Dinner and a Movie

Well, this weekend was a fantastically fun weekend filled with friends and pampering. Pampering on my part due to the pedicure and tanning that I did. Well I guess Mike getting a massage from me here and there is pampering too ;)

So this weekend after going out on Saturday and spending time with friends and shopping we chose to take it easy Sunday.

Sunday morning we went out for breakfast at Village Inn, man it was packed, guess we hit the early church crowd. Then we went off to the outdoor mall nearby to go to Adidas, Nike, and Under Armor in search of shorts, shirts, shoes and sports bras. Haha, yeah odd combo, actually I didn't buy anything. Mike got all the goodies there. Then we stopped off at Cabela's to look at knives and guns.

Coming home after we decided to pick up ingredients for lobster stir fry. Mmmmm, yes lobster stir fry.

So before making dinner, as it was only 3pm when we got home we decided to hit up the theater to see the movie "Ted." It was funny, not, laugh your ass off for 2 hours funny, but funny - good entertainment to take your mind off the world for 2 hours. But I would say, save $8-$10 and rent it when it comes to DVD.

After the movie we came back and started prep work on the vegetables. At my house I don't have the nice fancy knives like Mike does. I have one decent chefs knife, which Mike gave me, which he used to slice and dice up the veggies we bought.

The handsome knife master

Fresh Veggies ready for stir fry

We used the following:
Asparagus - one bunch
Red Onion - half a medium
White Mushrooms - 1 - 8oz pkg
Sugar Snap Peas - 1 good grand handful
Red Bell Pepper - 1 medium

Then we bought 1 pkg of imitation lobster meat - since actual lobster meat is expensive and I would be of no use if we bought live or even "dead" lobster that we would have to cook. It looks like an underwater bug - *shivers* eewww creepy. Delicious but creepy looking. *shudders*

Of course when we got the veggies all chopped and ready Mike asked, "where is your big frying pan?" I pointed to the cabinet at the end of my kitchen and said "in there." He goes over and pulls out, what I call, my big frying pan. He asks in a bit of a confused tone "this is your big frying pan?" I blinked and just said, yes. Of course it is, for me that's big. Mind you I have this old pots and pans set that is from 2007 and has been used and abused and came out of a Wal-Mart brand box set. Not the best pans but not the worst. Of course my "big" frying pan is probably what most would call medium. I can understand this since I can't say my cookware is of high quality - I value my bake-ware a bit more. I'm working on it. Soooo, in the awkward silence that followed my "yes, that's my big frying pan." I took his silence and questioning looks at my "big" pan as - this isn't going to work very well. So I said, we can go get a bigger one. Target it just right across the road. So off we went and brought home a fabulous new addition to my kitchen. A T-Fal 5-quart sauce/frying pan with two handles one short and one long and with a beautiful glass lid. Ahhhhh the beauty and fun of a new toy for the kitchen.

Veggies in the new pan

Veggies sauteing in olive oil (EVOO)

YUM

Making your mouth water huh?

And then to serve we cooked up some brown rice, not the minute kind mind you - this is why our veggies look a bit lack luster in the final photo, because we didn't manage our time and cooked the rice at the same time we cooked the veggies - oh well, lesson learned. It still tasted good just didn't look as pretty as we had anticipated.

Final Product - not as bright but still delish

I would call this a success, wasn't something we oooed and aaahhed over but was still a great idea and satisfied that part of us that wanted veggies and seafood. I ended up adding more salt, regardless of the fact that there was a good bit of soy sauce in it (mind you it was low sodium). Mike ended up adding more sirachi hot sauce to his - cleared his sinuses at least once by getting a good bite of it on a forkful.

Stir-Fry is a fun and easy way to throw together a bunch of different ingredients that appeal to you. Try different veggies, different meats, different sauces. Teriyaki, Tabasco, tomato, cheese, Alfredo. Whatever you like.

Allez Cuisine!

