Bacon-wrapped Cod with Brown Rice and Seasonal Veggies

The cod is a Jamie Oliver Recipe. Basically, season the cod with salt/pepper. Wrap it with bacon, sprinkle rosemary on top. Grill or bake. Next time we will broil the fish/bacon, because we like crispy bacon and the fish started to dry out because we were trying to crisp the bacon.

The Chef seasoned the brown rice with Herbs de Province. He also stir fried the veggies- carrots, grape tomatoes, zucchini and summer squash with some salt/pepper, olive oil, garlic and oregano.

The Chef's cousin G was also present for this delish meal. He brought this French white wine along.

Barton and Guestier Vouvray. <3

Traditional SC food... during and after brewskis.

Speedy Q Nachos.

Obviously, it was dark and I was swatting mosquitos and not able to take a great pic of this munchie snack... but I will tell you there is NOTHING special about them. Chips, melty cheese... but SO good. And also a tradition. I beleive this was a large and I paid like, $4 for it.

Mike's Breakfast at Achatz. Eggs, potatoes, sausage and raisin toast.

My breakfast. Grilled cheese, pickles, onion rings.

Restaurant grilled cheese is always so delish because they use the flat top grill. And lots of butter. I typically broil my grilled cheese on an airbake cookie sheet. It takes like, 1/2 the time of using the traditional skillet on stove method and requires less grease:)

Cavis Wedding... cake.

Ok so obv I didn't make this cake, nor did Mike. But, I'm featuring it because it had CANOLI filling inside! mmmmmmmm:)

And... it was very pretty.

Kath's Homemade Mac and Cheese

SUPER easy.

2 cups of uncooked elbow macaroni noodles

3/4 cup of milk

8 oz of velveeta-cubed (or you can use a lil velveeta and other cheeses)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Cook the pasta. Mix the soup, milk, salt and pepper in a 2 qt baking dish (I usually spray mine first with EVOO spray). Add the pasta to the dish. Bake uncovered for 45 min, stirring 1/2 way through.

Creamy, cheesy, HOME COOKIN'!

St. Clair Inn

I haven't been to St. Clair in quite a while... over a year I think. Mike and I (and numerous other people) decided to hit the lounge for some snacks and bevs. I had the chicken club wrap and Mike had a chicken ceasar salad.

It wasn't that good. Overall kind of bummed. The beer was good though:)

Zuchinni and Ricotta Tart

This recipe came from Rachel Ray's magazine, "Everyday with Rachel Ray." Click here for the recipe

This recipe asks you to salt the zuchinni... DON'T go overboard. And make sure you rinse it very well. We opted to add some grated parmesean to the top, and that made it WAYYYYY too salty. We also couldn't find puff pastry sheets at our local grocery store, so we used phyllo dough. It definitely would have been better with puff pastry because it has butter between the layers, whereas phyllo doesn't. Also, be sure to poke the bottom alot or it will rise like crazy and your filling will spill out.

Overall, I didn't like this recipe. It reminded me of Spinach Lasange, which I hate. (The spinach, not the lasagne. Food poisoning incident a few years back. Spinach= YUCK)

Garlic Pepper Pork Tenderloin with Thyme Roasted Apples and Onions

The Chef marinated the pork loins in water, garlic and pepper (black and crushed red) for a few hours in the fridge. You should pan sear the pork loin to give it a crispy texture and so that it holds some of its juices. Then, we baked it covered in foil at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. Then we removed the foil and baked for 10 more. Check the temp... 155 degrees is where you want to be with clear juices.

The Chef also made a "gravy" for the meat using apple cider, madiera wine and cornstarch. It was pretty amazing. You will want to boil some apple cider and madiera wine in a small saucepan. Make sure that you wisk the corstarch in some liquid before adding it to the boiling apple cider or it will be lumpy.

For the apples/onions, I got the recipe from Epicurious.com... Thyme Roasted Apples and Onions

We only did 1/2 of the recipe as it serves 8-10... and it was perfect for The Chef, my 17 month old and I with no leftovers. DO NOT USE FOIL on a pan... it stuck. BAD (because of the sugar). Instead, you could try parchment paper... or a glass baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. We used Braeburn apples like it said to, but I think it would be better if you used a few different kinds of apples. My personal favorites are Ida Red and Granny Smith.

Cheesy Jambalaya

Super Quick, Super Easy. Super inexpensive.

1 box Zatarain's Cheesy Jambalaya

1 pkg of smoked sausage

Brown the sausage. Cook the rice. Combine. Done-zo!

(Break out the Zantac....)