Fritters are Fun

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Zucchini Fritters are something I’ve been making for years. I’m not sure where I originally came up with them but I love them as a side dish. I think Mum made eggplant fritters now that I think about it….hmmm there’s an idea for next time.
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This time I used yellow squash. I think it added a different flavor but it was a good use for the sad yellow squash in my fridge.

Ingredients

Buy Valium From China 1 zucchini or yellow squash
1 egg
½ cup breadcrumbs or wheat germ
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
¼ cup diced green onion (optional)
¼ cup corn (optional)
¼ cup feta (optional)

Directions

Buy Carisoprodol Online Overnight 1) Shred zucchini/yellow squash and lay over paper towel to remove most of the liquid
2) Mix zucchini/squash with egg, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, salt and pepper and any other ingredients.
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3) Form into patties and bake 15 minutes at 375. Flip and bake another 10 minutes.
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I bake them instead of frying them since they get too oily and it’s way easier. I use my muffin top pan which definitely helps for the shape. It gets a lot more action from zucchini fritters, crab cakes, and the like especially since I’ve never made muffins.

https://www.chat-quiberon.com/2024/01/18/xx9wwzp They’re a fun side dish with only a few ingredients. I made them one night when we had our own salad bar with these on the side. I’ll probably stick to zucchini next time but add in spinach! Or corn! Or leeks! Or bacon! Or whatever!

Baked Orzo Flop

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Buy Alprazolam Eu I thought I was super clever when I started waking up earlier. This gave me the chance to get stuff done before leaving for work. I unloaded the dishwasher, I poked through my RSS feeds, and I planned dinner.

https://manabernardes.com/2024/eua0k2ex3 Once again, I started thinking about what I could make with what I had around…anything to avoid grocery shopping. Baked Orzo came to mind and I thought a Greek dish was exactly what I wanted. I had orzo, artichokes, tomatoes and high hopes for this quick meal.
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Ingredients

https://equinlab.com/2024/01/18/nbqj764a 1/4 pound Orzo
1 tbs garlic
1 jar artichoke hearts
1 cup plum tomatoes in liquid
½ cup red wine
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin

Directions

1) Cook orzo
2) Saute garlic, atrichoke hearts, and tomatoes with liquid on medium high.
3) Add wine and spices and simmer for 5 minutes.
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4) Turn to low and stir in orzo.
5) Sprinkle with Parmasan before baking for 20 minutes.
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Partway through my super speedy meal I hear:
Mr. J: is there cumin in there?
me: yup
Mr. J: ohh ok.
me: why?
Mr. J: ohh. {silence} Cumin is not my favorite.
me: hmmm

That’s where the dish goes awry…but it didn’t have to. I wanted to mellow out the cumin so I peek into the fridge and spot 2 ingredients I think will make the spices not taste as strong. Ricotta or sour cream. I went with the former. I had been a bit heavy handed with the wine so already my Baked Orzo had lost the great red color from the tomatoes (the wine made it a bit purpley).

I chose ricotta thinking it would be creamy and rich. It was indeed creamy but it also wasn’t smooth & silky. It was a bad choice, but you know…they can’t all be winners.

https://masterfacilitator.com/pjss06eknrq After I got it going I wasn’t feeling great about it. I actually said we might need to order pizza (which we never do to replace a meal). Mr. J was a trooper and ate it. It wasn’t amazing but I think it easily could be a great dish.

https://www.justoffbase.co.uk/uncategorized/oojml88d58 This Baked Orzo sounded amazing and is my inspiration to give it another go!

https://space1026.com/2024/01/ev0uaf3 Better luck next time. Spoiler alert: I’ve since grocery shopped.

Honey Mustard Chicken with a Crunch

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After a weekend of food, friends, diner breakfast, and drinks I wanted a slightly healthier Sunday night dinner. I was working with what we already had around, since I hate to grocery shop and we had been gone a lot.
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Honey Mustard Ingredients

https://mmopage.com/news/j6bu5mpmzm 1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup yellow mustard
2 tablespoon orange juice
1 large clove garlic, minced

Honey Mustard Directions

Wisk honey, mustard, orange juice, and garlic
Refrigerate for at least an hour before enjoying

I love honey mustard. I know you can buy it but this is better. I sneak a little spicy brown into it as well which better rounds out the mustard vs. sweet flavor. A splash of cider vinegar would be good too.Honey mustard is so versatile! Marinate chicken in it, dip veggies in it, put it on salad, put it on a sandwich…the possibilities are endless. Bottled honey mustard always has a few weird preservatives and when it’s this easy to make, why buy it?