Great minds think of Chicken Fajitas

Tonight Mike and I made dinner at our respective apartments. Although, by chance we both had chicken fajitas on the brain - in a sense. He was more direct about his fajita desire than I was. I had polenta at home and chicken, then what do do with it....

So he asked what he should use for his fajitas. I suggested the usual suspects of toppings: bell peppers, onion, garlic, add some mushroom for fun. Of course seasoning is just a packet of fajita seasoning as it's easier than experimenting with seasonings randomly - though that is a fun thing to do sometimes, can get tricky but is fun to find new and fun flavor combinations.

I just needed to find something to go with polenta and chicken. He suggested I pick up shrimp, but being the cheapskate I am I chose not to get shrimp. Though I did pick up red onion, mushrooms and a green bell pepper for the mix. Then I said cheddar cheese would be good too - he suggested to mix it in the polenta or even just sprinkle on top. I did more of a sandwich in the middle. He ended up forgetting cheese with his altogether.

Being the foodies we are we talk about these things back and forth via text and pictures. Of course prior to his shopping spree he tells me he doesn't like doing legs then cardio at the gym. I of course giggle to myself at work when I see that and the picture because I have been there. (This is why I do cardio first).

Handsome man getting his sweat on.

 So after getting this handsome picture I was finally off work and off to the store to pick up the needed ingredients for my fresh and unprocessed dinner. (polenta was homemade folks).

I whisked myself off to Whole Foods, rarely do I shop there, since I only had a few things to grab and it ultimately would cost the same in gas to get to Hyvee and such. So, WF it was. I then snapped a cute pic of myself while heading back to my car with my small sack of veggies.(The little boy helping the bagger was cute in that he wanted more groceries to bag but I didn't have a lot - his reaction was funny and the employee said "She's a no nonsense lady today - knew exactly what she wanted" then smiled at me as I left. - another reason I like WF - friendly and happy employees).

So as I get in my car and head home I receive "flowers" from Mike.

"Flowers to brighten your day." - Mike

He's a sweetie if you couldn't tell.

So home I go and unload my veggies onto the counter and prepare them. Chicken in the skillet browning up with some garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper (basic). Then I get the veggies started and get the onions opaque and the mushrooms browned while the peppers still have a slight crunch to them.

The polenta was made last night in a crock-pot - pretty basic. 4 cups water (boiling) then add 1 cup yellow (or white) cornmeal until desired thickness. It will thicken as it sits - also make sure to stir or it will get lumpy and chunky.

I also found a delicious looking peach while at the store. I had to have it and eat something sweet so I sliced that up and added it to my dinner. Yes I am using a compartmentalized "tray" of sorts. My inner child came out and my peaches weren't touching my hot food. 

Chicken and Vegetable Cheddar Polenta a la Sarah

He also used bell pepper (red), red onion, chicken and mushrooms. He also used a poblano pepper, black bean corn salsa and fajita seasoning. 


He's really good at chopping up veggies with his "ninja knives." as you can see he has some mad skills. Uniform and pretty.

He browned up the chicken with the seasoning and some lime juice for added flavor and depth. (Yumm!)

Looks like he cooked up the corn salsa in a pot and made it that way, corn and black beans and spices. Then he added the chicken and veggies together. Beautiful! Makes your mouth water doesn't it? It's making mine water and I'm still full from dinner.

To serve he wrapped it all up in a jalapeno cheddar flour tortilla - he forgot to add cheese to his burrito but from the sounds of it it didn't' really need it.

Lime Chicken Fajita Burrito a la Mike

Great minds right? He had his twist on fajita style chicken and I had mine. We both had delicious dinners that hit the spot and filled us up to the top. I felt like rolling around my living room because of how full I was. I'm not sure if he felt the same way. He said the heat in his burrito snuck up on him a bit but was delicious. He called it "very good" and when I said "yumm" in response to the photo he said "very." That is what we call a successful dinner. When Mike says very, very good. Then it's a good dinner.

I can't wait to see what this weekend brings for food...guess we will just have to wait and see what our minds conceive this time for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Let us know if there is something we should try out or if you just want to know a recipe.