It’s not safe to leave me unsupervised …

It was around this time a year ago when Dan left me unattended and I took his crowbar to the cabinets which resulted in my redesigned kitchen; one would think he’d know better by now that when left alone, I get fun ideas and without a voice of reason there, I just go ahead and do whatever I’m thinking which typically results in A LOT of hard work … one would be wrong.

Fast forward a year: it was a normal Sunday morning in spring; we were going to rake the front yard, trim the hedges then go shopping for some annuals and veggie plants so I could spend the afternoon planting while Dan did whatever it is Dan does when I’m not looking, usually something non-destructive like playing with the dogs. We finished raking, Dan bagged leaves (the tree in our front yard drops leaves like it’s October, all.year.long!) while I weeded my flower beds and mourned the loss of my perennials that barely came up, bloomed way too early and didn’t last nearly as long as they should have. Dan went inside to refill our waters so I picked up the hedge trimmers to get started on that task … and it all went downhill from there.

By the time Dan came back outside, I’d “trimmed” off about half of one of our enormo hedges!! Dan sighed, shook his head, went into the garage and emerged with a super fun power tool for me to use to finish “trimming” off the hedges. Once I’d removed all the branches, he started tying them up into bunches for the trashmen to take away and I grabbed a shovel to dig out the root balls. Each of those massive hedges was 4 individual bushes that had grown together, who knew? Definitely not me, I was not aware that I’d be digging out so many root balls! While I was at it, I took down this ugly tree that I hated and tore out about 10 miles of nasty vines that I’m pretty sure were responsible for strangling and killing my perennials. I also tore out about 2ft worth of St. Augustine across the front of the house so I could extend my flower beds, yay!! The only things left are the cactus garden, some greenery along the driveway and our enormo 100yr old tree, everything else is gone!

By Sunday evening, after ~7hrs in the yard, I could barely lift my arms over my head so the last thing I was ready to do was cook and prep for my week. Thankfully I had some frozen tamales (thank you Bedford Farmers Market) that I could heat for dinner. Come Monday, I could barely walk. Thanks to the miracle of modern medicine (yay drugs!) and skipping the gym, I was able to get all my cooking and prep done for the week so that I don’t get off track. We have a lot to do this week, there are still two root balls that were just too strong for me that I need Dan to dig out and I need to figure out what the heck I’m going to do now that I’ve ripped everything out of my yard! It looks so clean and pretty that I almost just want to leave it that way, but we all know better than that … I think I’m going to do all pink and white with a splash of red (shhhh, don’t tell Dan) across the front of the house with bluebonnets in the little L shaped space by the porch, yellow and orange marigolds in the ring around the tree and maybe some nice greenery along the side of the house where I ripped out anything and everything that appeared to be growing there. The first step will be to get dirt, lots and lots and lots of dirt!! I want to build a short 4-6” retaining wall, out of what I still have no clue, and do raised beds across the front. I also need a bunch of dirt for the two raised garden bed boxes for my veggies in the back. Oh and we also have to paint; those enormo hedges were hiding the poor, poor shape of our shutters so we’ll be stripping and painting the shutters and once those are all fancy with a fresh coat, we’ll have to strip and paint the trim along the house and front entrance to match, right?? Sorry honey!!!!!!

So while we’ll be hard at work, I’ve planned a hearty (but healthy) menu to keep us going. Breakfasts, as usual, will be egg casserole; lunches will vary based upon leftovers and the contents of my freezer; dinners will be mostly grilled except for Thursday because the weather is supposed to be crappy.

