A Bountiful Weekend

Today is Sunday and, so far, the weekend has been full of family, food and forgetfulness.  I’ve decided that I will expect forgetfulness to creep into my life on a daily basis. No, on second thought, I will count on it.

I escaped from work early on Friday so that I could get my shopping done ahead of the weekend since it was looking like it was going to be a busy one. I was thrilled to find “Moneyball” with Brad Pitt in the DVD kiosk at the grocery store. I’d been stalking the box for weeks and it was consistently checked out every time. I was so thrilled to finally nail it and I smiled to myself as I smugly dropped my hot little find into my grocery cart. Then I checked out, rolled my cart out to the car, unloaded my groceries and drove away with my movie treasure still sitting in the cart. By the time I returned to the store I learned that some good samaritan had found it, returned it to the kiosk and then promptly rented it for himself. I was immensely grateful that this kind person returned the DVD rather than stealing it. I also felt some sort of karmic shift that told me that it was so close to being mine for the weekend and then POOF! It wasn’t to be mine after all. My Good Karma Fairy put her finger in my face and told me to stop being so forgetful or I was going to be sorry. I didn’t listen.

The bulk of my Saturday was spent touring the TCU campus with my youngest stepson. This is his first semester at Texas Christian University and it’s only a 30 minute drive from our house in Arlington.  He served 4 years in the USMC before becoming a full time student and it was time for me to see his new college.  It was also high time to hit the bookstore so that I could pick up the proper parental paraphernalia of bumper stickers and t-shirts. It’s a beautiful campus and I could see why Cody loves it so much.  We had a delicious lunch at one of the popular TCU hamburger joints and I remembered how great the food can be on a college campus. Why do we think a hamburger can be sub par when we’re no longer in school? Dutch’s at TCU has perfected the art of the perfect burger. If you’re ever on the campus be sure to treat yourself to this incredible hamburger joint.

We left campus and headed for the closest shopping mall (which was a considerable distance from TCU) because Cody was in desperate need of a sport coat and I knew the sales were on. We were successful, kissed goodbye and I climbed into my SUV and headed back to Arlington. Not until I reached home did I discover that my Iphone was M.I.A. and I quickly realized, one phone call later,  that I had put it down on the counter in the Men’s Department and walked away. Ugh. This meant climbing into my gas guzzler one more time and returning to this far away shopping mall to retrieve a phone that I shouldn’t even own in the first place. Expensive sunglasses and pricey cell phones do not belong on my person. 

The ultimate end of the story is that I was reunited with my phone and then somehow remembered where I live.  The Karma Fairy tapped me on the shoulder once again and said “you know I could have REALLY taught you a lesson if I’d let someone steal your phone during the 2 hours it took for you to notice it missing”.  I said “thank you” and she just shook her head as if to tell me that I’m hopeless.

As for what’s been going on in the kitchen, yesterday morning I made a Pioneer Woman recipe for Monkey Bread Muffins that I stumbled upon while aimlessly drifting through Pinterest for the millionth time. Like I needed another addiction. Be sure to look at this tasty breakfast treat if you’re interested in something super easy, fast and totally comforting.  They definitely fall somewhere south of healthy but they’re not as bad as a full fledged cinnamon roll either.

Last night I made a pork loin stuffed with swiss chard and green onion fresh from our garden. I threw in some garlic, bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. It was the most amazing thing I’ve made in months.  The rendered juices from this pork roast were mouth watering drizzled over the pork and some creamy mashed potatoes. Be sure to look for the recipe under Main Courses and give it a shot next weekend.

I made a blueberry pie this morning because the berries were reasonably priced at the store on Friday and I don’t have an explanation for this but I’m glad they were. It’s cooling on the counter right now as I write this blog and I’ll post the recipe after we’ve cut a slice and David has applied his photography skills to my pie. 

Also coming up later today is a broccoli salad and I’m whipping up my brother’s Boneless Buffalo Tenders for dinner tonight.

And now I’m going to run some errands and see what else I can forget..

Happy cooking and enjoy your Superbowl Sunday!

MMD

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