chicken con broccoli anyone?

So among my small circle of friends, there is a lot of teasing about the fact that when it comes to food, I am very predictable. For about 5 years in a row, we celebrated my birthday at Olive Garden and I always ordered the garlic chicken con broccoli. What can I say? I really enjoy it. It's a healthier option and I know I will always enjoy it. You can overcook a steak, or salmon can be too dry. Pork can be too tough and lamb is just not my slice of meat. Chicken and broccoli just works for me.
Well, it gets worse. Whatever restaurant we go to I order some variant of chicken with broccoli. And if the entree doesn't come with broccoli, I add it or if it comes with seasonal veggies, I request to only have broccoli. Every once in a while I branch out and order different things. I've recently begun to enjoy a nice steak (with broccoli - can't branch out too far). And Bonefish makes an amazing pork tenderloin. But when it comes down to it, I go for my favorite.
AND NOW! I can make it at home. Realsimple.com sends out recipe emails once a week or so. Last week, Broccoli Alfredo came up and I decided to go for it (and add chicken). My friends. I am pretty pleased with this recipe, more than just because it is my staple entree. I can actually make it. Let's be real here. History has shown us, we know my cooking skills are not so great.

All by myself, I cooked up some Chicken con Broccoli! It looks good, it tastes good, it smells good - I may never have to go to Olive Garden again...

The Melting Pot

Last night Ryan and I went to the Melting Pot with some friends. I've only ever done dessert there. We had never done the whole 4 course meal thing at this place before so we were all excited to see what it was all about.

It was nothing like the usual chain restaurants that we frequent, as in, the food was not cooked when it got to the table (and we're not talking uncooked the way sushi is uncooked!). The pot in the middle is where you put your skewered meat/fish choice in for a (random) amount of time.

Here we are with Liz and Anthony once our dinner was served. As you can see, there were about 30 different things to dip the food in. She named them all, but after she named the lobster tail and the shrimp, I was completely lost. Based on Anthony's reactions of "Hmmm, that's edible, not good but not bad either" and "Okay, that's gross", I stuck to the basic, cook the food until it isn't pink and eat it. Every item she set on the table had an explanation! " Cook this unknown meat for this long, cook that fish for that long. This sauce tastes like this and is good with that one. These take longer so throw them in early. Don't eat directly off your skewer. The spoon will get really hot" and so on. We felt like we needed little flags for each food and a timer. It was all very interesting and there was lots of laughter at our table. I'm not sure I would do it again, but it was definitely interesting to try it once.

Here's Ryan's tasty drink. Neat!
And of course, at the end of our 4-course meal came the DESSERT! Flambeed chocolate! There were strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, rice crispy treats, marshmallows, some cake thing and brownies. Obviously, we needed no assistance in naming these or timing how long to dip. The formula was simple: pick a dessert, drown it in milk chocolate mixed with Bailey's and try not to lose a single drop of goodness on the table or your shirt. If it lands on your chin, don't be wasteful!

Life does not get any better than a fabulous dinner loved ones!

adventures in baby shopping

Today my sister and I ventured to Target so that I could purchase a baby shower gift for one of Ryan's sisters. ohmygosh, that was not fun! I printed out the list and attempted to find anything in the store. Most of the items were only available online only, and had I been organized and planned ahead, I could have had something cute and fun ordered weeks ago, but who has time for that? We spent about 45 minutes going up and down the 7 aisles matching brands, item numbers and actual items. I didn't get the things I wanted because they were not where they were supposed to be and the prices were completely off. The list said something cost $7.50 and then the store said it cost $39.99. Not helpful. None of the prices were anywhere near accurate, so I ended up just getting anything I could find on the list and in the store. When we got to the register, the items didn't scan off the list. The lovely (read: careless) cashier says "Well, maybe it'll come off eventually." Thank goodness for gift receipts. On the bright side, the mothers (and their cute little kids/babies) going up and down the aisles with me and my sister were very helpful with pointing brands or explaining what the stuff was actually used for.

The shower is on Friday, but unfortunately I can't go for dinner, I can only go to give her the presents. I am still on financial restriction (ticket, boo) and dinner at Garden is very much out of the question. Ryan and I have gone 4 days straight now without going out to eat. The entertaining part of not eating out is my pathetic attempt at cooking. I've tried a couple of dinners without taste-bud pleasing success. The food is edible, but leftovers are not appealing once we remember how tasteless the food was the first time around. I will not give up, though! A couple nights a week, I will try to learn to cook something and the others nights, well, there's nothing wrong with frozen dinners, sandwiches and/or cereal, is there? Here's hoping that January goes by fast!

color me FAB-ulous!

tonight, I am sitting on the couch eating ice cream in a wine glass while watching How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. i heart saturdays.