Journal

At some point, you just give up on the rules

For the boys, we eventually got them trained enough to know that they were doing wrong when they were on hard flat surfaces that are not next to a window. Iðunn on the other hand, refuses to take a hint, and just does what she wants.

2024 - Week 39 Cooking Results

Sausage

Good as always.

Chicken Alfredo

This was asked for by Shannon and so I made it happen. While I used spaghetti, cause I had it, and this came together quite easily and was quite nice.

Turkey and Bean Chili

Can It be fall already? I can’t see myself making this when it is 80F+ outside. I put the turkey in the freezer, I’ll use the peppers and onions for something else.

Thai Chicken Soup

Same thing here. just didn’t want to make it when it was that warm out.

Skillet Gnocchi with Broccoli and Pancetta

I started taking pictures where I thought I’d follow along, but then didn’t follow up. So I have a picture of diced pancetta, and not much else. This came together nicely and was a nice Saturday night dinner. Creamy and delicious and a great use of some of the last pancetta that I had in the freezer from a now dead company (sigh).

Pancetta about to start frying in a pan.

Socks in the Frying Pan - Temple Theater - 9/22/2024

Since Monday is never really a great night to go out to eat, we celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. No porcelain gifts to be had. We had a nice dinner at Centro and walked upstairs to see a band that we kind of decided on a whim, after Shannon reminded me that she had taken the 23rd off.

Temple theater had a few empty seats, but not to many, but we had a delightful time.

A mix of songs of both upbeat and slow and just a nice pace with conversation along the way. Clapping, hooting and hollering and just a good time.

Modified 9/29/2024: Date updated on event to be accurate.

2024 - Week 38 Cooking Results

I had a bit of work to do on Saturday night and Sunday morning. While I am almost never up this early, the raining and drop in temperature put a smile on my face (as much as I could while being tired) and I turned off the air and have a nice rain scented chilled air come in the windows for a pleasant reminder that it is actually fall.

Lamb Burger

I chatted with Jeremy at the farmer’s market and he described the lamb burger at the Iowa State Fair, and became convinced that it was time to have a lamb burger again. So good. I love lamb.

Blackend Chicken Sandwich

I used some of the cajun seasoning that I still have leftover and sauteed the chicken and broke it up for sandwiches. Good meal for a hot week in mid to late September

Grilled Cheese and Mortadella

Melty cheese, mortadella, good dinner.

Spaghetti Squash

I picked this up at the Iowa Food Coop, after ordering it the previous week. I warmed up the oven and started the baking of the squash, then started the red sauce. Hot Italian sausage, onions, then some sauce and diced tomatoes, herbs and spices. Eventually it came out pretty well. I scraped the squash and we combined it together for a good meal.

Creamy Sesame Noodles

Skipped, will visit it again later.

Frittata With Bacon, Corn, and Gruyère

Used a bit more Gruyere then called for, but even so it came out pretty good. Not to hard to do, even though I started it a bit late after a nap.

2024 - Week 37 Cooking Results

Sausage

Skinless brats, for the win.

Taco Salad

Good as expected. Took me a bit to find it in there, but it worked out.

Sweet Spicy Salmon

Done on Sunday, served over noodles, was fine. I don’t think I’d make this again. It wasn’t bad, but not the best use of salmon to be sure. Maybe the sauce if the salmon was smoked? I don’t know.

Cheeseburger mac & cheese

I used the whole package of the secondary cheese. and I thought, there is no way I’m not adding mustard to this. So I added a good amount. With that, it came out to my liking. Leftovers disappeared quickly.

15-Minute Sweet & Savory BBQ Noodles

This was quick, tasty and a good use of both pork and the BBQ sauce. Mixed with that and the broken noodles, it was good.

Chicken and Sweet Potato Curry

I’ve made this before, I’ll clearly make it again. It’s relatively simple to do, and a good healthy meal. I add a good spoon or two of sambal oelek. Good use of chicken and sweet potato.

2024 - Week 36 Cooking Results

Sausage

Back on the bratwurst train. Good things.

Sweet Spicy Salmon

I pulled this out of the freezer a bit late in the week so when I had planned on making it was still a bit icy still. So I’ll be making this tonight.

Pork Fried Rice With Corn and Shishito Peppers

I picked up some shishito peppers from Grade A at the farmer’s market. and in looking for something to make, this sounded good. I used the rest of the ham I had and remembered I also had some spam left as well and used that as the rest of the weight for the ham. I cut up the peppers and prepped everything else, I vaguely followed the directions but changed them up a bit, changed the ingredients a bit and ended up with a nice fried rice.

Chorizo and Sweet Potato Quesadillas

I put the rice to start cooking for the next’s day’s meal. I have made this before and it’s easy enough to do. Instead of using my food processor to shred things, I actually did it by hand. For the sweet potato, I used my larger grater, and for the cheese I used the smaller one. This came together quickly and we served them with sour cream and a bit of hot sauce.