A Week In Review...

My week in review
2 Trips to Target
1 Trip to Walmart
3 My Gym Classes
4 Bike Rides
3 Trips to the park
2 Trips to the splash pad
3 Trips to the grocery store
1 Golf game
5 Walks around the neighborhood
Endless hours of playing outside
=1 tired mommy and 1 tired baby...

Sriracha Mac & Cheese

Another great recipe from the cookbook "The Sriracha Cookbook" by Randy Clemens.  Your favorite dish amped up with Sriracha.

Sriracha Mac & Cheese from "The Sriracha Cookbook" By Randy Clemens
Ingredients:
1 stick of butter (unsalted)
1 cup panko bread crumbs
8oz elbow macaroni
1/2 small sweet onion, diced
1/4 cup flour
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried mustard
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup Sriracha
1 3/4 cups Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Chopped flat-leaf parsley for garnish
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray casserole dish with cooking spray.  In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons of butter.  Add bread crumbs and stir until all butter is absorbed.  Reserve.  Boil noodles in stockpot for 7-8 minutes.  In a saucepan melt 4 tablespoons butter and add onions.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Whisk in flour and cook 2-3 minutes constantly.  Add 1/2 cup milk while whisking.  Once  the milk has been absorbed add the remainder of the milk and the cream.  Add salt, dried mustard, pepper and nutmeg and simmer for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.  Stir in Sriracha.  Add 1 1/2 cups of cheddar slowly while whisking, one handful at a time.  Once all the cheese has melted add the noodles and toss to coat.  Pour into baking dish and top with the Parmigiano cheese and the rest of the Cheddar.  Bake uncovered for 18-22 minutes and let sit for 5.  Top with parsley and serve.  Enjoy!

My First Cucumber

After searching through my jungle of a garden on the side of the house to see if there are any ripe tomatoes on my "tomato tree" I came across something that surprised me...
I thought the only veggie growing in the garden were tomatoes.  The Zucchini and Cucumber plants have taken over the entire garden (had no idea when I planted them) making it hard for any of the peppers to grow.  All summer long i've seen small flowers bloom on the plants, but alas no Zucchini or Cucumber UNTIL TODAY!  My very first Cucumber EVER!!!!

Duck Liver? Yes Please!

Every year on our anniversary Brent and I like to try a new restaurant.  This is especially important now that we have a son and can't go out to eat very often.  We chose 112 Eatery for dinner on our 5 year wedding anniversary.  Half of the food we couldn't pronounce, but everything was SUPER!!! 
Complimentary Nuts and Olives before dinner:

We started out with some (hot) Fried Shishito Peppers

I wasn't as adventurous as my husband was, ordering the Tagliatelle pasta with Foie Gras Meatballs.  This dish was so so good!  The meatballs just melted in your mouth.

Brent ordered a bunch of different small plates that included:
Steak Tartar

Frog Legs

Chinese Fried Eggs

And we finished with the BEST dessert I think I've ever had...I could have had 5 of these for dinner!!
Nancy Silverton's Butterscotch Budino.

Carne Asada Sriracha Tacos

Another great recipe from "The Sriracha Cookbook" (by Randy Clemens).  Brent and I can't seem to get enough Sriracha!

Sriracha Carne Asada
Ingredients:
6 cloves garlic
1 large onion, diced
1 small jalepeno
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons salt
Juice of 3 limes
Juice of 2 oranges
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup Sriracha
1/4 cup Tequila
1/4 cup olive oil
4lbs skirt steak or flank steak, 1/2 inch thik
Directions:
In a food processor, combine garlic, onion, jalapeno, cilantro and salt.  Pulse until finely minced.  Add citrus juices, Sriracha, Tequila and olive oil until combined.  Place meat in large container and pour marinade over, tossing lightly to coat meat evenly.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.
The next day preheat grill and cook steaks until medium-rare (about 4-5 minutes per side).  Cover with foil land allow meat to rest for several minutes.  Then slice steaks into strips.  Serve on tortillas with your choice of toppings.
Optional Sriracha Sour Cream (from "The Sriracha Cookbook):
Mix together 3/4 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup Sriracha

The newest member of our family...

Trying to kill time on a hot and humid Wednesday Max and I made our way over to Creative Kidstuff to play with all their toys.  After circling the store once Max comes across a shelf full of stuffed animals (mostly dogs) and pulls out a Beagle from the bottom of the pile.  He then proceeds to carry the dog around the store saying "pa, pa, pa" (puppy).  Naturally I buy the expensive animal to avoid tears (don't judge me).  Max continued to hold this "pa" the whole way home and up until lunch time.  This got me thinking what a great pet this Beagle is...He doesn't bark, bite, need to be fed, need to go out to potty and still provides my son with endless entertainment....THIS IS THE BEST PET EVER!  So now our family with 2 dogs has now been bumped up to 3 with "Pa" the Beagle.