Yukon Gold White Bean Basil Burgers

The plan last night was to have a meatless meal.  It is the same meatless meal I planned for last week before I realized that all of my potatoes were beyond rotten. 

I was mad that the plan for dinner was ruined.  I was mad that I wasted food.  This week, tonight,  was my redemption day. 

Enter Mama Pea’s Yukon Gold White Bean Basil burgers

I think they sound delicious.  After much assurance from me that the burgers would taste good last week to Mr. J, I still think he did a little secret dance when the potatoes went bad.   He later saw a copy of the recipe and said he thought they sounded good.

Comments like these make me so mad – clearly I like to plan gross sounding meals right?  Anyway, I think this remark was to make me feel a bit better after being a failure for dinner.

Fast forward to this week, Mr. J and I are eating lunch.

Mr. J: What’s for dinner tonight?

Me: The white bean burgers from last week.

Mr. J: Oh?  (Crestfallen look on his face)

Me: Yes, they will be good.

Mr. J: So will they taste like meat?

Me: I don’t think so, it would be pretty hard to make white beans and potatoes taste like  ground beef.

Mr. J: You better really season those suckers up though. (He said this laughing so at least he was in good spirits.)

Disclaimer: This is my interpretation of the conversation and I am 100% sure of it word for word accuracy, although I am sure I will be informed shortly of misquoting. )

The results: They were good.  Mr. J decided after adding a fried egg on his that this would be the perfect side dish for breakfast, a mini potato pancake if you will. 

Head over to Peas and Thank You for the recipe.

Multi-tasking Master

I like to think of myself as I highly skilled multi-tasker.  I can get a ton accomplished in one day. Heck, I can get a ton accomplished before 10am.  This can be good and bad.  Mr. J reaps a lot of the benefits.  Mainly, if I get so much done he doesn’t need too much.  However, at times my obsessive multi-tasking can get a bit over hand. 

For instance, I get stress out coming home from vacation. Basically once the trip home commences regardless if it be by car, plane, or train, I immediately start thinking of all the things that need to get done.  I am either on vacation or not.  There is no in between for me. No easing back into the real world.

So after a bit stressful Monday night of preparing for the week ahead – unpacking, putting the clean dishes away, assessing the food situation, sorting the mail, and general straightening up.  (No matter how much I clean before we head out the door, the apartment always looks messing when I come home from vacation.)

For Tuesday, I had big plans. I took the morning before work easy – only a few tasks.  Breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and organizing the kitchen table of miscellaneous papers.  I sat down and wrote a grocery list and planned the week’s dinner menu. Lucky for me, we had a bit of things left over from last week that were still good.  The grocery list was pretty short, mostly milk and fresh produce. 

The plan for the day was:

1.       Grocery shopping at lunch time

2.       A quick trip to the post office

3.       Extra long time at the gym

4.       Clean bathrooms after dinner

Yep and that was just for Tuesday.  I don’t think the list was too daunting; I just really, really hate grocery shopping on week days.   I feel so accomplished when I get everything done.  The bonus is that on the weekends there is far less to do and I feel like I can enjoy myself more. 

And now if I haven’t exhausted you yet, I leave you with a great side dish recipe – healthy, quick and most importantly delicious!

Mediterranean Quinoa

Adpated from How to Cook Everything

Ingredients:
1C red quinoa
2 1/2C water
1/2C feta cheese
1 roasted red pepper, diced

Directions:
1.  Add red quinoa to water and bring to a boil.  Turn down to a simmer for 20 minutes.  Make sure you add more water if it all evaporates.

2. Remove from heat and fluff with fork.  Add cheese and peppers.

3. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Can be served warm or cold.  If cold, you might consider adding some lemon juice.

So maybe my multi-tasking is more being very productive, as I didn't really do multiple tasks at the same time.  However, I was very happy with all I accomplished yesterday and even more happy that today will be a lot slower.

Recap of the Weekend Holiday

What a great weekend!  We had so much fun, saw so many friends and family, and ate lots of yummy food.  I cannot think of a better way to celebrate our freedom!

The view doesn't get much better than this.  I am lucky enough to have a friend who is lucky enough to have a house on the coast.  In high school it was tradition to spend our 4th of July here.  This weekend was a quick visit but brought back some many wonderful memories.

Our our little group of girls now has a new addition.  Meet Lacey!

Now bring on the food...July is when all of the native Maine strawberries are ready to be picked.  The weekend can best be summed up with strawberries for breakfast, strawberries for lunch, strawberries for dinner and of course strawberries for dessert. 

We found some delicious corn at a roadside stand.

It was a perfect accompaniment to my lobster.

Mr. J chose some surf and turf.  Yes, he did eat it all.  He blamed the round of golf on his massive consumption for dinner.

Finally, it would not be the 4th without a good old fashion cookout with burgers, hot dogs, and bratwursts.