pizza

Homemade pepperoni pizza from a couple of nights ago. I also made a whole wheat, pesto and tomato pizza but I overcooked it a little because I got distracted doing other stuff. Whammy. It wasn't picture worthy.

Grub from this week

I've been cooking my ass off this week! Stuffing, pan roasted pork tenderloin, redskin mashed potatoes, and brussels sprouts. I *heart* brussels sprouts. I love them so much that I actually had them for breakfast twice this week.

Close up of the meal. Look at those brussels!

Another homemade meal - chicken paprika. My mom used to make this when I was younger and I loved it so much. Chicken, garlic, onions, tomatoes, chicken stock, parsley, and sour cream. What could be better?

Thank you to The Boss for taking me and a colleague out to Lindey's for lunch. The best salads are the most simple - greens, lemon vinagrette, grape tomatoes, blue cheese, and smoked Gouda.

Also from Lindey's... French onion soup! So good.

No Square Dogs! Part II

Much to Tony's delight (okay, not so much), we've added another member to our family. Her name is Lucy and she was adopted from the Capital Area Humane Society. She's about a year old and looks to be a German Shepherd/Lab mix. She's a sweetie. And because this is a blog about food, I am obliged to inform you that she eats Science Diet dry food.

Out of the park, grand slam home run!

I took the kids out to Iacono's in Hilliard for dinner last night. The meal started with a very contentious match of tic-tac-toe. Ian won several games, but was getting increasingly pissed off every time that he lost. I could see a shouting match brewing so I finally had to take the activity/coloring book away.

Ian ordered chicken fingers, Connor had an Italian sub, and we all shared a pizza (1/2 cheese, 1/2 sausage and mushroom). Connor and I had the following discussion regarding the quality of the food:

Connor: "Mom, how do you think the food is tonight?"
Me: "Amazing, I think that they hit it out of the park."
Connor: "Like, a home run?"
Me: "Yeah, it's a good thing. Like a home run for food"
Connor: "Ahhh, well then this is a grand slam home run. An out of the park, grand slam. Oh - it's a walk-off, out of the park, grand slam!"

Please check out Freshbox Catering

Freshbox Catering is a not-for-profit company and 100% of their proceeds go to support The Faith Mission return to work program. We had a work lunch catered by them this week and the food was fresh, high quality, well made, affordable and they delivered it at no cost! I highly recommend that you use Freshbox Catering!

Check them out here - http://www.freshboxcatering.com/

leftovers

I love thanksgiving leftovers.

it's the big show!

I almost feel bad posting these pictures. My Thanksgiving meal is so incredible that all others pale by comparison. I am truly sorry that I couldn't share this meal with each and every one of my loyal readers.

I can't give away any of my secrets, so I am posting pictures only without any details regarding the actual, super-special, very delicious recipes.

Tony set up the bar area. He did a nice job. When it comes to seasonal decorating, I skip fall decor and go straight in to Christmas flair.

Asparagus, mashed potatoes

Turkey, brown sugar glazed brussels sprouts and baby carrots, cheesy potatoes, stuffing, rolls, mac & cheese. not pictured: corn casserole

I shit you not, my brother actual wept with joy during dinner. It was that good! (he was actually just rubbing his eyes for a second, but I would like to think that he was crying with happiness)

It was a great Thanksgiving. Even better than the meal was spending the evening with our family.

A huge thanks to my mom for bringing the pumpkin pie, corn casserole and brussels and carrots. Big ups to Mandy for the cheesy potatoes. Thank you to my mother-in-law for the gluten free pumpkin pie and homemade apple pie.

Ian's Best Day Ever

This past Saturday was Ian's 7th birthday. We celebrated for two straight days with dinner at BW3, a sleepover with my cousins, a trip to see Planet 51 with five kids in tow, and a pizza party.

Let's start with the cake. I love Sam's Club cake - sugary and heavy on the frosting.

This was my favorite gift that Ian received. His Grandma and Grandpa Davis his gave him, among other things, a rubber chicken! When you squeeze it, an egg comes out with a yolk and all. Awesome.

What does every boy want for his 7th birthday? A chainsaw, of course! Here is Connor with Ian's new (fake) chainsaw.

Here's the birthday boy, Ian! Ian's quote of the day "I can't believe I'm 7 and I can't believe that I am having my best day ever!"

Here is Ian with my cousin, Emma. They are dressed as Batman and Batgirl.

Soup & a Sandwich

One of my favorite sandwiches - grilled baby swiss, turkey, and ham on whole wheat.

Homemade ham, bean, and veggie soup!

party food

Tony invited people over for the Bengals v Steelers game a couple of week ago. Here's some wine, hummus, veggies, chips, and salsa. Oh, and I spy a highball near the tortilla chips.

I also made white chili. My mom wisely advised that I only add half of the habanero and serrano peppers that I had diced. This was a very good decision considering that the chili was hella-spicy without the extra peppers.

What goes with white chili? Red chili, of course! You can never have too many kinds of chili.

My dad recently threw his girlfriend, Christy, a 50th birthday party. These are some amazing cabbage rolls that her sisters made. This recipe was passed down from their mother.

Here's the sandwich spread, and a bucket of beer!