Lentil-smoked kielbasa soup and spinach provolone bread. Yup.

As a special treat for myself (ourselves) for the work hell I have been through recently, and only because I just got a nice bonus on Friday, Susan and I had dinner at a favorite spot in the Gaslamp District (Lou & Mickey's). My dinner started with a Ceaser saled and Susan had the clam chowder - both of which we shared. Dinner for me was a Filet with blue cheese on top + King Crab Legs (shelled) with a side of Mac & Cheese. I washed it all down with an Arrogant Bastard Ale.

Not exactly a healthy dinner, but damn it was good.

Roasted chicken (actually roasting 2 since it's just as easy and makes great leftovers) with tators and carrots roasting in the same pan. Some sort of sweet potato thingy I'm trying out from a box that will probably suck but I couldn't resist, and sourdough rolls.

It's cooking right now and is going to be delicious. You should be jealous. ;P

Bacon toasted cheese sandwiches. And a green salad, 'cause we're watching what we eat.

I watched that Double Double as I was eating it for lunch :)

Last night it was tacos - which were "acceptable". I tried a new method for salsa though. I generally through the veggies into a screamin hot pan or under the broiler and char them up a bit.

I found an interesting recipe for tomato soup that cuts them in half first and chars more of the inside - so I tried that. (because it's been too warm for soup but that seems to be changing.)

It didn't taste much different at all.

I still want to try the soup though.

Got a little experimental tonight.

Went to the market hoping for one of those packaged dinners ready-for-the-crock-pot, which for some reason my market had none of today. So no problem, chicken was on sale, figured I'd just make a stew from scratch. Picked up chicken breasts and potatoes, figured I had the veggies in the freezer to finish it off.

Well... I didn't have the bag of veg I was counting on (aka "stew vegetables", or even a bag of carrots, which would have been nice). So I had to go with what I did have, which was an 8-vegetable medley, some of which I wouldn't ordinarily have chosen to add to a slow-cooker meal, but hey, it's what I had. Tossed in a can of corn as well.

Dredged 2 chicken breasts in flour and seasonings and pan-fried them for about 10-20 minutes to get a nice brown crust on the surface. Threw that on top of the veggies in the crock pot with a can of chicken breath, the water from the corn (didn't have any more chicken broth!), and enough extra water to cover. Cut up 3 smallish potatoes and tossed those in as well.

4 hours later...

Removed the chicken breasts from the pot, deboned, and shredded to bite-size bits. Reused the oil from the chicken pan-fry and 2 Tbsp of flour to make roux. Spooned that in. Made Bisquick dumplings, tossed those on top for 20 minutes and added some seasoning to the stew because it needed "something". Nothing fancy, a little salt & pepper, maybe some poultry seasoning.

That's it.

Didn't shatter the culinary world with it, but made some solid tasty comfort food that wasn't a fail, so I'm pleased :) (Stews have not historically been my strong point)

You have be intrigued with your can of chicken breath. :)

ROFL... didn't see that typo! Hahah... yes, only the most exotic ingredients in MY stew!

Last night it was pork tinga tostadas. I decided that I no longer like them or anything chipotle because of the weird smoky flavor.

I love bbq including food that's been smoked. I do not like fake smoke flavoring that's in so many things like bbq chips, smoked lunch meats, etc.

I think it might stem from a childhood trauma when my mom had a bottle of liquid smoke in the fridge that fell out and broke. That stuff is so potent you could taste it in the air for days. Yuck.

.....

Anyhoo... what to make for tonight? Maybe homemade pizza. I wish I had a good pizza sauce recipe. I usually use some progresso spaghetti sauce but it's not really that good. I bought a bottle of progresso pizza sauce that is new but probably just as okay. I want a sauce like Round Table Pizza has.