Allora…

Recipe TK (tk is publishing speak for ‘to come’ or ‘it’s not in yet’) can you tell i have a ton of chipotle’s in my house???

not really red in this pic, but it was definitely pink…

in totally unrelated news, pedro had a rough week too and decided to sleep it off.

With the weeks now totally and completely filled with work, the weekends are for catching up with friends and cooking up a storm (also filling my freezer/fridge for lunches to take to work). I slept the sleep of the dead the past two nights, and so i’m feeling recharged for the week. Tho the weekend should go on forever. I had a bunch of cilantro from Mom’s garden that I needed to use, so tonight I made:

Shrimp Quesadillas w/ Garlic Chipolte Black Beans

Marinate shrimp in lime juice, garlic, cilantro, 1/2 chipolte pepper, salt and pepper:

Heat 1 can of black beans in a sauce pan with 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped, the other half of the chipolte pepper, salt and pepper. After they are bubbling, smash with a potato smasher.

Grill 1/2 red pepper chopped up, 1 portobello mushroom, chopped up, 3 scallions, chopped. Set aside:

Grill shrimp, about 3 mins each side. Set aside, and chop when they are cool enough to handle:

Throw two tortillas on the grill for 30 seconds on each side. On the second one, keep on the grill, put down 1/4 c monterray jack, then shrimp, veggies, 1/2 avocado chopped, and put a tiny bit of cheese on top so that you can “glue” the top tortilla to it. Press down for 3 minutes, flip. Cut into quarters. Quesadilla serves 2.

I made a little cucumber salad on the side too – 1/2 cucumber, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper.

Pierogies & Kielbasa with Grilled Zucchini & Onions

Boil a pot of water for the pierogies, boil for 6 minutes, drain. Slice kielbasa, zucchini, onions and throw on the grill. As the pierogies are boiling and meat and veggies grilling…mix together 1 tbsp of course grain mustard, paprika, cayenne pepper, and dill in a bowl. When you drain the pierogies, toss them into this mixture. Serve w/ kielbasa and veggies.

Kielbasa, zucchini, onions on ‘the grill’ aka my grill pan

mix together this schtuff

ja!

Well, we pulled it off! We planned a surprise birthday party for dad on saturday and he had NO idea. Scotty was ‘the bait’ and so dad went to go get him for “easter” and pulled in the driveway on his way home to about 20 of us ready to celebrate his 60th birthday!

cut off 7 inches of hair. i’m a new woman!