Monday – pork tenderloin kebabs/kabobs – I threaded pieces of peppercorn marinated pork loin on skewers with chunks of zucchini and red pepper … fantastic!
Tuesday – flank steak with sweet potatoes & green beans
Wednesday – grilled blackened chicken with hungry girlfredo & peas
Thursday – chicken stuffed with ham and swiss (kind of like chicken cordon bleu but not), with roasted new potatoes, broccoli & carrots
Friday – grilled pizzas! We were supposed to do this last Friday but I had a really tough run and wasn’t in the mood so instead we made a simple whole wheat linguine with peas in a ricotta pesto sauce (1 cup ff ricotta + 2tbsp pesto = yum!) and grilled chicken

I also got a wild hair and tested out healthifying my normal recipe for scones and they were quite yummy. You may not know this, but I am 100% obsessed with the royal wedding and I am starting to test out the recipes for what I will be serving at the formal English tea party I’m having in its honor that morning. Of course, the only attendees will be Fredo and Gus as most normal people will be asleep or at work, but it will be fabulous nonetheless and yes, Gus will be wearing gloves and a hat. I still need to tweak the scones recipe some before I post it because I’d like them to be just a touch sweeter so stay tuned!!

YAY!!! Yay for Opening Weekend!!!

Ok, so baseball is super exciting and all (and I’m super excited both our teams swept opening weekend), but what’s more exciting for me is the beginning of grilling season!!! From now through Labor Day, we will be grilling the majority of our meals … grilling season means casserole season is oh-vah! Which also means my Sunday prep goes from spending all day in the kitchen to only needing to spend an hour or two, mostly oven-free, prepping meals instead of fully cooking them. Today, aside from making my breakfast casserole and some mac n chz, all I did was cut up vegetables and mix spices together for my homemade seasonings to get ready for the week.

Some of why we grill so much in spring/summer is for survival purposes because really, who wants to turn on the oven or stove in 100 degree weather when your a/c is already working overtime?? But MY main reason for grilling (almost) everything, is because I really do just love that grilled flavor on EVERYTHING! There are also some other benefits like it’s much quicker than baking, and most of the fat cooks off the meat vs. almost stewing in its own fat like when you bake or roast. Everything else aside, let’s get down to the flavor. I often use very little marinade or flavoring on my meats. I may lightly spray some olive oil and sprinkle some seasoning on my meat, but it’s rare that I soak my meat in a calorie-laden marinade and there's no need to cover it in any sort of breading.

I think the biggest mistake most people make is forgetting that grilling isn’t just for your burgers and hot dogs, grilled veggies are fantastic too! Do you own a grill basket? If not, please head out to your nearest Wal-Mart or Target and pick one up, most retail for $5-$10. The simplest weeknight dinner, ready in 30 minutes or less, is throwing some chicken or pork chops on the grill with a grill basket full of peppers, onions, asparagus, mushrooms, squash, eggplant, even tomatoes taste great on the grill (and I am not a tomato person). Want some corn on the cob? Grill it! Want some baked potatoes or sweet potatoes? Wrap them in foil and grill them! Aside from bacon and eggs, I’m not sure there is anything out there that can’t be grilled!! Even bacon and eggs, if you have a grill like mine with a side burner, can be made outside to keep from heating up your house unnecessarily.

So here’s our plan for the week:
Monday – pork tenderloin in southwestern seasoning with sweet potatoes, peppers, mushrooms & onions
Tuesday – turkey burgers, green beans and mac n chz
Wednesday – chicken in mango chipotle seasoning with squash, zucchini & asparagus
Thursday – bacon wrapped filet with Yukon gold potatoes, broccoli & cauliflower
Friday – make-your-own pizza night … yes, pizzas on the grill!!!

One thing to note is that it’s perfectly acceptable, easier and more flavorful to rub your meat down with the seasoning the night before you get to grilling and leave it covered in plastic in the fridge overnight. Another thing to note is that Dan is not allowed near my grill. He is the one that lights it (because I hate that fwoom! sound when the propane catches), but once it’s preheated and ready (yes, you should always preheat your grill, takes less time than the oven but equally as important), he is to back away from the grill and let the master (ME!) take over. He is also allowed to place foil-wrapped potatoes and corn on the grill, because you can do that while it’s still preheating, but that’s pretty much the extent to which he is allowed to grill. Sooooooo our plan is for Dan to light the grill when I get home from the gym, it’ll preheat while I shower, then I will grill our dinner. Remember, grilling is way quicker than baking/roasting so unless it’s a thick piece of meat, dinners will be ready in about 15-30min tops!