It's 4 o'clock somewhere.

Here I sit on my front stoop supervising "the fruit goblin" strategically emptying his little tikes truck of an afternoon worth of rain water in a "mommy time out." It's been one of those afternoons where a few minutes to myself are non existent & the two year old 'tude has been in full force. Even the dog ganged up on me by counter surfing for some oatmeal muffins* I made for the neighbor with a new baby.

Today called for a a recipe that required a beer & a half, & clearly the other half is in my hand on my front porch while the short ribs braise. They were quite yummy & fresh ... Thumbs up Braised Beef Tacos, with beer! 

 ( * I pretty much love how you can have oatmeal based anything after having a baby & entitle them "lactation cookies" & claim they are to boost your supply for the baby. At least, that's my story & I'm sticking to it.) 

What ya got cookin' this Wednesday?

With crazy schedules I find it a stress reliever to have menus planned for the week so there are no "what's for dinner" moments when you head in the door after a long day (after sitting in traffic for an hour & a half. ugh).

I was excited to try out a couple of recipes I found in a back issue of Cooking Light.

Garlic-Ginger Shrimp Stir-Fry
&
Pan-Fried Egg Rolls

Quadruple nom nom nom's here!
Best part, just like healthier take-out, there are leftovers for lunch!

Our variations on the recipe:
Stir-fry -- added snowpeas
Egg Rolls -- added shredded cabbage, skipped the shrimp, & halfed the cilantro

Let there be Lobster!

Friday marked our church's 2nd annual Lobsterfest. I was deeply saddened I wouldn't be able to nosh with my fellow parishioners due to my crazy insane (i would use that fancy strike through setting here if I only knew how! anyone? anyone?) work schedule. Next best option, bring the party home take-out style for lobsters late night!

Our fabulous friends were troopers to wait for me to arrive for a meal fit for kings circa 10pm. I'd say it was worth the wait! We enjoyed the succulent critters with cornbread, slaw, and copious amounts of delish vino. We put our fabulous new All Clad cookwear to the test ... A+ all around!

Cheers to a fabulous fundraiser, fantastic friends, & a great week ahead!

Happy Husband, Happy Dog.

From the fantositicy of my sideways pictures you get the big dinner reveal:
the green chili pork tacos were a hit.
Happy Husband.

We think next time we'll try it with crunchy shells. We also added black beans, sour cream, & lettuce.

Pete found a baseball on our night-time walk through the park.
Happy Dog.

I'm jazzed about dinner and it's not even lunch.

Behold the extra heavy wedding gift I shrieked with glee when opening. Giddy over a slow cooker, yes, I admit it.

I have been waiting to use this gleaming beauty and today is the day. After perusing one of my very favorite blogs I discovered the recipe to christen my Porshe of slow-cookers, Green Chili Pork Tacos.

While Pete is home supervising the dinner cooking I have the afternoon of work to ponder The Poineer Woman's tex-mex goodness. Fingers crossed!

(I think it may be time for lunch.)