Honey Mustard Crunchy Chicken Ingredients

Buy Xanax 3Mg Bars chicken tenders or chicken breasts
1 egg (with 1 tbs water), whisked
½ cup flour
¾ cup breadcrumbs (half panko, half regular bread crumbs)

Honey Mustard Crunchy Chicken Directions

https://www.prehistoricsoul.com/ns49agxxs7 1) Marinate chicken tenders in honey mustard.
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2) Set up your flour, eggwash, breadcrumbs, in that order
honey_must_flour_290_200 honey_must_egg_290_200honey_must_crumbs_290_200 3) dip the chicken into the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs
4) bake 20 minutes at 375 on a sprayed cooling rack on top of a baking sheet, turning once

https://therepairstore.ca/nysnoggnouj This was so great! I really liked that I could taste the honey mustard and the crunch on the outside was awesome. I served it with honey mustard on the side but could have tossed the crispy tenders in the sauce too. I think I was too scared that the crunch wouldn’t stick since they were baked, not fried.
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Mr. J and I thought the chicken was cooked perfectly. It was a fun and different dinner that was lighter than the restaurant equivalent since the chicken wasn’t fried. I served it with couscous (where I snuck in some finely chopped baby spinach for another veggie dose) and some yellow squash and leeks we had.
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Build a Better Lasagna

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I haven’t been cooking a ton, nor have I been super creative with meals lately but it’s my crazy season at work. See me at the end of May and I’ll have space in my head to think. Until then, I’ll keep concentrating on work, wedding planning, and meals that don’t require TONS of effort. Also, mother nature seems to be holding spring just out of the reach of us New Englanders.

The other night I decided to grab lasagna ingredients so I’d have a few meals in my back pocket for nights I am too crazed, googly-eyed, and have brought work home with me. Lasagna is such a great freezer item, especially since I’m cooking for just Mr. J and myself. One batch makes 2 small ones…one for now and one to freeze for later! There’s a tiny bit more time in the season for delicious meals like this.
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Lasagna is something I can’t usually order out (red meat factor) so I make it myself. I also think there are wayy too many bad lasagnas out there so I wanted to share a few tips. I think lasagna is best when baked. Let to rest, and baked again another time. I think the small touches are what make lasagna better. Using different sauces is a big one. I sneak some pesto and cream sauce into my lasagna in small amounts. I have one additionsl sauce in there, but it’s a secret. Hey, I can’t give away ALL my secrets!

Ingredients

Buy Xanax 2Mg India 1 pound lasagna noodles
¾ pound meat mix of your choosing (ground turkey & sausage / sausage & ground chicken / ground pork & ground turkey etc)
chopped leeks, onions, or shallots
2 cups whole milk ricotta
1 egg
2 cups shredded mozzarella
½ cup shredded Parmesan
2 cups baby spinach
spices: dried oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, & red pepper flakes

Directions

https://gungrove.com/zsrltkjoit Cook lasagna noodles unless using no-bake
Mix ricotta with egg, and dried spices
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Cook the meat layer (I used ground chicken and crumbled sausage) and add in somebody in the onion family
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Spread marinara into pans and layer with noodles and a few red pepper flake shakes
Then add the meat layer with leeks/onions/shallots, some pesto, shredded cheese, and more noodles.
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Spread some marinara or alfredo, and top with ricotta, parmasan, and chopped spinach before adding more noodles.
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Top the whole thing off with more marinara, spices and bake for 45 minutes. If eating right then, top with mozzarella until melted.

The meat mix is important. It is better when there is more than one in there. A few shakes of seasoned breadcrumbs will also make sure it’s not greasy or bland. Different cheeses are also a huge part in a good lasagna. Mixing shredded mozzarella with some Parmasan provides a good flavor combo. I’ve learned my lesson with part skim ricotta…not a corner to cut. It ends up dry & crumbly, not creamy, and even with the help of the egg, it doesn’t bind well.

