Well, well well.....

Steve - this one I dedicate to you ;)

We've not wasted away here. We are also not on a crazy, no-palatable food purge. We've been out of town and then, well, what can I say? This "Garden Girl" has been out tending to her garden! The weather has been absolutely GORGEOUS. Okay, okay, a little bit windy but typically if you know the temps are warm in the early spring then you also know you've got some killer wind. But I'll take the wind. God has blessed us with a stretch of warm weather and I'll take it!

So, I mentioned that we had been gone. We took our first family vacation to Florida. Specifically we stayed in Seagrove Beach which is in between Destin and Panama City Beach on the Florida panhandle. Now, I wrote a long, tedious (although at times humorous) recount on my family blog, so if you'd like to check that out, you can go here. But I will mention a couple of restaurants and a little bit about vacation condo cooking.

Pizza By The Sea: We had this the first night we were there. It is located right next door to the closest Publix, so Mike and one of the kiddos went over there to grab us some grub for the evening while I went to fulfill my shopping list for the length of our stay. What they came back with was the special of the day and I think one of the most brilliant pizza topping combinations that I've tasted. The toppings were pepperoni, crumbled crisp bacon and feta. Yum! And salty! But oh, so good! The pizza place also had hula hoops and other games to keep kids of all ages entertained while their pizza was being made.

Flip Flops Grill: Casual burger joint. Not a whole lot of seating inside but hey, there's flip flops nailed to the wall :) We had a great time here - very family friendly. I had the Gorgonzola Burger which was a hand shaped Angus patty topped with Gorgonzola and fresh spinach. I think it was supposed to have bacon on it as well but they ran out of bacon. How is that even possible? However, I knew that after the previous night's pizza, I didn't need any more bacon.

AJ's Seafood and Oyster Bar in Destin, FL: We had a snack here after our dolphin cruise. I felt the prices were on the pricey side but I do have to say the crab cakes that we had were very, very good. If watching the harbor while drinking cool one with your friends is your thing - then this is a great place for you.

Now, condo cooking. I wasn't sure what to expect when they said it had a fully equipped kitchen. I acknowledge that I like my cooking gadgets. What they had was okay stuff. The stuff that will get the job done but that you definitely don't want to take home with you. Which I guess is what I'd stock the kitchen I rented out with as well. Knowing that I wouldn't have all my spices available to me and wanting to take it kind of easy while there, I planned some easy meals using convenience product I normally wouldn't use. Here's what I have to say to that: probably not worth the convenience. I bought a jarred alfredo sauce - no flavor, ick. If I want to put pasty glue on my pasta, I'll just go get some Elmer's. Maybe I picked the wrong one. Maybe. The pancake mix that I brought with was pretty good. I believe it was Bob's Red Mill 10 grain pancake and waffle mix. It was good but you can probably mix up the same stuff way more reasonably in your own kitchen but used for the convenience - it was great. Mrs. Dash's Garlic & Herb seasoning helped save the day. I bought it because we wanted garlic bread. So I slathered a cut French bread loaf with butter and sprinkled the Mrs. Dash's on and gave it a quick broil. It turned out great and I ended up doctoring a lot of other food with the same seasoning.

So, that was the main food part of our trip. What are we eating this week?

Monday: Chicken Pot Pie with homemade biscuits for the topping
Tuesday: Cheeseburgers, Red Slaw, Fresh Pineapple, & Chips and dip. Dessert: Birthday cake for Libby!
Wednesday: Chicken Tortilla Soup - yum!
Thursday: Grilled Salmon, Grilled Zucchini, & a Quinoa Salad
Friday: Grilled Steaks, Southwest Potato Salad, & a Green Salad

Butternut Squash Casserole

Now, normally, I don't really like sweet vegetables and for the record, I'd rather not have my butternut squash taste like a dessert. But the kids really do love this and I guess I'll sweeten it up if it means that every once in awhile, I can get them to eat their vegetables!

Butternut Squash Casserole

2 1/2 Cups Butternut Squash, cooked & mashed
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup milk (if you have buttermilk on hand, use that)
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix squash, eggs, sugar, butter, cinnamon, and ginger. Pour into a 1.5 to 2 quart baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle coconut and then walnuts on top. Bake in preheated oven for roughly 35 minutes.

Menu Plan Monday 3/1/10

Today is the start of meteorological spring. :) And currently, I see that it is 34 degrees outside. That's pretty good for the weather we have been having!

Mike is out of town for part of this week so we are playing it pretty easy. Here's this week's menu:

Sunday: Mexican-themed salads with left over pork that I made into a quasi version of carnitas.

Monday: Fast Food Somewhere (due to basketball practice & Mike being gone)

Tuesday: Hot Dogs, Chips & Fruit (told you I was playing it easy)

Wednesday: Spinach, Bacon & Cheddar Cheese Quiche & Salad

Thursday: BBQ Chicken, Butternut Squash Casserole (the kids LOVE this! - I'll post my recipe), & Roasted Asparagus

Friday: Steak Fajitas, Refried Beans, Chips & Homemade Salsa