Nosh and Celebrate

A look at last week's dinner menu:

Monday
Blake was out of town for work, so I just ate odds and ends.  I tend to do that when left to fend for myself - usually meals consist of vegetables dipped in hummus and bread with cheese.  It's simple, but it keeps me happy.

Tuesday
Spicy Sriracha Chicken & Quinoa Bowl
Salad

*Verdict: This is quickly becoming one of our favorite dishes. It's quick and delicious and fairly healthy.  It is great the next day as leftovers for lunch, too, which adds to its appeal.

Wednesday
Caribbean Jerk Salmon Bowl with Mango Salsa

*Verdict: WOW. I'm adding this to our rotation for sure.  It tasted light, fresh and extremely flavorful.  I think it's the perfect way to use an inexpensive (frozen) piece of Salmon.  The jerk spices take away any of the fishy taste that a cheaper piece of fish may have.  Win-win!

Thursday
BLAKE'S BIRTHDAY!
Avocado Chicken Enchiladas
Spicy rice and beans
Dark Chocolate Sorbet

Verdict: The Avocado Enchiladas are at the top of Blake's list and he requested them specifically for his birthday dinner.  I'm not sure if that says something about how good they are, or just how mediocre the Mexican restaurants are around here, but either way I call it a success.  I substitute plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream in the sauce and you can't tell the difference.

And ok.  This dark chocolate sorbet?  Run, don't walk, to your nearest grocery store to buy the ingredients.  It's the most chocolatey dessert you'll ever taste - Blake declared it his new favorite dessert of all time.  We served it with fresh raspberries and Heath Bar pieces.  It is decadent to the extreme.  I wish I'd taken pictures because it turned out beautifully, but we ate it all before I thought to do so - it was that good.

On another food-related, but not cooking note: I wanted the birthday celebrations to start out nice and early, so we started the morning off right by having Blake blow out candles on a stack of donuts.  There's nothing quite like waking up to a chocolate donut pile, am I right?

And because we wanted it to be an even 20,000 calorie day, we met up for lunch downtown at Taylor Gourmet for a Race Street and a bag of jalapeño chips.  It doesn't get much better than that.  A day full of food and celebrating my Blake.  That's my idea of a good time.