International Week

Since my cooking has been in a bit of a rut, last week was International Food Week at our house. I was trying recipes from around the globe and seeing how they rate. Nothing wild and crazy but here's the list...

Monday night was Italian -- simple dinner of spaghetti and meatballs to ease into this endeavor.

Tuesday night was Greek night -- what a hit. How can you go wrong with souvlaki, tzatziki and pitas, Greek salad and Mrs. Loudshoes' most excellent roasted potatoes with a bit of a Greek twist? Since it was such a success, it's being added to our regular meals. I have also found a fairly simple looking recipe for baklava...which I secretly love and don't want to share. I'm gonna give it a go this week and I'll let you know how it goes.

My husband did a renovation for a Greek couple last year and he LOVED working there. Every lunch hour they would invite him to share in their meal. Greek salad dripping in expensive olive oil with big delicous black olives, spanakopita and other delights. I asked Nate to call this client and ask how he made such an incredible salad and the man REFUSES to share the recipe or any tips or hints. Since the next project is his roof, I think we should peel the shingles but only put the new ones on once the recipe is in my hands.

Wednesday night was Chinese. If I was on Survivor I would've been voted off the island by my own family. My husband eats everything and anything, so no complaints from him, but the kids voted Chinese night down. I made fried rice and egg rolls, but then cheated and got chicken balls and shrimp chop suey from our local Chinese take-out. The best part according to the kids?? The fortune cookie. Isn't it nice when their fave part is the cookie made from cardboard. I can certainly take the hint.

Thursday night was....a mixed breed. Teriyaki pork with parmesan roasted potatoes. Not sure what region of the world you'd have to be in to recognize that combo, but it tasted all right. It made up for Chinese night.

Friday night was a total cheater night. Pizza from Costco. I was running out of steam by Friday afternoon and settled for the easy way out. But no complaints.

I'd like to send out a little thank you to my friend, Mrs. LoudShoes for sharing some of her inspiring recipes on her blog. This week we're trying her Fried Corn recipe and if she'd write about how to make home-made taco shells, I could add Mexican Night to the list.

How exciting is life when I just wrote (and you just read) an entire page on my groceries from last week! Sorry about that...