I like veggies in there, and think it’s a good balance with all the meat and cheese. Mr. J liked the baby spinach this time over shredded zucchini I’ve done in the past. Some mushrooms in there would be good too, but somebody doesn’t like ‘em. I had some leeks so I tossed ‘em into the meat layer.

https://equinlab.com/2024/01/18/vj6aogk I used no-bake noodles for the first time. While it would definitely save some time, I was using a circular pan for one of my batches and these buggers were tricky to fit in. If I made a 9 X 13 pan I’d definitely use them again.

https://fireheartmusic.com/0b2gk6h3e Lasagna always reminds me of the time I ate “veggie lasagna” at the home of a very important Children’s Book author who shall remain nameless (well, she didn’t cook it so ohh well). The quotes are important because there weren’t any noodles, instead there was squash slices. There wasn’t any cheese, sauce, or meat…instead, there was spinach. Ohh it was interesting let me tell you…

https://mmopage.com/news/2q18cxxw8z Any lasagna tricks up your sleeve? What makes yours better than the average lasagna?

Not Crazy about Crazy Dough

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I bought a Groupon for Crazy Dough and after some time went by, all of a sudden, I realized it was about to expire! Literally, it was the last chance so Mr. J and I got it for a weekend lunch. It was about 2:30 so I contemplated if we were old farts and it was early-bird dinner or if we were fashionably chic having a late lunch.
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Mr. J gets Crazy Dough for lunch sometimes and loves it so I was excited to try it. The menu looked great. I was intrested in a few I knew Mr. J woudln’t be as excited about so we each got our own personal pizza.I thought the Eggplant & Roasted Red Pepper sounded good. Tuscan Tomato Basil caught my eye. It was Balsamic Glaze and Ricotta that I came back to on the menu.
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Mr. J loooves the Potato Bacon Cheddar pizza but decided to change it up with Chicken Parmasan.Maybe because we got it to go, or maybe because we got traditional instead of Sicilian, but I wasn’t amazed. I popped into the Harvard Square to pick it up and was so excited as I passed the slices of Sicilian. I thought mine would be just as delectable.

The Balsamic Glaze and Ricotta on wheat dough was thin with crispy crust. I thought it was too thin. The balsamic glaze was good, but nothing to write home about. I thought it was flavorful but needed more to absorb it. It was too runny since there wasn’t much cheese or crust. Apparently my pizza was finished with olive oil and fresh basil…I missed that.

Soma 350 Mg Pill The Chicken Parmasan wasn’t anything stellar either. The chicken was in tiny pieces. I prefer to be able to see that the chicken is white meat and not mystery leftovers. The sauce was too sweet…too ketchup-y.
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I’ll give it another go, but I’ll probably eat there and I’ll probably choose Sicilian.

https://manabernardes.com/2024/yv2bxzcrl2 Is it weird that the box boasts best pizza of 2004 & 2007?

https://gungrove.com/sge6799 Likes: the possibility of great sicilian pizza, interesting toppings
Dislikes: too thin crust, not great sauce

If Phantom approves Amrheins…

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So work gives me the day off for by birthday (yes, the bday posts continue) so I spent a leisurely day off before a celebratory bday dinner with Mr. J. They day wasn’t actually very lazy since I was cleaning and prepping for the Mac & Cheese taste off.Anywho, after feeling like a 50s housewife waiting for the man to get home, we went to dinner of my choosing. I love Phantom Gourmet and had seen Amrheins and really wanted to try it. I had seen Lobster Mac & Cheese and some steaks they boasted as better than downtown’s steakhouses.
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This Southie original was full of historical charm. They have the oldest hand-carved bar in America. Since they don’t take reservations for parties fewer than 6, we took our chances. We only waited about 15-minutes…just long enough to grab a drink at that bar I was talking about!

https://www.prehistoricsoul.com/fby756y Our waitress had an intense Boston accent which added to her charm. The wait for our meals wasn’t as charming but since it took so long, they threw in another round of drinks-on the house. The menu is pretty sizeable. I thought it was cute that they had some unexpected specials like boiled dinner.

I got the Lobster Mac & Cheese despite the fact that I’d be having the taste off the following day. Since I was privy to the sizeable portions mentioned on Phantom Gourmet, I went with the half size and it was perfect. Perfect in size, perfect in noodle texture, perfect in lobster quantity.
amrheins_lob_290_200Love love love that they garnish it with a fried lobster claw. How cool is that?! Also, I got mine without the peas. I’m pretty sure peas are the the only veggie I don’t care for.

