This week we ate some brats from Lewright Meats and they were very good. There are more to go... I also went to the Iowa Cubs Club for two meals. One before a team building exercises and one while watching the Iowa Cubs from a sky box as a team activity later that same day. I had a tuna salad sandwich on a croissant and a bowl of fresh fruit. Most of the fruit was under ripe and tasteless. The tuna was bland, the salad around it was unimpressive and the croissant. Maybe I've been spoiled...but there are a number of other places in town that have decent croissants, and some excellent (la mie), but the sandwich was awful. For dinner, the brats they served were ok...nothing special...but nothing bad either.

Oven-Roasted Chicken Thighs with Carrots and Yukon Gold Potatoes (p53 Bon Appétit March 2009)

This took a while to make, other then peeling the carrots, most of the time was actually waiting for things to roast in the oven. First the chicken, then the vegetables, then together...It was good though...the Chicken was very tender and tasty and the veggies ended up to be the same as well.

Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla Pie (p13 Cooks Country April/May 2009)

This was very easy and quick to make...especially since you started with a roasted chicken. I bought a chipotle spiced rotisserie chicken from Gateway. Combined with the other ingredients it ended up being pretty good, although I think more spices could have gone into it...Though it did say to serve it with salsa and sour creme, which probably would've added the spice I needed.

Baked Penne with Farmhouse Cheddar and Leeks (p68 Bon Appétit March 2009)

Leeks...I could have done this with onions and saved myself a good chunk of change. But this was still very good. It may make me rethink the way I generally make mac and cheese. Since I normally use the roux and go from there, but this made more of a custard as the sauce...a nice difference in the texture.