Food Friday

I have to admit, I found this week challenged me foodily and not in a good way. I could never quite get on the same page as my menu and I found that my kitchen just wouldn't stay clean. Throw in the rain and 40 mph gusts of wind, and it's just been one of those weeks. Case in point: I have a carpet runner in the washing machine because Husband couldn't get Mandie out the door fast enough this morning. I don't know if you can actually wash a carpet runner in the washing machine but Maternal Unit suggested the delicate cycle, so we'll see what happens (apparently, I'm way too lazy to track down my Little Green machine). I did manage to come up with some edible items, so here they are in all...their mediocrity.



Slow Cooker Ham

We're a total turkey for Thanksgiving, ham for Christmas family and I only make my ham in the slow cooker. I also ate the piece with all the crispiness on it. It was delish.

Husband devoured this ham, which I glazed with my own homemade glaze. Okay, are you ready for this? Are you sure, because it's complex. Take a half cup pineapple juice and a half cup brown sugar and put them in a saucepan and bring it to a boil, stirring continuously, until thickened. Pour over ham. I know, I'm totally full of myself.

So this year, I went very low key. Instead of making everything myself (short of growing whatever veggie I decided to make), previous holiday food had all been from scratch. This year I had to work 12 am to 8 am at The Hotel, so I knew I wasn't going to want to cook when I got home. So it was corn from a can, brown and serve rolls from Safeway and the mashed potatoes were from scratch. Because I make the best mashed potatoes. Just ask anyone (who values their life).

source

Once a week, I end up having to work back to back shifts at both jobs and with the need to get enough sleep, I don't have the time to really cook, so we have a Freezer Food day. That's right, I buy frozen entrees and myself an extra hour hour of sleep. This week, we had Margaritaville Calypso Coconut Shrimp, which were quite tasty but don't expect Red Lobster perfection here. The biggest plus, though, was the abundance of sauce they give you. One packet totally sauces 12 shrimp and I'm a huge double (okay, triple) dipper. Kudos on the sauce Margaritaville!

Out of the frying pan and ready for the oven

I will say, though, while this week was particularly humdrum, I did conquer one of my fears: frying food. *wild applause here* I am deathly afraid that I will somehow spark the Apocalypse by frying anything. However, when I came across a recipe for Taco Bell Mexican Pizzas at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes, I couldn't resist. The Taco Bell inspired grilled stuffed burritos had been such a huge success, I thought, why not try to recreate the whole menu?! (okay maybe not the whole menu, but at least the stuff I like). Anywho, I used a whole pound of ground turkey versus a half pound, so I turned mine into double decker Mexican pizzas.

Whatever the Spanish is for "eat me," insert that here.

These were really good, except you wouldn't know it from Husband. Unbeknownst to me, he'd picked up something to eat (from Taco Bell, ironically enough) right before coming home. Well, all was not lost, as I've now popped my frying cherry (wow that really does read just as disgusting as it sounds and yet I can't bring myself to delete it). It's like a whole new world for me.

So, did you try your hand at something new this week? Flambe perhaps or maybe making ketchup from scratch?