Lobstah

By Natalie

Like the crazy person that I am, I went to 2 grocery stores today. I stopped at Central Market to get my produce and fish/meats. Then stopped off at Target to get the other stuff that is very overpriced at Central Market. I also found some dishes on clearance. The plates were only 88 cents. Cute, huh? I really can't be trusted at Target.

Lunch
I saw Jonna's recipe  for beans and tomatoes this morning and decided to make it straight away. It's really delicious, although I might have gone too heavy on the garlic. I was happy to use basil from my garden. Surprisingly my basil plant is growing leaps and bounds despite the drought.

Dinner

At Central Market they had lobster tails on sale for $6.99. I've never made this before, and they are a little tricky to get into. I used these links found here and here for advice. They were pretty delicious but that's mostly due to the butter. I made mashers as a side and a fresh salad with strawberries and almonds.

2 Meals 1 Sauce

By Natalie

On Monday, I made Tilapia Puxa Vida from Baked Bree. The sauce was so fresh.

First you chop some onions, jalapeno, and roasted red peppers in the food processor. Can you believe it? I actually used onions!

 Then sautee the veggies with garlic, 1 can of roasted tomatoes, and 1/2 can of coconut milk.  Then pour the tomato mixture over the tilapia and place in the oven.

I cooked it for 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes.  I cooked it at a higher temperature than Baked Bree recommended. I'm impatient.

Side note: I finally found out the secret to Road House's baked potatoes. Road House has the best salty potatoes. First, I always microwave my potatoes for 3-4 minutes. I sprayed Pam on the outside of the potato then rolled it in kosher salt. Wrap them in foil. Then put them in the oven at 400 degrees for 1 hour. Do you have any baked potato secrets?

The recipe made so much sauce, that I refrigerated it and used it today. This was even after I halved the recipe. I flew by the seat of my pants for this recipe today. I boiled some egg noodles that I had lying around in the pantry. I sauteed some chicken breasts that I sprinkled with s & p, and Tony's. I reheated the sauce, assembled it all together, and sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top. It was really simple, and will be great reheated.

Mean Black Crows and Halibut

By Natalie

Dinner
I made macadamia crusted halibut with a pineapple salsa. I took the recipe from Sandra Lee's cookbook. This was my first time to cook halibut, and the meat is so white. I tis not fishy. It was pretty expensive, $23 per pound.  I only bought half a pound. I'm not sure if it was so expensive because I was shopping at Central Market or what. And, macadamia nuts are not cheap. The pineapple salsa was good even without onions and cilantro. I didn't have any cilantro, so I used basil instead.

Workout
I waited until 8:00 PM to go for a run to let it get "cool." Ha! It never cools down in Texas in the summer. I ran 5 miles, but I moved at a snail's pace. I was about half a mile from home, when a crow started to chase me. I was running and I would hear "caw-caw." I thought hmmm that's strange that crow sounds awfully close. When I got to the corner it started dive bombing me. I crossed the street screaming and almost threw myself down in the road.  The crow was still after me. I decided to run down the middle of the street to get away from the street. The crow came after me one more time, then finally left me alone. I strongly dislike birds.

A few years ago, Micah and I were driving along the road in Houston and a black crow was doing the same thing to a man running down the street. We felt so bad for him, because he was going to go home and tell his family a crow chased him and no one was going to believe him. I felt bad that we couldn't help him verify his story.

Be careful out there.

Seafood Mondays

By Natalie

By 9:30 AM I had made smoothies, had a cup of coffee, folded 3 loads of laundry, did the dishes,  unloaded the dishwasher, and ran 5 miles.  I needed a nap by 10:00.

We eat seafood on Mondays, because this is grocery store day. I took a trip to Central Market this afternoon, and it was crowded. What's the deal? I was hoping to do my shopping in peace. The seafood counter took forever, and I gave up completely at the deli counter. At least my check out was quick.


I finished The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. I started this book yesterday, and was instantly sucked in.  It's a really easy read, although I feel like it lost some steam near the end. The main character is lovable, and you root for her the whole time.

Workout
Today I ran 5 miles, and my pace was just pitiful. It was really windy, but you need the wind or else you would melt. I made it, but felt pretty terrible the rest of the afternoon.

Dinner
We made Pioneer Woman's Spicy Orange Garlic Shrimp. I accompanied this with rice and broccoli. Micah & I enjoyed this dish. I only added 1/4 tsp of cayenne, Micah wilts when things are too hot. 

In my house, we fill our wine glasses to the brim. To hell with dignity.

photo credit: Amazon.com & me