aashley333

Just started beans with ham bone! I made a box strawberry cake. Since icing is just too sweet, I add dark chocolate chips to the top before baking. They sink into the batter, not staying on top. They make the perfect icing substitute.

Iceblossom

Hubby reminded me there were (raw) pork chops in the garage fridge that needed cooking While he finished mowing the lawn, I got the grill going. I have a little bit of a fancy deli cole slaw with lots of stuff in it (like nuts), hubby also has some extra hot links and some bockwurst I grilled off for him. All meats from our local processor down the road.

It's a lovely evening, about 70 and the yard is as done as it is going to be this week and we can enjoy the evening on the deck. At one point hubby stopped mowing the yard to figure out what the horrible screeching noise was -- oh, that's just the blue jay I said. He didn't believe me until his bird app verified. LOL, In the mornings it sounds like a rusty gate or porch swing rocking back and forth. The afternoon call is more like a car alarm!

aashley333

Filet mignon with I don't know, yet. Trip to Sam's yielded a whole filet. It is an occasional splurge. I will repackage the log into 2 person meals to freeze, so it is also for dinner! DH likes is rare, but mine is pink in the middle. Our steaks turn out perfect, and better and cheaper than a restaurant!

tropit

My son requested homemade flour tortillas, so I'm going with that, some refried beans, grilled shrimp, guac, fresh greens from the porch garden, salsa...all the fixings for Mexican tacos/burritos. I'll let him buy the beer.

aashley333

Wish me luck. I am going to a restaurant tonight for a friend's birthday celebration. No matter what I order, my order arrives wrong or after everyone else is finished. Therefore, I am super picky about choosing a place.

tropit

Good luck. May the restaurant gods smile down upon you.

aashley333

Well, dinner was fun! Flaming appetizers and lots of laughs. (Flames got a little close to balloons!)

tropit

Wooh! Hot tamales!

Speaking of which...Maybe I'll make tamales tonight. Last night was a veggie dinner with asparagus soup, artichoke hearts with Mexican cheese and bread crumbs, flatbread with a garlicky Baba Ganoush. The guys ate it and said that they liked everything, but I heard them rummaging around in the fridge in the middle of the night. I'd better make something more substantial tonight.

Tamales really are not that hard to make if you are just making a few. It just takes time to cook the meat and whip up the dough. I already have some left over pinto beans and some rice in the fridge. A porch salad will round things out.

aashley333

My favorite tamales are Cream Cheese and Jalapeno! Never made them myself, but I lived in the Rio Grande Valley for 30 years. There is a Dalia's tamale business that makes superb ones. At Christmas time, the orders are pre-ordered for months, and a security guard is needed in the parking lot -to prevent riots(lol).

DH just announced that it is Cinco de Mayo, and "What are we gonna BBQ?" Must go to deep freezer to select something. Pork loin braided with bacon sounds good.

Chasing Hawk

Stuffed Peppers...ground pork, hamburger, diced plum tomatoes, mushrooms and green onion make up the stuffing. The sauce consists of a large can of tomato puree (Cento, my favorite brand of tomato products) spices...garlic powder, onion powder, seasoning salt, black pepper, more diced plum tomatoes and parsley. Any leftover sauce if frozen and is used when I make cabbage rolls. Mashed potatoes served also.