Mr. J got the Cowboy Steak. He was going back and forth and went with this one and steak tips. The Cowboy had blue cheese and carmelized onion butter on top. Yum! He really liked it and thought it was cooked perfectly.
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When I heard his came with mixed veggies I was thinking what you are probably thinking: broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots? Nothing of the sort! The peapods, shreaded carrots, and onions looked amazing. His mashed potatoes were also, very noteworthy.

https://modaypadel.com/xv3yh3e We had already thought about dessert but since the meals took so long, and we had some drinks, we decided to skip it. Since we were pleasantly full, keeping it that way was the right choice.

Outside the restaurant I lost my camera case taking a photo. I took it as a sign for a new one and everytime I see the new one I’ll remember this birthday!

http://www.wowogallery.com/egflgd33 P.S. Birthday meals are official concluded. I bet you wish yours was as long and delicious as mine was!

Family Birthday Dinner

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I know, you’ve seen lots of my birthday celebratory meals but there are a few more to post! What can I say, birthdays are important to me and what a better way to celebrate than with friends, my Mr. J, and family?

https://serenityspaonline.com/xm88rdk Here’s my amazing meal with some of my favorites:

https://masterfacilitator.com/emtkkb38u7 We started with stuffed mushrooms
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https://www.chat-quiberon.com/2024/01/18/y95emoj97 Then we had roast lamb, zucchini and summer squash, and a potato cake.

The lamb was really good. I can’t eat most red meat and lamb seems to be the only one that doesn’t make me sick. I need smaller portions so it just means I have to really savor each bite.

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Mum has a touch with zucchini and squash. Most other people end up with slightly mushy or a soggy mess. Hers somehow is always perfect. She baked it with a touch of marinara and cheese.

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I LOVED this. It was deceptively good. I want to make this with a bunch!

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Now, the star of our family birthdays…THE cake. This cake is amazing and my main reason for sharing this meal with you. Mum has made this cake and served it so many times we’ve lost track. It is just amazing. Without further ado, I present to you: Chocolate Ring of Coconut Fudge Cake.
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Not too many more bday meals. I hope you’ve enjoyed them as much as I did! Next is my bday dinner out with Mr. J.

Figs Does Pizza Right

Miss L and I love food more than the average people. We also LOVE birthdays. She took me out for an early birthday dinner at Todd English’s restaurant Figs. It was as amazing as ever.Want to know what else is amazing (other than a race)? I won another blog’s giveaway! Yesss! I have a b.good gift certificate coming my way!

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Mid week, the small Beacon Hill location was bustling. At 6:30 PM on a Tuesday we could wait 20 minutes or sit at the bar. To the bar we went! Miss L ordered a sangria as I peered at the open kitchen.

We decided you cannot eat at Figs and not order the Asparagus Frites. The asparagus spears are blanched, breaded in Panko, and lightly fried. They are served on arugula with honey mustard aioli. It is an amazing appetizer because the asapargus flavor comes through with a delightful crisp exterior. It is a simple but well executed idea!

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As good as the other dishes sound, pizza is the specialty so that’s what we got! We each chose our half. I got Portabello. It has garlic, oil, mushroom puree made out of Portabello stems, Fontina, roasted red onion, and truffle oil.

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At first sight, I thought the red onion was going to take over. The pieces were huge! These pieces might be big but the mushroom puree was amazing and was hidden but an awesome flavor. Also, you could put truffle oil on a flip flop and I’d love it.
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Miss L got a four cheese with Mozzerella and Ricotta. Also, some pieces were cut beyond my half of the pizza, giving me a bite of the sweet marinara and rich cheese. Miss L enjoyed it.
The pizza is thin but holds up well to delicious toppings. I want to try several of the others.Miss L, Mr. J, and sis ALL don’t care for mushrooms. Since they are the most common eaters of my meals it makes any dish with mushrooms shine with a halo on a menu.

A few ladies next to us at the bar were served very efficiently since they were heading to a show. Miss L and I lingered a bit but weren’t at all forgotten. I really should eat at Figs more often.

Make-Your-Own-Falafel

I looove falafel. I think there’s something about the nutty crunch, the cucumbers, tomatoes, and creamy tahini. I hadn’t really even thought about making it myself until a couple of years ago.
falafel_plate_290_200At that point  a few years ago, I soaked the chickpeas overnight, I cooked them for an hour, mashed them, etc… It’s such a process unless you’re mass producing falafel! The mix is the way to go…10 minutes and it is ready to cook. I bake them instead of frying them, partly for ease and partly for health. They get crispy and delicious.

