Tonight's Dinner: Kung Pao Chicken!

Back in November, Ming Tsai was at a local Book's in Company talking about (and signing!) his new cookbook, Simply Ming One-Pot Meals, which we wound up buying.  The first meal we tried from it was his Kung Pao chicken recipe.  (One of the ingredients is Ming's Kung Pao Sauce, here's the link to that recipe.)  Tonight was not the first time we made it, but it was worth taking a picture!

I'd say it looks pretty close to the picture on the website!

No other food I've had compares to the spiciness of Ming's Kung Pao.  Seriously, this is so spicy that our whole family sits around the table sniffling and sweating. Drink lot's of milk with this and take a break for your tongue's sake! :)

Bloomington, Indiana - Malibu Grill

On our last day in B-Town, we ate at the Malibu Grill before heading home. It's a newer restaurant (meaning it wasn't there when my parents lived there 25 years ago), and we were glad we tried it.

Rosemary breadsticks with marinara sauce and olive oil with balsamic  vinegar.

My giant crab cake sandwich with mushrooms! Sooooo good! It came with two sauces: one that was like a marinara, and the other was more of a sweet and tangy mustard.

Ben's grilled cheese.
Two thumbs up.

Pepperjack cheeseburger with fries.

Fish and chips - yellow perch!

Fork action on the cole slaw!

Bloomington, Indiana - Uptown Cafe and Mother Bear's

After our University tour, we ate at Uptown Cafe!

Soup of the day: Potato Leek soup.  Yummy yum! It was very flavorful - not like just eating a potato.

Seafood gumbo - spicy!!

Fish sandwich - very good!
Vegetables that came with it - ehh.

Ben got grilled cheese.
One thumb up, one thumb down.

 For dinner we ate at Mother Bear's Pizza.

The only time my mom drinks beer - at Mother Bear's.

The mushroom pepperoni pizza.

My half-eaten slice that I assaulted with parmesan cheese!

Bloomington, Indiana - The Trojan Horse

A couple weeks ago, we took a mini vacation to Bloomington to visit Indiana University. So of course I took pictures of all of our meals!  The first night, we ate at The Trojan Horse, which is a fabulous Greek restaurant.

Ben had cottage cheese. He's six.

Mmmm :) Hummus and pitas!

Fried mushrooms with Tzatziki sauce!

I got a Spanakopita (Greek spinach pie)! It was warm, tender, and flaky :)

Everyone else got lamb gyros. I had a bite, and they were very tasty!

Lunch at Mac & Joe's

Our family took a day trip to Oxford, OH to visit Miami University, so while we were there, we ate at Mac & Joe's.

Our buffalo wings with blue cheese sauce.

Ben got the mac&cheese bites - fried macaroni and cheese balls! He didn't care for the  buffalo sauce (it made him cry!), but maybe when he's older he'll appreciate it.  It certainly made them more exciting!

My dad got the Miami sandwich special. It was not spectacular.

I got the soup of the day (tomato chicken) with a caesar salad.

My mom ordered the fish and chips - battered and fried cod with tarter sauce.

Tonight's Dinner: Skillet Lasagna!

This is one of my all-time favorite meals! Homemade skillet lasagna from a Cooks Illustrated recipe, altered slightly by my mom. It's basically ground beef, canned tomatoes, broken up lasagna noodles, ricotta and parmesan cheese, garlic, onions, and organic home-grown basil!