A couple weeks ago I made some chicken with a new batter recipe. Tonight I made tilapia using that same batter, and I have to say, it was delicious.

I didn’t get pictures (it didn’t come out all that pretty) because tilapia falls apart if you are not careful. It sure was tasty though, and the kids ate. Heck they did more than eat it, they asked for seconds. That NEVER happens in our house.

Holy crap.

Of course, the potatoes in this photograph are not Yukon Gold potatoes, but you never would have known that by the price we paid this week.

One of the few items we can’t get at our local farmer’s market, are potatoes. Oh sure, they have some small ones, but hardly enough to make a meal in this house, let alone sustain us for a week or two. So we are compelled to purchase our potatoes at the grocery store, and this week was an absolute shock.

A five-pound bag of plain old carbohydrate loaded russet potatoes was $4.47. Last payday we paid $4.28 for 10 pound bag. Now, I will admit, they did have a 10 pound bag for five-something, but some were rotting, they were soft, and well, they just weren’t apetizing.

It took me a while to realize why the cost of potatoes would skyrocket, and of course, it’s the gas prices. I just forgot the fact that they have to truck these babies all the way from Idaho.

So, what’s your shocking food price increase? I know you have one.

This weekend was quite busy. We did lots of little stuff around the house. The kids cleaned their classroom and playroom in the basement, which was a shock. They did a great job too!

Friday night I made country fried steak, gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables. Sorry, no pictures this time, we were just worn out by the time dinner was ready.

Last night, Gidget made sweet and sour shrimp, mongolian beef, rice and veggies. I totally spaced taking photos until we were done, again. I know, I am bad.

I have lots of stuff in the works, including lots of work at the day job and mad-coding on Stuffr at night, so posting “might” be light here this week as I try to balance things out.

Who knows when the fancy will strike though, right? The weekend just ended and I am exhausted already.

Forgive me for not posting earlier today, but we went to the farmer’s market again this morning.

We bought more blueberries (the wife is going to make blueberry jam tomorrow), garlic, honey, and goat’s milk soap. We also got to see one of the best “worm demonstrations” I have ever seen, I just wish I had video taped it so you could learn everything you need to know about farming your own worms.

I am exhausted, but I will post photos of the blueberries tomorrow.

Tonight was a fun night. After our very busy weekend, I figured it was time to let the 7 year-old help plan the evening meal.

He chose “pigs in a blanket” as we call them, although the blanket never really covers the pig entirely, there is cheese thrown in there somewhere, and we use all-beef hot dogs because, well, we just love our piggies. Anyway… He also picked baked beans, which he never eats, and broccoli.

As he set the table for dinner, which I must say, he is very good at doing, he asked if we could use our new fondue pot for the first time. I got the fondue pot as a “reward” of sorts for taking a bajillion online surveys. He helped me find the fondue booklet and we mixed together a delicious chocolate sauce, and then we sliced bananas, washed strawberries, and got some ‘Nilla wafers and marshmallows out too.

Needless to say, this was one dinner where they all ate their dinners, with no questions asked. I hope you had a good weekend!

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So, I spent the last several weeks watching “Hell’s Kitchen”. I love that show. Gordon Ramsay is a genius, and I would do just about anything to get the chance to meet him. I don’t think I would appear on Hell’s Kitchen though.

Tonight was the season finale, and no, don’t worry, I am not going to post about the results yet, just in case you haven’t had a chance to watch it.

I do have to say though, that was disappointed with the end. I really was. I expected more from the finalists, and I just didn’t feel the same “electricity” I felt in previous seasons.

So now what am I supposed to do now that Hell’s Kitchen is over for the season? Crap. When does “Kitchen Nightmares” come back anyway?

We had a pretty relaxing weekend around here.

We spent some time outside in the yard, some time watching old movies, and some time in the kitchen. We didn’t make anything we hadn’t made before, but the kids were excited because the wife decided to make them some more home made corn dogs. Last month, we bought some new baking powder and that stuff was so active it was growing when I took this picture.

It was bubbling and literally growing before our eyes. I thought of making a science fiction movie but then I decided it would be more satisfying to eat one of those corndogs.

Tonight, we made our favorite standby, pork chops with orzo. This week we plan on making some corned beef and cabbage, chicken parmesan, perogies, and who knows what else. Yes, we’re going to be a bit ambitious this week.

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On Thursday, Chef John posted a recipe for chicken wings that are oven fried.

I love my chicken wings, and I thought there was no way to make “oven fried” wings taste like they were fried. I was wrong. That’s why he is the Chef and I am the dad who aspires to cook well.

I followed his recipe to the letter (as far as the wings themselves went) and they came out excellent. When it came to making the glaze, I chose to use some honey bbq sauce, mixed with some Frank’s Red Hot. It made for a deliciously sweet and spicy combination.

The kids loved them, the wife loved them, and we’ll be having the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Sorry, I didn’t get any photos, but they look exactly like Chef John’s only they had lots of bite marks in them.

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We had a bit of a party today. Our youngest turned 7.

He was going to have a Curious George birthday party, but while we were shopping for his party decorations, he decided he wanted a Flag birthday instead. He loves flags.

In addition to the homemade cake, he got a 20 foot flagpole for the yard. Nice. I know what I am doing this weekend. Oh! He picked tacos for his birthday dinner too, so we ate some.

I’m just glad that birthdays are over for a few months. I am exhausted.

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We cheated again tonight. We took the easy way out.

We had sandwiches. The list of ingredients included:

bread (both white wheat and wheat)
mayonnaise
lettuce
tomatoes
cheese (american and provolone)
avocados
ham
turkey

and

bacon.

We let the kids decide what they wanted (from the list above). It was delicious. I know, I owe you pictures of something food related. Soon. I promise.

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