Potato Gnocchi

I've obviously been a little behind when it comes to the blog... I've been busy prepping for another trip to Asia for work, and putting in more hours than usual at the second job as well. I'm a little sad, because my weekend resolution is going to be broken for the first time this year. Since I'll be traveling overseas, I won't be able to make a new meal this week. But I was able to try to make gnocchi for the first time last weekend!

This is another dish that I feel pretty confident I have a lot to learn, in order to make it right. But it was a start! Next time, I need to use more flour, and remember to brown them in the skillet after boiling... That was a mistake.

Our New Bread Maker

When my parents were in town, we purchased a small bread maker, and made a loaf of cinnamon bread for everyone. I can't claim that it was the best bread loaf ever, and I'm sure there is plenty to learn about the new toy. But it was definitely something new for us!

Our First Visitors in the House!

My parents came to visit us a couple of weeks ago, and they were our first official visitors at the new house! We had such an awesome time, hanging out around the Denver, Boulder and Golden areas with them. Because we had no official plans, it was easy to wing it and go have fun wherever we felt like it each day!! One of the highlights was heading to Golden for the Coors Brewery Tour. I can't wait for them to come back next time...

Jambalaya!

Tonight's Jambalaya turned out to be another "wow" meal for us. Quite a good little kick from our ghost pepper hot sauce addition, and tons of great flavors. I may have committed a giant sin by not adding shrimp to the pot for tonight's meal, but it only allows for improvement next time!

Jerk Chicken

On our first ever vacation together, my husband and I went to a small resort on Montego Bay, Jamaica. We didn't have a ton of money to spend on the trip, but we found a deal on this place that offered all-inclusive food and drinks. It was our first trip of this kind, and it got us hooked on all-inclusive vacations from there on out. We would take turns ordering four or six (depending on how many we felt we could carry in one armful at that given time) small drinks, balancing them carefully back to our spot at our favorite hammock or on our room's balcony. The restaurants didn't offer a ton of variety, and after the fourth day of eating the same foods over and over for each meal, we weren't sure how much longer we could last.

Luckily, the jerk chicken saved us. Every day by the pool, they had a grill going, where we could get burgers or jerk chicken sandwiches. Being in Jamaica, you can probably guess that the jerk chicken was outstanding. We ended up eating so much of it throughout the rest of the week, I was sure that we'd never want it again! But instead, we ended up heading home with a big craving for the flavors, and we've tried to find a good replica ever since...

I can't really say that the jerk chicken I made this past weekend was that perfect replica. But it was definitely delicious, and a big step toward learning how to make the spicy goodness at home. I tried it first as a slow cooker recipe, and it made the chicken very tender and juicy. But I think the recipe I found had a little too much cinnamon and all spice to replicate the sandwiches we remember. So (as with several other recipes we've already tried this year), I'll have to put this on back on the list to try again. Less sweet next time, although not necessarily more spicy... I did use two whole habaneros!