The Majestic Grill in Memphis

Saturday night we went to the Majestic Grill downtown for a family gathering. It was an overpriced letdown. I guess you're paying extra for ambiance and location, because the food wasn't that different from what you could get at any other Americana restaurant in town. I also don't understand why they can't charge less and cut the portion size in half. I had enough food for about 3 meals! If restaurants only knew they could sell me more items if the items weren't so big. As they are, I only order an entree, because I know I can't eat even all of that.

Picadillo

Tonight I made Picadillo. This is an easy favorite of mine.

Jenn's Picadillo -
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic,pressed, or a little garlic powder
1 lb. ground meat (I use turkey)
14 oz can crushed tomatoes (you can also use diced)
1/2 can black beans, rinsed
1/2 cup raisins
season salt, cumin, chili powder to taste

Serve over rice or chips, or both!

Christmas Treats

My friend, Joanna, and her kids came over yesterday, and we made treats for our kids Sunday school teachers. We made Southern Spiced Tea, and Palmiers. The kids had fun dumping the ingredients together for the tea, and they each got to cut some cookies with a real knife (with supervision, of course).
I got the Palmiers recipe from the Gourmet magazine. They weren't very difficult, just time consuming, because of the chill 30 min, then roll, then chill 30 min then roll again, about 5 times. I did that part the day before, so, it still wasn't too bad. They were incredibly yummy!
We finally had our TMNT birthday party last night for my 5 y/o. It went great! I'm glad it's finally done!

Tonight's Dinner

Since Reece is sick, I thought chicken noodle soup would be good.

Jenn's Chicken Noodle Soup -
diced onion sauted in EVOO
diced carrots (I keep these in the freezer)
minced garlic
celery I made almost pureed in the food processor and keep in the freezer
frozen whole kernel corn
frozen green peas
chicken broth (I reserve mine from cooking the whole bag of boneless, skinless breasts in the Crock-pot at time of purchase and keep it in the freezer)
Greek seasoning (just a little)
white pepper
any spices that smell like yummy soup
noodles

I did a little different take on the noodle part and used orzo pasta (it looks kinda like rice).
Oh, wow! This was the first time I've made chicken soup, and it was unbelievably good!

Poor Kid

Well, today, Reece was supposed to have his TMNT birthday party. Yesterday I made a chocolate cake from scratch (because I forgot to get cake mix when I went to the grocery), green Jello Jigglers, and green Kool-aid. Last night, I spent about 2 hours icing the cake to look like Raphael's head. 3 hours later, he threw up and had fever, and we had to post-pone the party till next week! Poor kid, I feel so sorry for him.

Tonight's Dinner

Tonight we will be having roasted pork tenderloin with roasted green beans, and maybe some rice or potatoes. I'll use frozen green beans drizzled with olive oil and a little salt, wrapped up in a foil packet. I will also line the pan for the tenderloin with foil for easy cleanup. I plan to do a roasted head of garlic on that pan, too. I've always wanted to try that. The tenderloin leftovers make a great lunch tucked into a whole wheat pita pocket with mayo and steak sauce. Mmmm...I think I look forward to the leftovers more than the dinner!

Bah Humbug!

It's not that I don't like Christmas, it's the gluttony of the holidays that I just don't care for. As I think about what to get for who, and all the shopping that involves, the more I really would like to just donate all we spend to the starving children in Africa.

I used to love to find that perfect gift for each person. It is quite self-serving even when you're giving, when it makes you feel good to know they won't be returning your gift. Sad isn't it?

Well, I've come along way in the past few years, and God has taught me alot about wasted time, wood, hay, and stubble. I want to spend my time, money, effort and energy on things that matter, and things eternal.

I love the part about Christmas that brings family and friends together for food, fun, and fellowship (doesn't that sound baptist - lol). I think it would be more fun and less stressful, and more eternal to donate, instead of sit around in a circle swapping unneeded gifts we got each other at the last minute. We might as well just swap $20 bills, and not feel obligated to pretend we love what we got! I'd rather eat, play games, and go serve at the soup kitchen.