Las Colinas Living

When I finally moved out of the suburbs, I promised I would never go back. That's the thing about promises.... Move out of small town to go to the big city (suburbs.) Love you, Sean. Anyway! We got an AMAZING deal on an AMAZING place that I am really, really excited to move into. Take that, suburbs! Look at this pool. Just look at it. Feel free to drool a little. Anyway, done gloating. We signed on Saturday and will move in on the 15th. It's a crazy-tight timeline since Sean graduates on the 17th and starts work on the 20th. I can't wait to start this adventure. IKEA gift certificates are highly encouraged as housewarming/Christmas gifts. We would really love a coffee table. 

After we signed our lease, we ate at Blu Ginger. http://www.yelp.com/biz/blu-ginger-thai-cafe-irving-2 I had  the Flying Shrimp and Sean had Catching Cashew Nut. It wasn't spectacular but it was a giant step above your average greasy Thai place. $2 beers all weekend, too. We went to help Heine move in to her new place (so excited she moved to Dallas!) and then went back to Hockaday to watch the Aggies. Needless to say, WRECKING CREW IS BACK, or for non-football fans, we won. It was a big deal. And if we're lucky, Bo Pelini is fired (HA!) and T-Magic is coming to Aggieland. Wikipedia is not the best source though.

So Sunday, we continued celebrating (obvi) by going to Cindi's for an awesome breakfast with Heine and Frank. http://www.yelp.com/biz/cindis-ny-delicatessen-restaurant-and-bakery-carrollton Go there; eat breakfast; be happy.

For dinner, I cooked Sean a homemade meal, which he did not at all beg for. One of his favorites: chicken piccata with ravioli and okra scramble. 

Date night :)

Here's the recipe:

Chicken piccata

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts

Lemons

Capers

Butter

Olive Oil

Flour

Salt

Pepper

Prep:

Butterfly chicken breasts. Melt butter in olive oil (2 parts butter to 1 part oil). Salt and pepper your flour. Dredge chicken in flour mixture. Brown 1 breast (pervy) in butter/olive oil. Add 1 tablespoon butter for each new breast (pervy x2). Set breasts (seriously!?) aside. Melt 1/2 stick of butter with 1/2 cup lemon juice and capers. Use a lot of capers if you love capers; use less if you don't. It's whatever. Bring sauce to a boil and stir in pan brownings. Scrape all that off the bottom of the pan! It's so good! Taste the sauce. Add lemon if it's too buttery; add butter if it's too lemony -- there is no science to this. Once you like the flavor, put the chicken in the sauce and let it simmer for 5ish minutes. 

So this looks like a big pile of mush but if I had a camera (hint) instead of my  iPhone, I promise you would be better able to tell the deliciousness.

Okra MacKenzie

Ingredients:

Frozen okra

Onion

Garlic

Can diced tomatoes

Marjoram

Thyme

Oregano

Salt 

Pepper

Cheese

Prep:

Preheat oven to 350. Chop onion and garlic. I use one large onion and a whole bulb of garlic because I love onions and garlic. Use as much/little as you want. Again -- it's whatever. Put in large saute pan with frozen okra and the can of diced tomatoes on medium heat. While simmering, season to taste. I like a lot of pepper for spice. Easy on the herbs; you can always add more but too many overpower the veggie flavor. Simmer until the onions are clear and the garlic is soft. Pour into a baking dish. Cover with your choice of cheese. I like parmigiana or provolone. Mozzarella is also yummy. Bake until the cheese is bubbling and browning. Serve.  FYI - Any seedy (as in, with seeds, not sketchy) veggie works well in this. Squash, zucchini, etc. Yum!

 

Ravioli:

Buy from store. Put in boiling water. Drain. Serve. Pretend like you made it. SO SUE ME.

Enjoy, y'all.

Always,
MacKenzie