Ginger Mustard Chicken with Broccoli casserole

This was another one of Heather's ideas. It is a coated chicken breast in a dish covered with sliced tomatoes and baked together. It is good, but we won't be making it again. It is one of those "good, but not worth the effort" dishes. It had a bit too much ginger and was difficult to get the chicken to the correct doneness. I enjoyed the tomatoes and I don't enjoy tomatoes. She made a broccoli casserole on the side and it was spicy and delicious. You'll have to hit her up for that recipe. Maybe there is a cookbook in the works?......

Eggplant Parmesan

This was our first attempt at Eggplant Parmesan in years. Heather got the recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/eggplant-parmesan-recipe2/index.html . It was a LOT like lasagna. We would definitely change a few things about this one. That being said, it was quite good. both boys ate all they could. As you can see, it made a very large quantity. I think next time we will peel the eggplant and I wouldn't bake it quite so long. Heather suggested that we assemble it on the plate and not bake it at all. That sounds like a winner. We'll let you know the results.

Marinated Grilled Tuna Steaks

Heather marinated the steaks this morning. I know the rule about marinated fish, but this really worked. It is a citrus ginger marinade. I made some lima beans and quickly put some angel hair pasta together while she grilled the steaks to perfection. I know there wasn't much continuity to the meal, but we had been on the football field with Tanner and were in a bit of a hurry. The tuna is a recipe you want. We'll have this again soon.

Chocolate Marbled cheesecake

Chance has been asking to make a cheesecake for longer than I want to admit. We had the ingredients so I capitulated and watched him make this marbled cheesecake. It is from Junior's cookbook that Mimi gave him for Christmas. It has a chocolate spongecake crust. It is very good. If you don't believe me, ask C.... he'll tell you the same.

hamburger steak

Sunday, Heather got back from the grocery and I got back from taking Tanner to football practice. We wanted something fast and simple. Sauteed onions with a beef gravy on grilled chopped steak was the answer. Zatarans rice and a can of blackeyed peas and we had a nice, easy meal.

Dinner at the Smith's

We went to the Smith's for dinner and an MSU game. The former was much better than the latter. The Antillon's made it. We hadn't seen them in quite some time. Lisa is not afraid of serving something to guests on the first attempt. She made some crab stuffed pepperoncini peppers that were a delicious bite. Then she moved on to Shrimp and Andoullie in a mustard sauce. She made some seasoned green beans and a "creamed corn" that was fantastic. She had 2 little pans of cornbread to finish it off. It was nice. She can provide the recipes if you need them. Maybe she'll leave them in a comment. She also made a peach cobbler that was tasty. We had that with some leftover peach ice cream and it was great. Carlos brought a big bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and I brought a Pinot Noir. We finished those off and watched the game. Maybe we should do that again when State has a for sure win lined up like LA Tech. Oh wait... Nevermind.....

Impromptu tostados

Saturday morning brought on hunger. No one was anxious to go anywhere so I rummaged through the cabinets and decided on some tostados. We were out of bread, but had corn tortillas. I brushed them with vegetable oil and baked them till crispy. I heated up some refried beans with a few chopped jalapenos and spread on the tortillas. Add chopped onion, shredded lettuce and a dollop of sour cream and chow down. Chance ate 2 and a half and asked for more. What a kid....