Vacation

Usually vacations are reserved for vacating one's own domicile in search of overpriced airline fares, hotel stays and bad food. Well, I decided against it at the last minute and I am happier for it. First of all (and if you know me at all) I was going to Boston on standby tickets costing only $75. But there is never a guarantee that you will make to where you want to go on time or whether you will make it home on time. As much as I love people watching at the airport (which is hands down THE BEST place for this past time) I would hate to be there all day waiting to see if I can get on the next Jet Blue Flight...so I stayed home. It was great. My sister was out of town on her annual St. Augustine trip with a bunch of 4th graders (God help her) so I took advantage of my 'alone' time. I cleaned out my closet, pulled some weeds, gave a huge bag of clothes (after it was inventoried) to Good Will, and made 2 of the most delicious meals I have made in a long time. The best part about experimenting is when the dish comes out better than you expected it would.
On Monday, I made oven roasted butternut squash and bacon risotto with grilled shrimp (in Italian seasoning, fresh parsley and lemon juice). I had to give the leftovers away because I didn't trust myself with them lingering in the refrigerator.
Last night was grilled tilapia with a fresh pineapple/soy/vinegar sauce topped with cilantro chimichurri and pineapple salsa. The sides were roasted fennel and fresh rosemary mashed potatoes topped with oven roasted Italian marinated vegetables.
I was really proud of myself, namely because I took inspiration from some recipes I found on the Food Network website, but really just made the meals my own with my judgement.

Tonight is is slow cooker Extra Lean Pork Tenderloin with fresh ginger, cabbage, onion, carrots, and the leftover pineapple sauce. The whole thing is going over brown rice. I am not too sure about this one, because there was no recipe and the crock pot is full to the top with food...