Thai Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Tofu

Since we're in the final months of saving (and employment), we've been trying to eat at home more frequently, which unfortunately means Friday night, too. In a past life, Friday would be our date night or just a night I didn't have to cook. But considering we dropped $40+ on date night to a sandwich place a few weeks back, that can't happen too often. 

It's still the weekend though and as much as I'd like to just throw some leftovers in the microwave and be done with it, I still want to celebrate a bit with a nice dinner. I just don't want to spend all evening preparing it. Enter the skillet meals....

Easter Rising

It only seems fitting that I start this blog back up again at Easter.

My family came down this weekend for Easter. I love my family. I love holidays. However, I do not love trying to figure out what to make for holidays. My sister doesn't like things that rhyme with "am" (ham, lamb, salmon...). My husband doesn't really like turkey much, but he'll tolerate it once a year. When my brother was still around, we usually were able to swing at least one ham holiday and make our sister pick up a chicken breast. Not that I don't get it anymore, but it's really hard to justify a ham more than once a year. Chicken is usually a little boring for a holiday, so that leaves us with pork (which I'm beginning to like now that I can cook it properly) or beef. Oddly enough, we rarely end up with beef and instead at least one of us suffers through a main dish for a holiday.

Christmas Dinner & a Farewell (for now)

This past Christmas was a strange one. We got to see lots of family, including my sweet little grandma, who I adore. We had some great food and reintroduced an old family tradition of doing cold cuts and deli salads for Christmas Eve. It was all very hard without my brother around, though.

Christmas day, my sister and her husband came over between their family gatherings with his family, who also lives in Seattle. The rest of the day, Shawn, mom, and I sat around in our pajamas watching TV and eating. We had delicious leftover sandwiches and munched on See's Candy. We planned a fancy dinner and ate it at 7:30pm. Basically, we did whatever the hell we wanted to. It was as good as it was going to get. I managed to take a few pictures of our feast before we devoured it.

Thanksgiving Recap

Just a few shots of some of my Thanksgiving day treats! I didn't take any pictures, I was too busy cooking for 14(!). Luckily my mom took a few. Thanks mom!

Appetizer: Spanish tortilla with aioli

Quinoa, black bean & sweet potato chili

Tonight's commute was a friggin' nightmare. We sold our one and only car last month to boost our  savings for a round-the-world trip next year. It hasn't been the easiest adjustment, but we've done well so far. Portland generally has great public transportation and since I get a free bus pass from work, it was a relatively easy decision. We take the same bus in the morning for about half my trip and it's a nice way to spend a few minutes together before heading off to work. Most days have been tolerable because I can walk the 4 miles home from work pretty easily.

Egg breakfast muffins

Oh breakfast. You "most important meal of the day" vixen, you. I know I need you, but sometimes, I really hate you. Oh sure, weekend you is great. It's all mimosas and eggs benedict and cinnamon rolls and frittatas. But weekday you...ugh. Nothing but yogurt and fruit and oatmeal and cereal. Occasionally, when I'm feeling naughty, a bagel will work its way into the mix, but then the guilt sets in and I go crawling back (because of all the unhealthy carbs I have no energy) to the old standards. Sigh.

Delicata Squash with Kale and Potatoes

Apparently no one has told Portland that it's fall now. Our weather has been in the 70s and 80s and sunny. It's definitely crisper in the morning, but has yet to have that real *fall* essence to it, or the rain to match. I'm trying not to complain, but boy am I confused. On Sundays, I should be watching football in my hoodie, clutching my coffee mug happy to be inside since it's raining cats and dogs outside. Instead, I'm inside watching football with my hoodie on because the glare on the tv from the sun is disrupting our game, so it's a bit chilly inside. It also makes me feel a wee bit guilty for sitting around all day rather than enjoying the last days of this Indian summer. 

This is only half of what the recipe made; I spread it out in 2 pans to make sure everything was browned