So much culinary potential

I cannot tell a lie. Life has been crazy and some of our dinners have been out of the box. Literally. Not that this never happens but lately it is the norm and that is no bueno. But I have had a couple of culinary adventures lately so I will recap the highlights.

St. Patty's Day...
I once made traditional Irish stew and quickly learned I do not like the taste of lamb. Too gamey for my tastes. So from that point forward I either made a beef stew with Irish soda bread or looked for other traditional Irish favorites. Then I put my spin on things because that's how I roll...as someone without an ounce of Irish blood in her. ;) This year I used cuts of stew beef slow cooked in onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup served over mashed potatoes. On the side we had cabbage steamed with bacon because bacon makes everything better. When I say "we" I mean I devoured it, Matt tolerated it, and William had peas (at least they were green right?). For dessert I made a boxed brownie mix with a little Bailey's mixed in. At least something was Irish!

Tonight...
Picture hurricane force winds competing with the last 70+ degree day for a while. I HAD to grill. Every time I went to the grill I could almost feel the wind pushing me back saying, "Fool, take this food inside." But I was determined. And the most awesome part of the meal was that William chose half of it. We stopped at the grocery store tonight and as sides he chose salad and corn on the cob. Really, how do you argue when a child chooses veggies? You don't! So we had steaks, corn on the cob (out of season but not bad), a really pretty salad, and Matt had some grilled baby potatoes. William and I weren't in a potato place tonight. I am hoping and praying spring comes for good soon because it gives me so much more energy and inspiration for cooking.

I have a couple of learning opportunties that I am determined to conquer in the near future. I bought some baby eggplant tonight and want to see how that differs from, um, grown up, eggplant and I want to master tuna. Something about cooking a tuna steak freaks me out. I am not a rare fish afficianato unless it's in sushi but I really want to try grilling tuna. So if you have any tips or recipes let me know.

I am a published recipe author

Sure it's for my son's weekly newsletter at school but still...

A while back the principal sent a plea to parents because Market Day sales were not going well. I proposed an idea where I would periodically submit a recipe to the school newsletter sharing how I use Market Day recipes. Well, periodically turned into a weekly gig so I have been scrambling to come up with recipes each week. I'm having fun but I have to submit my piece by Tuesday evening. Sometimes 10:00 p.m. Tuesday comes and I have an "oh shoot!" moment. But I haven't missed a "deadline" yet. I'm anxious to see if my recipes boost March sales at all.

I debuted with beef stew. Simple yet something almost everyone loves. I followed the next week with garlic crusted pork tenderloin and baby baked potatoes with a roasted red pepper sauce. Last week was Mediterranean inspired chicken piard. This week I think I will go a little more kid friendly and try ravioli "lasagna".

I'll keep you posted on the sales.