Friendly (Fridge) Reminder

We keep a dry-erase board on the fridge as a quick place to jot down temporary notes to one another - honey-dos, grocery list add-ons, silly things Mitchell said.

Occasionally it's blank, and Paul just can't resist adding a little something. (I love how he signs his work!)

Steak Sandwiches

Tonight, I decided to try a new steak sammy recipe. We have a passed-down one that we love that features a delish beer-butter sauce, but I saw one in my new Bon Appetit and thought I'd try it.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 7. The Crazy-B (Mitchell's nickname for our grocery store, HEB) didn't have tri-tip steak, so I subbed London broil. I only cooked it for half the time recommended for the tri-tip, but it was way overcooked. The marinated veggies were nice on top, but you couldn't taste the watercress, so I could have saved a few bucks and skipped it.

All in all, the recipe had great flavor ... and potential. We'll probably make it again and will tweak the cooking times and ingredients. We had it with a side of sweet potato fries with a garlic-mayo dipping sauce that's a reliable stand-by. (The boys loved the sweet potatoes!)

Paul's rating: "6, but only because the beef was overdone. Had it been more tender, it would have been an 8 or 9."

Mitchell's rating of the sweet potato fries: "25, because they're supper yummy. Even better than cookies."

Breakfast of Champions

For breakfast this morning, Mitchell enjoyed

• a chocolate-banana smoothie (recipe below)
  
• fig Newtons
  
• edamame (yes, the soybeans) with sea salt sprinkled over the top

chocolate-banana smoothie
crushed ice
2/3 cup milk
1 banana, sliced
1 heaping tablespoon chocolate milk mix
1 teaspoon honey
Mix and enjoy!

Welcome!

I'm Mary Anna, known around the kitchen as Foodie Mommy. My passions are food, food and more food. I wake up thinking about it, go to sleep thinking about it and even think about it while I'm eating.

I have a wonderful husband who will eat just about anything and two fantastic boys.

I blog about them here.

This blog will be about my culinary aspirations, from my fear to baking to my triumphs of preparing a Christmas feast for the entire family.

So, pull up a chair and take a little taste.