New Tradition

I keep meaning to post about this new tradition we've got going on around here.  You see, I am a commuter, a worker drone who wears heels and carries Starbucks into the office everyday.  I am a salaried slave to the early childhood education field.  This equates to leaving my house by 8:00am and not returning to my house until 8:00pm (yeah, seriously).  I don't have a cubical, but I do have a pretty sweet desk.  I smile and answer phones and help disgruntled or nervous parents.  I review curriculum and lesson plans and every piece of paper that is leaving a teacher's hands and going on to a parent's hands.  I encourage and reprimand my staff when each is appropriate, I plan family events, go over billing projections (through MAY?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?), and other generalized tomfoolery. So... I stay busy.

All that to say, I was really hoping to be able to cook dinner for my new husband.  Call me old fashioned, but there's just something about me being a newlywed and preparing a beautiful and tasty meal at the end of the day, then sitting at the table with my amazing and sexy husband, talking over a glass of wine (or three) about how great the food was, how beautiful I am, and how I'm the best wife ever. I daydream about this type of newlywed life. Instead it's more like:  I get home so late that it's really not a great time to be eating dinner anyway but hey, we have to eat, and my husband is sweet enough to wait for me.  He cooks dinner, usually something quick and easy*** (our menu's this week consisted of a baked potato for me on Monday because he had something till 9:00, pizza for him on Tuesday because I had a staff meeting till 9:00, Beer and Chinese food on Wednesday, tonight I think we're having spaghetti, and Friday tacos.) We then sit in front of the TV, watch a little recorded Tosh.O, drink water-not wine because I'm dehydrated from all the caffeine I drink during the day, and then we hit the hay. Not exactly the fantasy world I dream up.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE cuddling on the couch with him, and I don't really care what we eat for dinner - I'm a girl with simple tastes, but every once in a while....

So! We came up with every once in a while :) Sunday is my newlywed fantasy day where I cook a nice supper, we sit at the table and he, of course, tells me how beautiful I am and that I'm the best cook/wife ever. We're on week three this week and I'm still deciding what to make but so far I have conquered meat loaf (for the record, I hate meatloaf, but Sgt. likes it and requested it so I figured I'd give it a shot... the title of the recipe was "World's Last Meatloaf" and they were sooo right... I hate meatloaf but I LOVE this.) and almond crusted Tilapia. (In the book it was pecan crusted red fish... so I worked with what I had in the kitchen) Both were AMAZING... and both were out of this book:

If you like a good cook book this is definitely one you need to pick up.  It has great, great recipes and is peppered with hints and stories from southern kitchens like grandma used to have. I love it! I am thinking I'll try a recipe out of a different book this time around but I've had such good luck I'm almost scared to change it up.  I'll let you know how it goes!

*** It should be noted that while he cooks something easy most nights, it's not because he can't cook.  Sgt. was raised by a chef and is an amazing cook! Ok honey, is that cleared up enough?