food firsts

Well, I'm not sure how your weather is...but today was one of those days where you can't help but roll the car windows down and open the sunroof here in our neck of the woods.  We had amazing weather here today...warm, sunny, and blue skies.  Thank you, Lord.

The first sign of spring only made Justin and I think of one thing for tonight's meal...grilling! We have a grill conveniently located straight out from our eat-in kitchen.  Perfect.  We grill all summer long.  I love it, because I can focus on marinating and preparing, and Justin does the grilling.

Tonight's meal being grilled made us itch for summertime, but there were also quite a few firsts involved.  Let me share.

(Sidenote:  I'm kinda artsy fartsy sometimes and can't help but notice colors in everyday life...and the yellow tint of this picture drives me crazy.  All I can think of is the fact that some nice homegrown tomatoes from our garden would complete this meal.  I will just have to wait until the real warm-up of summer gets here.)

Anywho.....

Back to the firsts:

-Homemade mashed taters potatoes...this has been on my cooking to-do list since we got married.  The hubby loves mashed potatoes.  I even posted about a genius way to peel potatoes for mashing here.  And still, I have been a slacker wife and not made them for him.  So tonight was the night.  (And even after that great video, I didn't even peel them....I felt guilty about getting rid of the great vitamins in the peel.)  They were so yummy.  (Even if I do say so myself.)

-Organic skinless, boneless chicken breasts...I have been very convicted lately about the type of meat I purchase.  I'm slowly transitioning into more natural and organic products for our home and meals....so I decided that meat would be the first for the overhaul.  The whole hype about it not being budget friendly is silly.  You just have to be smart about it and plan your meals around the sales.  I had a coupon for $1 off Kroger's Organic poultry.  That made it a little over $3 for 1.4 lbs. of chicken.  Totally budget friendly, very tasty of course, and guilt-free eating since we weren't putting any extra hormones or nasty stuff into our body.  (Sorry, just being honest.)  And while I've got the attention of my organic/natural bloggy readers...any nitrate-free turkey breast ideas? We eat turkey sandwiches for lunch almost daily and that's the next big change in our fridge.

-Whole hearts of romaine....I used to buy packaged lettuce.  Boo that.  It's too expensive and goes bad way too fast for this two-human household.  So at first I started buying a head of iceberg lettuce.  That was fine and all..but it just doesn't have the nutrients romaine lettuce does.  So I bought whole hearts of romaine this weekend at the grocery story.  What "they" say is true....cheaper unit-price wise (always check the unit price, my friends), and it's staying fresh longer.  More vitamins in my lettuce and cheaper? Yes, please.

*If Justin was writing this post (being the bold funny guy he is), would add the fact that this could possibly be our first Monday eating a home cooked meal since being married.  Laugh it up.  Sadly enough, I think it may be true.  I mean we may have eaten a nice Bertolli's or something, but nothing really "cooked".  The first year of teaching is way too stressful for that so it didn't happen last year.  And then we got on a whole eating out with my padres on Monday night thing.  (Which, we'll return to the regular schedule next week I'm sure. Ha!)  The home cooked meals come later in the week for us usually and on the rare evenings we are both home.

Last tip...Try the nice Focaccia loaf and olive oil with seasonings combo at home.  This isn't just for Macaroni Grill.  (One of my favorites, by the way.)  You can find the loaves of bread in your deli section and then just bake it at home.  It's wonderful and it adds so much to a meal at home! (We love the McCormick grinders. Garlic Pepper and Italian Herbs makes a great combo for the olive oil.)

Any food firsts for you this week? Got any organic tips for my new adventure? Do share.

Happy home cooked meals!