Weeks 5 & 6 - My Bad

I'm blaming everything on Rob.

He made dinner (actually, breakfast) for Week 5, so doesn't that mean he should write it up? And I certainly can't post Week 6 if he hasn't done Week 5, right?

Yeah, that's total B.S. I didn't expect Rob to do anything more than cook. In fact, I'm impressed he took it on  - although I don't know why he waited to make breakfast for my mom and me instead of just make dinner for himself. That was probably the smarter choice. We had just come back from New Orleans, and there was no way we were going to be able to eat dinner that night. Then again, breakfast wasn't easy either.

Anyway, Rob made Joe's Special with New York strip (For breakfast!). Every time San Fran comes up, I want to make Joe's Special, so I'm glad he made it. But NY strip on a Monday morning is a bit much. Oh...and he bought bagels. And fruit.  I'm guessing to lighten it up?

Rob never uses recipes, but here's an Epicurous one so you have an idea about what it is. Luckily, Rob dropped the ground beef, but the steak was overdone. Mom thought that was better, considering it was 7:30 in the morning. And really, it was pretty yummy. I may do it again some time. Minus the steak.

Week 6 was an easy recipe to come up with - mainly because I think I did it before. Indiana v. New England was New England clam and corn chowder.  I can't find the recipe now, but this one from All Recipes is pretty close. I think the one I used had more bacon - duh - and 3 cans of clams, but otherwise, this is it.

Day of, the soup was kinda "meh." It could have used some hot sauce or red pepper. But the next three days when I was eating it for lunch, it became good, maybe even very good. I may try it again, only with fresh cans and the right potatoes. The recipe I used called for white skin potatoes, and I was totally hoping there would be a sign at the grocery store. There was not. So I got a russet. Of course, when I got home, I googled "right potato for soup." Russet isn't the right choice. Eh - it was fine.

Week 4: Dallas @ New Orleans

I made Cajun Steak Fajitas.

Meh.

Don't get me wrong. They were good, possibly even very good. Just kinda boring. Pretty much anyone who made a suggestion had a better idea than this, but I was home alone and I'm not going to make blackened gator tacos or boudin balls for myself.*

I used a recipe from Emeril, that I found here. I skipped all the relishes and salsas. Maybe that would have been better, but again - I'm not doing that much work just for myself. And I totally forgot about mincing the garlic, so I doubled down on garlic powder. I will say this - I could have drank the marinade. It was soooo v.g.

Again, not bad. Happy to us the grill. Delicious marinade. If this was a weeknight meal, it would be v.g. For a Sunday night meal, just g. 

*I'm probably never going to make boudin balls. I have my limits, you know.

Week 3: Denver at Detroit

After driving home from Ohio, I almost didn't make anything this week. I was tired. I didn't want go to the store. And we were going to the Groos'  Football & Turkeys party, so I didn't think I had time.

But then I figured, "Fuck it. I gotta bring something to share anyway, right?" So I made Mini Colorado Green Chili Coney Dogs during the early game.

This was no easy feat. First, green chili isn't difficult to make, but you know it's better if it sits for  bit. Plus, most of the recipes I know put a whole pork shoulder in the slow cooker for, like, a day.  And I was tired after partying at Ruth's wedding (Yay, Ruth!) and the 5-hour drive that morning.

What I'm saying is I took some short cuts. Necessary short cuts, but still. For example, I kind of used this recipe from Food. com. But there's no way I was going to be able get 2 pounds of pork roast done before 3 o'clock, so I got pork chops instead. Brilliant, right? Except I forgot the tomatillos. So I ran back to the store, and with time ticking away, I just got some tomatillo salsa and called it a day.

The dogs were just Li'l Smokies, and I was too lazy to even grate the cheese or cut up extra onions. I couldn't even find mini hot dog buns, so really very little of this was right.

But it was still very tasty!

While it was a pain in the ass to assemble, overall I have to say this was v.g., too. Thanks to Ray and Sue for the idea.