Poke for dinner while we’re in the city. Ready for our Hawaii trip next week to get some poke closer to the source!

Edgar’s at Quail Lodge, carmel bread appetizer with butter & applesauce (“apple butter”), fried chicken with mash and Mac & cheese, duck with mash and sunchokes, cheeseburger & fries, chocolate ice cream, cheesecake, pot de creme (chocolate), alvarado brewing Mai Tai ipa, Shirley temple

It has to be good.
It inspires me!

Trader Joe’s Carne Asada. Broccoli slaw with green onions, cucumbers, radishes, and TJs vegan Green Goddess dressing.

Spaghetti with pecorino
Ks beef meatballs
spaghetti with Rao’s marinara
spaghetti with Rao’s marinara and meatballs
Raw vegetable tray
mixed green salad

blood oranges
Girl Scout cookies

After all of the discussion about TJ's enchiladas, I decided to make them from scratch today (although I was feeling lazy, so I did a casserole style). Chicken, corn, green chilis and black beans with a red sauce and three cheeses (cheddar, jack and queso fresco).

I made a garbage salad of all the stuff in the fridge I needed to use:

• Crisp baby greens
• baby cut carrots
• leftover horiatiki salad I'd made (tomato, cucumber, red onion, feta)
• some grated parmesan, just because
• a sliced hard boiled egg
• half a chicken sausage
• balsamic

It was pretty good.

One of the best kind of salads!

Enchilada casserole was delicious...Mr. CE described it as one of his favorite comfort foods. And so easy.

In that case, I think we need a recipe.

The problem is, I wing it every time. Today's:

1 rotisserie chicken
2(?) cups frozen corn
1 can (4 oz) green chilis
1 can (14 oz) black beans
1 can (28 oz) red enchilada sauce
corn tortillas
grated Mexican cheese blend (jack and cheddar)
queso fresco

1. Chop chicken and mix with corn, beans and chilis
2. Spread enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x12 pan.
3. Add a layer of corn tortillas, cutting them into small pieces if necessary to fill in the gaps.
4. Spread on more enchilada sauce.
5. Add a layer of chicken mix, top with grated queso fresco and enchilada sauce. Maybe some grated cheddar/jack, too.
6. Repeat 3-5.
7. Top with tortillas, enchilada sauce and grated cheddar/jack.
8. Cover with foil, bake at 375 for for 25 minutes.
9. Remove foil and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and brown.

Options:
1. Replace chicken with other protein.
2. Replace or supplement veggies with chopped onion (sauteed), different beans, chopped tomatoes, sauteed zucchini, etc.
3. Green enchilada sauce can also replace red sauce.
4. Top with whatever you like -- cilantro, beans, sour cream, etc.

Gracias!

Ugh, I haven't cooked for weeks. I've been too stressed and depressed from work, so I've just been either eating out, carrying in, or munching on watermelon or peanuts or whatever and calling it a meal.

I've really been needing to eat better lately, so tonight I got a couple of cartons of grape tomatoes, mixed them up with olive oil, garlic, and pepper, heated them up in the oven for a while, and then after about 15 minutes mixed in more oil and a bag of chopped kale. Baked that for about 15 minutes more and then mixed it up with some whole wheat rotini and parmesan cheese.

It was an experiment, but I think it came out very well. The tomatoes are flavorful and tender, while the kale is a bit crispy but not too dry. I'll definitely make it again but will use more tomatoes and a bit more oil so I cover the kale and pasta more thoroughly.

First indoor restaurant meal in over a year. Last outdoor restaurant meal was in September.
Happy hour/dinner with a couple of margaritas
Bar food that doubled as dinner: garlic fries, calamari, artichoke dip, edamame, sliders (also with fries), lots of hot bread & butter, It's a good thing that I walked there (1 1/4 miles) as it was a gut bomb.

post kid baseball scrimmage/batting practice and before an online school family association meeting:
Calibur cheeseburger, cheese fries, and chocolate milkshake
french toast
Teton polish beef sausage (stove steamed/cooked)
prosciutto & arugula sandwich on sourdough

blood oranges
girl scout cookies

how was it? I’ve eaten inside a food hall (like Anaheim packing station but with high high ceilings) at socially distanced tables. Once my vax kicks in, I’m looking forward to indoor restaurant dining with table service etc

All of us were fully vaxxed. We had a booth which was near the open door to the patio but even if it wasn't it would have been ok. Plexiglass between booths but the nearest people were 2 booths over. It is a Monday and we went early so not at all crowded. The poor servers all were wearing face shields as well as masks. It felt great to be around 3 other people unmasked while we were seated.