Ingredients

1 package falafel mix
2 wheat pita pockets
2 cups lettuce
1 tomato
1 cucumber
¼ cup feta cheese
Italian, Greek, or Balsamic salad dressing
3 tbs tahini

Directions

Prepare falafel mix with water (as package directs)
Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes on each side.

falafel_baked_290_200Chop lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and toss with feta and dressing.
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Serve in pita, drizzled with tahini.
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I’ve made these as appetizers like a slider in halved mini pitas. They’re always a hit and super easy to make. I definitely don’t think you need my instructions, BUT I think falafel is something that doesn’t always come to mind to make at home.

Mac & Cheese Taste-Off

The much anticipated Mac & Cheese Taste-Off finally arrived! Ok, so I was probably the most excited…but it was amazing! So good! So fun!

Birthdays are a super big deal to me. This year I had about 5 birthday celebrations. Each amazing and all involving delicious food. I decided to have a dinner party style Mac & Cheese Taste-Off at my apartment with friends.

I read about an annual mac and cheese face off on a blog I love: Wicked Good Travel & Activities and thought it was a fantastic idea. I was brainstorming taste-off ideas since the Wine Off in January.

I invited everyone to come and enjoy. They were welcome to enter one, or enjoy one of the many mac & cheeses here. We got many more than I even expected! There were 10 entries! I made 2 thinking that it would help the number of entries. Ha! My competitive and culinary inclined friends proved we didn’t need help with the entry numbers!

Mr. J made really awesome ballots with criteria including: cheesiness, noodle texture, creativity, and overall taste complete with voting bubbles and printed on orange and yellow paper. We had name cards for chefs to name their dish and let everyone know what the featured cheese is.

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Here they are:

1. Bacon & Scallion Mac & Cheese in a calzone (or outside the calzone!)
featuring: Cheddar & Cream Cheese score: 278

mac&cheese_calzone_290_200 2. Spicy Sausage Mac & Cheese
featuring: Cheddar score: 289
3. Chicken Bacon and Ranch Mac & Cheese
featuring: Cheddar, Asiago, and Monterey Jack score: 232
mac&cheese_ranch_290_200 4. Southwestern Mac & Cheese (that was mine!)
featuring: Pepper Jack & Cheddar score: 292
5. Classic Mac & Cheese (mine too!)
featuring: Gruyere & White Cheddar score: 229
mac&cheese_290_2006. Jalapeno Surprise
featuring: Kerrygold Cheddar score: 258
7. Children in India Are Starving
featuring: Gruyere score: 234
mac&cheese_india_290_2008. White Truffle Mac & Cheese
featuring: Asiago score: 284
9. Winning
featuring: Cheddar, American, Mascarpone score: 270
10. Pepper Jack Mac & Cheese
featuring: Pepper Jack & Cheddar score: 161

I was wowed! They were all soooo good. Not a bad one in the bunch! One recent Mac & Cheese I made wasn’t amazing, you may remember it here. This time I really turned it around. My Southwestern mac and cheese had ground turkey with taco seasoning, roasted red peppers, cheddar, pepper jack and taco seasoning in the cheese sauce. I took my Dad’s advice and mixed in some sour cream before it baked. My classic had orecchiette, Gruyere, Sharp White Cheddar, and breadcrumbs on top. This one was by far my favorite. I use buttermilk and I think it made a nice difference.

Tallying the scores was very hard. It was fun to have different categories with so many entries but it made scoring take a long time. We awarded prizes of grow-at-home herbs, Easy-Mac, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Annie’s Mac & Cheese, and naked mac (aka noodles). The top 3 also got fun award ribbons.

I didn’t take as many photos as I would have liked but there’s always next time. I think next time I’d do it in rounds or recommend half batches to better fit them into the oven. Somebody had a great idea of bringing a crock pot to keep it hot (I should have done that)!

We brainstormed all the other ideas. 10 may have boarded on too many. Half mac & cheese and half brownies would have been a fun competition. Wings? Burgers? Pizzas? The sky is the limit of taste-offs!

There was beer, wine, champagne, and sangria (red wine, cranberry vodka, lemonade, and apples) as well as some light aps. I was really grateful that there were so many friends and so many mac & cheeses! It was a great way to celebrate 27.