteed Squash & CousCous (Same as above)
• Frittata with Ham, Spinach & Mozzarella with Bread & Salad
• Bowtie Lasagna
• If you like Hamburger Helper Lasagna, this tastes so similar but so much better!

We also have the pesto chicken pasta left from last week. On Friday night, Andrew had restaurant leftovers, and I had:

Shameful!

Weekend Update

Derby Update: My pick ended up in 9th place. Andrew's ended up in the horse ambulance.

We made an impromptu trip to Athens yesterday afternoon! For the last couple of months, we've been saying, "Gosh, wouldn't it be great if we could go to Speakeasy for dinner?" So, we finally did.

Hello, spinach dip in a honey wheat bread bowl! The sangria martini said it had missed me.

 

Sorry, folks! You know who you are. ;)

We enjoyed our brief trip to the Classic City but were back home today to get some groceries, have a nap, and wish both of our moms a happy Mother's Day!

Hope you've had a good weekend, too!

Pick Your Pony!

I firmly believe that I'll get to go to the Kentucky Derby one [fine] day. (Although I'll Debbie Downer-it right from the beginning...I'm not sure how I feel about horse racing. I think it's sort of mean.)

But, anyway...

For the last couple of years, we've each made our picks for the race. We don't really look at the odds or favorites; we just choose the horse that tickles our fancy. (Now there's a good name for a Derby contender--Tickles Your Fancy!)

W's Pick:
Pants on Fire
(After I made my selection, A said, "Hey, he has the most 'likes' on Facebook!" Figures. BUT, he's also being jockeyed by a woman! This was a great blind choice if I do say so myself.)

A's Pick:
Archarcharch
(This is much more Athens-friendly than his original pick of Mucho Macho Man. We found out he was owned by a GT grad and would be wearing gold and white. Go Dawgs!)

Our crop of mint is going crazy, so we'd be all set if we actually liked mint juleps! (Oh well -- guess we have to save it for mojitos.) Personally, I'd prefer an Oaks Lily!

Happy Derby Day!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

a.k.a. The 5th of May/Cinco de Drinko/Day that most people are not really celebrating for any reason other than an excuse to eat Mexican food and drink margaritas!

(I ask you, does guacamole even need an edible vehicle such as a chip or taco? What's wrong with just a fork or spoon?)

Menu Monday

Baked Farfalle with Zucchini & Escarole in Herbed Tomato Sauce
(I realize you can mostly just see cheese.
Isn't that how baked pastas are supposed to be?)

I'll be honest and say that I do not want to cook this week! It's spring-y and nice outside (knock on wood), and that just makes me want to patio dine and drink wine! (Not to mention that our weekend travels necessitated an after-work shopping trip. Lame.)

But, "don't want to" is not a good enough reason, so here are our scheduled dinners this week. Needless to say, only those promising to be quick and easy made the cut.

• Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken & Grape Tomatoes (The herb garden needs to be mowed down!)
• Leftover Boro Pork & Brunswick Stew over Rice with Quickles
• BBQ Chicken Pizza (CPK inspired)
• Fried Chicken Tacos with Black Beans & Rice and Guac for a Southern Cinco!

Last Week's Lazy Night Baked Potato & Salad Bar

(We also have a frittata in a holding pattern--thanks, Allyson!--in case any of these still seem overwhelming when it's time to cook. I love how tasty and easy frittatas are, and I actually think they make a surprisingly good lunch re-heat, too!)

Weekend Fun

Well, we have had a fun, whirlwind weekend!

We started off on Friday at 5:30am with an early wake-up call to watch the royal wedding live! I made a royal wedding Bingo board the night before, and we got a Bingo by about 6:15. (Center square: Pippa!) I thought the whole thing was pretty fabulous, and I could definitely handle being called the Duchess of Cambridge!

We needed to leave the house at 8:30, which--conveniently enough--was just after the official balcony kiss. It was a perfect end to the morning...Kiss Cam!

Our itinerary for the weekend was a marathon trip from Atlanta to Statesboro to Hilton Head and back...

After we swung through the Boro for lunch (yea, Zaxby's!) and to pick up Kevin, we headed to HHI for the second wedding on the day's agenda! We enjoyed having an excuse to head to the beach, even if it was just for a night. It was a fun party with great food (yea, guacamole!) and a beautiful setting.

Congratulations, Danni & Reed!

The Vows



The Reception at The Dune House


A&W



A&K

Saturday morning, we headed back to the Boro for a postponed Easter celebration with my fam that included eating, napping, dyeing eggs, puppy dogs, more eating...

Toby and his tongue say "What's up!"



Rocco monitoring bouncy ball retrieval



Eggs-traordinary!



The Easter Bunny knows us well.
Wine, coffee, Girl Scout cookies, popcorn, Southern Soul BBQ sauce, candy, candy, candy -- all in a monogrammed market basket!

We had lots of fun before coming back to ATL today (where we were immediately lazy by going to Panera for dinner), but now I think we need a weekend to recover from the weekend. :)

Happy May Day--hope you had a good one!