Relaxation... and good food

The last few weekends, the hubby and I have stayed in Denver and relaxed. While I do love being lazy, I hate not going up to the mountains to ski. But our lack of cash has forced us to expand our cooking skills, while not expanding our wallet. So far this month, we've cooked all kinds of new recipes that we've never tried before. We made homemade pizza dough, but bought all the rest of the ingredients. (baby steps...) We used diced tomatoes and green chiles in lieu of sauce with hot sauce coated chicken and mozzarella cheese. It was spicy and delicious. The second time we mixed the tomato/green chile mixture in with some Muir Glen Italian Herb sauce, making it both sweet and spicy, and topped it with mozzarella cheese and oregano. Yum! The pizza dough turned out both crispy and fluffy. If you have all the ingredients to make your favorite pizza, it is definitely cheaper to make it vs. ordering in. Unless of course you're springing for the $5 BlackJack or Little Caesar's Hot N Ready pizza. Your stomach will definitely thank you for using quality ingredients and making it yourself- trust me!

We've also found ways to spice up what would be dull meals. For example, last week we were both starving, but not for the planned meal of the night (tilapia). So... we pulled out a box of mac n cheese from the cupboard and added some chicken and salsa. Voila... a delicious meal, perhaps not the healthiest, but definitely yummy! And the following night when we decided to eat the tilapia we had planned for the previous evening,  I chopped it up and threw in some cayenne pepper, mixed up some guacamole and we had fish tacos.

Mmmm... and last night we tackled spinach and bacon risotto. While risotto can often be a daunting meal due to the stirring dedication, it turned out beautifully.

While I am thoroughly enjoying all of the new recipes and time we are spending together in the kitchen, I'm really looking forward to that first meal in a restaurant. Preferably a restaurant with some kick ass margaritas to accompany my long awaited meal cooked by someone ELSE! :o)